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

Thursday, 01 December 2016

BBC News

• North Wales' rail improvement call backed by 400 companiesMore than 400 companies have backed calls for improvements to rail services in north Wales.
• Car firms to build electric charge networkBMW, Daimler, Ford and VW Group agree to create the highest-powered charging network in Europe.
• A6 upgrade: Legal challenge to 'road through Heaney country'An environmental campaigner has got permission to challenge a proposed new road through landscape made famous by poet Seamus Heaney.
• Wrightbus zero-emission bus in London trialNorthern Ireland company Wrightbus is testing a prototype zero-emission, double decker bus in London.
• End of the road for London's 'dirty' diesel busesLondon mayor Sadiq Khan has announced that diesel engine double-decker buses will be phased out from the capital's current bus fleet from 2018.
• Transport Secretary 'baffled' by TfL's Heathrow expansion cost estimateThe transport secretary has said he is "baffled" by warnings from Transport for London (TfL) that improving road and rail links to an expanded Heathrow Airport could cost up to £20bn.
• China introduces 10% extra tax on 'super cars'China introduces an additional 10% tax on
• Opec countries agree first oil output cut in eight yearsOil cartel Opec agrees first supply cut in eight years, sending the price of crude surging 10%.

Department for Transport

• THINK! drink drive campaign targets young men digitally this ChristmasYoung men targeted in THINK! drink drive campaign this Christmas as they account for nearly two-thirds of fatalities.

Financial Times

• Former Air France workers found guilty of assaultsEmployees ripped shirt from company executive during a union protest last year
• Lufthansa pilots cool on effort to end strikesUnion rejects German flag carrier’s request to call off action after fresh offer
• Opec agreement: the winners and the losersDeal will help ease supply glut but comes at a price for some cartel members

The Guardian

• UK health body proposes removal of speed bumps to cut air pollutionVariable speed limits, removal of speed bumps and ‘no idling’ zones near schools among Nice recommendations
• Air France workers found guilty of tearing off bosses' shirtsThree workers given suspended sentences and two others acquitted over violence during protest over proposed job cutsThree Air France workers have been given suspended sentences for “organised violence” after being found guilty of an attack on two airline executives whose shirts were ripped off their backs in a protest over proposed job cuts. Pictures of angry workers chasing their bosses, forcing one to scramble shirtless over a wire fence outside the company headquarters, went around the world in October last year. Continue reading...
• Oil price surges as Opec agrees first cut in output since 2008Saudi Arabia to bear brunt of curbs as 14-nation cartel of producers secures deal to stabilise world marketThe price of oil has surged by 8% after the 14-nation cartel Opec agreed to its first cut in production in eight years.Confounding critics who said the club of oil-producing nations was too riven with political infighting to agree a deal, Opec announced it was trimming output by 1.2m barrels per day (bpd) from 1 January. Continue reading...
• Siemens' £310m Hull plant will take windfarm technology to new levelGreg Clark welcomes 700-job factory, the first to produce 75m-long blades for a new generation of offshore windfarmsThe first 75-metre-long blades destined for windfarms off the UK’s coast will roll out of a factory in Hull when it officially opens on Thursday.The inauguration of the Siemens plant at the city’s Alexandra Dock employs 700 people and was hailed by campaigners as an example of how curbing carbon emissions could create jobs. Continue reading...
• Chapecoense plane crash: fans' anger after confirmation plane ran out of fuelColombian media release audio of pilot telling air traffic controllers that plane – which crashed killing 71 players, crew and journalists – was ‘without fuel’Football, religion and grief dominated the emotional requiem service in Southern Brazil on Wednesday night for the 71 players, technical staff, sports journalists and crew killed when a plane chartered by local team Chapecoense crashed on a Colombian mountainside on Wednesday night. Related: Colombia plane crash: leaked audio shows pilot said he ran out of fuel Continue reading...

The Herald

• With ScotRail and Transport Minister in dock, it's UK Government track operator given most tasks to improve Scotland's railwaysBritain's state-owned railway infrastructure operator is responsible for most of the improvements ordered to get Scotland's railways back on track.

