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

Tuesday, 26 July 2016

BBC News

• Newport M4 speed limits 'not intended for prosecuting drivers'No drivers have been prosecuted under a variable speed limit camera system set up to reduce M4 congestion in Newport five years ago, it emerges.
• Heathrow passport queues: Staff brought in from portsChannel border staff are redeployed to Heathrow Airport where passport workers

Financial Times

• Ryanair targets price war and growthLow-cost airline aims to cut capacity at Stansted airport and develop at European centres
• Ryanair: plane sailingBudget carrier’s profit margins expand even as it reduces fares further
• Amazon to begin testing drones in the UKFlexible regulations mean a breakthrough for ecommerce company

The Guardian

• Solar plane makes history after completing round-the-world tripSolar Impulse 2, which landed in Abu Dhabi, is first plane powered by the renewable energy source to tour the globe Solar Impulse 2 has completed the first round-the-world flight by a solar-powered aeroplane, after touching down in Abu Dhabi early on Tuesday.The final leg of the feat, aimed at showcasing the potential of renewable energy, was a bumpy one, with turbulence driven by hot desert air leaving the solo pilot, Bertrand Piccard, fighting with the controls. Continue reading...
• Parking the car? There’s an app for that. And it’ll drive you madThe days of coins and tickets are over, making way for ‘seamless, stress-free mobile parking’ that will send you away blubbingI try to keep up with the modern world. I have all the mandatory equipment: computer, cash card, mobile phone. I can do things online, I can tweet, and I have learned to obey robot voices without screaming – but, sometimes, even with all my equipment, a little everyday task can defeat me. Such as trying to park the car. Because, of course, things have changed again. Last week, I found that the days of coins and tickets are over – for no particular reason that I can find...
• Amazon to test drone delivery in partnership with UK governmentThe company will run tests to explore the viability of drones carrying deliveries weighing five pounds or less – which make up 90% of Amazon’s salesAmazon has announced that it will partner with the British government to run tests to explore the viability of delivery of small parcels by drone – the first time such tests have been run in the UK. Related: Amazon and Google's drone delivery plans hit snag with new US regulations Continue reading...

The Herald

• Glasgow to Edinburgh rail services to return to normal a day early after �60 million repairsCommuters have faced longer journeys for five months due to the �60 million upgrade at Glasgow's Queen Street Station.

The Telegraph

• Heathrow passport security 'cannot cope' as border staff brought in from ports to ease chaos

Times Online

• Passport checks causing three-hour airport delay [Subscription]Passengers are being forced to wait up to 3½ hours to clear immigration at Heathrow, raising concerns that staff are struggling to cope.
• Bosses cash in on passenger pain with £20m pay bonanza [Subscription]The chief executives of Britain’s three publicly listed trains companies have collectively taken home more than £20 million in pay and bonuses over the past five years.
• Rail companies hiding fares that slash your journey costs [Subscription]Rail companies are hiding cheaper “split ticket” fares that could save passengers tens of millions of pounds.
• Create cheap deal alerts, companies told [Subscription]Train companies have been told to provide warnings showing how many fares are available at the lowest prices amid concerns that it is almost impossible to buy the very cheapest tickets.
• Expensive express services promoted [Subscription]Travellers are being pushed into using express rail services from airports that often cost double the price of other trains despite being only a few minutes quicker. Transport Focus, the passenger watchdog, criticised rail companies and airports for promoting expensive express trains while failing to point out far cheaper alternatives.
• Off the Rails [Subscription]Train fares are misleading, bewildering and often nonsensical. Ticketing must be made simpler and more transparent
• Crackdown on rail firms for hiding cheap fares [Subscription]Paul Maynard, the rail minister, said yesterday that train operators must come up with an urgent action plan to make the system more transparent.

Reuters News

• EU orders Spain to recover rail test centre fundingThe European Commission ordered Spain on Monday to recover illegal state aid given to state-owned railway operator ADIF for the construction of a high-speed train test centre.

Mail Online

• The Great Train Robbery: Rail operators are overcharging millions of passengers by hiding the cheapest fares and flouting rules on self-service ticket machine Rail firms are using a range of techniques to hide the cheapest fares - forcing millions of passengers to pay over the odds, an investigation has revealed.

The Mirror

• Planes in near-miss at Stansted Airport after air traffic controller blunder almost causes crash The overworked controller accidentally told the wrong jet to climb, causing the two Boeings to come within 700ft of each other

Belfast Telegraph

• Strike warning as Network Rail engineers vote on action in pay rowThe Transport Salaried Staffs Association said around 250 of its members will vote in the next few weeks, warning that backing for industrial action could cause disruption at the end of August.

