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Thursday, 09 March 2017

BBC News

• Airlander 10 crash-landed after mooring line snagged power cablesThe world's longest aircraft crash-landed after its mooring line became caught on power cables, a report shows.
• Holborn stand-only Tube escalator trial 'cut congestion by 30%'The four month trial at Holborn Tube station led to an increase in capacity on the escalators.
• Flight from Glasgow diverts due to 'unruly' passengersA flight from Glasgow Airport to Lanzarote is diverted to Faro, Portugal, after two passengers are

Department for Transport

• The UK needs a successful, growing aviation industryAviation Minister Lord Ahmad argues that the aviation industry’s importance to our country will grow.

Financial Times

• Business welcomes £690m fund to ease trafficJams will worsen in rising economy without road pricing, expert cautions
• Uber to stop using ‘greyball’ tool to block officials’ ridesControversial system automatically cancelled rides requested by rivals and regulators

The Guardian

• Stop stalling on bike plans, Sadiq. Political timidity gets you nowhereCycle schemes have stagnated for 10 months, writes the former cycling commissioner. Will new cycling delegate Will Norman get London up to speed?Under its first two mayors, London became important for the whole country as a leader in cycling. But Will Norman, Sadiq Khan’s new walking and cycling commissioner, starts work with the capital’s cyclists in a gloomy mood. Not just because of the deaths of three cyclists – and two pedestrians – in a single week last month, but because of the last 10 months’ stagnation in what was previously Britain’s most active programme to promote the bike.I ran th...
• Brexit, airlines' worst fear, has become their preoccupationOperators flying in and out of UK are pursuing a legal framework to replace EU-wide agreements currently in placeThere is no shortage of metaphors for what airlines expect from Brexit: analysts talk of crosswinds, executives fear turbulence. For some, it is simply flying into thick fog with no idea where they are going to land.No airline wanted Britain to vote leave in last year’s referendum; easyJet and Ryanair campaigned against it. A single European market in aviation brought cheap flights spanning the continent, ever more passengers, trade and jobs. Why would they jeopardise that? Continue...
• In U-turn, Uber will stop using 'Greyball' secret tool to evade law enforcementCompany backtracks again, this time on program that used geolocation, credit card info and social media to profile users they believed to be involved in stingsUber will stop using its “Greyball” tool to evade law enforcement efforts, the ride-hail company announced Wednesday, just days after it defended the controversial program as necessary to protect its drivers from harm. Related: Greyball: how Uber used secret software to dodge the law Continue reading...

The Herald

• £270m investment in driverless cars and robots unlikely to go very far, warn technology expertsMartyn Landi

The Telegraph

• Airbus shows off futuristic flying car at Geneva Motor Show

Times Online

• Flying car offers commuters speedy escape from gridlock [Subscription]It could be the answer to the congestion crisis gripping our biggest cities: a car that can take to the skies to avoid rush-hour gridlock.
• Promised fines for ‘ghost roadworks’ vanish into thin air [Subscription]Utility companies have persuaded ministers to retreat from plans to impose fines on them for abandoning roadworks over the weekend after complaining about the “impact on staff”.
• Higher tax will be death of diesel, motoring groups say [Subscription]The chancellor was accused of signalling the “death knell for diesel” yesterday with plans to raise taxes for up to 12 million motorists by the end of the year.

Mail Online

• Budget shocker for those who've got a diesel car In a statement buried in the Budget documents, the Government confirmed it was looking at the ‘appropriate tax treatment’ for cars that use the fuel.

The Mirror

• World's biggest aircraft, the 'Flying Bum', crashed on first flight after climbing too high and snagging power linesThe £25million Airlander 10 which is a 'part plane, part helicopter, part airship' went into a nosedive before crashing headfirst damaging the cockpit

Birmingham Post

• How HS2 will make Greater Birmingham THE place to lead UK growthWith Royal Assent for HS2 Phase One now granted, the region is gearing up to maximise the benefits, according to Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP Board Member Simon Marks
• MIPIM 2017: How HS2 will make Greater Birmingham THE place to lead UK growthWith Royal Assent for HS2 Phase One now granted, the region is gearing up to maximise the benefits, according to Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP Board Member Simon Marks
• MIPIM 2017: How HS2 is helping Birmingham Airport expansionPaul Kehoe , chief executive of Birmingham Airport, explains why he and his team are supporting Greater Birmingham’s presence with Midlands UK at MIPIM

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Bus firm bust-up leaves some passengers fuming A BUS firm bust-up has left some passengers fuming.

