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

Thursday, 18 August 2016

BBC News

• Frog Bikes says 'fantastic attitude' of workers is keyWith unemployment continuing to fall, BBC Wales looks inside a new factory making children's bikes in Pontypool, which is creating full-time work for 50.
• Homage to the dash to get the last weekend TubeWith the introduction of overnight Tube services, making a dash to get the last train will soon be a thing of the past on Fridays and Saturdays.
• London Night Tube: Passengers 'will be safe', say policePassengers will be as safe on London's Night Tube as they are on the daytime service, police say ahead of the service's launch.
• Ford reveals driverless taxi planFord plans to release self-driving cars that will be used as a taxi service in five years' time.
• Authorities investigate after Tesla car catches fireTesla is working with the French authorities after one of its electric cars burst into flames shortly after a loud bang was heard while it was travelling at high speed.

Department for Transport

• Study shows A1 improvements could create safer, quicker and more reliable journeysStudy stating case to upgrade key parts of the A1 in Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire released.
• Study shows Oxford to Cambridge Expressway improvements could boost the economyStudy setting out the case to improve connections between Oxford, Milton Keynes and Cambridge launched.
• Manchester to Sheffield Trans-Pennine road tunnel routes shortlistedFive routes have been shortlisted today, 18 August 2016, for the Trans-Pennine tunnel – the most ambitious road scheme undertaken in the UK in more than 5 decades.

The Guardian

• All change on the trains for better and worse [Letters]Your editorial (9 August) talks about train guards. But British Rail abolished guards on passenger trains many years ago, and changed the job to conductors. This difference in terminology is not pedantic, it is important.
• Airlander 10: is this the dawning of a new age of the airship?After maiden flight in Bedfordshire, creators of world’s largest aircraft say 100 could be in skies within five yearsAbove a field in rural Bedfordshire, a shiny, futuristic craft the size of a football pitch ascends majestically into the evening sky, and gawping onlookers crane their necks for a better view. This could be the trailer for the latest Independence Day film, but it is the maiden flight of the Airlander 10, a helium-filled craft aiming to kickstart a new age of the airship.It has been a while coming – the first flight had been delayed several times and Wednesday’s takeoff was held...

The Telegraph

• Police appeal for bystander who jumped onto London underground tracks to save man who fell off platform
• Long-awaited Night Tube service launches this weekend as London Underground boss says it is 'not just for revellers'

Times Online

• Driverless taxis hailed as next big thing in transport [Subscription]Self-driving Ford cars without steering wheels or pedals will roll on to the roads by 2021, the carmaker has said.

City AM

• Uber launches legal challenge over new London taxi rulesUber has launched legal action against London's transport regulator over new rules that threaten to limit its business in the capital, City A.M. can exclusively reveal.

Birmingham Mail

• Theresa May: My plan to build a 'Midlands Engine' and create more good jobs in Birmingham and beyondWriting for the Birmingham Mail, Prime Minister Theresa May says supporting Birmingham and the Midlands will be a key part of her industrial strategy

London Evening Standard

• Rail strikes threatened by unions 'would be illegal under new laws'Industrial action threatened across the national rail network by two union ballots would be illegal under the Government’s proposed new legislation, it was claimed today.
• Night Tube service: Eight new night bus routes to launch to coincide with 24-hour Underground start dateEight new night bus services are to be launched this weekend to help Night Tube passengers complete their journey home.
• Paddington station developer: I'll open up beauty of listed terminusThe developer behind plans to transform the area around Paddington Station has said he wants to “do a King’s Cross” to Brunel’s masterpiece by opening up long-hidden views of the “beautiful” Grade I listed terminus.
• London commuters being ripped off by 'stealth tax' on fares, watchdogs sayRail passengers are being fleeced out of hundreds of pounds a year by a Government “stealth tax” on fares, watchdogs revealed today.
• Night Tube launch: 24-hour Tube service 'isn't just for revellers', London Underground boss warnsThe 24-hour Tube will transform the capital's night-time economy when it launches this weeked, London Underground's boss said today.
• Night Tube: Staff fling vegetable soup in carriages during dress rehearsal for launchTube staff threw open cans of vegetable soup around London Underground carriages in a dress rehearsal for the launch of all-night services this weekend.

Bucks Free Press

• 'We can't afford to fix the roads', council chief admits Cash spent on running five different councils has meant the county council “doesn’t have the money” to improve roads, leader Martin Tett has said.

East Anglian Daily Times

• New rail depot for Suffolk/Essex borderA multi-million pound new rail maintenance workshop is set to be built near Manningtree as part of the new Abellio franchise to run trains in the region for the next nine years.

Other Regional Press

• Coventry would be relegated to an "intermediate" station if plans are approvedProposals to cut the number of inter-city trains through Coventry are “wholly unacceptable”, West Midlands transport chiefs have told the Government.
• Airlander finally takes to the skies at CardingtonThe maiden flight of the giant Airlander turned into a king-size anti-climax when it had to be cancelled at the last minute on Sunday.

Rail Magazine

• DfT change of heart over “sustainable” Island LineCampaigners on the Isle of Wight say they have convinced DfT to drop plans for the island’s rail service to become a self-sustaining business.

Rail Technology Magazine

• ScotRail unveils first two fully revamped Class 320sScotRail has this week rolled out the first two refurbished examples of the seven Class 320 trains set to run on cross-Glasgow services via Glasgow Central Low Level. It first announced late last year that the seven trains, owned by Eversholt Rail and previously operated by London Midland, would...

Other News Sources

• Major English alliance calls for east-west improvementsA major alliance of councils has called for a range of measures to be included in infrastructure plans for the Cambridge–Milton Keynes–Oxford growth corridor, including developing ‘first mile and last mile travel options’ and better east-west connections.
• Uber is taking legal action against London's transport regulator over tough new lawsUber is taking legal action against Transport for London (TfL), the organisation that regulates public transport in the British capital, because of new laws set to be introduced that could hurt the company.
• New government keeps regional transport plans on trackTheresa May’s new government is progressing plans to deliver statutory sub-national transport bodies in the North and the Midlands in the next two years, giving assurances to the key bodies that the programme is on track.
• Department for Transport backs Willmott Dixon schemeThe Department for Transport has awarded a further £11m towards a £30m transport improvement programme in Lincoln.