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

Thursday, 03 August 2017

BBC News

• New York City’s hidden commuter networkMany neighbourhoods in the Big Apple don't have access to trains or regular buses, so locals sometimes turn to a lesser-known, sometimes illegal network to get around
• 'No major incidents' as driverless buses launch in EstoniaThere have been a few close calls as autonomous vehicles hit the road in Tallinn as part of the country's EU presidency.
• British Airways apologises for check-in failurePassengers faced queues and delays while computer systems were temporarily down, the airline says.
• Tesla revenues double but losses also growDespite growing losses the electric car maker's shares rose by more than 8% in after hours trading.

Financial Times

• Ryanair chief warns of post-Brexit summer holiday chaosMichael O’Leary says UK needs ‘Plan B’ as flight cancellations loom
• Qatar abandons plans to buy into American AirlinesDoha-based airline reverses controversial decision

The Guardian

• Do your fellow Brits a favour. Stop going on holiday | Simon JenkinsWe’re addicted to travel, and the government is our pusher, tempting us into ever more hellish journeysI’m in a hurry. You’re in my way. They are bloody tourists. My journey is vital, yours discretionary and theirs absurdly unnecessary. Transport policy has always been the orchestration of selfishness. This coming week, travel to Europe’s most popular air destinations will apparently be hell. “Securityâ€� will mean hours of queues at immigration, though the delays seem curiously aimed at non-Schengen nationals, notably the British, in a foretaste of hard Brexit to come.Meanwhil...
• Air Canada near miss: picture shows how close planes came to crashingPilots mistook the taxiway at San Francisco International Airport for the runway and flew their jet just 59 feet above waiting airlinersNewly released data and photos show how shockingly low an Air Canada jet was when it pulled up to avoid crashing into planes waiting on a San Francisco International Airport taxiway last month. Continue reading...
• Addison Lee suffers latest defeat in legal row over gig economy rightsJudge rules cycle courier should have been treated as employed worker with rights to holiday pay and the minimum wageAddison Lee has become the latest company to face defeat in court over its treatment of workers as “independent contractorsâ€� without rights to holiday pay or the national minimum wage.The employment judge Joanna Wade issued a damning verdict against the £260m-a-year-turnover minicab firm, ruling that it had unlawfully failed to pay the cycle courier Chris Gascoigne, 48, holiday pay and attacking its attempts to “frighten offâ€� Gascoigne from challenging his employment status. Con...

The Independent

• Ryanair boss says passport checks for departing passengers are 'pointless'Ryanair’s chief executive has blasted European officials for imposing “pointless” passport checks that are delaying flights and causing passengers to miss their plane.

The Telegraph

• Pictured: Moment when Air Canada jet almost caused 'greatest aviation disaster in history' in San Francisco

Times Online

• Airports are letting down passengers over holiday delays [subscription]Not before time, the government is taking action to resolve the problems that have caused massive delays and inconvenience to passengers at European airports.
• German carmakers pledge to update 5m diesel engines [subscription]German carmakers tried to salvage their reputation at a national diesel summit, pledging to cut noxious emissions by updating the engine software in more than five million cars, in a move that critics dismissed as a stop-gap.
• Brexit will disrupt flights, says O’Leary [subscription]It is looking increasingly likely that flights between Britain and the EU will suffer major disruption after March 2019 due to Brexit, Michael O’Leary has warned.

Mail Online

• EU airports told to hire more staff to solve queuing chaos Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary was the latest to express fury over delays caused by the EU's tighter checks on entering and leaving the Schengen zone.
• British Airways systems crash at Heathrow Airport The technical fault sparked huge delays and queue at London's two biggest airports - Heathrow and Gatwick (pictured). Issues were also reported at London City.
• Woman was 'pulled over and dragged along train platform' Great Western train driver Stephen Murdoch is accused of failing to carry out safety checks before leaving Hayes and Harlington station in west London after Neelan Malik was caught in a door.
• Aviation minister vows to take EU to task over chaos With EU passport control reportedly taking up to ten minutes to vet each passenger, airlines have accused officials of failing to recruit enough staff or install more kiosks in light of strict new vetting rules.

The Huffington Post

• Labour Shadow Transport Secretary Unable To Say How Much Labour Will Spend On TransportLabour’s shadow transport secretary Andy McDonald struggled today to explain how much the party would spend on transport if it were in power.

Birmingham Mail

• What the codes Birmingham Airport uses over the tannoy meanThe secret codes security workers use at Birmingham Airport and the London Underground have been revealed
• It's this woman's job to get you to work on timeWest Midlands Mayor Andy Street appoints new traffic congestion busting transport director

Bolton News

• Sir David Crausby MP fears Northern Rail train guards cut would harm disabled passengersDISABLED rail passengers would be worst-hit by plans to cut train guard jobs. Sir David Crausby is calling for Northern Rail to drop plans for driver-only trains because of concerns over accessibility.

