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

Wednesday, 14 June 2017

BBC News

• Inquiry into £125m Caernarfon bypass plans beginsThe Welsh Government wants to build a new road to help ease congestion on the A487.
• Waymo retires Firefly driverless carThe Google firm will concentrate on putting its tech in existing vehicles.
• Bikes from mothballed Dumfries hire scheme could help cancer patientsRemnants of the first hire scheme of its kind in Scotland will help patients meet exercise targets.
• 'Mobike' bicycle-hire scheme to be launched in Greater ManchesterCyclists will be able to use an app to find out where the nearest available bike can be picked up.
• Flight delays after Manchester Airport check-in failsPassengers had to queue for several hours to check-in on some Thomas Cook flights at Manchester Airport.
• Trucker body to seek cartel compensationThe RHA is to seek to bring a claim over truck price-fixing.

Financial Times

• How to improve the economy travel experience for plane passengersFive tips to make life less challenging in an age of on-board austerity
• Capita in talks to run British Airways’ call centres in UKDiscussions take place as IT meltdown at airline left 75,000 passengers stranded

The Guardian

• Airport noise increases risk of heart disease, study suggestsThe highest noise levels, particularly at night, are associated with a greater risk of high blood pressure and heart flutter, say scientsts
• Oslo's car ban sounded simple enough. Then the backlash beganWhen Oslo decided to be the first European city to ban cars from its centre, businesses protested. So the city did the next best thing: it banned parkingOne day late last summer, in Frogner, a central neighbourhood of Oslo, Nils Sandberg received a note. “It simply stated that shortly, parking spaces in these streets would disappear and bicycle lanes would be built,” says Sandberg. He spoke to neighbours, and learned they had all received the same note. “This came as a total surprise and shock.” Continue reading...
• Street wars 2035: can cyclists and driverless cars ever co-exist?Driverless cars appear unstoppable – except of course you can simply walk in front of one and force it to stop. Could this conundrum eventually mean a return to a dystopian world of segregated urban highways?Picture yourself cycling down a city street in the year 2035. You’re late for a meeting, but the road you must cross ahead has recently been designated an “Autonomous Vehicle-only” route, where platoons of driverless cars whizz past, mere centimetres apart from each other. You can’t ride across it, as cyclists and pedestrians have been banned for fear they would slow the driverless traffic...

The Telegraph

• Queen reveals love of trains as she recreates first Royal rail journey, 175 years on�
• Airports offering holiday makers less than €1 for £1 accused of profiteering from election

City AM

• Commuters face Blackfriars Bridge gridlock as new security barriers cause havoc on cycle superhighway six routeNew barriers put in place on Blackfriars Bridge to up security in the wake of the Westminster and London Bridge terror attacks are causing significant congestion for cyclists and pedestrians.
• London Heathrow is no longer Europe's number one airport for direct connectivity as Amsterdam's Schiphol flies higherLondon Heathrow has been toppled from its ranking as the number one airport in Europe for direct connectivity, according to a new report from Airports Council International (ACI) Europe.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Firms urged to become a bike friendly business as scheme is extendedCOMPANIES in Bradford are being invited to become bike-friendly businesses as a scheme is extended across West Yorkshire.

London Evening Standard

• The HotTug: A hot tub boat is coming to Regent's CanalEver sat in a bath and wished it had its own bath? You're in luck
• British Airways accused of 'degrading' workforce in row over outsourcing jobsBritish Airways is embroiled in a fresh row over the outsourcing of jobs after union leaders accused the airline of "degrading" its workforce.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• British Airways accused of 'degrading' work over possible outsourcing of jobs from Newcastle centreAny deal would likely see the airline’s call centres in Newcastle and Manchester, which employ 1,400 people, outsourced to Capita

Northern Echo

• Trainbuilder's rolling stock used by Queen for celebratory occasionA NORTH-EAST trainbuilder played its own part in a Royal celebration yesterday.

Get West London

• Heathrow Airport 'needs more capacity' after record-breaking passenger number in April, chief exec claimsHeathrow Airport's chief executive has reinforced the need to expand the airport after a "bumper" Easter broke cargo and passenger records for April.

Other Regional Press

• Hitachi's trains have been road-tested by Her Majesty the QueenQueen Elizabeth rode the Intercity Express Train, built in Newton Aycliffe, to mark 175 years since the first British monarch travelled by train
• School children give mosaic makeover to Sleaford rail station Artistic pupils from Ancaster Primary School have brightened up Sleaford railway station’s footbridge.
• High Street bus gate fines top £6m - is it time to change the rules? A TOP businessman said Oxford’s bus gate in High Street should be reviewed after it emerged council bosses have raked in fines totalling more than £6m over 10 years.

Buying Business Travel

• Call for swift government action on aviation issuesBalpa warns a ‘poorly-planned’ Brexit could damage the UK aviation industry

Rail Magazine

• IEP train keeps royal appointment for anniversary specialHer Majesty the Queen names Great Western Railway IEP at London Paddington

Rail Technology Magazine

• Beth West steps down as HS2 commercial director to join LandsecAnother top-level executive at HS2 has left the company with only months left until work begins delivering the £55m rail project. In an email sent around to staff at the company, commercial director Beth West announced that she would be leaving HS2 in the autumn after four-and-a-half years...
• 'Great progress' made in rail sector skills delivery plan so far, NSAR revealsConsiderable progress has been made into delivering on key targets set out in the Rail Sector Skills Delivery Plan, the National Skills Academy for Rail (NSAR) has today revealed. Launched by DfT and the wider industry in December 2016, the plan aims to support ambitious rail investment...
• Plans for £125m Oxford station revamp unveiled Initial plans for a £125m revamp of Oxford station have this week been released by Oxford City Council. The design includes plans for a new building fronted by a public square inspired by King’s Cross station, as well as a multi-storey car park, bus interchange, hotel, new housing as...

Aviation Industry

• Trump withdraws from the Paris Agreement: where does that leave US aviation emissions?As the news sinks in that the Conservatives are joining forces with a party whose former environmental minister deemed climate change a “con”, and that “reluctant green” Michael Gove, who once attempted to wipe climate change from the school curriculum, takes …
• Manchester Airport computer glitch snags check-ins, causes delaysAirlines at Manchester Airport, the UK’s largest airport outside London, experienced delays of several hours early June 13, after a computer malfunction meant staff at several airlines had to check-in passengers manually. read more
• ATR to add new full flight simulator in ParisTurboprop manufacturer ATR will be adding a brand new ATR 72-600 full flight simulator (FFS) to its Paris Training Center this fall. read more
• TSA to test biometric fingerprint technology at checkpointsThe US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said it is beginning tests of biometric fingerprint identification technology at two US airport checkpoint lanes—one in Atlanta and another in Denver. read more

Other News Sources

• Transport Minister ‘passing the buck’ on cost of rail improvement delayTransport Minister Humza Yousaf has been accused of “passing the buck” after admitting he does not know how much another delay to a flagship rail improvement project will cost.
• FTA urges Customs rethink at Welsh AssemblyThe Freight Transport Association has called for the Welsh Assembly to pressure the new national government to review its decision to leave the ...