Bristol Live

• The story so far of the vision to re-open Portishead Railway Line There has been a vision for several years to get the Portishead rail link re-opened. The latest news that the costs of the project are to treble will come as a real blow for those relying on the link to help congestion in the ever expanding town.

London Evening Standard

• Budget 2017: Diesel drivers could be hit with higher taxes to tackle toxic airChancellor Philip Hammond today put diesel drivers on notice that their vehicles could be hit with higher taxes to tackle toxic air.
• Row erupts over plans to build speed bumps on popular cycle route in Hyde ParkCyclists have hit out at plans to build speed bumps on a popular route in one of London's most iconic parks.

Manchester Evening News

• Greater Manchester could be given multi-billion pound transport fundThe M.E.N. can reveal Greater Manchester is in talks to secure a multi-billion pound new transport fund - aimed at huge new projects such as tram-trains, tunnels, busways and Metrolink extensions

Northern Echo

• Station’s grand design unveiled ahead of 2025 AMBITIOUS plans to modernise a historic Victorian railway station are being unveiled this morning.

Wales Online

• A man was billed more than �600 - for not having a �2.30 train ticket Matt Wheeler said he had cash on him but the ticket machine would only take card

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• Chancellor Philip Hammond pledges nearly £80m to drive Midlands EngineThe Black Country and Staffordshire will receive nearly £80 million to drive forward the Government's Midlands Engine strategy, the Chancellor has announced.

East Anglian Daily Times

• Millions of pounds on the way to ease Suffolk’s worst road junctionsRoads across Suffolk – and especially in Ipswich – are set to get a share of a £40m fund to ease the worst junctions.

Peterborough Telegraph

• Peterborough sports car maker invited to Geneva Motor Show for third yearA Peterborough manufacturer of sports cars is among the exhibitors today at the prestigious Geneva Motor Show.

Other Regional Press

• Predicted cost of MetroWest railway improvements set to almost trebleESTIMATED costs for the first phase of the MetroWest project are expected to almost treble. The West of England Joint Transport Board will be advised later this month that region-wide rail improvement scheme, which was originally costed at £58million, could cost anywhere between £145million and £175million.
• easyJet supports LLA developmenteasyJet has announced a “massive” growth in passengers for London Luton Airport.
• Luton praised by Wizz Air chiefThe chief operating officer of Wizz Air has praised Luton as a great place for business after the airline announced a new base at the airport this summer, writes Stewart Carr.

Rail Technology Magazine

• Siemens starts Rhine-Ruhr-Express depot construction in Germany Siemens has started laying foundations of its service and maintenance depot for Rhine-Ruhr-Express (RRX) trains, being built on the site of a former marshalling yard on the Dortmund-Lünen mainline in Germany.
• Liverpool Lime Street reopens early following collapsed wall repairsLiverpool Lime Street has reopened to trains today, 24 hours ahead of schedule, after a rail side section of trackside wall collapsed on Tuesday 28 February, blocking all four tracks leading in and out of the station. Rubble on the tracks caused disruption for passengers last week as trains from...
• Looming RMT strike forces Northern to run just 40% of servicesNorthern has announced that it will only be able to run 40% of its usual schedule when union RMT go on strike on 13 March – operating approximately 980 services across “many, but not all” of its routes in the north. The operator warned passengers to leave plenty of time for...
• Are you ready for apprenticeship changes?Dan Walker, head of apprenticeship delivery at National Training Academy for Rail (NTAR), explains how the organisation's apprenticeship programmes are essential for employers who are serious about skills in the changing marketplace.
• New NSAR scheme to improve skills recruitment and apprenticeship managementA new system that manages the placement of apprentices, graduates and students in the rail industry has been launched by the National Skills Academy for Rail (NSAR) and has already garnered the backing of 20 major rail heavyweights, including Transport for London (TfL) and Network Rail. The...
• Transforming ticketing in the west midlandsSmart ticketing on rail services in the West Midlands are building up a head of steam, writes Matt Lewis, head of Swift at Transport for West Midlands (TfWM).

