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

Thursday, 22 February 2018

BBC News

• Talyllyn Railway marks locomotives' 100th birthdayTalyllyn Railway is celebrating the centenary of a steam locomotive with links to the RAF.
• AA share price plunge close 28% down on profit warningThe breakdown and insurance firm is cutting dividend payments as it invests in the business.
• Qantas Airways sees record half year profitsAustralian biggest airline beats off competition and higher fuel costs to post a 14.6% jump in profits.

Financial Times

• FirstGroup: late arrival
• Hedge funds seek lift-off in leasing aircraftInvestment firms turn to the business of buying and leasing planes to help boost returns
• Qantas shares jump on buyback plans, profits growth
• FirstGroup warns on Greyhound as Americans switch to planes

The Guardian

• Citymapper launches bus-taxi hybrid Smart Ride in LondonLondon-based transit app Citymapper is today launching Smart Ride, a hybrid bus and taxi service that will take riders around a fixed network in the capital.
• German court to rule on city bans for heavily polluting diesel carsFederal court set to announce whether Stuttgart and Düsseldorf can use vehicle bans to try to improve air qualityOne of Germany’s top courts will rule on Thursday whether heavily polluting vehicles can be banned from the urban centres of Stuttgart and Düsseldorf, a landmark ruling which could cause traffic chaos and dramatically hit the value of diesel cars on the country’s roads. Related: First fall in car sales since 2011 blamed on fears over diesel ban Continue reading...

The Independent

• Gatwick airport travel chaos as trains from London cancelled over next three SundaysGatwick airport will be cut off from London by rail for the next three Sundays. Engineering work is taking place on 25 February, 4 March and 11 March to replace a key junction at Earlswood, where the fast and slow lines to the airport converge. It is part of a £300m track modernisation programme.

The Telegraph

• Vaping at the wheel? You can be prosecuted for that, police warn

Times Online

• Bosses get to bottom of ‘ironing board’ seats on Thameslink [subscription]Train seats will have to meet minimum standards for comfort after passengers complained that a multibillion-pound new generation of carriages left them with aching backsides.
• Clean hydrogen could power Hebridean ferries within five years [Subscription]The backers of an ambitious green energy scheme say that ferries powered by hydrogen could be serving the Outer Hebrides within five years.
• Franchise fears lurk in First Group’s hard winter [Subscription]The implications of a tough winter in America and fears of trouble down the line in Britain sent a shiver through investors in First Group yesterday as the transport operator issued a profit warning.
• Transport officers oppose police merger [Subscription]Theresa May has cast doubt on the SNP’s planned merger of the British Transport Police with Police Scotland after a survey revealed huge staff resistance to the move.

City AM

• Citymapper's launched a mincab-bus hybrid carpooling service after TfL approves PHV licenceCitymapper is launching an on-demand carpooling service in the capital that's part minicab, part bus, after Transport for London finally approved its application for a private hire licence.
• TfL opens Elizabeth Line commercial partnership tender to bring six brands on board for the launchTransport for London (TfL) today announced it has opened a tender process as it starts the hunt for six commercial partners for the Elizabeth Line in a move it hopes will bring an income boost to the organisation.
• London Conservatives take aim at TfL free travel perk for employees' friends and family costing £32m a yearGLA Conservatives said today a travel perk for relatives of Transport for London (TfL) employees is coming at a cost of nearly £32m a year, as the row over TfL finances heats up.

Mail Online

• Gok Wan 'told off' for tidying rubbish on Virgin Train Gok, 43, was on the 9.16 from Leeds to London yesterday when the row over his table in First Class kicked off. He tweeted: 'Ok! So I've just been told off for cleaning my table on Virgin Trains.'
• Third of Brits are more scared of flying than 10 years ago The study, carried out by National Geographic, showed that people in the UK now take an average of three flights every year but that hasn't stopped a third of Brits having a fear of taking to the skies.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• First 'double bed' Airbus delivered to Qatar Airways The aircraft is the first of 37 A350-1000s ordered by the carrier

London Evening Standard

• TfL finance crisis puts ALL major improvements to London's roads on hold for two yearsTransport for London's finances are in such a state that major improvements to London's roads have been put on hold for two years, it emerged today.
• DLR strike: RMT union members to hold fresh 48-hour walkout in pay rowWorkers on London's Docklands Light Railway are set to stage a new 48-hour strike as part of an ongoing dispute over pay.

East Anglian Daily Times

• ‘How bad does it need to get - sinkhole?’ - Suffolk Highways’ website flooded with reports from angry driversSuffolk’s highways website has been inundated with problem reports – many from frustrated drivers issuing angry warnings about the “dangerous” condition of the county’s roads.

Other Regional Press

• GWR under fire after day of chaos on servicesRAIL users are urging local MPs and the Transport Minister to intervene over a catalogue of train cancellations and serious delays on trains from Worcester to London since the start of the year.
• Call for permanent cheaper fares on the slower Glasgow to Edinburgh train lineTICKET prices on the slower Glasgow to Edinburgh train should be reduced permanently according to a Glasgow MSP.
• 'Commuter Chaos': huge queues after Oxford rail line failure COMMUTERS faced long queues this morning as all Chiltern Railways services between Oxford and Oxford Parkway station were suspended due to a fault.

Buying Business Travel

• British Airways reassures buyers over NDCAirline will talk to buyers before marketing directly to their travellers

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Once in a generation opportunity for brands as Transport for London opens Elizabeth line commercial partnership tenderTransport for London (TfL) has opened a tender process for commercial partners for the Elizabeth line, offering brands a unique opportunity to align with the historic launch in 10 months’ time. When services begin in December, TfL’s state-of-the-art new railway will connect Paddington to Canary Wharf in only 17 minutes, redefining how Londoners and visitors travel around the Capital and providing quicker, easier and more accessible journeys. Two-hundred million passengers are expected to use the new line annually – more than all of London’s airports combined – of...

Global Rail News

• Amey Rail acquires Carillion’s Network Rail contractsAround 700 jobs are expected to be safeguarded following the sale of Carillion’s Network Rail contracts to Amey Rail.

New Civil Engineer

• Manchester to Sheffield line upgrade gets green lightImprovement works on a key northern rail route have been given the go-ahead as the first building blocks are laid for the Northern Powerhouse Rail project.
• Exclusive | Lendlease wins HS2 Euston Station MDP raceLendlease has won the race to become HS2 Ltd’s Euston Station master development partner (MDP) in a deal worth up to £40M.

Aviation Industry

• Air France to operate 75% of flights during Feb. 22 strike Air France estimates it would operate 75% of flights despite a strike planned for Feb. 22, with the turnout of strikers estimated at 28%. read more
• CFM International names new EVPCFM International has named Sébastien Imbourg as EVP, replacing François Bastin who has been appointed EVP-commercial engine programs for Safran Aircraft Engines (SAE). read more

Green Miscellany

• Street lights that dim when nobody is aboutHighway 155 near Hole in Norway is no ordinary road. At night, 220 of its lamp posts operate at 20 per cent of their capacity increasing to full capacity only when radars detect approaching road users. Norwegian company Comlight has developed the Motion Sensing Street Lighting system to reduce the wasteful consumption of energy. The 9 km trial site saves 2100 kWh… The post Street lights that dim when nobody is about appeared first on ETA.

Other News Sources

• Surrey Roads Police slam pothole-ridden cycle lanes as 'not fit for purpose' and suggest riders do not have to use them Police say bike paths are in a worse state than Surrey's crumbling roads