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

Friday, 30 September 2016

BBC News

• Historians appeal over plans for a second Forth rail bridgeHistorians are appealing for help from the public over recently-discovered plans for a second rail bridge over the Firth of Forth.
• Badge gets people chatting on the TubeBadges are being handed out on the London Underground, with the aim of encouraging commuters to start talking with one another.
• VW boss: Emissions scandal 'a huge mistake'Matthias Mueller, the chief executive of German car giant VW, says the firm made a 'huge mistake' in using technology in its diesel cars to cheat on emissions tests.
• Honda boss : We want a fast decision on BrexitFollowing the UK's vote for Brexit, Japanese car manufacturer Honda reaffirms its commitment to the UK as a major manufacturing base., but says it wants a
• Nissan boss warns on UK investmentThe boss of Nissan warns that Brexit uncertainty and possible tariffs could damage investment in the UK's biggest car factory.

Financial Times

• Nissan delays Sunderland investment plansChief executive Carlos Ghosn says decision on hold due to concerns over EU tariffs after Brexit
• Elliott pushes to shake up Colombian airlineUS hedge fund holds talks with senior executives
• Heathrow touts extra flights in runway pushAirport expected to set out plans on first day of Conservative conference
• Lorries overtake cars in technology raceSilicon Valley is showing an interest in how trucks have stolen a march in the use of self-driving systems
• BA to charge for meals in economyCarrier joins trend towards catering model used by no-frills rivals
• Hoboken crash raises rail safety questionsAt least one dead and 108 injured after NJ Transit train rams station

The Guardian

• Corbyn doubtful he can make his MPs oppose Heathrow expansionLabour leader says he has not decided whether to hold free vote, with many of his MPs likely to back plans for third runway
• 'Tube chat' campaign provokes horror among London commutersBadges from mystery source encouraging passengers to talk elicit calls for ‘do not disturb’ signs – but not everyone is againstThe perception of the London commuter as an unfriendly curmudgeon has been bolstered by the mixed reaction to a mystery campaign to encourage tube passengers to chat.Badges emblazoned with the question “Tube chat?” have been distributed on the London Underground network, to the horror of some regular users. Continue reading...

The Herald

• Nissan urges Whitehall to promise compensation for post-Brexit tax barriers NISSAN has urged Britain to pledge compensation for the erection of any tax barriers due to Brexit or face losing a potential new investment in the country's biggest car plant.
• Heathrow pledge extra Scottish routes from 2021 if third runway is approvedAIRPORT bosses at Heathrow have vowed to launch up to 21 extra daily domestic flights by 2021 if ministers give the go ahead to expand the hub, with a direct flight for Dundee among the potential new routes being tabled.

The Scotsman

• BA scraps free meals on economy class flightsBritish Airways is scrapping free meals on short haul flights in economy class, instead offering a selection of Marks & Spencer salads and sandwiches.

The Telegraph

• Boost for third runway at Heathrow as Jeremy Corbyn suggests Labour MPs could have free vote

Mail Online

• EU's �1bn bribe to make teens back Brussels: Free inter-railing! Every 18-year-old to get a ticket in desperate scheme to win support Every teenager in Europe will receive a free rail ticket on their 18th birthday to backpack across the continent in a move Eurosceptics have dismissed as desperate bribery.
• TOM UTLEY: I'm all for this plan to get strangers on the train talking to each other. With one crucial exception...� A well-meaning American Jonathan Dunne has begun handing out badges to travellers on the London Underground, bearing the legend 'Tube chat?'
• Dry flights and blacklist of drunken passengers? UK and Spanish governments urged to crackdown on alcohol-fuelled problems on planes and at airports The political group More for Majorca has called for every airline travelling between the UK and Spain to introduce booze-free flights and a blacklist of drunken passengers to curb flight rowdiness.

London Evening Standard

• London Architect Peter Murray 'wants to be the cycling czar after two friends died in crashes'An architect who has had two friends killed while cycling in London has applied to become Sadiq Khan's new cycling and walking commissioner.
• Heathrow Airport bosses propose raising cap on flights to 500,000 a yearHeathrow bosses today controversially proposed raising the cap on flights at Heathrow to around 500,000 a year.
• British Airways scraps free food in favour of selling Marks & Spencer sandwichesBritish Airways is scrapping free meals in economy class on short haul flights in favour of Marks & Spencer sandwiches and salads.
• 'I fixed the Tube chat badge': Londoners' sarcastic alternatives to badges encouraging strangers to talk on the UndergroundLondoners have taken to social media to mock badges aimed at getting commuters to talk to strangers on the Tube.
• Hoboken train crash: at least one dead and 100 injured as train smashes into New Jersey stationAt least one person has reportedly been killed and around 100 injured after a packed commuter train crashed into a station in New Jersey.