London Evening Standard

• Revealed: London rail commuters pay fares FOUR times higher than EuropeansLondon rail commuters pay up to four times as much for their ticket compared with those using transport networks in European cities such as Berlin, Rome and Brussels, new research reveals today.
• Heathrow and Gatwick Airport delays: Chaos for holidaymakers as British Airways systems crashHolidaymakers travelling through Heathrow and Gatwick were caught in delays and huge queues on Wednesday morning after a British Airways systems crash.
• Huge tunnels could be built over motorways to soak up toxic car fumes in a bid to cut pollutionTunnels covering vast stretches of motorway across the UK could be used to protect people from dangerous levels of pollution caused by heavy traffic fumes.

Manchester Evening News

• Why will it take until 2021 for us to get a proper transport ticket system like they have in London?A TfGM insider told the M.E.N.: “We’re not where we want to be but we are where we are.”

Morning Star

• Bus Services ‘Hammered’ Under The ToriesNEW analysis of Britain’s privatised bus industry published today has revealed higher fares and drastic cuts in services.

Nottingham Evening Post

• Train speeds from Nottingham to other cities are some of the slowest in the countryTrain passengers using Nottingham railway station face slower journeys than almost every other major city in the UK, new analysis has revealed.

The York Press

• London to York in just eight minutes.. VIRGIN Trains is inviting passengers to experience travel between London and York in just eight minutes .. on their laptop or phone.

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• Bus operator named top performing firm in Sandwell A bus operator has been named as the fastest growing company in a Black Country borough.
• Bus operator named top performing firm in Sandwell A bus operator has been named as the fastest growing company in a Black Country borough.

Crewe Chronicle

• HS2 Crewe hub station consultation ends in October Residents and businesses encouraged to make their views known

Other Regional Press

• After-dark bus service from city aims to revive nightlifeCity centre bosses are hoping new after-dark buses will revive Perth’s flagging nightlife and provide a lifeline for rural revellers.
• Revealed: Tens of millions wasted on preparation work for scrapped Midland Mainline electrificationRail bridges and gantries have already been adapted at huge expense in Leicestershire
• New vision for 'guided buses' and trains to tackle A40 queues backed by MP CAMPAIGNERS fighting for a solution to congestion on the A40 have an ambitious answer to the problem – but the clock is ticking.
• Oxfordshire firm leading the way in airport baggage-scanning techHOLIDAY makers passing through airports this summer will expect to have their luggage checked.

Buying Business Travel

• Lufthansa achieves record profits in first half of yearGerman aviation group prospers from “strong demandâ€� and reduced costs
• Ryanair claims new monthly passenger recordLower fares help airline to carry more than 12 million people in July

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• TfL seeks CILT members guidance on Ultra Low Emission Zones The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, is keen to fully understand the impacts of any proposed extension to the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) in London, especially in relation to small to medium sized enterprises.  To help inform the Mayor’s decision on the proposed extensions Transport for London (TfL) has appointed Jacobs to undertake an Economic and Business Impact Assessment. As part of this assessment they are undertaking a survey of businesses that own or lease vehicles operating in Greater London. The survey has been designed to collect information for an Economic and Business I...
• Mayor urged to appoint Freight Commissioner for LondonMayor of London, Sadiq Khan has been urged to appoint a

Rail Magazine

• Eurostar reports increase in sales revenue in 2017Eurostar says strong business travel and an increase in sales from overseas markets are key reasons for 6%sales revenue growth for the first six months of 2017.
• Virgin Trains accelerates journeys with eight-minute London-Scotland filmVirgin Trains is inviting customers to experience travel between Scotland and London in just eight minutes

Rail Technology Magazine

• NR erects first mast on Shotts electrification projectNetwork Rail has this week announced that the first mast for the electrification of the Shotts line between Holytown Junction and Midcalder Junction has been put in place. The first steel works going up on the project, which is being delivered with contractors Carillion, marks the start of the...
• Nexus starts work on £5.5m Tyne and Wear bridge replacementMajor work has begun this week to replace a rail bridge that serves the Tyne and Wear Metro service. Nexus, the operator who runs light rail in the region, said that the bridge over Killingworth Road in the Gosforth area had now been removed and that a new steel bridge was being installed as...

Aviation Industry

• Lufthansa Group 1H net profit up 56.6%Lufthansa Group delivered a first-half net profit of €672 million ($766.7 million), up 56.6% from a net profit of €429 million a year ago. read more
• EU airlines urge hardline response to Brexit, says Ryanair CEOMajor continental European airlines are actively lobbying their governments to make the UK aviation sector’s exit from the European Union (EU) difficult, the CEO of Irish low-cost carrier (LCC) Ryanair said Aug. 2. read more

Other News Sources

• Bus passengers face further fare hike despite cuts to services, Labour warnsLabour has accused the Government of “running bus services into the ground” after new analysis suggested fares will be 60% higher than in 2010 by the time of the next election.