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

Wednesday, 15 June 2016

BBC News

• ScotRail workers to stage series of six strikes, RMT saysScotRail guards are to stage series of six strikes in the coming weeks in a dispute over driver-only trains, the RMT announces.
• Businesses criticise Mancunian Way closure timingBusiness have complained that a key Manchester road beset by problems after two sinkhole-like holes appeared is shut for two weekdays before finally reopening.
• 'Quietway' cycle route opens from Waterloo to Greenwich a year lateThe first part of a �120m scheme to help cyclists and pedestrians avoid busy main roads opens more than a year after it was planned.
• London Underground's typeface to change 'for digital age'The familiar typeface used for all London transport is changing, although travellers may have to look hard to spot the difference.
• Southern rail conductors plan further strike actionA union calls for another 24-hour strike by conductors on Southern rail trains in an ongoing dispute over their role.
• Thameslink woes hit Go-Ahead sharesShares in Go-Ahead plunge 18% after the transport group warns of lower-than-expected profit margins for its Govia Thameslink rail franchise.

Financial Times

• FirstGroup profit gets back on the railsTransport group prepares to compete again on routes to Scotland
• Go-Ahead: leavers on the lineTransport operator is a potential loser in the event of Brexit
• Gett predicts big jump in car-hailingStart-up believes half of all car journeys will be made in vehicles summoned by apps within 10 years
• Virgin Australia raising more than A$1bnEtihad is carrier’s only major shareholder yet to commit to taking part in rights issue

The Guardian

• ScotRail guards to strike in dispute over driver-only trainsRMT members to walk out on six dates in June and July, saying ScotRail has given no assurance to guardsGuards on ScotRail are to stage six 24-hour strikes in the coming weeks in a dispute over driver-only trains.Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union will walk out on 21, 23 and 25 June and 3, 10 and 17 July. Union members will also refuse overtime on various days between 22 June and mid-July. Continue reading...
• Bus companies must give wheelchair users priority, human rights group saysSupreme court to hear test case brought by man prevented from boarding bus when parent with pushchair refused to moveBus companies must give wheelchair users priority on vehicles and drop “first come, first served” policies for passengers, an official human rights watchdog will tell the supreme court.Supporting a test case on the rights of the disabled, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) will on Wednesday call for clearer policies to ensure that those confined to wheelchairs can travel more easily.
• Statistically, self-driving cars are about to kill someone. What happens next?As autonomous vehicles rack up more and more miles on our roads, the odds of a fatal accident are shortening by the day. How will we react? One hundred million. That’s the number of miles, on average, that it takes a human driver to kill someone in the United States. It’s also the number of miles Tesla’s semi-autonomous ‘Autopilot’ feature had racked up by May this year. Assuming Autopilot is rolled out to Tesla’s mass-market Model 3 in 2017, that number will rapidly climb into the billions. Mercedes are deploying similar systems in their new E-class, while Google’s fully driverless cars have ...

The Herald

• Tickets on sale as steam services return to Borders Railway after previous sell-out runTICKETS have gone on sale for a series of special ScotRail steam train services which will return to the Borders Railway later this summer.
• Scotrail guards to stage six 24-hour strikes over next few weeksGuards on ScotRail are to stage six 24-hour strikes in the coming weeks in a dispute over driver-only trains.
• Hundreds of ScotRail conductors set to strike from next week in dispute over safetyHUNDREDS of ScotRail conductors are set to strike next week in the first of a string of walkouts and industrial action in a row over safety.

Times Online

• Train delays knock Go-Ahead’s profit predictions off the rails [Subscription]The pain of strikes, engineering works and consequent delays suffered by commuters using Britain’s biggest rail franchise was shared by Go-Ahead yesterday when the transport group revealed that the disruption would cut its profits in half.
• Just take a 100-mile detour, suggests worst rail company [Subscription]Britain’s worst-performing rail company faced fresh criticism yesterday after telling a passenger to take a two-hour round trip in place of an eight-minute journey.
• Congestion ahead as commuters get back in their cars [Subscription]Rising numbers of commuters will travel by car over the next 25 years as fewer journeys are made by foot, bicycle, bus and train, according to an official analysis.
• Heathrow’s powerhouse argument for expansion [Subscription]Failure to expand Heathrow will cost the economy in northern England as much as £710 million a year, according to a new study.

Mail Online

• Boss of Britain's worst-performing train company Go Ahead is awarded �2.1MILLION David Brown (pictured), chief executive of Go Ahead, also saw a 10 per cent rise in his overall pay package, despite the poor performance of its rail franchises in the eyes of passengers.
• Train-mad Roy James builds 3,000 square foot model railway in his garden shed Roy James, from the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, started building the �250,000 railway scene in his garden shed in the 1990s because his partner Hettie refused to have it inside.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• A55 jam-busting works cash bid rejected by Brussels Welsh government's application for funds to remove roundabouts in order to ease congestion turned down on a technicality

London Evening Standard

• Mother calls for changes to airline regulations over breast milkA mother is calling for airline regulations to be changed after she was refused permission to take ice packs on board to refrigerate her breast milk.
• Southern Rail staff announce fresh strike action in row over conductorsSouthern Rail workers have announced a fresh strike in their continuing row over staffing, as commuters stage a protest over the service.
• Mind the gaps… official Tube font changes (ever so slightly)The font used on signage for London's transport network is set to change for the first time in 100 years.
• London's first 'Quietway' for cyclists and pedestrians opensA special route that directs cyclists and pedestrians away from busy roads opened today.
• Commuters to stage protest at 'shambolic' Southern RailCommuters are holding a protest tonight after suffering weeks of disruption following walkouts and staffing problems at Southern Rail.
• Uber chief quits Twitter 'after sexist trolling from taxi drivers'Uber's boss in the UK claims she has been forced to quit Twitter after being bombarded with sexist and abusive messages from taxi drivers.

