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

Thursday, 29 September 2016

BBC News

• Labour MPs plan their own Heathrow voteLabour backbenchers plan to seek control of the party's aviation policy with their own vote on a third runway at Heathrow.
• Fare-dodging barrister Peter Barnett struck offA lawyer who commuted by train for two years without paying has been disbarred.
• UK car firms 'want to be in EU single market'The success of the UK motor industry could be
• Airlines see sharp rise in unruly passengers, says industry groupReports of passengers being verbally abusive or refusing to follow cabin crew orders rose by 17% in 2015, according to an industry group.
• Oil rallies after Opec ministers announce output cutThe oil producers cartel Opec has agreed a preliminary deal to cut production for the first time in eight years, sending crude prices surging.

Department for Transport

• Better journeys for passengers on the Cross Country networkArriva Cross Country to continue to run trains services stretching across Britain under new contract announced today.
• Rail industry regulator gets 3 new board membersNew non-executive directors join the board of the Office of Rail and Road.
• Community rail plan for line between Swindon and Westbury to go aheadCommunity groups to get more input under new rail plan for TransWilts line.

Financial Times

• Experimental Midlands train is 35-year-old District line relicWhen the first passengers board an experimental train later this year in the West Midlands, the layout will be familiar to some. While much will look brand new, the arrangement of the seats is the giveaway of a grand experiment in recycling. Underneath the new paint and fittings, the three-car train consists of old carriages from London Underground’s District line.
• May has backing in parliament to push through Heathrow expansionTheresa May has sufficient support in parliament to drive through the contentious expansion of Heathrow airport if she decides to put it to a vote next month, according to close allies.
• BA deepens ties with Qatar AirwaysTwo airlines seek a competitive edge against rivals with a partnership on revenues and flights
• Air Berlin to slash capacity in overhaulGerman group to cut fleet and operate aircraft for rival Lufthansa

The Guardian

• Arriva promises faster rail journeys as it retains Cross Country contractDepartment for Transport says there will be 39,000 more seats and greater reliability, with £20m to be spent on upgrading trains
• Stagecoach slides on worries about rail and bus slowdownA disappointing trading update from transport group Stagecoach has seen its shares go into reverse.
• China to build world's deepest high-speed rail station under Great WallThe station at Badaling 80km from Beijing will link the capital to the host city of the 2022 Winter Olympics
• Barrister disbarred for dodging train faresFor two years Peter Barnett avoided paying thousands of pounds in railway fares on journeys between Oxfordshire and LondonAn Oxfordshire-based barrister has been disbarred after dodging thousands of pounds in railway fares, following a hearing at the Bar Standards Board. Peter Barnett, 45, avoided paying the correct fare for two years from 2012 by claiming he commuted into central London from Wembley in north-west London instead of his home in Thame, Oxfordshire. Continue reading...
• Plane rage: airlines report 17% rise in anti-social behaviourAlcohol or drug intoxication, increased security and reduced distance between seats blamed for sharp increase in bad behaviour in the skies in 2015Reports of unruly passengers disrupting airline flights have risen almost 17% worldwide in 2015, with incidents such as passengers being verbally abusive or refusing to obey cabin crew occurring on one out of every 1,205 flights, according to the international trade association for airlines. Some 10,854 plane rage incidents were reported to the International Air Transport Association by airlines in 2015 , up from 9,316 incidents in 2014, IATA said. ...

The Independent

• Brexit latest: Tariffs on UK car exports to Europe would be 'disastrous' for jobs says Jaguar Land Rover bossPost-Brexit trade barriers imposed on the UK car industry if the right deal is not reached would "frankly be disastrous", a senior executive at Jaguar Land Rover has warned.
• Labour MPs will try to sidestep Jeremy Corbyn to back Heathrow third runwayPro-expansion MPs frustrated by silence from party leader and his shadow Chancellor

Times Online

• Vote for third Heathrow runway is in the bag, PM toldTheresa May has been told that she will win parliamentary backing for a third runway at Heathrow, it was claimed last night.
• £1,000 penalty for ignoring signs to get out of smart lanesMotorists face fines of up to £1,000 for ignoring red crosses on motorways under plans to cut dangerous driving.

