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

Tuesday, 17 January 2017

BBC News

• Nearly 1,000 wrong speeding notices for Conwy tunnelNearly 1,000 drivers were wrongly sent speeding notices after a temporary limit on a north Wales road was not lifted, figures show.
• New 129-mile 'Heart of Wales' walking route unveiledA new long distance walkway is unveiled to run alongside the 129-mile Heart of Wales railway.
• Trump comments hit shares in German carmakersShares in BMW and VW fall after Donald Trump warns that cars exported from Mexico to the US could face a 35% tax.

ITV News

• Leaked documents reveal Aslef drivers had agreed to driver-only operated trainsLeaked documents reveal the train drivers union Aslef supported the introduction of Driver Only Operation (DOO) in the south just five years ago.

Financial Times

• Djibouti-Ethiopia railway lifts Africa trade hopesAddis Ababa line to the sea hailed as first step in tapping vast commercial potential
• Driverless cars heading for a jam, says transit groupPromotion of private vehicles over buses and trains expected to make congestion worse

The Guardian

• Tesla allows self-driving cars to break speed limit, againDrivers of the electronic cars will again be able to set the self-driving features to break the speed limit, even on undivided roadsTesla owners will be able to ask the robot that drives their car to break the speed limit, again, following a software update pushed out to users over the weekend.The new software changes the way the autopilot function works on Tesla cars equipped with it. The brand covers a suite of advanced safety features, from lane assist, which keeps the car in the correct lane when driving on motorways, to adaptive cruise control, which allows the car to match speeds with th...
• BA to operate all Heathrow long-haul services during strikeAirline says it has strengthened schedule over three days of industrial action by Unite union which begins on ThursdayBritish Airways will operate all its long-haul services to and from Heathrow during a three-day cabin crew strike this week and cancel a small number of short-haul flights, the airline has announced.Members of the Unite union will take industrial action from Thursday in a long-running dispute over pay. Continue reading...
• Rolls-Royce to pay £671m over bribery claimsVoluntary payments will mean UK manufacturing giant avoids being prosecuted by anti-corruption investigatorsRolls-Royce, Britain’s leading multinational manufacturer, is to pay £671m in penalties after long-running investigations into claims it paid bribes to land export contracts.The settlement means the engineering giant will avoid being prosecuted by anti-corruption investigators in the UK, US and Brazil, though individual executives may still be charged. Continue reading...
• Malaysia Airlines flight MH370: underwater search called offWreckage of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 might never be found after suspension of underwater search The search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has come to an end with passengers’ families being informed that the effort to find the plane has been suspended.Next of kin were told in an emailed statement on Tuesday that Australian authorities’ underwater search of 120,000 sq km in the southern Indian ocean had concluded without success. Continue reading...

The Herald

• British Airways to operate all Heathrow long-haul services during strikeBritish Airways will operate all its long-haul services to and from Heathrow during a three-day cabin crew strike this week and cancel a small number of short-haul flights, the airline has announced.

The Scotsman

• Search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight 370 endsThe search for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 has ended after nearly three years, the Joint Agency Co-ordination Centre in Australia has said.

The Telegraph

• British motorists face pollution fines in Paris as car windscreen sticker scheme opens

Times Online

• Toll charges could increase under EU ruling [subscription]Motorists could face increased toll charges for using the M50 Westlink crossing and the Dublin Port Tunnel as a result of a ruling due from the European Union’s top court this week.
• Credit card refund offers hope for rail commuters [subscription]Tens of thousands of Southern rail commuters could be in line for compensation from their credit card companies after a passenger claimed he had won £2,400 back from American Express for his season ticket.
• Sci-fi becomes fact as flying cars get ready for take-off [subscription]You wait decades since the 1950s sci-fi boom for evidence that we might be getting into flying cars or going to the shops strapped into a jetpack — and then two companies come along saying we are going to be there sooner than you think.

City AM

• Are you travelling with Britain's worst train operator? Here's the definitive listSouthern's customer satisfaction has plummeted on everything from punctuality to reliability and seat availability.

Mail Online

• Transport chiefs issue warning to commuters who watch porn Britons have been warned that they face a fine or even a jail sentence if they are caught watching porn while on trains, after a spate of reports of people viewing sexual material on public transport.

Network Rail

• Major investment planned for North Yorkshire railwaysNetwork Rail will carry out vital improvements to the East Coast Main Line in North Yorkshire in a £6million investment project as part of its Railway Upgrade Plan

Birmingham Mail

• BMI launches three new routes from Birmingham Airport Trio of European destinations adds to offer from city's airport with new flights to Austria, Germany and Sweden

Daily Post (North Wales)

• As Airbus A350 makes its first commercial landing at Manchester we celebrate the company's other milestones The company have shared pictures of some of their greatest hits from the Broughton factory

Derby Telegraph

• HS2: Public arrive in droves to have their say on Derbyshire rail route Villagers affected by the high speed rail system due to be built close to Derby have been given their first opportunity to grill those behind the scheme.

