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

Wednesday, 31 May 2017

BBC News

• Exploring London’s ‘secret’ Mail RailThe London Post Office Railway, also known as Mail Rail, stretched from Whitechapel to Paddington.
• Manchester attack: Victoria railway station reopensThe station, attached to Manchester Arena, was shut after the bombing at the Ariana Grande concert.
• Pilots approaching Glasgow Airport spot drone above planeThe drone is thought to have been less than 200ft from the jet as it approached Glasgow Airport.
• Ryanair expects lower fares but reports record profitsThe airline says fares will fall by up to 7% this year as it reports a record annual profit.
• Uber fires self-driving car engineer amid legal fight with GoogleAnthony Levandowski has declined to testify in the case over self-driving car technology.

Financial Times

• British Airways owner IAG drops 4% after bank holiday chaos
• Ryanair lifts profits despite slashing fares to stimulate demandAirline cut prices following terrorist attacks and Brexit vote
• British Airways under pressure to explain source of power surgeElectricity companies say there were no issues with networks that serve Heathrow
• Ryanair: restricted leg roomShares in the budget carrier are close to cruising altitude
• BA lacks the leaders and the resources to tackle a crisisCustomer-friendliness is as important as cost-effectiveness, writes Andrew Hill
• BA’s reputation on line as cost cuts questionedBritish flag carrier’s chief faces increasing doubts over handling of computer crash
• It will cost more than a coffee to recast BA as a favourite flierAnalysts say the disruption could cost anywhere between €50m and €100m
• London Underground on track to offer mobile receptionTransport for London will invite bids for work after general election
• Charging infrastructure vital as London taxis turn electricElectrifying the 24,000-strong black cab fleet is a big step towards cleaner air

The Guardian

• Uber fires head of self-driving car unit amid lawsuit over stolen Google secretsAnthony Levandowski has invoked fifth amendment during deposition after he was accused of bringing 14,000 internal documents with him from WaymoUber has fired the head of its self-driving car unit, Anthony Levandowski, amid the continuing fallout from the engineer’s alleged theft of trade secrets from his former employer, Google. The termination, which was first reported by the New York Times, comes three months after Levandowksi was accused of stealing 14,000 internal documents from Google’s self-driving car spinoff, Waymo, and taking them to Uber. Waymo sued Uber in February, alleging that t...
• British Airways IT failure: experts doubt 'power surge' claimData centre leaders question BA chief executive’s statement that worldwide disruption was caused by power surgeExperts have questioned British Airways’ claim that this weekend’s catastrophic IT failure was down to a “power surge”, as the company’s chief executive has claimed.Álex Cruz, BA’s chairman and chief executive, said on Monday that the surge was “so strong that it rendered the back-up system ineffective”. But multiple data centre designers have told the Guardian that a power surge should not be able to bring down a data centre, let alone a data centre and its back-up. Continue reading....
• Ryanair makes £1.1bn profit despite cutting faresChief executive Michael O’Leary says profitability doubled over three years even though fares were reduced by 13%Ryanair announced a record annual profit on Tuesday in a vindication of its strategy of cutting fares to boost market share, and said it planned to turn up the heat further on rivals.Its warning to competitors came as British Airways was counting the cost of its huge IT failure last weekend that left 75,000 passengers stranded. Continue reading...
• BA’s failures fly in the face of ‘customer as king’. This is the new normal | Peter FlemingThe chaos at Heathrow and Gatwick is further evidence that the popular corporate model ignores the customer in favour of shareholders – but could this backfire?As far as bride-to-be Laura Thomson was concerned, Heathrow Terminal 5 could easily be considered some new rendition of hell. She was one of the thousands of passengers stranded over the bank holiday weekend following a major British Airways IT meltdown. It’s not hard to sympathise. Gatwick and Heathrow are two of the most unpleasant airports in Europe at the best of times. Imagine having to camp out on the floor overnight to boot. Rela...
• British Airways should come clean about computer chaosWith two check-in meltdowns last year the airline must have known there were bugs in the system that needed fixingBritish Airways, with the insouciance the airline so frequently displays, is still to say precisely why its systems failed so catastrophically at the weekend.