The Telegraph

• Chapecoense plane crashed when other aircraft was allowed to land first
• Colombia plane crash: jet may have run out of fuel, says aviation expert

Times Online

• All change! Rail bosses given list of improvements [Subscription]Scotland’s railway managers have been told to make almost 250 changes to the way they operate, from putting up more fencing to improving signalling, to make sure more trains run on time.
• Confused air traffic control trainee nearly crashed planes [subscription]Two aircraft came close to a mid-air collision as a trainee air traffic controller told a pilot: “Er, I’m not sure which way to go now.”
• Voters rail against train performance [subscription]Voters are increasingly unhappy with train services in Scotland and their support for nationalisation is growing, according to an exclusive new Times poll.

Mail Online

• Ford to test driverless cars in the UK from early next year as survey by the company finds motorists expect vehicles to be life-changing� Car giant Ford is to start testing driverless cars on UK roads next year. Ford said testing of autonomous cars will start in early 2017. People have said driverless cars will have the biggest benefit when commuting.
• Average fuel price set to rise by another 6p as the cost of a barrel continues to rise  The Petrol Retailers Association (PRA) said drivers should brace for prices to rise by another 6p a litre or more to around 120p – adding more than £3 to the price of a tank of fuel.

The Mirror

• Investigators confirm Chapecoense plane had 'no fuel' when it crashed into mountains killing 71 people Civil aviation chief Alfredo Bocanegra said the focus is now on establishing "for what reason" flight 2933 had no fuel

Bolton News

• Bus driver named as one of the top 10 drivers in the country A FIRST bus driver has been named as one of the top 10 drivers in the country.

Liverpool Echo

• Merseyrail offers free Kit Kats to delayed train passengers Services were delayed this morning after a track-cleaning train broke down at Bank Hall

London Evening Standard

• Evening Standard comment: The best way to keep London on the moveFew Londoners will be surprised to learn that London has more congestion hotspots — 12,776 — than anywhere in Europe, according to a report from INRIX, a traffic consultancy. The effect is worse than in Rome, Paris, Hamburg and Madrid combined. Congestion takes a toll on our lives and tempers; it costs money — by one estimate, £42 billion over the next decade — and it aggravates pollution.
• Hydrogen powered double-decker bus to be trialled in London A hydrogen powered double decker is to be trialed in London next year as Sadiq Khan steps up action to tackle toxic air blighting the capital.
• Heathrow Airport hit by 'monster' queues amid border staff shortageHolidaymakers have hit out at "monster" queues at Heathrow immigration amid growing fears of a shortage of border guards.
• 'Worst commute in years' as 17 stations close and Tube network brought to grinding halt at rush hourA woman racing for a train reportedly slipped and fell from the platform at King's Cross rail station last night as commuters endured the rush hour "from hell".
• 'Motorway limit should be 50mph... and speed bumps could be banned'Speed limits should be reduced to 50mph on some sections of motorways to cut down on air pollution, a health watchdog has said.

Manchester Evening News

• The shocking emails sent to a Northern Rail customer who had complained about a fine One told shocked Thomas Sykes: “Do not insult me or I will cause serious discomfort in your life.”

Wales Online

• This is how �7.5m will be invested to improve Cardiff Businesses in Cardiff have signed up to a Business Improvement District (BID), each paying a contribution and setting their own agenda to help boost the city

Yorkshire Evening Post

• YEP Says: The roads to nowhere costing Yorkshire £90bn Leeds is a commuter city; its burgeoning economy dependent on the tens of thousands who make their way into the city every morning and home again every night. Read more at: http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/yep-says/yep-says-the-roads-to-nowhere-costing-yorkshire-90bn-1-8265943

Reading Evening Post

• Reading drivers spend around 15 days a year sat in traffic The TomTom Traffic Index says Reading-based businesses lose out on around £5 million a year because of heavy congestion 
• Reading Buses staff 'humbled' by latest awards haul The company bagged a hat-trick at the 2016 UK Bus Awards