Liverpool Echo

• Merseyrail tops national customer satisfaction surveyConsumer group Which? names Merseyrail the top provider in the UK

London Evening Standard

• Revealed: £235m is left unused on Oyster cards... and that figure is rising fastMoney left on unused Oyster cards is increasing by £1 million a month and now stands at more than £235 million, official figures reveal today.
• Victoria and Piccadilly lines hit with delays and overcrowding as passengers describe 'travel hell'Passengers on the Piccadilly and Victoria lines were today hit with severe delays with some describing it as travel "hell".
• Bank Junction: Black cab drivers cause more travel mayhem in road closure protestLondon's black cab drivers brought traffic to a standstill again on Monday as part of a five-day protest over the closure of a busy junction to cars.
• British Airways strike: Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted long-haul flights to 'go ahead' during three-day actionBritish Airways will operate all its long-haul services to and from Heathrow during a three-day cabin crew strike this week and cancel a small number of shorter flights.
• Tube strikes 2017: Threat of further walkout looms as talks adjournedTalks aimed at averting more Tube strikes by London Underground workers have been adjourned, as the threat of further industrial action looms.

Northern Echo

• Rural communities suffer due to poor public transport, report says RURAL communities are suffering due to poor transport links to vital public services, according to a new report.

Sheffield Star

• Anger at change to Sheffield bus route that leaves children 'vulnerable'Sheffield parents have accused a bus company of putting children in danger by changing one of its routes.

Yorkshire Post

• YP Letters: EU diktat added to problems of railways fragmentationFrom: Don Wood, Howden.

Other Regional Press

• Any new franchise on Wales and Borders rail line must tackle overcrowding, says Daniel Kawczynski MP Any new franchise on the Wales and Borders rail line must tackle overcrowding and provide more direct services from Shrewsbury to Birmingham and Manchester airports, an MP has said.
• Contactless bus payments: here's how you can now travel on Teesside without cashArriva has rolled out the new form of payment on its Teesside flee ::: It is the first area outside of London to get the system installed
• Meet the new chief of community railways - working in HuddersfieldAssociation of Community Rail Partnerships builds up to busy year
• Enhanced Thameslink timetable is ‘unworkable’ say railway experts - which could scupper St Albans rail freight plansWarnings in a respected railway publication that an enhanced Thameslink timetable from 2018 is unworkable have generated more concerns about the addition of rail freight trains on the same tracks.
• How Cambridge’s trains first took to the tracks 170 years agoThe imminent opening of a new station for Cambridge has caused quite a bit of excitement - and it has been a long time coming
• Letter to the Editor: Western Relief Road IS essential to future of Portland MICHAEL J Tilley presents a powerful case for the construction of the Western Relief Road in your issue of 12 January.
• What's wrong with our driving? The high number of crashes on footpaths, bus lanes and even railway lines Across the UK, 2,129 accidents involved cars in restricted lanes and on pedestrian pathways
• BMI launches Birmingham Airport flights to Graz, Nuremburg and Gothenburg The new flights from the airline are to a variety of European destinations

Buying Business Travel

• Bmi Regional creates Birmingham airport hubAirline launches three European routes
• Bristol airport starts �2.3m renovation projectHampton by Hilton airport hotel accepting reservations from March

