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

Friday, 17 February 2017

BBC News

• 'Take diplomats who owe congestion charge to international court'Boris Johnson is urged to act against foreign embassies for �105m unpaid congestion charge.
• Aslef members reject Southern rail dealMembers of the train drivers' union rejected the deal by 54.1% to 45.9%.
• Rail punctuality worst in 10 years, figures showOne in 10 trains in the UK was not on time last year, the Office of Rail and Road says.
• Vauxhall deal: Minister to meet Peugeot and French governmentThe UK business secretary is to meet the French carmaker over its plans to buy Vauxhall.

Financial Times

• Air France-KLM to cut costs further after profits rise 35%Carrier warns of economic uncertainty and risk from elections in Europe
• Southern train drivers reject deal to end disputeCommuters face fresh misery after shock decision by Aslef members
• Bike companies hope batteries will electrify salesLondon show features new generation of cycles with electric assistance

The Guardian

• Two-car families pay £40 extra per month as fuel prices soar, says AACrude oil’s 20% price leap and sterling’s slide against dollar have made cost of petrol and diesel rocket at pumpsRocketing UK fuel prices mean that two-car families are now spending almost £40 a month more on petrol than a year ago.Crude oil prices have risen 20% since the Saudi-led Opec cartel agreed its first production cut in eight years at the end of November, from $46.50 (£37) a barrel to about $56 now. This has pushed petrol prices in the UK higher, exacerbated by the pound’s slide against the dollar, as oil is traded in the US currency. Continue reading...

Times Online

• New misery on Southern trains after drivers reject union deal [subscription]Hundreds of thousands of train passengers face renewed misery after members of the drivers’ union Aslef rejected a deal to resolve their long-running dispute with Southern.

City AM

• Join the debate over Britain's vital new runway at Heathrow airportWhat is the world’s most connected city? New York? Paris? Tokyo? No. It’s London, which last May beat all those cities to top the inaugural Global Connectivity Ranking, with 351 direct international air destinations.

Liverpool Echo

• This video shows what it will be like on Liverpool's £460m new train fleetA deal has been signed today with the new trains set to arrive in 2020

London Evening Standard

• Tube strike February 2017: Times, dates and what else you need to know about the Central line walkoutDisruption will hit the capital's Tube network starting on Tuesday, February 21
• Northern line extension: Machines lowered into place to begin work on £1.2bn Tube extensionIn the shadow of the old Battersea Power station a crane lowers the first of two huge drilling machines – named Helen and Amy - to begin tunnelling on what will be the £1.2 billion Northern line extension.
• Southern Railway drivers reject deal to end long-running dispute over driver-only trains, union saysDrivers on Southern Railway have rejected a deal aimed at resolving a long-running dispute over driver-only trains, said union Aslef.
• Rail punctuality slumps to lowest level in a decade... with Southern customers facing most chaosPunctuality on Britain's rail network has reached its lowest point in over a decade, with Southern passengers facing the most chaos.
• 'You couldn't make it up': Passengers baffled as abandoned microwave sparks Southern Rail delays in south LondonSouthern Rail passengers were left baffled after a microwave oven abandoned on train tracks sparked delays and cancellations on services in south London.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• How Newcastle Airport's shiny, new terminal was opened on this day 50 years agoAn extended 7,000-ft runway and a new £2.5m terminal were opened by Prime Minister Harold Wilson in 1967

Nottingham Evening Post

• 100 new jobs working for Jet2.com at East Midlands Airport Jet2.com has created 100 jobs at East Midlands Airport as it continues to grow its presence in the region

Wales Online

• Rural railways would make huge differenceI was pleased to see the headline “Long-closed Welsh rail line could be reopened” in Monday’s Western Mail, and was interested to learn about the “very light rail” project going ahead in the Midlands.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Leeds’s new post-trolleybus transport masterplan is ‘on the verge of being delivered to Ministers’ Leeds’s post trolleybus transport masterplan is just weeks away from being submitted to Ministers.
• Rail enthusiasts urged not to go loco as steam train takes on regular services A steam train has hauled passengers on a scheduled main line service for the first time in half a century.

Get West London

• Heathrow third runway: Chris Grayling urges public to take part in consultation eventsThe Department for transport has said it will pay 25% above market price for compulsory purchase orders of homes

Other Regional Press

• Train carriages damaged by landslide still not repaired Siemens has apologised for the length of time it is taking to repair several train carriages damaged by a landslide last year.
• Monarch launch new routes from Birmingham Airport Seats are now available and Monarch will be the only airline flying to both Split and Valencia from Birmingham

The Business Desk

• £700m new trains to built for MerseysideSwiss company Stadler has signed a £700m deal with Merseytravel to build and maintain 52 metro trains on the Merseyrail network for the Liverpool City Region from 2020.

Aviation Industry

• Delta brings back main cabin meal service on 12 domestic routesDelta Air Lines will begin including meals at no extra cost for all main cabin seats on 12 transcontinental domestic routes this spring, reversing a longstanding trend of US airlines not including meal service with economy-class tickets on domestic flights. read more
• Airberlin expands long-haul fleet with three leased A330sOneworld carrier airberlin is set to add three leased Airbus A330-200s, increasing seat capacity as Germany’s second-largest carrier eyes its biggest long-haul summer flight schedule to the US. read more
• ANA names new president and CEOJapan’s All Nippon Airways ANA has appointed EVP and board member Yuji Hirako to succeed Osamu Shinobe as president and CEO from April 1. read more
• Air France-KLM profit surges in 2016 on low fuel costsAir France-KLM Group reported a 2016 net profit of €792 million ($834.4 million), up substantially from 2015’s net profit of €118 million. read more
• Bombardier posts full-year $981 million lossBombardier ended 2016 with higher revenues, margins and aircraft deliveries than forecast. read more
• Norwegian posts $132 million 2016 net profitLow-cost carrier (LCC) Norwegian reported a 2016 net profit of NOK1.1 billion ($131.6 million), more than quadrupling its NOK246 million net result in 2015. read more

Green Miscellany

• Abus Nutfix fights back against bicycle cannibalsThe Abus NutFix is a brave attempt at security for bicycle components. As bike locks have become sturdier, thieves have move their attention towards seats, wheels, shifters – pretty much anything they can pull, twist or wrench from your bicycle without too much trouble. The Abus NutFix is a nut over which is fitted a cap that can only be removed… The post Abus Nutfix fights back against bicycle cannibals appeared first on ETA.
• The car is so last year – Dubai promises taxi dronesIn a marriage of Chinese tech and Dubai financing, the world’s first taxi drones look set to take to the skies this summer. Controlling the single seat, eight-rotor fully-automated Ehang 184 drone couldn’t be more simple. The passenger uses a touch screen�to select a destination and the battery-powered drone takes care of the rest. The taxi�drone boasts a maximum flight… The post The car is so last year – Dubai promises taxi drones appeared first on ETA.

Other News Sources

• Engineers say HS2 high-speed rail scheme will slop in Scotland
• £300 million to make Thameslink more reliable
• Southern Rail strikes: Dispute set to continue as Aslef members reject proposal in referendum Commuters should expect fresh misery as the dispute looks set to continue and another 24-hour strike looms