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

Tuesday, 27 March 2018

BBC News

• Passengers ride on the UK's first automated mainline trainThameslink say automated services will able to run every two minutes during the rush hour,

Financial Times

• Qatar Airways takes 25% stake in Moscow’s Vnukovo airportEmirate’s state carrier attempts to overcome impact of blockade by other Gulf countries

The Guardian

• How to survive an ultra-long haul flightQantas has completed its first non-stop flight from Australia to the UK. But what’s the best way to cope with 17 hours in an economy cabin?Ultra-long haul is the new long-haul. Yesterday, Qantas completed its first non-stop flight from Perth, Australia, to Heathrow – 9,240 miles – in just over 17 hours.It’s a remarkably long time to be crammed into an airline seat. It’s also potentially dangerous, as being immobile for prolonged periods can lead to blood clots forming in your legs. Continue reading...
• Businesses face unanswered questions a year from Brexit – sector by sector analysisWith a year to go, Dan Roberts takes a look at the unresolved issues forcing firms to take evasive actionWith only a year to go until Britain leaves the EU, a mounting backlog of unresolved problems is causing business to take evasive action – despite government attempts to buy more time with a transition deal.More than half of large companies have already put emergency contingency plans into action, according to a survey, and in key sectors such as insurance and transport there are warnings of higher prices and disruption for customers if the fragile truce breaks down. Continue reading...

Times Online

• For disabled people, transport is frankly dignity-destroyingOn Saturday morning Flight ET700 from Addis Ababa touched down at Heathrow. A full 100 minutes after all other passengers had disembarked, Frank Gardner, the BBC’s security correspondent, was stuck on board, his wheelchair half a mile away at baggage reclaim.
• Scientists see the light and make cheaper fuel from sun [Subscription]Scientists in Scotland have developed a technique to create fuel from sunlight.

City AM

• Helical wins £120m development above Farringdon station ahead of Elizabeth Line launchHelical has won a £120m contract to develop space above Farringdon station ahead of the launch of the Elizabeth Line in December.
• Police cars and taxis to move to zero-emissions in £8.8m government boostPolice cars and taxis are among the next vehicles to be hydrogen-powered in a government bid to switch more vehicles to zero-emission vehicles.
• More than 1,700 jobs have been lost since Carillion liquidationJob losses since outsourcer Carillion went bust in January have topped 1,700, according to new data from the official receiver.
• Newcastle crowned the best-value airport in the UK by SkyscannerNewcastle Airport has been crowned as the best-value airport in the UK for European flights, according to Skyscanner.
• DEBATE: Rail workers are striking again, but would nationalisation reduce the impact of industrial action?Rail workers are striking again, but would nationalisation reduce the impact of industrial action?
• Disruption on London Waterloo South Western Railway trains to last until the afternoon after Wimbledon signal points failureDisruption is expected to last between Wimbledon and Clapham Junction until 12pm after a problem with a set of points at Wimbleon, so South Western Railway passengers will be affected on services in and out of Waterloo.

Mail Online

• First automated rail services leave stations on a UK mainline The historic Thameslink service from Peterborough to Horsham used an automated system to accelerate and brake as it travelled north to south through central London this morning.
• Uber secretly ditched two engineers up front in self-driving cars Uber's move to change its policy of having two engineers pilot its self-driving cars and replace them with 'safety drivers' was not publicized to authorities or the public, DailyMail.com can reveal.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• More bus services to the Yorkshire Dales on way BIG changes are being planned to bus services to give better access to the Yorkshire Dales without using a car.

