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

Saturday, 20 July 2019

BBC News

• Train tickets: Why getting from Cardiff to Bristol is so expensiveSwansea and Bristol are both about 45 miles from Cardiff, yet one train ticket costs £1,300 more.
• The lifeline ferry deal that went adriftA £97m order for two ferries threatens to sink the revival of the Clyde's last commercial shipyard.
• Labour MP Emily Thornberry taken to hospital after bicycle accidentThe shadow foreign secretary was cycling when she was involved in a collision in Westminster.
• Ferguson shipyard could be nationalised amid ferry rowThe Scottish government draws up plans to take Ferguson shipyard on the Clyde into public ownership
• Boeing takes $5bn hit over grounding of 737 MaxThe charge will wipe out profits, but Boeing says it hopes the aircraft will resume flying this year.
• Crossrail costs will continue to climb, MPs sayCommuters have been
• HS2: High-speed line cost 'could rise by £30bn'The boss of the new high-speed rail link has reportedly warned the project will exceed its £56bn budget.

The Guardian

• Iran stokes Gulf tensions by seizing two British-linked oil tankers UK ships advised to avoid strait of Hormuz as Jeremy Hunt calls Iranian actions ‘unacceptable’

The Herald

• Ministers consider nationalising shipyard owned by billionaire adviser to Nicola SturgeonMINISTERS are considering nationalising a Clyde shipyard owned by a billionaire adviser to Nicola Sturgeon, amid a protracted row over the building of two ferries.

The Independent

• The tricks airlines use to avoid paying fair compensationWhat you need to know to get your money back

Times Online

• Is it safe to use airport wifi? [Subscription]Cybercriminals have developed sophisticated methods to steal information
• Highland airports to shut as air traffic controllers strike [Subscription]A series of strikes by air traffic controllers over pay will bring six airports to a close.
• East Midlands rail win ‘could cut competition’ [Subscription]The decision to award the East Midlands Trains contract to Abellio, which already operates the neighbouring Greater Anglia franchise, has led to a new investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority.
• Electric ferry to power new wave of London commuters [Subscription]Britain’s first electric ferry will begin operating in London under plans to cut air pollution in the capital, it was announced yesterday.
• New Airbus A321neo suffers control fault like grounded Boeing 737 Max [Subscription]Airlines have been alerted to a potentially dangerous fault in the flight controls of the latest Airbus that has similarities to the trouble with the grounded Boeing 737 Max.
• E-scooters: Highways act from 1835 puts brake on revolution [Subscription]In the Olympic Park, east London, one of the fastest growing start-ups can be found confined to offering electric scooters for hire to the public for 25p a minute on a few hundred acres of private land.
• Crossrail bosses pocketed bonuses as project faltered [Subscription]Crossrail managers continued to receive huge bonuses even as the chaotic £17.6 billion railway project was going “off track”, MPs have revealed.
• Sahara plume to return as millions head for airports [Subscription]Hotter weather is heading to Britain from tomorrow after the heavens opened as millions flocked to airports or drove away on holiday yesterday.

Reuters News

• London underground passengers to be able to make phone calls from next yearPassengers on London's underground railway will soon be able to make and receive calls, filling an annoying communications gap for some but depriving others of one of the last bastions of mobile phone silence.

Mail Online

• PICTURED: Southwest Airlines graveyard shows more than 30 Boeing 737 Max planes grounded after two deadly crashes killed 346 peopleThis is the haunting Southwest Airlines graveyard of Boeing 737 Max planes that remain grounded after two deadly crashes claimed the lives of 346 people.

