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

Tuesday, 12 January 2016

BBC News

• Driverless Ford tackles snow problemMotoring giant Ford says it is successfully testing its driverless cars in snowy conditions, which are usually a problem for autonomous vehicles.
• Tube staff plan three 24-hour strikesLondon Underground staff are to stage three 24-hour strikes and other industrial action over pay and night Tubes, the RMT says.
• Twelve hurt in three-bus London crashThree buses crash in Parliament Square, in central London, injuring 12 people.
• Tesla chief: Apple is making rival carThe owner of electric-car maker Tesla says it is an

Financial Times

• Tube workers to strike over night serviceUnions angry at lack of consultation as TfL seeks to recruit part-time drivers
• Indian Railways: getting back on trackMinister Suresh Prabhu’s job amounts to a case study in extreme management
• Passenger traffic at Heathrow risesAirport operating at near-full capacity, with larger jets contributing to increase in numbers

The Guardian

• London Underground users to face three 24-hour tube strikesThree unions confirm strike action on 26 January, 15 and 17 February over pay and night tube dispute Unions have confirmed three days of strikes across the London Underground in the latest wave of industrial action in the long-running dispute with tube bosses over pay and all-night services.The RMT said it had instructed its members to strike for 24 hours on three dates – 26 January, and 15 and 17 February – with the union also fighting cuts to station staff numbers. Aslef confirmed after a meeting of its executive on Monday that its tube drivers would strike on the same dates, as did Unite, w...

The Independent

• Bumpy ride for Heathrow as other London airports soarHeathrow reported a surprise dip in the number of passengers passing through its terminals last month, as rival London airports such as Gatwick and Stansted unveiled yet another month of record traffic, fuelled by long-haul travellers.

The Telegraph

• Tube strikes: RMT members to stage three 24-hour walk-outs over pay and night serviceMembers of the RMT union are to stage three 24-hour strikes and a week of industrial action in separate disputes over pay and plans for a night Tube

Mail Online

• London Underground workers announce THREE new 24-hour strikes over night Tube plans Union bosses say there will be a complete shutdown of the London Underground on the evenings of January 26, February 15 and February 17, plus a week of strike action next month.

Liverpool Echo

• Union poll suggests Merseyrail passengers are against proposals to axe guards from services RMT Union launches campaign against plans to move towards driver-only operated trains

London Evening Standard

• Tube strike 2016: New wave of 24hr walkouts sparks row between mayoral hopefulsA devastating wave of new Tube strikes set off a major row today after Zac Goldsmith warned Londoners could expect years of "games and gridlock" if Sadiq Khan wins City Hall.
• London cyclists 'most likely to saddle up on a Tuesday'London cyclists are most likely to travel at 14mph, clock up 9.3 miles per commute and ride their bike on a Tuesday, according to new figures.
• Tube strike 2016: London to be hit by three 24-hour walkouts as unions back industrial actionThree 24-hour Tube strikes are set to cripple London after members of the RMT, Aslef and Unite unions backed a string of walkouts.
• You can now travel to Gatwick Airport using Oyster and contactless cardsHolidaymakers can travel to Gatwick Airport using Oyster and contactless cards from this week.

Wales Online

• Expansion at Heathrow is not only the best option for the UK but is vital for the Welsh economy say Tory and Labour MPsTory MP Craig Williams and Labour's Stephen Kinnock give their backing to expansion at Heathrow

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Improvements needed across Yorkshire transport network, commission toldYORKSHIRE NEEDS a wholesale overhaul of its transport network to deliver the ‘northern powerhouse’ economic vision set out by Chancellor George Osborne, according to engineers.

Yorkshire Post

• Improvements needed across Yorkshire transport network, commission toldYORKSHIRE NEEDS a wholesale overhaul of its transport network to deliver the ‘northern powerhouse’ economic vision set out by Chancellor George Osborne, according to engineers.
• YP Comment: 2016 must be a year of delivery on transportIT goes without saying that there need to be better road and rail links between the great cities of the North if this region is to start punching above its weight in a 21st century global economy.