Times Online

• BA storm clouds linger [Subscription]Good morning. Bank Holiday weekend. The most serious IT failure in UK aviation history. More than 1,000 flights cancelled or delayed. Some 75,000 people affected in 70 countries. While British Airways says it is now operating a full flight schedule, it will be feeling the consequences of the past few days for a long time to come.
• SNP policy manifesto summary [Subscription]Transport The SNP would push for work on the HS2 high-speed rail line to begin in Scotland at the same time it begins in England, so that the line would reach Scotland and not stop in the middle of England. The SNP will also look into the possibility of extending the Borders rail link to Carlisle.
• Price cuts will mean bigger profits, says Ryanair [Subscription]Ryanair will lower ticket prices by up to another 7 per cent this year but insisted yesterday that its plans to fly a record 130 million passengers over the next 12 months would also mean new levels of profitability.

Mail Online

• BA 'profited from trapped passengers over upgrades' British Airways has been accused of profiting from passengers trapped by the global IT crash who went on to pay huge sums for expensive upgrades just to reach their destinations.
• Heathrow's Terminal One awaiting demolition These are the amazing photographs from inside Heathrow's Terminal One, which after 50 years is awaiting demolition to allow the expansion of the west London airport.
• Did British Airways system overheat in the warm weather The blackout of a BA computer data centre at Heathrow and the failure of a back-up system meant flights across the world were grounded, with 75,000 people having their flights cancelled.
• Strike days double as doctors and trains staff wreak havoc Most strikes, such as this Tube walk-out (left), occurred in the transport and storage sector where there were 23 strikes and 49,100 working days lost in 2016.

The Mirror

• London Crossrail delayed as £15bn Elizabeth Line's first passenger train pushed back to allow further testingCrossrail trains built for London's new £15bn Elizabeth Line will not be coming as early as planned.

Belfast Telegraph

• RMT sets deadline in Greater Anglia ticket office closures rowA leading rail union has set a deadline for a row over ticket offices to be resolved or it will declare a formal dispute.

Bristol Live

• Bus from city centre delayed after driver forgets to bring his licence with himThe bus didn't move for 10 minutes during rush hour before the driver finally admitted the issue

London Evening Standard

• Residents braced for EIGHT weekends of noisy late night engineering work on Gospel Oak and Barking lineThousands of residents living close to the Gospel Oak and Barking line were warned today to expect eight consecutive weekends of sleepless nights because of late running work on the £130 million upgrade.
• Chaos on Eurostar as drunk Brits cause major security scare leaving passengers stranded in CalaisTwo British drunks caused a major security scare that left 770 Eurostar passengers stranded in Calais.

Other Regional Press

• First look at new bullet trains being built in Italy to serve passengers between Penzance and London A new fleet of bullet trains is on its way to transporting passengers on the Penzance to London line but it will be a while before you see them on the tracks or at your local station. However we have had a sneak peek at the carriages and engines being built in Italy.
• New report highlights the benefits of extended Borders RailwayA REPORT detailing the advantages of enhancing and extending the Borders Railway to better serve more communities directly has been published by the Campaign for Borders Rail.
• New First park and ride buses for Ipswich go on display at Suffolk ShowTransport group First Eastern Counties is showing off its new Park and Ride bus for Ipswich at the Suffolk Show.
• Council spends thousands on bus stops that aren’t usedConcerns have been raised that thousands of pounds have been spent by Dundee City Council on bus stops that are not being used....
• Bus lovers given chance to explore historic routesTHOUSANDS descended on Harwell’s Recreation Ground for an annual village extravaganza featuring a parade of floats, historical re-enactments and a celebrity visit.

Buying Business Travel

• Ryanair fare cuts continue as profit risesAirline announces record profit as passenger numbers increase 13%
• Emirates to unveil new First Class cabin in NovemberA range of new features expected for business and economy

Rail Magazine

• Report presses commercial case for extended Borders linkNew report by the Campaign for Borders Rail (CBR) makes the case for re-opening the line from Tweedbank to Mossband Junction.