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Port of Tyne appoints new Harbour MasterA Master Mariner with 20 years' experience in the maritime industry, Steven Clapperton joins the Port from the oil and gas consultancy sector where, amongst other high profile projects, he was responsible for managing upstream marine operations for a major UK oil company.  Prior to this he was a Pilot at the Port of Tyne having previously been at sea as Senior Officer on-board various offshore construction vessels with Subsea7 and others. With a Master Mariners' Certificate, qualifications in Nautical Science and a Diploma in Port Management, Steven brings a wealth of knowledge to the Por...
• Network Rail awards �49m Shotts Line electrification contractNetwork Rail has announced that Carillion Powerlines Ltd has won the contract to deliver the electrification of the Shotts line between Holytown Junction and Midcalder Junction. The £49m contract will deliver 74km of electrified railway, as part of a wider £160m Scottish Government investment in the line between Scotland’s largest cities. The contract covers the physical delivery of all elements required to electrify the line, such as erecting stanchions and stringing the overhead powerlines, and will be carried out in tandem with work on a range of bridges as part of a rou...
• New London Stansted growth deal delivers nine new routes and over 20 million Ryanair customersRyanair has announced a new growth deal with Manchester Airports Group (MAG) which will deliver nine new London Stansted routes, including a daily service to Naples and a three times daily service to Copenhagen, as well as routes to Beziers, Cagliari, Clermont, Grenoble, Nice, Nimes and Strasbourg, extra flights on 13 existing routes, and over 20 million customers this year, supporting 15,000 jobs at London Stansted Airport.  Ryanair’s extended London Stansted summer 2017 schedule will deliver: • 9 new routes to: Naples (daily), Copenhagen (3 daily), Beziers (3 wkly), Cagliari...
• Wincanton appoints Managing Director at Pullman Fleet ServicesWincanton, the largest British logistics company, has confirmed that Vince McGurk has been appointed as the Managing Director of Pullman Fleet Services, the largest independent provider of commercial vehicle maintenance and fleet management in the UK. Vince has been instrumental in returning Pullman Fleet Services to profit over the last eighteen months and will continue to drive further improvements to both operational and financial performance. Vince will report directly to Chris Fenton, Managing Director of Industrial & Transport. Prior to his role at Wincanton, Vince has held senior g...

Global Rail News

• Midland Metro begins prepping route of extension to Brierley HillThe Midland Metro Alliance (MMA) will start clearing vegetation later this week along the proposed route of an extension of Birmingham’s light rail network from Wednesbury to Brierley Hill.

Rail Magazine

• Czech trip for Caledonian Sleeper Class 73A Class 73 is heading for the Czech Republic for testing this year.
• Passengers get a behind-the-scenes peek at the Waterloo station upgradeNetwork Rail is giving passengers a behind-the-scenes look at the major upgrade of London’s Waterloo station.

Rail Technology Magazine

• Construction of $1.5bn Lagos-Ibadan rail line in Nigeria to begin The Nigerian Federal Government is set to begin construction of a 156.65km standard gauge rail line from Lagos to Ibadan.
• Bombardier delivers first Innovia APM 300 to Shanghai Shentong Bombardier Transportation has delivered the first driverless Innovia automated people mover (APM) 300 vehicle to Shanghai Shentong Metro Group in China.
• Carillion to electrify Shotts line for Holytown-Midcalder Junctions Carillion Powerlines has won a £49m contract to deliver the electrification of UK Network Rail’s Shotts line between Holytown and Midcalder Junctions in Scotland.
• Train inspector: turning locomotives into track monitors The University of Huddersfield’s Institute of Railway Research is working with Siemens to develop a sensor system that could turn any rail vehicle into a track monitor that can inspect the condition of rails and the track bed. Rod James looks at how …
• AC and DC-Powered Air Conditioners DC Airco has specialised in energy-efficient air conditioning since 1997, after many years of research and development.
• Camden Council forces DfT to review HS2 Bill amendmentsWhitehall has been forced to reconsider its plans for its HS2 Bill after Camden Council complained about the power the amended legislation would give the government over its roads. Camden argued that last-minute amendments tabled by the government without consultation with the council included...
• Vivarail: Cause of D-train fire ‘not immediately obvious’Vivarail has completed its initial investigation into the Class 230 test train fire over the festive period, concluding that the cause of the fire is “not immediately obvious”.

Railway Gazette

• World rail freight news round-upEurotunnel reports that Truck Shuttle traffic in 2016 was up 11% compared to 2015, with an...

Aviation Industry

• Rolls-Royce reaches bribery penalty agreementUK aero-engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce has reached “in principle” a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) with the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) that will see the company paying financial penalties amounting to £671 million ($809 million). read more
• Ryanair expands London Stansted operationsIrish low-cost carrier (LCC) Ryanair is adding nine routes from London Stansted for summer 2017, which could lead to further aircraft being based at the airport. read more
• Reports: airberlin subsidiary Belair to close in MarchSwitzerland-based airberlin subsidiary Belair could be closed down by the end of March, the company has informed employees according to several media reports in Switzerland. read more

Other News Sources

• Credit card company decision to refund Southern passenger could open floodgates for delay claimsLong-suffering Southern Rail season ticket holders may be able to claw back £1,000s if other credit card companies follow the example set by American Express in refunding a passenger who had been plagued by delays.
• West Norfolk train company "worst in the UK"Great Northern's been rated as one of the worst train companies in the UK by it's own customers.
• Opinion: How we can make super-fast hyperloop travel a reality Trains are getting increasingly faster, but as Professor Hugh Hunt from Cambridge University's Department of Engineering explains, the 'super-fast hyperloop' could soon see them matching air travel for speed.