London Evening Standard

• Crossrail bosses accused by MPs over 'letting down taxpayers' in two-year delayCrossrail bosses showed a
• M5 traffic: Summer getaway chaos begins with drivers stuck in 90-minute tailbacks on major motorwaysMotorists are facing traffic chaos as millions hit the road for the great summer getaway.
• Emily Thornberry taken to hospital after being knocked off her bike as she left Parliament Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry was taken to hospital after being knocked off her bicycle as she left Parliament.
• Shocking cockpit footage captures Boeing 737 crashing into sea after missing Pacific island runway by 1,500ft An air crash investigation has released terrifying cockpit footage from a flight that crashed into the sea, about 1,500ft short of the runway.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• First tunnel section of Jubilee line to get 4G mobile reception from March 2020The eastern half of the Jubilee line will get full mobile connectivity within station platforms and tunnels for the first time from March 2020 – helping to remove one of the most high-profile mobile ‘not-spots’ in the UK - Transport for London (TfL) confirmed.
• Road safety action plan announced to cut road deathsFailure to wear a seatbelt could result in penalty points as well as fines, under new plans to reduce the number of deaths on the UK’s roads.
• Gatwick confirms bid to use emergency runway for routine flightsGatwick Airport is pressing ahead with plans to use its emergency runway for routine flights.
• Improved governance of future decision-making across rail in the northThe joint review of the Rail North Partnership (RNP), commissioned by Councillor Judith Blake and Rail Minister Andrew Jones in response to the problems delivering the May 2018 timetable in the north, has been published.

New Civil Engineer

• MPs urge DfT to rethink major delivery bodiesThe Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has urged the Department for Transport to re-evaluate the accountability and autonomy given to major delivery bodies in the wake of the Crossrail overrun.

Rail Technology Magazine

• Sheffield City Region mayor launches major rail planAn ambitious new plan for the future of the Sheffield City Region's rail network was launched today by the city region's mayor. The Integrated Rail Plan, produced by Sheffield City Region and its local authority partners, sets out how the region aims to be better connected by both high speed and conventional rail networks in the future. The p...
• Study of light rail finds Manchester Metrolink one of best in the worldAn international study of light rail systems has identified Metrolink as one of the best in the world. The system was rated as fifth best in the large cities category, scoring 66 out of 100 based on ten separate criteria. These were tram corridor potential; speed and urban integration; multimodal integration; pricing and ticketing; use of resour...
• TfL announces 4G for London Underground in 2020Transport for London (TfL) have announced that 4G will be available on parts of the London Underground from March 2020. The eastern half of the Jubilee line will get full mobile connectivity within station platforms and tunnels for the first time, removing one of the most high-profile mobile 'not-spots' in the UK. 4G phone signal will allow comm...
• Rail North Partnership review sets out recommendationsA review of the Rail North Partnership, headed by York Council leader cllr Judith Blake and rail minister Andrew Jones, has set out recommendations following the timetabling crisis last summer. The report focuses on internal management and ensuring decision-makers are made more accountable, alongside how to rebuild trust for passengers in the cu...

Aviation Industry

• CEOs of US airlines, Qatar Airways meet with Trump on subsidy issue CEOs of several major US carriers and Qatar Airways met with President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence July 18 to discuss accusations that Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have been unfairly subsidizing their respective state-sponsored airlines. read more
• Gatwick expansion plan gets public thumbs-up, says airportLondon’s Gatwick Airport has received a largely positive response to development plans over the next 15 years, with public support for making greater use of existing facilities. read more

EIN News Subscription

• Local road markings to be analysed in £2m scheme A national examination of England’s local roads will be carried out amid concerns that poor markings are putting safety at risk, the Department for Transport (DfT) has announced. High-definition images of nearly 100,000 miles of road will be analysed under …
• Ryanair strike: The flights that could be affected by pilot walkouts this summer … crew who work for Europe’s biggest budget airline and belong to the … of €250 or more under European air passengers’ rights rules. Ryanair …
• Boeing Max 737: airlines delay plane's return until November … schedules until November. Ryanair, Europe’s biggest short-haul … that restoring trust among passengers could take longer than … In Washington, relatives of passengers who died in the Ethiopian … erroneous data from a single sensor. This forced the aircraft into …
• E-scooters could be ‘part of post-car picture’ in Islington – but need urgent regulation, says Green Party transport spokesperson … Images The Green Party transport spokesperson believes electric … and use public transport to improve air quality and ease … congestion. Islington's environment and transport … people riding them in European capitals, where they are …