Rail Technology Magazine

• IPEX Consulting-Rail Specialist Engineering and Commercial Consultancy IPEX Consulting offers advisory services for specialist train systems and intelligent commercial engineering projects.The company's experts offer a deep understanding of the rail industry, and its hi...
• Elsys Successfully Certified According to ISO 9001 The products and services of Elsys have been successfully certified according to the quality management system ISO 9001: 2015. Elsys has always focused on high quality and customer satisfaction.
• Eurostar introduces new e320 trains on London-Brussels routeEurostar has this week started running its new e320 trains on the London-Brussels route as part of the company’s £1bn programme of investment. A total of 17 new e320s will be introduced to Eurostar’s fleet over the next 18 months, and the operator will also undertake a...
• High Court blocks Heathrow from imposing fees on Crossrail trainsThe High Court has this week upheld a ruling made by the ORR to stop Heathrow charging TfL to run Elizabeth Line trains through the airport. Last week, RTM reported that Heathrow Airport Limited (HAL) was attempting to impose fees amounting to around £47m per year to run services on the...
• Steam locomotion returns to Borders Railway for summerHistory buffs and train enthusiasts will be delighted to hear that this summer they will once again be given the chance to hop on a steam train and travel through some of Scotland’s tranquil countryside. That’s because this week, VisitScotland has announced that trips on a train...
• Bravery of rail staff praised as Manchester Victoria reopens Manchester Victoria has reopened for passengers today after being closed for seven days following the terrorist incident last week. The station was shut after the attack on 29 May at Manchester Arena’s foyer to allow police to carry out their investigation in the area. A spokesperson for...

Railnews

• Passenger figures reel under impact of strikes The total of season tickets issued and the number of passenger trains scheduled to run both fell last year, apparently as a result of more than 30 strikes staged on Southern by the RMT and ASLEF.

Railway Gazette

• DB Netz seeks quality and capacityIAF: Quality, capacity and simplicity are the three core themes at the heart of the infrastructure...
• LEO Express looking to buy LocomoreEUROPE: LEO Express is looking to acquire German open access operator Locomore, which recently...

The Business Desk

• Advertising watchdop bans Jet2 ad over baggage allowance confusionJet2 has been banned from running a radio ad which the advertising watchdog deemed misleading.
• Ground handling business takes off at Birmingham Airport following mergerA new ground handling company has started operations at Birmingham Airport as it looks to capitalise on the increasing passenger volumes at the hub.

Aviation Industry

• British Airways mops up after tidal wave of IT problemsBritish Airways (BA) said May 30 it had fully recovered its schedules after the major weekend IT crash that grounded the airline’s fleet across the world. read more
• Ryanair full-year net profit up 6%Irish low-cost carrier (LCC) Ryanair reported a full-year net profit of €1.3 billion ($1.5 billion), up 6% from a €1.2 billion net profit in the year-ago period. read more
• Allegiant COO Jude Bricker resignsUltra-low-cost carrier (ULCC) Allegiant Air EVP and COO Jude Bricker resigned May 26, the Las Vegas-based carrier announced without further explanation. read more
• Russia sees 21% increase in passenger traffic Russian airlines carried 27.1 million passengers from January-April 2017, up 20.8% year-over-year (YOY). read more

Other News Sources

• Rail engineer becomes Institution’s new President Carolyn Griffiths CEng FIMechE FREng from Burgess Hill, West Sussex has become the 132nd President of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.
• Hacking the RailwayThe recent attacks on computer networks at health locations in Britain, Russia’s interior ministry, the Spanish telecom giant Telefonica and the US delivery firm FedEx, as well as organisations in Sweden, Germany and around the world has once again raised the issue of cyber security.
• Signs changed on controversial Nottingham ‘bus gate’ after High Court rulingSigns have been changed on a controversial city ‘bus gate’ after a High Court judge said they weren’t clear enough to motorists.
• Sinking feeling for bus after hole opens up in ground outside railway stationThe vehicle started sinking soon after its passengers had disembarked