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

Friday, 20 January 2017

BBC News

• ScotRail Alliance managing director Phil Verster steps downThe managing director of ScotRail Alliance has stepped down, BBC Scotland understands.
• Tesla avoids recall after Autopilot crash deathTesla will not be ordered to recall its semi-autonomous cars in the US, following a fatal crash in May 2016.
• Retired couple to run Bo'ness bus routeA retired couple from Bo'ness are trying to set up a new bus service so people can travel to and from Edinburgh.
• Buggies on busesBus passengers and drivers react to the Supreme Court verdict in a case involving a wheelchair user.
• RMT Southern rail strikes to go aheadA strike by conductors on the Southern rail network will still go ahead next week after the RMT was barred from ongoing talks, the union says.
• MP in bid to save rare Clyde-built ship Falls of ClydeA rare Clyde-built ship earmarked for destruction in Honolulu should be saved and brought back to Glasgow, an MP argues.
• Rail commuters facing disruption in and around GlasgowRail commuters in and around Glasgow face delays due to vandalism and problems with electricity supplies.
• UK looks for HS2 train-builderA company is needed to take on a �2.75bn contract to build 60 high speed trains.
• People tired of old and cramped Arriva trains, say MPsThere is an "urgent need" for new trains on Wales' rail network, a committee of MPs has said.

ITV News

• Hitachi bids for £2.75bn HS2 contract to build trains in North EastHitachi Rail Europe will bid for the contract to build the HS2 trains in the North East, which could mean hundreds of jobs.

Department for Transport

• Search underway for company to build HS2 trains in £2.75 billion government rail investmentHundreds of jobs will be created by the investment, boosting Britain's skills and expertise in this sector.

Financial Times

• Pay-per-mile scheme urged to ease London congestionCongestion charge failing to halt decline in average speeds across capital
• US railways: business bucket listThe ambitions of a chief executive never grow old
• ‘Internet of Bicycles’ is China’s latest exportApp-driven bike rentals are a model for global innovation, writes Michael Moritz
• CSX shares soar as rail industry veteran takes aimHunter Harrison quits as Canadian Pacific chief to pursue new rail opportunities
• Congestion underlines need for jam-busting ideasTfL and mayor’s office cautious on calls for billing by mile instead of zone charge
• Indonesia probes corruption related to Rolls-RoyceFormer chief of state airline Garuda placed under investigation
• Uber pays $20m fine over driver earnings’ claimsLawsuit accused group of inflating expectations and lying about vehicle financing terms

The Guardian

• Rolls-Royce lobbied ministers to weaken anti-bribery proposalsDocuments from 2004 court case show how Rolls-Royce and other firms pressed government to water down plans Rolls-Royce, which this week agreed to pay £671m in penalties after admitting it had engaged in corruption, lobbied ministers to weaken proposed curbs on bribery a decade ago.The effort to dilute anti-bribery regulations was conducted under the leadership of Sir John Rose, the firm’s chief executive until 2011, who is facing calls from Labour to be stripped of his knighthood after the bribery settlement. Continue reading...

The Herald

• New climate charge plan targets 66% cut in emissions by 2032 The Climate Change Secretary has set out plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 66% by 2032.
• Bus row as union calls for public control of routes, fares and timetablesBUS passengers in Scotland face a worse deal and poorer travelling experience than the public in England unless local authorities are given power to take control over routes, timetables and fares, a major union has claimed.
• Fears over security at remote Scottish airports as bag and body searches are wound downFEARS have been raised about airport security at remote airports after it emerged bag and body searches are being stopped at Tiree, Barra and Campbeltown airports.

The Scotsman

• Alastair Dalton: Dramatically cut fares to fill empty seats? You might think from all the coverage of ScotRail’s overcrowded trains that there’s not a spare seat to be had. That might be the case on many commuter trains, but it’s a very different picture at other times of the day.

The Telegraph

• Competition to find HS2 train builder launched

Daily Record

• Scotrail boss admits they can't afford free travel scheme promised by Humza Yousaf Transport Minister Yousaf announced last month that monthly and annual season-ticket holders would get a free week as a thank you but Phil Verster says Scotrail haven't agreed a deal to pay for it.

This is Money

• Should we axe car tax rather than launch daft new charges? The new car tax system coming in April has the signature whiff of something drawn up on the back of a fag packet. Would it be better to just add some extra tax to petrol?