Railway Gazette

• VTG reports an 'exciting and eventful year'EUROPE: Synergies following the acquisition of AAE and improved efficiency across the business...
• Siemens rolls out first Cascades Charger locomotiveUSA: The first of eight SC-44 Siemens Charger diesel-electric locomotives ordered by...
• Rail industry marks International Women's Day 2017INTERNATIONAL: The railway operations and supply industries around the world marked International...

Aviation Industry

• Qatar Airways unveils new business-class seat Qatar Airways presented a new business-class seat, “Q Suite,” at ITB Berlin on March 8. read more
• SAS Scandinavian Airlines doubles net loss in 1Q SAS Scandinavian Airlines has reported a SEK556 million ($61.7 million) 1Q net loss for the November to January period, more than doubling the SEK246 million loss it posted in the year-ago period. read more
• SkyWest CEO warns pilot shortage could lead to big service cutsSkyWest Inc. president and CEO Chip Childs warned the US Congress of a “growing pilot shortage” that could become significantly more pronounced over the next three years, leading to the grounding of large numbers of aircraft in US regional airlines’ fleets. read more
• IAG to launch Inmarsat’s high-speed IFEInternational Airlines Group (IAG), the parent company of British Airways, Spain’s Iberia, Spanish low-cost carrier Vueling and Ireland’s Aer Lingus, is set to be the launch customer of Inmarsat’s European Aviation Network (EAN) high-speed inflight broadband service. read more

Green Miscellany

• Nissan driverless cars, close overtakes and cyclistsDriverless cars are at risk from inheriting the bad habits of their human predecessors. Hopes that driverless cars might represent a Holy Grail for vulnerable road users that could effectively put an end to widespread road danger seemed premature this week after a Nissan equipped with the technology came close to hitting a cyclist. Petite vid�o de la conduite autonome.… The post Nissan driverless cars, close overtakes and cyclists appeared first on ETA.

Other News Sources

• STAGECOACH AND NETWORK RAIL LEAD THE WAY ON INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY WITH ALL FEMALE ROUTE LEADERSHIP TEAMMargaret Kay, the newly appointed Managing Director of South West Trains, part of the Stagecoach Group, and Becky Lumlock, Route Managing Director for Network Rail’s Wessex route, are now working in partnership to deliver rail services between London and the South West – one of the busiest sections of the country’s rail network with around 230 million passenger journeys each year.
• Grayling invites funders for Brighton Main Line 2The publication of the Government’s delayed London and South Coast Rail Corridor Study is long overdue. In fact, it is nearly two years since the report was announced by former chancellor George Osborne in April 2015 during his tour of Sussex.
• Tunnel Vision: Vogue Meets The Women Of CrossrailWith 26 miles of new tunnels, 40 stations and an anticipated 200 million passengers each year, Crossrail is set to revolutionise transport in London. In the November 2016 issue of Vogue, Louise Carpenter meets the women who have made it happen.
• Search for high-speed rail talent cranks upThe National College for High Speed Rail is firing up its campaign to entice more young people into the sector, which is expected to expand significantly over the coming years. The ‘Doors are Opening’ campaign will seek to attract fresh talent to the college’s two brand new campuses, currently being developed in Doncaster and Birmingham. […]
• Hammond pledges funding for skills and R&DSpring Budget at a glance: Investment in technical education for 16 to 19 year olds rising to over £500m £300m investment for new academic research placements £270m to launch the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund Improving transport with the National Productivity Investment Fund (NPIF) A new strategy to make the UK a world leader in 5G […]
• Eurostar unveils sale on 50,000 seats with fares starting at £29 Destinations in the Eurostar seat sale include Paris, Bruges and Brussels
• See video of HUGE pothole which was 'ignored' by Surrey County Council for TWO monthsThe "appalling" road surface in Bagshot is so bad a woman fell off her seat on a bus when the driver swerved to avoid the massive hole in the road