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

Thursday, 09 February 2017

BBC News

• Thousands fined at Nottingham 'bus gate with no public busesMore than 11,000 drivers have been fined in one year for going through a so-called bus gate that is not on any public bus routes.
• Stone-throwing youths smash train windows from Cardiff bridgeWindscreens on two trains were damaged after youths threw stones from a bridge in Cardiff, police say.
• Bombardier to get £225m loans from Canadian governmentCanada's federal government announces loans of £225m for two of Bombardier's jet projects.
• New child seat rules will confuse parents, warn expertsForthcoming rules mean children using new car seats will have to weigh over 22kg and be taller than 125cm.

Department for Transport

• Commercial spaceflight - Enabling small-satellite launches and sub-orbital flights from the UK.We intend to publish a draft spaceflight bill later this month, dedicated to commercial spaceflight in the UK. This legislation will be fundamental to enabling small-satellite launches and sub-orbital flights from the UK, ensuring the UK is well placed to take advantage of a growing global market. The government’s intention is to introduce this Bill formally early in the next session, following a period of scrutiny and engagement with industry and other interest groups.

The Telegraph

• Driverless car owners will need 'two-in-one' insurance policies under new Government plans

Times Online

• Waitrose lorries to be fuelled by gas from rotting food [Subscription]Waitrose is to become the first company in Europe to use lorries which are run entirely on biomethane gas generated from food waste.
• Driverless cars will attract hefty insurance premium [Subscription]Motorists will face high insurance costs to run driverless cars under government plans for specialist policies that cover crashes caused by a vehicle’s on-board computer.
• Stop-go signals ‘risk exodus of engineers from rail industry’ [Subscription]One of Britain’s biggest contractors has delivered a withering assessment of the government’s “stop-go” funding of the railways, attacking ministerial indecision that it claims risks further damage to the network.

Bolton News

• May joins MP in praise for ‘world-class’ Westhoughton coach manufacturers A WESTHOUGHTON firm was praised by the Prime Minister yesterday.

Derby Telegraph

• Derby City Council accused of sneaking school transport policy 'through the back door' Whether Derby City Council's controversial 2015 school transport assistance policy ever gained cabinet approval was questioned by an opposition councillor at Wednesday night's Derby City Council cabinet meeting.

London Evening Standard

• Sadiq Khan: London's transport network will grind to halt amid 'unbearable strain' without Crossrail 2London’s transport network will grind to a halt under the “unbearable strain” of millions more passengers unless the Government jointly funds Crossrail 2, Sadiq Khan warned today.
• Uber hires Nasa veteran for flying driverless cars planFlying driverless taxis could be a step closer after Uber hired a Nasa veteran to work on its blueprints.
• Commuter rail line closed for 9 months due to shut again after upgrade blundersA commuter rail line is set to reopen after a nine-month £130 million upgrade - but then close again because of a catalogue of errors.
• Atkins chief signals more acquisitions as consolidation gathers paceWS Atkins, a major contractor to Hinkley Point, Heathrow and HS2, is targeting more mergers and acquisitions to compete in a fast-moving race among rivals to grow bigger and better.
• Victoria line trains set to arrive every 100 seconds from MayA Victoria Line train will arrive every 100 seconds as the frequency of services increases from May, transport bosses have said.
• Sadiq Khan urged to improve road safety after two female cyclists and elderly pedestrian die within hours on London's streetsCampaigners have called on Sadiq Khan to improve road safety after two young female cyclists and an elderly pedestrian died within hours of each other on London's streets.

Wales Online

• Motorists spent more than �5m on parking in Cardiff in one year A freedom of information request showed revenue of £5,128,666 was generated in 2015-16 – a 12% rise on the previous year’s figure of almost £4.6m