Birmingham Mail

• Mayor candidate wants self-driving cars on West Midlands roads Testing cars which drive themselves in the West Midlands will boost local manufacturers, says Mayor candidate
• Bids invited for �2.75 billion HS2 high speed trains contract Winning firm will build new HS2 trains to run between London and Birmingham

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Liverpool John Lennon Airport could get US connection and new winter routes North Wales passengers could benefit as Ryanair boss talks to airport chiefs about a link to the US and other additional flights

London Evening Standard

• We won't punish cyclists for riding on London's pavements, say policePolice in Camden have said they will not punish cyclists who ride on the pavement and will instead turn their attention to cars making the roads dangerous.
• Southern rail strike: RMT to hold 24-hour walkout after 'exclusion' from talksSouthern strikes by RMT members will go ahead next week after its "exclusion" from talks between Aslef and the company, the union has said.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• HS2 bidding can begin - will Hitachi be heading for �2.1billion contract?The contest to build the £2.75 billion contract to build a fleet of high speed trains has been launched

Wales Online

• This is the proposal for how a �1.2bn City Deal will change south east Wales Council cabinets will next week approve a report which lays out aims for the City Deal
• Another Cardiff bridge is closing for Network Rail worksAnother city bridge will close to traffic as the city gears up for electric trains.
• You'll soon be able to get free wi-fi on more trains in WalesFree wi-fi is being introduced into more trains in Wales. Work to install wi-fi capability in 70% of the Arriva Trains Wales fleet is under way.
• More trains are needed to overcome the 'huge failure' of the franchise run by Arriva Trains WalesThe franchise agreement made no provision for extra trains but passenger numbers have surged by 75%

East Anglian Daily Times

• Bid to scrap Colchester bus lane over fears drivers are making ‘dangerous’ U-turnsCampaigners are launching a bid to scrap a bus lane which they claim is forcing drivers to make dangerous U-turns at the bottom of Colchester High Street.

North Wales Live

• New Merseyrail station for Maghull within sightDevelopment on Northern Line has been granted planning permission

Other Regional Press

• Network Rail admits huge mistake for not including lifts on new bridge Network Rail has admitted it made a huge mistake by not including disabled access in plans for a new footbridge over a level crossing in Lincoln.
• Bring Welsh trains into public ownership, says report THE Wales and Borders rail franchise should be taken into public ownership, a group of Welsh MPs have said.
• Bus route changes leave pensioners stranded ABOUT 100 pensioners have been left isolated after the bus service stopping close to their mobile home park near Wallingford was re-routed.

Bus and Coach.com

• FirstGroup highlights use of alternative fuels
• Reading launches gas double-decks
• EYMS orders more Enviro200s in ‘buy local’ campaign
• Optare wins seven-year R&M contract for TfGM hybrid and electric fleet
• Questions remain as Supreme Court rules on wheelchair access case

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• World-class West Coast Partnership announced The government has released further details of a new rail franchise, which will combine the existing Inter City West Coast services with the development and introduction of services on High Speed 2. The new franchise, West Coast Partnership rail franchise, will deliver services on the West Coast Main Line from 2019 as well as designing and then running the initial high speed services from 2026. The Department for Transport has published a ‘prospectus’, providing information on this exciting proposition for companies interested in this unique opportunity. Secretary of State, Chris...

Rail Magazine

• New rolling stock needed to generate Welsh rail developmentUsing modern rolling stock and replacing some of the oldest trains in the UK forms part of the Welsh Affairs Committee’s suggestions to tackle “long-term underdevelopment in the Welsh rail network”.
• West Anglia capacity under reviewRail Minister Paul Maynard has told fellow MPs that he hopes capacity concerns on the West Anglia Main Line will be tackled.
• DfT reviews Southeastern capacity plansProposals made by Southeastern for additional capacity have been rejected by the Department for Transport.
• The search begins for manufacturer of HS2 trainsUp to 60 trains to be built in deal worth �2.75bn

Rail Technology Magazine

• DfT outlines need for WCP bids to meet 'creative and ambitious' plansThe government has revealed further details about its new West Coast Partnership (WCP) franchise which is scheduled to start in 2019, including more specific timescales about when the franchise integration will take place. The WCP would combine the existing InterCity West Coast franchise with...
• Government agrees 'fair' HS2 compensation for Camden residentsThe government has accepted the House of Lords’ call to be fairer to residents of Camden affected by HS2, committing to offer them a “fair, reasonable and proportionate” amount of compensation. This will include amending the HS2 Bill to offer residents the chance to sell their...
• Chiltern to pilot innovative 'ticket-free travel' on new Oxford routeChiltern Railways has announced that it will be piloting a new initiative enabling passengers to travel ticket-free on its trains. The scheme will be developed in partnership with travel technology company SilverRail Technologies and is one of six Arriva UK Trains’ proposals which have...

Railway Gazette

• �300m to improve Brighton Main Line resilienceUK: The Department for Transport has confirmed funding of �300m to improve the resilience of the...

