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

Thursday, 13 July 2017

BBC News

• Southern rail: Government fines owners over delaysThe owners of Southern rail have been fined £13.4m for poor performance, the Department for Transport has announced.
• Newport trains jobs boost 'a vote of confidence'Economy Secretary Ken Skates says the £30m deal, which will create 300 jobs, is
• Congestion warning if Severn bridge M4 tolls scrappedFreight businesses want the Severn bridge tolls scrapped but fear M4 congestion will continue.
• £30m train manufacturer to create 300 jobs in NewportFirst Minister Carwyn Jones calls the manufacturing jobs boost a 'major coup for Wales'.
• Faraday Future shelves electric car factoryThe electric car start-up has put plans for the the $1bn (£775m) facility in Nevada on hold indefinitely.
• Lerwick Harbour's £16.5m Mair's Pier expansion opensThe expansion to the Harbour, named Mair's Pier, has been officially opened to service port users.
• Corbyn 'Traingate' film did not breach data lawBut Virgin footage of Labour's leader passing by empty seats should have obscured passengers faces.
• Greater Manchester's bike hire scheme 'misunderstood', says MobikeRental company Mobike admits
• Hitting the brakesWith demand for new cars down in America - the world's second-largest car market - how worried should automakers be?

ITV News

• New £30m rail production facility to create 300 jobs in NewportThree hundred new jobs are being created at a new factory in Newport making trains and trams.

Department for Transport

• Update on the Airports NPS and a decision on night flightsProgress on the Airports National Policy Statement and the decision on a new night flight regime for Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports.

Financial Times

• Lombard: Far too British AirwaysQuestion of EU ownership rules could hang over IAG, easyJet and Ryanair
• From buses to glasses: Silicon Valley’s love of non-tech start-upsSome tech start-ups strain the limits of what it means to be ‘tech’ or a ‘start-up’
• IAG calls for EU to relax ownership laws as Brexit concerns mountUK’s departure could force British Airways’ owner to buy out shareholders or risk break-up
• US airlines cruise higher on rosier outlooks from American, United

The Guardian

• Southern rail: unions say £13.4m fine is ‘less than a slap on the wrist’Owner of rail franchise is fined over its failure to run services but government says industrial action was a major factor
• Electric car boom will fuel demand for power, says National GridIncrease in peak electricity demand could be more than capacity of planned Hinkley Point C nuclear power station by 2030A dramatic growth in electric vehicles on Britain’s roads could see peak electricity demand jump by more than the capacity of the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station by 2030, according to National Grid.The number of plug-in cars and vans could reach 9m by 2030, up from around 90,000 today, said the company, which runs the UK’s national transmission networks for electricity and gas. Continue reading...

The Herald

• Some smaller ports not visited by border force for over a yearNearly half of small unmanned sea ports on Britain's east coast were not visited at all by Border Force for more than a year during the height of the international migration crisis, an inspection report reveals.
• Third of UK flights face 30-minute delay unless airspace modernised, says Chris GraylingA third of UK flights could be delayed by more than half an hour unless airspace is modernised, the Transport Secretary has warned.

The Scotsman

• Glasgow flights to New York to be grounded this winterUnited Airlines is to halt flights between Glasgow and New York this winter, The Scotsman has learned.

Mail Online

• Virgin Trains is clerared of breaching data laws In an extraordinary row last summer, Mr Corbyn published a video of him sat on the floor of a Virgin train complaining about overcrowding. Virgin published footage showing he had a seat.

Birmingham Mail

• Councils see drivers as "wallets on wheels" say AASome 62% of local authorities have reduced their expenditure on services such as road maintenance, street lights and school crossing patrols since 2016/17
• The Big Sleuth presenting partner London Midland is very proud of Bear-mingham - here's why London Midland Commercial Director Richard Brooks reveals why the train operator is backing the public art trail

Birmingham Post

• Birmingham's cab firms will be ranked in futurePrivate hire firms will be rated on quality of customer service including drivers dress code and child seats - but the industry is not happy

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Key rail projects are being shelved to fund DUP deal, MP claims during Prime Minister's QuestionsA BRADFORD MP has accused the Government of sacrificing transport improvements in the North to pay for its controversial deal with the DUP.

London Evening Standard

• 'Nine out of 10 most popular Boris bike trips are around Hyde Park''Boris bikes' are used mostly to get around Hyde Park rather than as a form of transport across London, figures have revealed.
• Commuters with season tickets call for compensation for Waterloo station 'shutdown' in August'It's an absolute shambles'
• Transport for London scraps 'ladies and gentlemen' from Tube tannoy announcements in gender-neutral move'The term 'ladies and gentlemen' is polite but really belongs to yesterday', say campaigners

Wales Online

• New £100m M4 to Cardiff Airport link road being considered as key project in £1.2bn City DealMajor park and ride schemes for thousands of vehicles at strategic sites on the Metro are also on the agenda
• 300 jobs to be created at new train building factory in NewportSpanish company CAF has been supplying train operators in the UK since the 1990s

Yorkshire Post

• Barclays boss backs greater co-operation between Northern cities as “very intelligent” Read more at: http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/barclays-boss-backs-greater-co-operation-between-northern-cities-as-very-intelligent-1-8646261The case for a high speed rail network to link up northern cities is “very compelling”, according to the chief executive of banking giant Barclays.

