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

Saturday, 15 July 2017

BBC News

• Work begins on restoring Liverpool to North Wales rail linkThe development is seen as a milestone in travel between north-west England and North Wales
• Southwold railway enthusiasts adopt old locomotiveTrain enthusiasts, who are hoping to reopen an old seaside railway line, have been given a 1913 engine.
• Travel tax plan wins £250,000 Wolfson Economics PrizeGergely Raccuja wins £250,000 for his
• EasyJet picks Austrian base for post-Brexit planThe UK airline wants to set up a new company in Austria to protect its European business after Brexit.

Financial Times

• New rules halt luxury carmakers’ China shipmentsMcLaren, Lamborghini, Aston Martin and Morgan blindsided by ‘endurance test’
• EasyJet to set up Vienna-based airline to ease Brexit pressuresNew group will allow carrier to continue European operations after UK leaves the EU
• HS1 railway line sold for EV of £3bn, below initial expectationsCanadian pension fund owners bought asset for£2.1bn in 2010

The Guardian

• Channel Tunnel rail link sold on to consortium for £3bnCanadian pension funds Borealis and Ontario Teachers sell HS1 in deal thought to value track, stations and lease at £3bn
• EasyJet to set up Austrian HQ to operate EU flights after BrexitAirline still faces legal uncertainty about whether it will be able to fly between the UK and EU, and on what termsEasyJet is to open a new European headquarters in Austria to enable it to continue to operate flights within the EU after Brexit.The airline said it intended to establish a new airline, easyJet Europe, which would be headquartered in Vienna. Continue reading...
• Philip Hammond in row over 'even a woman can drive a train' jibeChancellor reported to have made sexist remark at cabinet meeting, with Theresa May believed to have been less than impressed with his commentPhilip Hammond appears to have irked the prime minister by making a sexist remark in cabinet, exposing the tensions at the highest level of government.Reports suggest that in a discussion about transport, the chancellor quipped that driving trains had now been made so easy that “even a woman” could do it. Continue reading...

Times Online

• Millions more rail passengers face strikes as driver-only row spreads to South West Trains [Subscription]Britain’s busiest rail company could face a wave of damaging strikes after union bosses warned of a repeat of action that has already crippled networks across northern and southern England.
• Hammond: Even a woman could drive a modern train [Subscription]Philip Hammond was caught up in a sexism row after telling the cabinet that driving trains was so easy that even women could do it.
• What’s coming down the track at Carillion? [Subscription]The scale of the crisis at Carillion is summed up by the text sent to friends by one respected fund manager soon after the company’s shock profit warning last Monday: “Is Carillion toast?”

The Mirror

• 'Even a woman can drive a train': Chancellor Philip Hammond in sexist jibe rowSources close to Mr Hammond have strongly denied that he made any such comment and insisted the phrase was uttered by another minister

Network Rail

• Sixth formers reinterpret the future railway in The Apprentice-style skills challengeIn the week leading up to World Youth Skills Day on Saturday 15 July, 16 students took part in a classroom-to-boardroom challenge. The aim was to develop their business skills and introduce them to potential future opportunities in the rail industry.
• Lichfield MP goes trackside with Network Rail and London MidlandThe MP for Lichfield, Michael Fabricant, met with Network Rail and London Midland today (Friday 14 July) to see first-hand how the railway in his constituency is run and maintained.

Birmingham Mail

• How airport car parking costs vary MASSIVELY across the UKExeter was the cheapest, where an equivalent space cost just £65

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• 'We're in Saltaire not Northern Ireland': new row over car park changes A MAN has criticised the company in charge of controversial changes to a Saltaire car park - after a mix-up with a parking site in Northern Ireland.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Direct rail link from North Wales to Liverpool takes giant step forward today Work gets underway on the Halton Curve that could transform rail links in the area

London Evening Standard

• New 'Boris Bike' rivals oBike told to remove 'obstructive' bicycles from streets days after launching schemeA company has been told to remove its "obstructive" bicycles from a borough's streets, just days after it launched a cycle-hire scheme to rival 'Boris Bikes' in London.

Manchester Evening News

• Metrolink and bus network gets security boost with more than 70 new safety staff New tram operator vows to tackle anti-social behaviour and crime on the network

Wales Online

• The Welsh Secretary proclaimed the £1.3bn City Deal a 'fantastic opportunity' during his visit to Swansea Alun Cairns also praised businesses for their role in bringing down unemployment
• MP calls for action on Wales' 'creaking transport system' Jonathan Edwards believes more should be spent on rural roads, rather than concentrating investment in south east Wales

East Anglian Daily Times

• ‘End our train hell’ says watchdog as Suffolk and Essex rail group gets behind campaignRail campaigners in Suffolk and Essex have lent their support to a petition launched by consumer group Which? pledging to “end our train hell”.