Daily Record

• SNP MSP Gillian Martin calls for seatbelts on every Scottish school bus SNP MSP Martin is putting the bill forward in Holyrood to build on the progress made by many local councils.

Birmingham Post

• How to name an Eddie Stobart truck after someone you love this Christmas This could be an ideal Christmas present for your wife or girlfriend...

London Evening Standard

• John McDonnell constituency ‘should be redrawn to exclude Heathrow Airport' say runway campaignersShadow chancellor John McDonnell’s west London constituency should be redrawn so it no longer includes Heathrow Airport, backers of a third runway said today. The pro-expansion Back Heathrow group has written to the Boundary Commission, which is reviewing the parliamentary map, to suggest that Hayes and Harlington be split up.
• Baker Street: Tube station evacuated after worker is threatenedBaker Street station was evacuated and put on lockdown this evening after a customer threatened a member of staff.

Burnley Express

• Controversial plans to build taxi office opposite bus station accepted CONTROVERSIAL plans to build a taxi booking office opposite Burnley bus station have been accepted.
• Transport firm announces new East Lancashire business hub EAST Lancashire road haulage giant Fagan and Whalley is to expand with a multi-million pound development on Burnley Bridge business park creating at least 25 new jobs.

East Anglian Daily Times

• Prom cyclists ‘breaking the rules’ as changes at Felixstowe are not in place yetCommunity leaders say the year-long trial to allow cycling on Felixstowe’s promenade has not yet started – and people riding their bikes are breaking the law.

Other Regional Press

• Rail improvements can help secure the East Midlands as global force For years, the Midland Mainline was dubbed the "Cinderella" railway – a nice way of saying it hadn't seen much investment compared to other UK routes.
• Better access to Oxford station to avoid "dreadful" bridge could be neglected, fear cycling campaigners BETTER cycling access to Oxford station to avoid the

Rail Technology Magazine

• Retail sales at NR stations increase by 4.14% in Q1Retail activity at Network Rail-owned stations has increased above the market standard in the first quarter of 2016-17. The infrastructure owner released new figures showing that like-for-like sales increased by 4.14% between April and June, compared to a 0.5% increase across the whole of the...
• South West Trains opens first video customer contact centreSouth West Trains passengers will be able to seek support in buying tickets via video screens at the first specialised customer contact centre in the UK, officially opened at Basingstoke today. The centre is linked to video ticket machines, which have been installed at 91 stations since...
• Crossrail and HS2 part of 'great opportunity', Japanese investors toldTransport secretary Chris Grayling has promised the government’s continued support for HS2 and Crossrail during a trade tour to Japan. Grayling attended the G7 Transport Ministers’ Summit in Karuizawa, Nagano on September 23-25, and also visited Tokyo to meet the city’s...

Aviation Industry

• Airberlin to wet-lease aircraft to Lufthansa as part of restructuringGerman carrier airberlin has released details of its restructuring plan, which hinges on placing up to 40 Airbus A320s with Lufthansa Group and reducing employee positions by up to 1,200. read more

Other News Sources

• Arriva UK Trains is First to Launch Next-Generation Passenger Wi-Fi for Chiltern RailwaysChiltern Railways customers can now save time, data, and no longer have to worry about connecting to separate on train and station Wi-Fi thanks to collaboration between parent company, Arriva UK Trains, digital connectivity experts WiFi SPARK, Icomera and using EE's superfast 4G network. This first for the rail industry enables passengers to experience an optimal Wi-Fi connection, regardless of whether they are on the station platform or on the train.
• Microwave system promises end to leaf-induced rail miseryKeats described autumn as the ‘season of mists and mellow fruitfulness’ but for Network Rail, train operators and travellers alike it is often the cause of disruption. The source of this interruption to services can be found in the leaves falling onto railway lines and being turned into a Teflon-like mulch by trains passing over […]
• Trains are back but replacement bus services are still running A TRAIN operator ran buses alongside trains sparking complaints of confusion and congestion amongst passengers.