Birmingham Mail

• New lane closures spark huge queues on Aston Expressway Misery set to continue for SIX weeks after outbound carriageway towards M6 reduced to just two lanes

Birmingham Post

• Taxi comparison app Karhoo launches in Birmingham New tool allows customers to compare fares from different operators in the city and book rides

London Evening Standard

• Heathrow Airport Border Force staff 'cannot cope' with passport checks pressureStressed border staff “cannot cope” with the number of people arriving at Heathrow Airport for passport checks, it has been claimed.
• Drone flown just 25 to 50 metres from jet approaching Stansted airportThe UK Airprox Board (UKAB) investigated the incident, in which the drone passed across the Boeing 737 as they were both at an altitude of 3,000 feet.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Ryanair to cut down on flights from UK - but what does it mean for upcoming Newcastle routes?The budget airline Ryanair recently announced it is to introduce eight new routes from Newcastle Airport

Yorkshire Post

• Andrew Vine: Welcome aboard the 16.18 train - and a journey of disappointmentTHE 16.18 train from Sheffield to Leeds probably isn’t any more of an ordeal than any other busy service in Yorkshire. But it’s an ordeal just the same.
• Why high speed trains must stop in Bradford and York - reportA CLEAR case has been made for a proposed high speed trans-Pennine train service to include stops in West Yorkshire and York, according to transport officials.

Other Regional Press

• Lewes MP welcomes new rail ministerLewes MP Maria Caulfield has welcomed Paul Maynard’s appointment as the Government’s new rail minister following a meeting with MPs last week.
• MP highlights commuter rail misery to Commons LeaderSouth West Beds MP Andrew Selous has raised the problems Leighton Buzzard commuters are facing following the cancellation of Southern rail services with the Leader of the House of Commons.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Government invests £30.3 million into greener busesUp to 326 new low emission buses will join England’s public transport after the government shared more than £30 million amongst 13 bus operators. The funding is intended to make England’s public transport system a little greener and cleaner by helping bus companies add electric, hybrid, hydrogen, and biomethane buses to their fleets. Of the £30.38m dished out by the government, £7.6 million will go on installing the relevant infrastructure to help fuel the low emitting vehicles. It’s great news for Liverpool and Merseyside, with Merseytravel receiving £4.7 million to bring in 72 eco-buses and ...
• Engineers preparing for Severn Tunnel electrification projectNetwork Rail engineers are being trained to efficiently complete the rail electrification of the Severn Tunnel at an advanced training facility in Wales. The 130-year old tunnel, which links South Gloucestershire to Monmouthshire in south Wales, will be closed for six weeks from 12th September while around 200 engineers install over eight miles of conductor rail, even though the actual tunnel is only four miles long. The training facility in Cardiff boasts a life size mock-up of the overhead line equipment that will be used to power the new electric trains through the tunnel. It will enable en...

Railnews

• Converted Underground train could be running soon An unusual project to convert retired London Underground District line cars into diesel-powered units may be about to pay off, after London Midland announced that a 'D-Train' could enter service on its local route between Coventry and Nuneaton this year. The line has been in the news after attempts to cater for sports crowds at the Ricoh Stadium in Coventry with hired rolling stock failed to pay their way, with fans being advised to use road transport instead because the usual single-car unit on the line would not be able to cope. The three-car 'D-Train' may help to solve the problem, and als...

Aviation Industry

• Decision on airport expansion needed ‘urgently’ – MPsCross-party group of MPs warn new PM Theresa May further delay will harm the economy
• Ryanair to cut Stansted capacity and focus on EU growth after BrexitLatest airline to issue warnings following vote

Other News Sources

• Train Dispute "No End In Sight" Says West Sussex MPOne West Sussex MP has said there's no "end in sight" to a dispute between the RMT and Southern Railway.
• Singapore to begin work on metro stations and East Coast integrated depotSingapore is set to begin work on the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) East Coast stretch, Downtown Line 3 Extension (DTL3e), and the East Coast Integrated Depot.
• FirstGroup receives first North American rail contract for DCTA’s A-train lineBritish company FirstGroup's North American division First Transit has secured a rail contract from the Denton County Transportation Authority (DCTA) to provide operation, dispatch, and maintenance services to its A-train commuter rail line.
• Old tires find new life as material for train tracksResearchers from the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV), the rail company AZVI and the University of Seville, all in Spain, have developed a material for use in the sub-ballast layer of train tracks that incorporates shredded rubber from used tires. Combined with crushed limestone, this type of mixture has already been used to good effect in asphalt mixtures and roadside embankments, but its use in the rail sector is relatively unexplored.
• Mayor takes step forward in plan to power Tube with clean electricityThe Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, today announced that City Hall has taken an important step closer to securing a license which could be used to provide ‘clean electricity’ to power TfL’s underground stations and other facilities.
• Rail 803: Transport policy, what transport policy?Having written about transport policy for more than twenty years, it has become obvious to me that there isn’t one. Instead, policymakers keep on repeating the same mistakes, believing that transport is a secondary issue dependent on other aspects of the economy and government, and therefore unworthy of expending any great intellectual or political effort. This lack of any coherent strategy is the reason why railways have, over the years, been treated so poorly by successive governments.
• Welsh Government ‘Helping Councils Over Axed Bus Services’The Welsh Government will continue providing support to Wrexham and Denbighshire councils to help replace bus services in the wake of the area’s main operator going into administration.