Manchester Evening News

• Monarch 'still in talks' over licensing agreement ahead of Friday deadline The firm has until Friday to reapply for its expired Air Travel Organisers’ Licence or face being banned from selling package holidays

Sheffield Star

• Sheffield Green Party call on council to withdraw support for 'over budget and unwelcome' HS2 lineThe Sheffield Green Party has called on the council to withdraw its backing for HS2 and focus on better transport links with northern cities.
• Bus firm pledges to make Sheffield journeys cheaperBus journeys in Sheffield will be cheaper for customers after a major operator made a promise not to be beaten on price.

Wales Online

• Plans for Cardiff's new bus station and Central Square are now much less curvyThe new image of how Cardiff's new bus station will look shows some sizeable changes         
• Train line disruptions to some Cardiff and Valleys lines next month The temporary changes will take place at the weekends due to maintenance work

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Record passenger numbers for Leeds Bradford AirportLeeds Bradford Airport has recorded its busiest ever 12-month period.

Blackpool Gazette

• Anniversary of world’s first tramway opening in BlackpoolToday marks 131 years since the world’s first practical electric tramway opened - in Blackpool.

North Wales Live

• 24-hour lorry refuelling station to open at Port of Liverpool Seaforth scheme means drivers won't have to divert to refuel

Other Regional Press

• Flintshire councillor’s plea over community transport schemeA COUNCIL boss is “pleading” with communities to get behind running their own transport services or risk losing them for good.
• School bus company hits back over ‘unfair’ petitionA petition asking for Central Bedfordshire Council to remove Barton Coach Company from providing the council’s school transport has reached more than 100 online signatures.
• Anniversary of world’s first tramway opening in BlackpoolToday marks 131 years since the world’s first practical electric tramway opened - in Blackpool.
• New checks on concessionary travel will prevent misuse of bus passesAdditional checks are being introduced on buses across the region to ensure that passes meant for older and disabled people are not misused.
• Rail travellers urged to plan ahead - because next summer is on track to be chaotic DORSET rail passengers are being warned to plan ahead as major improvement works are carried out at a London terminus.

Buying Business Travel

• British Airways to axe free food and drink on short-haul flightsAirline partners with M&S to sell food in economy
• Theresa May has MPs’ backing for Heathrow expansionPatrick McLoughlin says PM will have enough support to approve plans for a third runway at Heathrow

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Retail booming at Network Rail stationsForget about the high street, Britain’s train stations are the real heart of retail and seemingly the go-to place for tourist souvenirs. According to quarterly retail sales figures from Network Rail, like-for-like sales at its 18 train stations were up by 4.14 per cent in the first quarter of 2016. That’s more than eight times greater than what the British Retail Consortium reported for the same three months earlier this year, says Network Rail. Sales at its food and beverage outlets were up 6.1 per cent in Q1 2016, compared to the same period a year earlier, while traditional retail sales gre...
• London to run Europe’s largest electric bus fleetLondon will become home to the largest fleet of electric buses in Europe by the end of the year, in a bid to dramatically improve air quality in the capital. This claim came as London’s first ever fully-electric bus routes were revealed. Before 2016 is through, 51 electric buses will run along the 507 and 521 routes in central London. Combined with the 22 battery-powered buses already operating in outer London, this pushes the capital’s electric bus fleet to 73 - more than anywhere else in Europe. The new electric buses include 12 seats with USB sockets and screens showing the next five stops ...
• Rail industry regulator gets 3 new board membersTransport Secretary Chris Grayling has appointed 3 new non-executive directors to join the board of the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), the independent body which regulates Britain’s railways and monitors Highways England. David Franks, Anne Heal and Graham Mather bring a wealth of experience in transport, the rail industry and network regulation and will support the ORR’s work protecting the interests of rail passengers, freight customers and road users. The Transport Secretary said:
• Hang back from HGVs, cyclists warnedCyclists are being urged to stay behind lorries near corners as part of the Department for Transport’s (DfT) relaunched THiNK cycling safety campaign. In 2015, one in five crashes where cyclists lost their lives involved HGVs and road safety minister Andrew Jones is keen to reduce the number of cyclist deaths to “make Britain a cycling nation”. Although cyclist deaths have dropped to their lowest level since 2010, almost a third of all crashes between cyclists and HGVs happen when the lorry is turning left, says the DfT. As a result, a new promotional clip has been produced to highlight the da...
• Heathrow expansion “fantasy” should be binned, says BorisThe prospect of Heathrow Airport opening a third runway is a “fantasy” and should be “consigned to the dustbin”, according to foreign secretary Boris Johnson. Bosses at the airport argue that its much-disputed expansion would result in 100,000 new jobs in the UK and fuel £56 billion of growth. However, the former London mayor has opposed Heathrow’s third runway for years and has backed a new report which outlines potential risks to the taxpayer. “Heathrow expansion is the wrong choice, and if it is chosen, it simply won’t get built,” Mr Johnson said. He explained that the mammoth costs and ris...