East Anglian Daily Times

• Increased annual profits for Stansted Airport owner Manchester Airports GroupStansted Airport is close to breaking through the 25m passengers a year threshold after its busiest ever June.

Other Regional Press

• Train factory will bring 300 new jobs for Newport thanks to £30 million investmentA NEW £30 million facility creating new trains is to be set up in Newport, creating 300 new jobs.

Buying Business Travel

• Manchester in top 20 European airports for passenger trafficNorth West airport boosted by long-haul traffic
• Ryanair to ‘strictly enforce’ cabin baggage rulesAirline warns passengers as it enters busy summer period
• Lyft enables automatic expense receipt forwardingTaxi app announces deals with eight expense management providers

Construction Enquirer

• Plans approved for £70m Derby Triangle schemeA major business park development development known as the Derby Triangle has got the planning green light.

Rail Technology Magazine

• Lost and found: how is technology changing lost property? From the mundane, such as umbrellas, coats and other everyday objects, to the somewhat baffling – a microwave or widescreen television: lost property is an unavoidable occurrence on any railway network. Now, third-party start-ups are trying to take t…
• TfGM award contract for Trafford Park extensionTfGM has revealed that the contract to extend the Metrolink network has been awarded to MPact Thales (MPT) and WSP. MPT, a consortium of Laing O’Rourke, VolkerRail and Thales, will again collaborate to design and construct the new line that will serve the intu Trafford Centre via Trafford...
• Bodyshells of new Northern rolling stock 'coming together' Northern have updated passengers on the progress being made on the 98 new trains being built for the operator by Spanish company CAF. The rolling stock will be made up of 281 carriages, and split into 43 electric and 55 diesel powered trains. Within these, CAF will build 25 two-car and 30...
• RSSB partners with eight universities to drive £92m research programmeThe RSSB will partner with the rail supply industry and a consortium of eight universities to drive research aimed at making the UK the world leading centre of rail excellence. The partnership is also being supported by £92m worth of funding, with £28.1m of this figure coming from...

Railnews

• East West link announcement within days The rebuilt East West Rail Link between Oxford, Bedford and Aylesbury could mark a fundamental change in railway policy by becoming the first part of National Rail to be vertically integrated since British Rail was abolished 20 years ago. Local consultations about the project have now restarted along the route, while a major announcement is expected from the transport secretary within the next few days. East West Rail will link Bedford and Milton Keynes with Oxford and London Marylebone via Aylesbury and Princes Risborough. It first appeared on the DfT franchise list last year, and Railnews...
• Newport chosen for new train-building plant A new factory manufacturing trains and trams is to be built by Spanish rolling stock company CAF at Newport in south Wales. Up to 300 jobs will be created, including apprenticeships. CAF is investing £30 million in the project, and has also been aided by a grant from the Welsh Government. Today's announcement comes during the three-day state visit to Britain of the King and Queen of Spain.
• Govia to pay £13.4m for Southern disruption Govia has been effectively fined £13.4 million by the Department for Transport for poor performance connected with industrial action on Southern. The money will pay for improvements rather than go to the government. The argument over whether Govia had been a victim of 'force majeure' -- factors outside its control -- has been running since early last year. Matters came to a head in the High Court two weeks ago, when the DfT was given until today to reach a decision. Govia said it had already factored in the additional costs, and that its expectations for the year ended 1 July 2017 remain unch...

Railway Gazette

• Battery energy recovery and biodiesel in Arriva operating contractNETHERLANDS: The provinces of Groningen and Friesland named incumbent Arriva as the winner of...

Aviation Industry

• Airbus A350-1000 completes hot weather testingThe Airbus A350-1000 test aircraft, MSN065, has completed hot weather tests at Al Ain International Airport in the United Arab Emirates. read more
• Russia’s VIM Airlines triples cargo volume in 1HRussia’s VIM Airlines carried 7,816 tonnes of cargo and 487 tonnes of post in the 2017 first half, tripled from the year-ago period, the airline said July 12. read more
• Mesa Airlines pilots ratify labor agreementMesa Airlines pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), ratified a new four-year agreement with management. read more
• AIA names new VP-civil aviationThe Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) named David Silver as VP-civil aviation. read more
• American to end Etihad & Qatar codeshares over subsidy rowAmerican Airlines is ending its codeshare relationships with Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways as a protest against what it alleges to be government subsidies of the major Gulf carriers. read more

Green Miscellany

• The death knell is tolling for the petrol and diesel carThere are signs the death knell is tolling for the internal combustion with the announcement this week that France is to ban petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040. The news will have come as little surprise to car makers, who have long been aware that time is running out for fossil fuels, but perhaps it took the VW emissions scandal… The post The death knell is tolling for the petrol and diesel car appeared first on ETA.

Other News Sources

• Our service levels haven’t been good enough’ admits chief behind Southern Rail as owners receive £13.4million government fineThe company behind strike-hit Southern Rail has been handed a £13.4million fine over the poor quality of its services, with the CEO admitting “service levels haven’t been good enough”.
• Lord Adonis: Politics shouldn't get in the way of progressLord Andrew Adonis praised what he described as a ‘railway that fundamentally works’, addressing the Institute of Railway Operators’ (IRO) annual member’s lunch last month, while acknowledging some of the challenges still to overcome.
• FTA says report balances workers’ rights with need for flexibility, but falls short of defining self-employmentThe UK’s biggest transport trade body, the Freight Transport Association (FTA), has welcomed the recommendations in Matthew Taylor’s report on ...