Bristol Live

• A single ticket could cover all buses and trains in Bristol and across the West of EnglandTravelling across North Somerset, Bristol, South Gloucestershire and Bath could become a lot easier

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Snowdon Mountain Railway carriage to be named after legendary Welsh singer The popular star will visit the region for the honour, which recognises her 65-year glittering career

London Evening Standard

• Easter getaway set to be 'busiest in years' with railway chaos and 26 million drivers on the roadsEaster is set to be one of the busiest bank holiday weekends for travel in years with 26 million cars on the roads, drivers have been warned.
• Thameslink launches UK's first 'self drive' train on busy London routeThe UK's first "self-drive" mainline train was being launched on a busy London commuter route today.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Community outcry at Aberdeen bus lane plansA community claims plans for a new bus lane in the west end of the city will push traffic onto side streets already struggling to cope with the volume of cars.

Wales Online

• How 'congestion charges' work in other citiesCardiff council is looking at different models which could be introduced here

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Lord Adonis accuses Transport Secretary Chris Grayling of doing “nothing” to make a new cross-Pennine railway a reality.An influential former transport secretary has slammed the Government for doing “nothing” to make a new cross-Pennine railway a reality and accused the region’s strategic transport body of failing to come up with a credible plan to link the North’s cities.

North Wales Live

• Network Rail are advertising 150 apprenticeships The scheme involves a 21-week stay at the company's training centre

Other Regional Press

• Bus firm launches contactless payments at Aberdeen bus stationStagecoach showcased how travel has evolved over the years when it launched its new contactless payment service at Aberdeen bus station.
• New post office a welcome addition to Hanley bus stationCommuters have welcomed the opening of a new post office inside a shop at Hanley bus station.
• Changes being made to four bus routes in Bournemouth and PooleFOUR bus services subsidised by Bournemouth and Poole councils are set to continue after the contracts were re-tendered.
• Slough Borough Council and Royal Borough leaders clash on Twitter over Heathrow and homelessnessA war of words between Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead (RBWM) cabinet members and the leader of Slough Borough Council (SBC) has broken out on Twitter.
• Calls to dual the railway for West Oxfordshire residents amid regular delaysCALLS to dual the train tracks on the Cotswold Line ahead of thousands of new homes in West Oxfordshire could be put to the Government.

Train Operators

• Oxford to London line a clear winner for Chiltern RailwaysChiltern Railways has been added another accolade to its growing list of awards so far in 2018. On Thursday 15 March, the company was awarded the Innovation in Customer Experience Award at the 2018 Business Quality Foundation UK Excellence Awards at the historic Guildhall in London.

Rail Technology Magazine

• Virgin Azuma rolling stock arrives in Edinburgh for driver training Virgin’s brand new Azuma rolling stock has arrived into Edinburgh today ahead of driver training for the trains commencing. Customers will also be given a chance to sneak a first peek at the trains, which will be positioned at Edinburgh Waverley between 12.37 and 13.17 every day of the...
• Doncaster Sheffield Airport announces ambition to build rail station connected to ECMLDoncaster Sheffield Airport has outlined plans to build a new rail station connected to the East Coast Main Line (ECML) in its 20-year vision for the future. The airport’s Masterplan sets out ambitions to create an ‘Aerotropolis’ in the Sheffield City Region that would put...
• NR set to reach major Shotts electrification milestone over Easter Network Rail will reach a major milestone on the Shotts electrification programme this Easter as it looks to deliver a £2m programme of upgrades. The closure of the West Coast Main Line will give engineers time to ‘tie-in’ new and existing overhead wire at Midcalder...

Railnews

• New Northern strike ˜rock solid™ says RMT A new strike over on-train staffing is disrupting local and regional train services across the north of England. Members of the RMT employed by the Arriva franchise Northern are staging a further walkout in the long-running dispute over driver-only operation. The RMT claims that support for its action is ˜rock solid™, while Northern has called for a new strike ballot. Another strike has been called for Thursday this week.

Transport Network

• Welsh councils handed £25m to support bus servicesLocal authorities across Wales are to share £25m to help support local bus services.

Other News Sources

• Stagecoach maintains earnings guidance as train revenue rises, bus revenue fallsBritish railway line operator Stagecoach Group kept its annual earnings per share guidance unchanged, amid rising revenue at its train business offset by falling revenue at its bus business.