Rail Technology Magazine

• Deals this week: Granite Construction, Bombardier Transportation, Siemens The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation of Hawaii has appointed a joint venture (JV) comprising Granite Construction Company, Shimmick Construction and Traylor Bros to design and build airport guideway and stations in Honolulu.
• Freight sector told to review fatigue management systems following SPADsFollowing two signal passed at danger (SPAD) incidents on the same freight route last year, the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) has called for the freight industry to carry out a review of its fatigue management system. The two SPADs involved DB Cargo trains on the Acton to Westbury...
• Wiltshire community rail plan approved by DfTThe DfT has approved a bid for the TransWilts line to be the twentieth formally recognised community rail service in the country. This means that the TransWilts Community Rail Partnership, which includes local councils, train operators and community groups, will work with Great Western Railway...
• Three non-executive directors appointed to ORR boardThree non-executive directors have been appointed to the board of the ORR by the transport secretary. The new directors are David Franks, currently chief executive of Irish Rail, Graham Mather, chair of the European Policy Forum’s Regulatory Best Practice Group, and Anne Heal, who has...

Railnews

• CrossCountry franchise extension confirmed The CrossCountry contract held by Arriva has been extended by three years to October 2019. Arriva has agreed to what the DfT has described as 'challenging targets' on performance. Rail minister Paul Maynard described the deal as a 'key milestone', while CrossCountry managing director Andy Cooper said: �We are delighted to have the opportunity to deliver even more for our customers over the next three years through this new agreement. Satisfaction is the theme for the range of investments we will be making, with better, faster journeys with more seats and free WiFi.

Railway Gazette

• Arriva directly awarded new Cross Country contractUK: The Department for Transport announced on September 29 that incumbent Arriva CrossCountry had...
• Knorr-Bremse to take full ownership of ICER RailICER RAIL: Knorr-Bremse announced on September 28 that it would buy out Berkelium Group’s stake in...

Aviation Industry

• First MRJ test aircraft arrives in the USMitsubishi Aircraft Corp.’s first MRJ90 test aircraft has arrived at Grant County International Airport in Moses Lake, Washington, where it will build hours toward type certification. read more

Green Miscellany

• Bicycle mudguards; remember those?Bicycle mudguards as a standard feature seem like a�relic of bygone�days. They might�add a little�weight, and spoil�the lines of a sleek road bike, but given how often it rains here, the reason why so few of the bikes sold in Britain come without them fitted�is a mystery. The penalty for cycling without bicycle mudguards�at this time of year is a… The post Bicycle mudguards; remember those? appeared first on ETA.

Other News Sources

• Tram plans on display in Hereford tomorrow PLANS for a tram system in Hereford will be on display in the city centre tomorrow.
• Educating drivers on smart motorways is key, says FTAIt is important to concentrate on educating drivers on the safe use of smart motorways, the Freight Transport Association has said following a ...
• Protestors in robber outfits appeal for train transparency at Victoria station PROTESTORS dressed in judges' wigs and robber costumes are complaining about poor Southern rail service at Victoria station.

EIN News Subscription

• Thales bags Saudi railway maintenance contract … years | Thales to open Egyptian transport academy | Thales opens new Oman … predictive maintenance, which will enable rail operators to fix assets before … largest railway construction and the longest route to adopt the European signaling …
• EU Refers Germany to Top Court on Road-Toll Plan … :52 p.m. ET The European Union announced it was taking Germany … Itkonen, a spokeswoman for the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm. The … mistake that they made.” German Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt, also a …
• EU's £1bn bribe to make teens back Brussels: Free inter-railing! Every 18-year-old to get a ticket in desperate scheme to win support … largest group in the European Parliament, after the other … £1.6billion. Ukip’s transport spokesman Jill Seymour … very clearly how the EU’s euro-straightjacket impoverishes … now facing the Eurozone.’ European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker earlier …