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

Tuesday, 14 June 2016

BBC News

• Barra's beach airport 80 years oldA Scottish airport where passenger planes land on wide stretches of sand on a beach is 80 years old.
• Mancunian Way closed for two days for further repairsA key Manchester road beset by problems after two sinkhole-like holes appeared is completely shut for two days before finally reopening.
• Flash floods close Buxton and Hazel Grove railway line until SundayA railway line is expected to be closed until Sunday after flash floods caused a landslip in Greater Manchester.
• London mayor plans negative body image advert ban on Tube, buses and trainsAdverts promoting negative body images will be banned across the Transport for London (TfL) network from next month.
• Glasgow Airport reports 'record' May for passengersGlasgow Airport reports its busiest May on record after nearly 830,000 passengers travel through its doors.

Financial Times

• Big city operators blast bus reformsElected mayors will have more control over fares, frequency and routes

The Independent

• Body-shaming adverts to be banned on London transport by Sadiq Khan‘It’s high time it came to an end,’ says capital’s new mayor

The Telegraph

• Traffic chaos as M1 is closed for more than 28 hours after man scales gantry over the motorway and refuses to come down

Mail Online

• Strong light at Train stations causing self-service machines to malfunction It has emerged that certain machines are almost impossible to use in the summer, with passenger groups concerned that the visually impaired may find it hard to use Britain's rail lines with ease.

Birmingham Post

• Birmingham Airport hotel set for green light Planning chiefs expected to approve development of fifth hotel at transport hub

Liverpool Echo

• Heathrow comes to Liverpool in push for third runway

London Evening Standard

• Old Street delays: Fire sparks disruption between Finsbury Park and MoorgateCommuters faced rush hour delays this morning after a lineside fire at Old Street.
• Use road taxes to tackle London's filthy air, says London Mayor Sadiq KhanSadiq Khan today demanded that a share of road tax paid by Londoners be used to fund tougher steps to tackle toxic air pollution.
• Boss of the UK's worst rail franchise see pay packet soar above £2 millionThe rail boss whose firm runs the country’s worst performing franchise has seen his pay and bonus package soar above £2 million, it emerged today.
• Call for UberPool to be banned after woman attacked by men who didn't want to share minicabAn Uber driver has called on the company to stop its "dangerous" UberPool car sharing service after he was forced to call police when a woman was attacked in his cab.
• Gatwick passengers face knock-on delays after 'hole' in runway grounded flightsPassengers travelling through Gatwick have faced knock-on delays after a "hole" in the runaway caused chaos at the airport yesterday.
• BA plane turns back for Heathrow four hours into nine-hour flight after faultA British Airways plane had to turn back for Heathrow four hours into a long-haul flight following a fault.

Manchester Evening News

• Motorists brace themselves for second day of transport chaos as Mancunian Way remains closed Commuters warned to plan extra time for their journey as the key relief route stays closed for a second day

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Nomad Digital achieves world first with on-board TV for the rail industrySolution has been added to two of OBB's trains, which cover Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Hungary and the Czech Republic. Fast-growing Newcastle firm Nomad Digital has achieved a world first after creating an internet-based television service for train passengers.

The York Press

• Changes to York cycle safety scheme slated by Greens GREENS claim bus users, cyclists and pedestrians have been let down after proposed improvements to a York junction were watered down.

Yorkshire Post

• YP Letters: Trams were a lost cause in Leeds in 1950sFrom: ME Wright, Harrogate.

Blackpool Gazette

• Ford the North West’s favourite cars as registrations soarIt might seem obvious to anyone who spends much time behind the wheel but official figures have now confirmed there are more cars on Britain’s roads than ever before.
• ‘Reliable, good value and very helpful conductors’Trams are synonymous with Blackpool – and it seems you lot still love them.

Crewe Chronicle

• Councillors object to axing school buses on safety grounds Conservative and Independent councillors fear the walking routes proposed by Cheshire East to schools in Nantwich, Wheelock, Poynton and Tytherington are not safe

Other Regional Press

• Network Rail to give update on Heathrow rail link next monthRail infrastructure operator Network Rail is set to give an update on the Western Rail Link to Heathrow next month.
• Abertillery-born engineer in charge of £14.8bn rail project given knighthood AN Abertillery-born engineer who’s in charge of a £14.8bn rail project to ease congestion times in London has been given a knighthood.
• Explore the hidden labyrinth of secret rooms beneath Huddersfield Railway StationBeneath the platform lies a rabbit warren of disused rooms
• All change ahead for rail businessNorthern has announced four new business regions that will play a key role in transforming rail travel in the North.

C.N.N.

