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

Friday, 22 September 2017

BBC News

• MPs probe scrapped Cardiff-Swansea rail electrificationCommittee chair David Davies announces investigation into the dropping of the Cardiff-Swansea plans.
• Budget for repairing Northern Ireland's roads set to run outAny repairs being carried out after October
• Ryanair plans to make pilots change holidaysPilots might have to defer some annual leave, says Michael O'Leary, as cancellations cost airline £22m.

ITV News

• 'Huge rise' in number of commuters leaving their car behindArriva Trains Wales says it has recorded a 'huge rise' in the number of passengers boarding the train at ‘commuter stations’ on the outskirts of cities – with footfall doubling at one site.
• Transport Secretary to announce £5million for Transpennine digital railway developmentTrains between Manchester and York could be the first in Britain to be digitally controlled, Transport Secretary Chris Grayling will announce.

Financial Times

• Ryanair resorts to the Fawlty Towers school of man managementMichael O’Leary has offered a £12,000 bonus to pilots willing to waive days off
• Tangle of cross-shareholdings links Uber and its rivalsWhile car-booking companies battle for supremacy, investors hedge their bets

The Herald

• Ryanair shareholders lambast chief over cancellation 'boo boo'Ryanair shareholders have told the budget airline’s boss that the flight cancellation controversy is a “complete cock-upâ€�.
• Warning plan for 'bus-only' low emissions zone in Glasgow will trigger massive fare hikesBUS operators will be banned from driving in Glasgow city centre by the end of 2018 unless their vehicles meet the toughest European standards for emissions, under plans to radically improve air quality.

Times Online

• Tram inquiry ‘an expensive disaster’ as bill soars to £7m [Subscription]The inquiry into what went wrong with the plans for Edinburgh’s tram system has already cost almost £7 million.
• Taxi drivers defend €2 booking fees [Subscription]Taxi drivers have insisted that it is fair to start charging customers €2 to book a cab through the Mytaxi mobile app.

Mail Online

• Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary faces his shareholders Nearly 50 airports have banded together and union memberships for the British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) are soaring after Michael O'Leary (pictured) branded staff 'lazy'.

Birmingham Post

• London Midland swaps rail for road with Vélo Birmingham challenge A team of 61 staff from the train operating company will be hitting the West Midlands' roads on Sunday to tackle the 100-mile cycling event

Bolton News

• Why one stretch of road resurfacing cost half a MILLION poundsHALF a million pounds has been spent on resurfacing a main road in Horwich — and the price tag has been described as 'indicative' of the current problems facing Bolton's highways department.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Transpennine trains could be first in Britain to be controlled digitally Inter-city trains between Manchester and York could be the first in Britain to be controlled digitally , Transport Secretary Chris Grayling will announce.

London Evening Standard

• Plans for west London's first cycle superhighway unveiled - with more than half of route segregated from trafficPlans for the first cycle superhighway in west London were unveiled today.
• Ryanair flights fiasco: Boss Michael O'Leary admits cancellation crisis is a 'major boo boo'Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary today admitted a "major boo boo" as angry shareholders turned on the budget airline over its cancelled flights fiasco.

Northern Echo

• Relief as first section of A1(M) missing link opensMOTORISTS will today be breathing a sigh of relief after a six-mile stretch of new motorway, which has been limited to two lanes and subject to rigidly-enforced speed and restrictions, is opened.

Other Regional Press

• Will this plan bring an end to Sardine Express train journeys?Transport minister Chris Grayling has allocated £5m of funding to develop digital signalling on the rail line between Manchester and York
• Government needs to stop the 'boom and bust' approach to rail fundingChief Executive of the Railway Industry Association Darren Caplan urges the Chancellor to act quickly to avoid a funding cliff edge by March 2019.

Rail Magazine

• First duties for GWR's new Intercity Express Programme trainsFirst IEP duties planned for GWR
• DRS seeks new diesel-electrics for freight and passenger workDirect Rail Services in market for ten new diesel-electrics

Rail Technology Magazine

• NR starts £4.2m refurb of 134-year-old South Esk viaductWork has started this week on the £4.2m refurbishment of the South Esk viaduct at Montrose, it has been revealed. The impressive structure is 16 span, 440 metres and Grade B listed, and stands on 15 pairs of wrought iron piers above the River Esk at the mouth of the Montrose...
• Strategy developed to drive forward rail devolution agendaA strategy has been set out by urban transport authorities that explains how government and transport bodies should work together to deliver integrated transport networks for passengers. Publishing its report ‘Policy futures for urban transport’, the Urban Transport Group (UTG)...
• TfGM gets to work on upgrades at 25 Metrolink stationsMajor work to upgrade stations across Manchester’s Metrolink network has kicked off this week. This first phase will see customer information screens, public address systems, CCTV, help points and induction loops installed at 25 stations around Greater Manchester. Tactile paving will then...

Railway Gazette

• UK railway news round-upDirect Rail Services has invited expressions of interest in a contract to design, supply,...
• Railway supply industry news round-upStadler Group has announced that Deputy CEO and manager of the Bussnang plant Thomas Ahlburg will...

Aviation Industry

• AAR to service Air Canada narrowbody Airbus, Embraer fleetIllinois-based aviation services specialist AAR has signed contracts to provide airframe maintenance on Air Canada’s fleet of narrowbody Airbus A319, A320 and A321 aircraft and Embraer E190s. read more
• Ryanair maintains profit forecast despite cancellationsIrish LCC Ryanair has said crew problems, which have forced the airline to cancel 2% of its flights over a six-week period, will not affect its full-year profit. read more
• Turkish Airlines to buy 40 Boeing 787-9sTurkish Airlines said it intends to order 40 Boeing 787-9 aircraft. When finalized, the order would be worth nearly $11 billion at list prices. read more

Other News Sources

• Ryanair CEO explains cancellations to boardThe boss of Ryanair was in Dublin today to explain to shareholders why his airline is having to cancel up to 50 flights a day over the next six weeks, to the fury of passengers.
• Ryanair debate: ‘There is a global shortage of pilots’Joining us from Dublin is Evan Cullen, an Aer Lingus pilot and President of the Irish Air Line Pilots’ Association, a union which represents some of the Ryanair pilots. And Victoria Moores, an aviation analyst and European editor of Air Transport World.