Manchester Evening News

• Metrolink works have caused tremors and lost us customers and millions in cash say angry businesses Businesses claim they have been shaken by Second City Crossing works - literally.
• Hundreds watch Flying Scotsman steam in Denton for second time in a week Rail enthusiasts flocked to the station to see the iconic steam locomotive pass through the region

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• �7.5m project to improve key North East commuter route revealed - here's all you need to know The roadworks, due to start in July, aim to reduce crashes and ease congestion on the vital commuter route through Tyneside

Sheffield Telegraph

• Chesterfield man set to feature on Stagecoach bus posters across regionA Chesterfield man will see his face displayed on Stagecoach buses across the region this summer after winning a travel competition.

Yorkshire Post

• Supreme court to decide on bus priorityThe question whether wheelchair users should have priority on buses over mothers with baby buggies is to be considered by the highest court in the land.

Other Regional Press

• UPDATE: Bus drivers in Weymouth and Bridport set for five-day strike next week BUS drivers in Weymouth and Bridport will strike for five days next week over pay and conditions.

Rail Magazine

• Transport for London updates iconic typefaceTransport for London (TfL) has updated its famous Johnson typeface to better cater for the digital age.
• Rail services hit as flash flooding causes landslipsRail services have resumed between Bradford and Ilkley and from Oakham to Corby, after flash flooding caused landslips at two separate locations.
• ‘Summer of steam’ planned for Borders RailwaySteam locomotives will return to the Borders Railway every Sunday from August 7 to September 25.

Rail Technology Magazine

• Engineering and Manufacturing Services for the Railway Industry PROMEC is an engineering and manufacturing company established in 1986 to design and produce mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic and automatic equipment, dies and special machines.
• Kampa-Noise Reduction and Rail Infrastructure Optimisation Solutions Kampa supplies innovative products for rail infrastructure and rolling stock applications.
• Balfour Beatty-Vinci JV names HS2 design partner with pledge to use SMEsThe Balfour Beatty/Vinci consortium announced yesterday that a Mott MacDonald SYSTRA joint venture will be their design partner for their bid for the delivery of HS2 Phase 1 civils work. Like Balfour Beatty Vinci, who are on the shortlist for the seven major HS2 contracts, Mott MacDonald/SYSTRA...
• HS2 bidders for major �12bn engineering contracts invited to tenderThe nine companies in the race to win at least one of seven HS2 main civil engineering contracts worth up to £11.8bn have been invited to tender. The companies, mostly made up of consortia featuring some of the biggest names in the national and international rail sector, were shortlisted...
• First Group revenue remains stable despite rail franchise lossesFirst Group’s overall revenue for March 2015-16 remained stable but suffered losses because of the end of the First Capital Connect and First ScotRail franchises. The company’s preliminary results from the previous financial year show that its overall revenue was £5.22bn...
• RMT organises GTR lobby despite strike talksGovia Thameslink Railway (GTR) repeated their calls for RMT to accept plans to expand driver-operated only (DOO) access on trains following brokered talks to try to resolve the dispute. After a day of talks at the offices of Acas yesterday, and strike action in April and May, the RMT executive...
• Proposals for new West Midlands freight hub open to public consultationA new rail freight hub with direct access to the West Coast Main Line could be built near Featherstone in Staffordshire. Consortium Four Ashes are holding consultation events on design plans for the West Midlands Interchange, which will be built on 615 acres of land west of junction 12 of the M6...
• Knighthood for Crossrail chair shows importance of rail skillsThe chair of Crossrail was given a knighthood in this weekend’s Queen’s Birthday Honours for his services to UK infrastructure, skills and employment. Sir Terry Morgan, CBE, is also chair of the HS2 College Governing Body, and was appointed last year to develop a skills strategy to...
• 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...

Railnews

• Talks restart in Southern conductors' dispute Talks have restarted between Govia Thameslink Railway and the RMT union over the long-running and often bitter conductors' dispute. GTR is planning to replace most conductors on Southern routes with 'on board supervisors', who would deal with passengers but not control the doors or dispatch the train, which would become duties of the driver. The RMT opposes the change, claiming that safety would be affected -- which GTR denies.
• New strike called on Southern in RMT dispute Peace talks intended to resolve the Southern conductors' dispute have failed, and their union the RMT has called a further strike for next week. Conductors are now set to walk out on Tuesday 21 June, while Southern's owner Govia Thameslink Railway has confirmed its plans to replace most Southern conductors with on board supervisors who will not control the doors. Angry Southern commuters staged a demonstration at Brighton station last night.

Aviation Industry

• Airport boss hits out at ‘unacceptable’ impact of strikesIndustrial action in France hurting airlines and passengers in the pocket

Green Miscellany

• Halfbike, twice the funHalfbike wants to bring fun to the way we travel with its leanable upright trike, a vehicle they believe will “awaken your natural instinct to move” It’s certainly different; a high-quality toy for grown-ups. According to Halfbike, the standing position ‘brings you closer to natural walking and you control the vehicle with your whole body, not just your hands. A… The post Halfbike, twice the fun appeared first on ETA.

Other News Sources

• Protesters against Southern Railway arrive late for Brighton station demo DEMONSTRATORS chanted
• Rail Minister: Unions are launching a war on passengers THE Rail Minister has lashed out on rail unions who she claims are launching a
• Europcar buys car-sharing specialistCar rental firm acquires Spanish company as part of expansion plan
• Addison Lee agrees deal with ground transport app UbeeqoBusiness travellers in London will be able to book minicabs and car hire