• London bans 'unrealistic body images' from transport system

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Unmanned cargo aircraft takes offThe operation of unmanned cargo aircraft (UCA) moved closer to reality as delegates from the aerospace and logistics industry met recently to discuss the way forward. The unique initiative, organised by the National Aeronautical Centre, West Wales Airport, took place at the Lancaster Hotel in London, in the form of a roundtable discussion.  It was a world first event and an important step on a road that will lead to unmanned cargo aircraft being used throughout the global logistics chain. With 35% of world trade worth $6.4 trillion1 now travelling by air, the time had come to prepare the...
• UK’s first fully-automated steel terminal opens in liverpoolPeel Ports has formally opened the UK’s first fully-automated steel terminal at the Port of Liverpool following a £9m ($13m) upgrade. The investment is a response to increasing customer demand for shipping via Liverpool and to provide both increased capacity and improved handling facilities at the existing terminal. Liverpool is the closest deep sea port to the West Midlands, where approximately half of the UK’s steel is consumed. Located at the Port of Liverpool’s Canada dock, the terminal features a fully automated warehouse and interactive customer web portal, which ...

Rail Magazine

• Indomitable records a Class 50 first at North Norfolk gala Preserved 50026 Indomitable has become the first of its class to haul a passenger train at the North Norfolk Railway.
• Pathfinder and GB Railfreight take Boden Rail Class 50s to SwanageBoden Rail Engineering Ltd Class 50s visit Swanage with Pathfinder Tours charter operated by GB Railfreight
• Crossrail's Morgan receives Knighthood in Queen's Birthday HonoursCrossrail Non-Executive Chairman Terence Morgan CBE was made a Knights Bachelor in the Queen’s Birthday Honours.
• Hitachi's Boswell recognised in Queen's Birthday HonoursHitachi Rail Europe Managing Director Karen Boswell received the Order of the British Empire (OBE)
• Climate change affecting the railway, says RSSB reportRisks from higher temperatures, more frequent and more extreme weather, and rising sea levels will influence railway passengers, staff and operations says RSSB.
• Light rail use soars to record levels in EnglandLight rail systems in England recorded their highest ever passenger figures in 2015-16, according to the Department for Transport (DfT).

Rail Technology Magazine

• Upcycling Tube rolling stock for train-starved rail lines A pioneering new concept plans to answer the age-old supply and demand problem on the UK’s railways. As traffic continues to surge and rolling stock looks in increasingly short supply, Vivarail has come up with an alternative solution: upcycling old …
• DfT expressed concern over additional ECML servicesThe Department for Transport criticised the decision by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) to allow additional services on the East Coast Main Line (ECML), it has emerged. Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, parliamentary under-secretary to the Department for Transport, admitted in response
• Fewer heat-related delays expected on GEML following overhead line upgradeOverhead lines on the Great Eastern Main Line are in the process of being upgraded in order to make them more resistant to hotter temperatures, allowing speed restrictions in hot weather to be lifted. The £250m project, part of the Rail Upgrade Plan, began in March 2014. Since then, 87km...
• Eversholt adopts Perpetuum system to monitor Southeastern Class 465sPerpetuum has been awarded the contract to supply a sensor system for Eversholt Rail to use in monitoring the condition of eight Southeastern trains. The Perpetuum system will be used on eight London Southeastern Class 465 trains while they are in service to extend wheelset overhauls and improve...
• TOCs call for greater role in Digital RailwayThe heads of major train operating companies (TOCs) told the Transport Select Committee that they wanted more involvement in the implementation of the Digital Railway today. In an evidence session, Roger Cobbe, policy director at Arriva, said that he had been “very concerned” about...

Railway Gazette

• Tram extension opens in MannheimGERMANY: A day of celebrations on June 11 marked the opening of two tram branches in northern...
• SNCF stations on Google mapsFRANCE: Station operating and development business SNCF Gares & Connexions has announced a...
• Deutsche Bahn signs Chinese agreementsCHINA: Deutsche Bahn CEO R�diger Grube signed two memoranda of understanding to undertake projects...

The Business Desk

• MAG completes £560m refinancing dealMANCHESTER Airports Group has completed the £560m refinancing of revolving credit and liquidity facilities.

Aviation Industry

• Gatwick flights disrupted by runway problemAirport had to close main runway after reports of a “hole” in the surface
• Airlines warn about disruption as new French strike loomsAir traffic controllers expected to take part in national stoppage

Green Miscellany

• Are we ready for Dutch bicycles?The ‘mini Hollands’ project currently transforming three London suburbs into enclaves of cycling excellence could result in an influx of Dutch bicycles. The £90m budget shared between Kingston, Enfield and Waltham Forest is being spent, for the most part, on major improvements to infrastructure, but other ‘softer’ measures include a variation of our own Back on a Bike roadshows. The… The post Are we ready for Dutch bicycles? appeared first on ETA.

Other News Sources

• Potential economic benefits of upgrading A6 cannot be ignored, says FTAThe upgrading of the A6 between L’Derry and Belfast could save goods vehicle operators around £70 for each return journey by a 44 tonne ...
• Two rail protests in two days scheduled TWO protests in two days are to be staged over the state of train sevices.
• Europcar buys car-sharing specialistCar rental firm acquires Spanish company as part of expansion plan