Get West London

• Crossrail services for Elizabeth line increased by Transport for London as new map revealedOff-peak services from Paddington will be increased from previous plans

Plymouth Herald

• Ceremony in Plymouth for one of the last ever class 66s trains built On Monday afternoon, July 10, the newly built GBRF class 66 no 66775 worked down from Westbury to Devonport Dockyard light engine, for a naming ceremony, and on early Tuesday evening, this loco returned from Saltash to Eastleigh, writes Thomas Mills.

Other Regional Press

• North Warwickshire MP demands greater transparency on HS2 documents NORTH Warwickshire MP Craig Tracey has demanded that High Speed 2 chiefs be more transparent on their plans for the project.
• Halton Curve upgrade starts as 'first spade put in the ground'The return of the Halton Curve rail line is on as the upgrade has officially begun.

Rail Technology Magazine

• Is a Siemens-Bombardier joint venture a real possibility? Siemens and Bombardier are reportedly in talks to merge their rail operations to compete more effectively with Chinese state-backed giant CRRC. The challenges and implications, however, should not be understated.

Railway Gazette

• EU funding for Skopje – Sofia link EUROPE: Two international rail projects in the Western Balkans region are to benefit from European...
• Prototype Rhein-Ruhr-Express EMU unveiledGERMANY: The prototype for the fleet of 82 Desiro HC electric multiple-units which Siemens is to...

Aviation Industry

• Pilot groups decry BA use of Qatar aircraft during strikePilot representatives from the European Cockpit Association (ECA) and the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) have voiced concerns about British Airways’ (BA) use of aircraft and crews from Qatar Airways to fill gaps in BA’s schedule caused by a long-running industrial dispute at the UK national carrier. read more
• Preliminary report: Air Canada A320 overflew four aircraft at SFOA preliminary summary issued by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) said Air Canada flight 759 overflew four aircraft on the taxiway parallel to runway 28R at the San Francisco International Airport (SFO) near midnight on July 7. read more
• Eurowings CCO: Airberlin wet lease delivers 23,000 more flights Lufthansa Group low-cost (LCC) subsidiary Eurowings said the wet lease of 33 Airbus A319/320s from airberlin allows the carrier to offer 23,000 additional flights, 60 new routes and to generate an additional 3 million passengers. read more
• London Heathrow runway process delayed yet againA further delay in providing a third runway at London Heathrow Airport has been discovered, because of a quirk of UK parliamentary procedure. read more

Green Miscellany

• Build your own wheelie bin bicycle trailerWe love cargo bikes, but they are expensive and can be tricky to store if you’re short on space so we set ourselves a challenge to boost a conventional bicycle’s carry capacity to 240 litres on a budget of £50 (and make sure it remained easy to store). For reference, the cheapest 20-litre pannier we could find online was £22.50.… The post Build your own wheelie bin bicycle trailer appeared first on ETA.
• Why do we subsidise air travel for the wealthy?It’s an inconvenient truth that most of us choose to forget; it is our own behaviour that is responsible for carbon emissions and the resulting change in our climate. After all, while we might be aware that driving a car and having children are both significant sources of pollution, we�consider both to be a right. �In the absence of a… The post Why do we subsidise air travel for the wealthy? appeared first on ETA.
• Sleeper bus service launched in the land of the carBuses in Britain have a poor image largely due to decades of underinvestment and our car-centric culture. However, neither of these factors had prevented the launch of�a luxurious inter-city sleeper bus service in the land of the car. Ethical, Reliable Travel Insurance you can trust Up to 30% online discount for single-trip policies. Get your quote Cabin is a new… The post Sleeper bus service launched in the land of the car appeared first on ETA.

Other News Sources

• Next generation of the ScotRail Alliance get career on trackThe ScotRail Alliances’s fourth intake of Modern Apprentices has celebrated securing permanent employment on the railway and completion of the Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award at the Palace of Holyroodhouse.
• Preston's railway station has been nominated in a search for the worst new building Preston Railway Station’s new Butler Street entrance has been nominated for an unwanted award.
• Navigating the new car industry‘Massive and dramatic’ disruption of the auto industry presents issues for incumbent carmakers, says an article co-authored by experts from Cambridge Judge Business School and Jaguar Land Rover.
• London Stansted sets new passenger record for June as cargo total hits all-time highLondon Stansted welcomed over 2.3 million passengers to the airport during June this year, up 7.9% over the same month in 2016 and a new record for the month of June, surpassing the previous high set 11 years ago in 2006.