Other Regional Press

• Don't forget 'Cinderella'RAIL campaigners on both sides of the Wye have come together to ram home the message that passengers on Severnside should not suffer when a new train operating franchise for the area is set.
• Concern over rail access
• Dept of Transport proposes no change to night flights to Heathrow (and all SE England airports)The consultation on Night flight restrictions at Heathrow Gatwick and Stansted in which the Government is proposing no change to the current night flights regime around Heathrow Airport, closes on 28 February 2017 and will then be reviewed by the Department for Transport.
• Heathrow consultation kicks off … but closest communities will be excludedLongford, Harmondsworth, Sipson, Colnbrook and Poyle – the locations that will be most affected by a Third Runway – are all MISSING from a list of 20 locations the Government has chosen to host its “information events” on Heathrow expansion.
• Overground part-closures on line serving Woodgrange Park station could stretch to 2018An engineering design blunder could mean part-closures on the Gospel Oak to Barking Overground line stretch into early 2018 – with seething funders Transport for London (TfL) promising to seek compensation.
• Design blunder spells more disruption for passengers on Gospel Oak to Barking Line
• London Midland rail disruption averted as union calls off strike ballotRMT train conductors cancel ballot after company bosses agree to stop using security contractors

Construction Enquirer

• Balfour Beatty sounds warning over Brexit skills crisisBalfour Beatty has highlighted the potential impact of a “Hard Brexit” on industry skills. The contracting giant published a paper today on the future of the rail industry.

Rail Magazine

• Greater Anglia calls for digital signalling, four-tracking part of West Anglia Main Line, and upgrading junctions are among essential Digital signalling, four-tracking a section of the West Anglia Main Line, and upgrading junctions are among upgrades called for by Greater Anglia.

Rail Technology Magazine

• Greater Anglia to lobby government for investment in 10-point upgrade pleaGreater Anglia has laid out 10 key rail infrastructure priorities that need to be made within the next decade in order for the planned benefits of its own franchise commitments to be “fully realised”. In a statement, the operator, owned by Abellio with Mitsui as a 40% shareholder...
• London network will 'grind to a halt' without Crossrail 2, warns KhanWith still a few months left to go until the first Crossrail trains hit the network, London mayor Sadiq Khan has today made the case for the project’s follow-up, Crossrail 2 – without which he claims at least 17 of the capital’s Underground stations will “buckle under...
• TfGM 2040 plan talks network integration and floats tram-train fixTransport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has unveiled its much-anticipated Transport Strategy 2040, which outlines how the authority will focus on creating an integrated, sustainable and co-ordinated transport system in the region – with all types of travel considered. The strategy’s...

Railnews

• Crisis warnings on Transport for London Warnings of looming problems on Transport for London have come from two directions today, although they appear to be possibly contradictory. The Mayor Sadiq Khan claims parts of the Underground will be halted by overwhelming numbers of passengers within a few years unless Crossrail 2 is built, while a separate crisis could arrive even sooner, after it was revealed that revenues have been dented by falling passenger numbers. Conservatives on the London Assembly have described TfL's budget as being on a 'knife-edge'. However, City Hall said new revenue was now coming in thanks to commercial dev...
• Famous swing bridge set to go in Greater Anglia wishlist A new infrastructure plan set out by Greater Anglia includes capacity increases at various points along the Great Eastern Main Line between London and Norwich as well as other improvements at key points around the region. The GEML plans include the replacement of the single track swing bridge at Trowse, on the approaches to Norwich, with a new fixed double track structure.

Railway Gazette

• Technology strategy for the 'age of the digital train' UK: A strategy identifying 12 'key capabilities' that the rail sector needs to develop in order to...
• Industry backs faster ERTMS deploymentEUROPE: The Chief Executives of the eight signalling companies that are members of the UNISIG...

Aviation Industry

• Etihad CEO: 2016 a ‘year of sustained growth in a tough environment’In 2016, Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways saw a year “of sustained growth in a very tough business environment,” Etihad Aviation Group (EAG) president and CEO James Hogan said in a Feb. 8 statement. read more
• Ryanair, Norwegian to start feeder flights this summerIrish low-cost carrier (LCC) Ryanair and LCC Norwegian plan to start joint feeder flights from summer 2017 onward. read more

Green Miscellany

• Plume: The mudguard for cyclists who don’t like mudguardsFaced with the fickle British weather and a frustration with existing mudguard designs, British cyclists Dan McMahon and Patrick Laing have produced the Plume. Like a butterfly proboscis, the stainless steel Plume recoils when not in use; the simplicity of the design reflecting that of the bicycle itself. Unlike most mudguards, Plume is super-thin, and made from materials that won’t… The post Plume: The mudguard for cyclists who don’t like mudguards appeared first on ETA.

Other News Sources

• Government invest £35 million in Berkshire roads and railways which could create 12,000 jobsThames Valley Berkshire Local Enterprise Partnership successfully bid for £35 million of local growth funding