Other Regional Press

• Major A34 upgrades and at least 22 miles of new road in expressway plans THE A34 could be upgraded to an 'expressway' and connected to at least 22 miles of new road as part of plans to connect Oxford and Cambridge.
• Thameslink blasted over poor rail service - voted worst performing in the countryMore than a third of trains between Bedford and Brighton – voted Britain’s worst performing train line – were either late or cancelled during one week this month.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Network Rail awarded four prestigious health and safety management awardsFour Network Rail Infrastructure Projects delivery teams have won the prestigious Sword of Honour award from the British Safety Council. Network Rail was one of 64 organisations worldwide that achieved a Sword of Honour, which is awarded to companies which have demonstrated excellence in the management of health and safety risks at work. The four teams - S&C North alliance, S&C South alliance, Plain line track renewals and High output track renewals - were each awarded five stars in the British Safety Council’s health and safety management audit scheme in the period August 2015 &...
• Minister gives update on ScotRail actions to lift performanceRail passengers across the central belt are to benefit from more reliability and more seats thanks to £19m investment in the fleet which is well on the way to completion. The upgrade of the fleet of c334 trains which primarily run on the services from Edinburgh to/from Helensburgh and Milngavie through Bathgate, Airdrie and the low-level platforms at Glasgow Queen Street. It also increases the number of six car trains able to run on the network and will improve reliability with on-train systems and improved punctuality from reduced coupler defects. The work, completed by the ScotRail All...
• Paul Dyer to become new CEO of DHL Supply ChainFollowing a career of more than 21 years within the Deutsche Post DHL Group, Perry Watts, CEO DHL Supply Chain UK and Ireland will be retiring at the end of the year.   Since joining Deutsche Post DHL Group in 1995, Perry has held various roles including Key Account Management and Managing Director of Non Food and Food Retail before being appointed CEO UK & Ireland, DHL Supply Chain in 2008 and being appointed to the Supply Chain Global Board in 2014, responsible for establishing and maintaining the company’s position as the UK’s largest logistics provider by driving inno...

Rail Technology Magazine

• Welcome to the UK Rail Industry AwardsSir Peter Hendy hosts UKRIA 2017: the rail industry awards rewarding significant contributors to the industry. Brought to you by Rail Technology Magazine, UK's rail industry media leader.
• Test trains launched on Oxford to London Marylebone linkThe new railway link between Oxford and London Marylebone has come a step closer as trains began testing ahead of its opening. The new service, featuring two Chiltern trains an hour, will begin running on 12 December after the final track was laid between Oxford and Oxford Parkway. The first...
• Prosser: 'Not ORR's role' to arbitrate in train company DOO disputesIan Prosser, the director of railway safety at the ORR, has reiterated his certainty that driver-only operated (DOO) services are safe and indicated that the regulator will not intervene in the dispute about DOO on Southern rail. The RMT, which claims DOO will threaten rail guards’ jobs...
• TfL issues �4.8m flooring contract for Piccadilly Line rolling stockTransport for London (TfL) has launched a contract to replace rolling stock parts on the London Underground Piccadilly Line. The notice is for a £4.8m goods and services contract for the supply of new saloon car and cab flooring on the 1973TS fleet of trains. The contract will run for 36...
• TSSA threatens 'last resort' strike over ticket office closuresStation staff on the London Underground have voted in favour of strike action over ticket office closures in a TSSA ballot. The union described the ballot, issued on 14 November, as concerning “station staffing and staff safety (post implementation of Fit for the Future) in connection with...
• Environmental study released for MTA’s Long Island Rail Road expansion project A new environmental study draft has been released for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's (MTA) proposed third track for the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) expansion project in New York, US.
• Axiomtek's eBOX670-891-FL: High-Performance Fanless Embedded System with Flexible Expansion Axiomtek, a world-renowned leader relentlessly devoted in the research, development and manufacture of series of innovative and reliable industrial computer products of high efficiency, is announcing the eBOX670-891-FL, a fanless embedded system supp…

Railway Gazette

• Wide-bodied Tulpar-Talgo coaches certifiedKAZAKHSTAN: Wide-bodied coaches developed by Tulpar-Talgo for operation in the 1 520 mm gauge...

Other News Sources

• 300,000 people back Growth Track 360 campaignMore than 400 companies have voiced their support for a major campaign to deliver faster, more frequent rail services for people across Cheshire, Mersey Dee and North Wales.