Transportinfo.org.uk - today's transport news in the uk, hand picked for you each morning

Saturday, 13 April 2019

BBC News

• Cardiff Airport link road: Pendoylan residents in limbo over planResidents of Pendoylan say they are facing the difficult decision of whether to move home.
• Singapore airport: Tallest indoor waterfall opensThousands are flocking to Singapore's Changi Airport to see the world's tallest indoor waterfall.
• TfL confirms plans to shake up London bus networkSome routes will be shortened and restructured while others will be axed, TfL says.
• Jet Airways halts all international flightsThe Indian PM's office is said to be calling an urgent meeting amid fears about airline's future.

The Guardian

• Premium economy: is it worth the extra expense? Not to be confused with a halfway house to business class, we run a rule over what to expect when you upgrade

Times Online

• Avolon hits credit rating target early after $2.5bn offering [Subscription]An Irish-based aircraft leasing company has achieved an investment-grade rating after offering $2.5 billion in unsecured senior bonds.
• Edinburgh airport has best ever March [Subscription]Edinburgh airport has had its best ever March, with growth in its domestic and international markets.
• Scotland’s shabby police vehicles break down almost every day [Subscription]Police Scotland’s vehicles have been branded a disgrace after a litany of breakdowns including a van that caught fire and another that had to be driven one-handed to prevent it slipping out of gear.
• Virgin Atlantic’s new Upper Class design on Airbus A350 planes [Subscription]Virgin Atlantic is to overhaul its Upper Class offering on its new Airbus A350 planes, the first of which is due to take off to New York this summer. The airline is replacing its onboard bar with “The Loft”, a sitting area with 32in television screens. The entertainment system can be controlled using a mobile phone, and the seat will convert into a bed without the passenger getting up. The airline has not said when it will fit its existing fleet with the new cabin
• Uber’s bankers must do the hustle [Subscription]Talk about an investment opportunity: a company that breezily admits it may never “achieve profitability”; one where a key threat to the business is the underpaid workers getting “classified as employees instead of independent contractors”; and one facing “criminal inquiries” from the US Department of Justice. And all yours, too, for a mere $100 billion.

City AM

• Watch billionaire Elon Musk's Space X land all three Falcon Heavy rocket boostersSpace X successfully landed its three rocket boosters for the first time yesterday, following the delivery of its first commercial payload.

Mail Online

• Thousands of bikers bring Westminster to a standstill in protest at prosecution of 'Soldier F' who faces murder trial over Bloody Sunday MassacreHundreds of bikers gathered from all across the country to ride on Westminster, to show support for the Bloody Sunday Massacre murder accused.

Liverpool Echo

• New police device can tell if you're driving while on your phoneNew equipment can detect if mobiles are being used without hands-free kits

London Evening Standard

• Shocking dashcam footage shows Mini sent flying across M4 near Port Talbot in 100mph road rage crashShocking footage has shown how a car was sent flying across the M4 following a road rage incident near Port Talbot.

North Wales Live

• Special link between Gwynedd railway and Network Rail inspires train nameNetwork Rail apprentices often carry out work on the Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railway

Other Regional Press

• Taxi drivers fear that eight-inch rule "could end careers"Taxi drivers have called for Cornwall Council to relax rules around the minimum legroom provided in cabs saying the current eight-inch rule “could end drivers’ careersâ€�.

C.N.N.

• A technical glitch led to Israeli spacecraft crash, company saysBeresheet, an unmanned Israeli spacecraft, crashed during an attempt to land on the moon due to a technical glitch, said SpaceIL, the Israeli nonprofit that launched it, citing preliminary data.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• TfL proposes new outer London route as it confirms plans for central London’s busesCentral London’s streets will become more efficient and have less bus-on-bus congestion as Transport for London (TfL) confirmed its plans to modernise the central bus network. TfL has made a number of improvements to its original proposals after thorough analysis of consultation feedback, with the changes ensuring that central London remains well served by public transport.
• New appointments made to strengthen HS2 Ltd boardThe Transport Secretary, Chris Grayling, has strengthened the board of High Speed Two (HS2) Ltd with the appointments of Dame Judith Hackitt and Stephen Hughes to the board as non-executive directors (NEDs).

Construction News

• HS2 board: Wolstenholme exits as Hackitt joinsEx-Crossrail chief executive Andrew Wolstenholme has left the HS2 board after less than a year.

Rail Technology Magazine

• Cornwall train with 14 passengers onboard derailed after track jumped to wrong position, RAIB findsA train with 14 passengers on board derailed at a Cornish station after the points which allow trains to switch between tracks jumped into the wrong position, the RAIB has found. The passenger train was left straddling between two lines as it entered Penryn station on 28 January. Whilst no-one...
• Unions and MPs protest TOC's potential £7.5bn funding gap in 'deadly serious' rail pensions rowThe Pensions Regulator has warned that train operators face a black hole of up to £7.5bn and the RMT has threatened national strike action as the row over rail pensions comes to a head after the DfT blocked Stagecoach’s franchise bids. The issue of has exploded in the past few days...
• Renewable Welsh rail electrification project wins decarbonisation fundingPlans to use renewable energy sources to electrify Welsh train lines have won a grant from the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB), one of six rail decarbonisation projects to have won the funding. The ‘Green Valley Lines’ scheme to decarbonise the South Wales railway has won a...

Aviation Industry

• FAA targets late May, early June for MAX airworthiness approvalFAA is targeting late May or early June for approving Boeing’s proposed changes to the 737 MAX and issuing an airworthiness directive that would mandate the upgrades and clear the way for US MAX operations to resume, the agency told airline representatives April 12. read more
• Strikes in Spain to affect air travelers during peak Easter holiday Passengers traveling to and from Spain during the busy Easter holiday season will need to expect delays as airport ground workers, security staff and pilots plan strike action. read more

EIN News Subscription

• Climate change shames Swedes into rethinking air travel … . Emissions from Swedes’ international air travel have soared 61% since … by rail rather than by air to minimise their environmental … introduce night trains to major European cities before the end of … 3.2% in 2018, the transport authority said in its latest …
• Clean air zones: Where will UK drivers pay for polluting? … then be reinvested in local transport schemes. Why are they … with court action by the European Commission over its longstanding … from the EU's. Where are charging clean air zones … authorities". The Freight Transport Association says more public funds …
• Inverness Airport's new electric taxis are a Scottish first … airport in Scotland to have dedicated electric taxis – thanks to a European … -funded project. Rapid charge points have been installed at the airport … introduce more low carbon transport services at airports.â€� Airport general manager Graeme Bell …