East Anglian Daily Times

• Rail delays on routes to and from London after signal faultRail services running to and from London Liverpool Street are being delayed because of a fault with the signalling system.

Sleaford Standard

• Gang stole rail line cabling across East Midlands, Yorkshire and HumbersideA gang who stole cabling from rail lines disrupting maintenance work costing Network Rail more than £1 million were today (Monday) jailed at Lincoln Crown Court,
• Lincolnshire stations to feature on RAF Monopoly boardRAF stations from across Lincolnshire feature in a new version of the Monopoly board game.

Other Regional Press

• Jaguar Land Rover expansion: 6,000 jobs to be created under car firm's latest plansPlanning bosses say they are 'confident' permission will be granted for the scheme despite the land being green belt

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• New era for urban transport as pteg becomes the Urban Transport GroupFor the first time there is a body that brings together all the largest urban areas on transport as pteg changes its name to the Urban Transport Group.. In its former guise pteg represented the six Passenger Transport Executives and successor bodies, but with governance change in the city regions, and with Transport for London coming on board, the group has decided the time was right for a new name to reflect its new role. Alongside what are now the seven full members of the Urban Transport Group (with TfL joining the existing members which are South Yorkshire PTE, Merseytravel, North East Co...
• Transport Secretary visits Gatwick Airport to launch Oyster and contactless paymentsPay as you go using Oyster and contactless has been introduced at Gatwick Airport, making journeys more convenient for rail passengers. Passengers travelling between Gatwick Airport and London will from today (11 January 2016) be able to ‘touch in and out’ with the introduction of pay as you go using Oyster and Contactless cards as new payment methods. To mark the introduction, the Transport Secretary visited Gatwick Airport to see the first customers use the ticketing technology, which is now available for Southern, Gatwick Express and Thameslink services from London to Gatwick A...
• Advanced railway engineering saves time and moneyA new approach to railway engineering over Christmas reduced passenger delays and saved the taxpayer-funded Network Rail hundreds of thousands of pounds. These improvements were part of Network Rail's �150 million Christmas engineering programme and allowed some of the concerned railways to run at particularly high speeds of 125mph. Over the past few years there have been significant improvements in track monitoring and installation practices, which has been a lengthy and complicated process. The improved approaches now deliver benefits for passengers and the workforce who maintain and update ...

Rail Magazine

• Carillion Construction fined after worker’s deathThe death of a railway worker in 2012 has led to Carillion Construction being fined £200,000 for breach of health and safety laws.
• Commissioner to join HS2 LtdHS2 Ltd is recruiting a commissioner to deal impartially with issues that arise during construction of the new railway.

Railnews

• New Underground strikes called over Night Tube London Underground is set to be hit by three more 24-hour strikes over the next five weeks, as the long-running and increasingly bitter dispute over the proposed Night Tube services continues. The unions say the pay and conditions of staff who would work overnight on Fridays and Saturdays are not good enough, with RMT general secretary Mick Cash labelling the plans 'bodged'. London Underground's current offer is a four-year pay deal. LU chief operating officer Steve Griffiths said the unions had adopted an 'absurd' stance, and that they were 'detached from the real world'.

Aviation Industry

• Ryanair increases London Gatwick presenceRyanair has been awarded five slot pairs at London Gatwick Airport that were surrendered by International Airlines Group (IAG) as part of its takeover of Aer Lingus. read more
• Heathrow: growth to emerging markets helps set passenger recordLondon hub sees 2.2% growth in annual traffic for 2015
• Paris attacks cost Air France-KLM €70mPassenger traffic to North America and Asia affected by November incident

Other News Sources

• Oyster card network introduced at Gatwick Airport and five Surrey railway stationsFrom Monday, customers will benefit from cheaper fares as the Oyster scheme extends further into Surrey