Aviation Industry

• Aeroflot LCC Pobeda Airlines passenger traffic up 38.7% in 2016Aeroflot low-cost subsidiary (LCC) Pobeda Airlines carried 4.3 million passengers in 2016, up 38.7% year-over-year (YOY). read more
• United CCO Haywood steps down; returns to consultancyJulia Haywood is leaving United Airlines to return to the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), less than six months after she took the chief commercial officer job at the Chicago-based airline. read more

Other News Sources

• Ryanair to contest Lufthansa, airberlin deal Irish low-cost carrier (LCC) Ryanair will lodge a formal complaint against Lufthansa’s plans to wet lease 38 aircraft from its German competitor airberlin.The agreement, which was finalized in December, will see 38 airberlin Airbus A319/A320 aircraft operating for Eurowings and Austrian Airlines for six years from February.Eurowings will take 33 of the aircraft, enabling it to phase out up to 20 older A320s, and Austrian Airlines will take the remaining five. The deal also includes a codeshare between Lufthansa and airberlin equity parent Etihad Airways.Speaking at a media briefing in London,...
• A first for Stadler: trams for the Czech Republic Stadler won the tender to develop and build 40 trams for the Dopravn� podnik Ostrava a.s. (DPO) operating company in Ostrava. The order is worth a total of approximately CHF 45 million. The Ostrava trams are being planned and constructed by Stadler Prague. Stadler will work closely with Czech suppliers. This is the first time that Stadler has received an order for trams from the Czech Republic. Daniel Morys, Executive Director of Dopravn� podnik Ostrava a.s., and Peter Jenelten, Executive Vice President Marketing & Sales at Stadler, signed the contract for the delivery of 40 adapted Tango tra...
• New Security Control Centre for Eurotunnel Eurotunnel yesterday, 18 January 2017, inaugurated its new Security Control Centre on the French Terminal at Coquelles in the presence of Madame Fabienne Buccio, Pr�f�te of the Pas-de-Calais and Paul Booth, Deputy Director of Border Force, South East and Europe Region.The decision to embark on this major investment was taken following the meeting on the site during the summer of 2015 between Theresa May and Bernard Cazeneuve who were at the time Home Secretaries for the United Kingdom and France.The new building which has a floor space of 547m�, is equipped with the latest technology and can ...
• Bombardier’s PRIMOVE E-buses Pass 500,000 km Milestone Bombardier has announced that its PRIMOVE-equipped e-buses have reached a combined total of 500,000 kilometers of service. These environmentally-friendly buses are in operation on routes in the German cities of Berlin, Braunschweig and Mannheim as well as in Bruges, Belgium and Södertälje, Sweden. Combined, these wirelessly charged vehicles have saved a total of 527 tons of CO2 emissions.Jérémie Desjardins, Business Leader PRIMOVE, said, “We are proud of our achievement which shows that our PRIMOVE e-mobility technology has made our ambition of delivering zero-emission, in day-to-day public t...
• car2go growing in the global car-sharing business car2go keeps growing. In financial year 2016, the market leader in flexible car sharing grew its customer base by 43 percent to 2.2 million. A car2go is rented every 1.4 seconds somewhere in the world. Berlin remains the largest car2go city, with 175,000 customers.Worldwide, the roughly 14,000 car2go vehicles have been rented more than 22 million times. This is a 21 percent rise compared to the previous year’s figure. The highest customer growth was seen in the cities Madrid (+96,000), Berlin (+47,000), Vancouver (+26,000) and Hamburg (+26,000).The utilization of the vehicles increased by app...
• Deeside Corridor consultation to start in MarchThe Welsh Government will shortly begin consulting on major improvements to one of North Wales’ busiest sections of road
• Stagecoach bus ticket prices to increase in Guildford and Godalming Operator Stagecoach has announced the increase in fares, which comes into force on Sunday
• Road pricing must focus on those who have a choice, says FTAThe London Assembly’s proposed road pricing scheme to replace the Congestion Charge should target drivers who have a choice whether to use ...
• Briefings to help improve safety in the van industryWith over four million vans on the UK’s roads, it is vital to improve safety and compliance within the industry and help businesses of all sizes ...
• First Minister expects next rail provider to deliver more rolling stockFirst Minister Carwyn Jones has said the Welsh Government expects the next rail provider for Wales to demonstrate a “higher quality” of rolling stock.
• New trains needed in Wales to end underdevelopmentNew trains are needed to put an end to long-running underdevelopment of the rail network in Wales, MPs have warned.
• Free WiFi on all Chiltern Railways routesYou'll be able to get free WiFi across all of Chiltern Railways commuter routes from mid-February.