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

Saturday, 02 July 2016

BBC News

• ScotRail staff to launch fresh strikesScotRail staff are to launch a fresh wave of strikes after talks to resolve a row over driver-only trains broke up.
• Threatened East Lothian bus services saved in takeoverThreatened East Lothian bus services and jobs are saved as part of a new takeover package from Lothian Buses Ltd.
• Destruction warning over second runwayBuilding a second runway at Gatwick Airport would be
• Train dragged woman by handA woman was dragged more than 60ft along a station platform when her hand got stuck between train doors she had expected to reopen, a report finds.
• Glasgow Subway four-week closure set to beginGlasgow's subway system will close for four weeks from Saturday to allow modernisation work to be carried out.
• BMW and Intel plan robot car productionBMW, Intel and computer vision firm Mobileye have signed a deal to develop autonomous vehicles.

Financial Times

• Tesla death crash raises huge safety issuesSelf-driving car’s accident shows regulators are right to remain cautious
• EasyJet plots HQ move to mainland EuropeBudget airline ready to take action after Brexit vote threatens EU access

The Guardian

• Tesla driver killed while using autopilot was watching Harry Potter, witness saysDriver in first known fatal self-driving car crash was also driving so fast that ‘he went so fast through my trailer I didn’t see him’, the truck driver involved saidThe Tesla driver killed in the first known fatal crash involving a self-driving car may have been watching a Harry Potter movie at the time of the collision in Florida, according to a truck driver involved in the crash.The truck driver, Frank Baressi, 62, told the Associated Press that the Tesla driver Joshua Brown, 40, was “playing Harry Potter on the TV screen” during the collision and was driving so fast that “he went so fast t...

The Herald

• EasyJet 'likely' to move HQ from UK to European Union following Brexit voteEASYJET has started discussions with aviation regulators of EU member states' about relocating its headquarters from the UK following the country's decision to leave the European Union.�

The Scotsman

• Fatal crash of driverless car sparks fresh safety fearsSafety fears have been raised over the development of driverless cars in the UK after the first known fatal crash involving a self-driving vehicle in the US.

Mail Online

• EasyJet boss Dame Carolyn McCall threatens to bail out of Britain Chief executive Dame Carolyn McCall, a member of the Prime Minister's business advisory group who backed the Remain campaign, is said to have signalled that an easyJet move is almost certain.

London Evening Standard

• London airport expansion: Britain risks becoming 'a joke if we keep dithering' over Heathrow and GatwickAirports Commission chief Sir Howard Davies today warned that Britain risks becoming "a joke" if it fails to push ahead with extra runway capacity for London and the South East.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Brexit will strengthen the Northern Powerhouse, according to a government minister James Wharton MP rejected claims the UK's exit from the European Union would stop the Northern Powerhouse in its tracks
• North Shields gets new �2.5m academy to help train engineers of the futureThe Connect Academy, at the Tyne Tunnel Trading Estate, was opened by Northern Powerhouse Minister James Wharton

The York Press

• York bus service given reprieve after plea by passengers A BUS route used by school children and to get isolated older people out of their homes has been reprieved.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Wheels in motion for Leeds park and rideTransport bosses in Leeds have signed a £9m funding agreement for a new 1,000-space park and ride at Temple Green.

East Anglian Daily Times

• Network Rail could face massive payout over death of former Suffolk TV and film actressNetwork Rail faces a potential multi-million pound payout after admitting safety failures at a rail crossing where an 82-year-old Suffolk actress was killed.

North Wales Live

• Opening hard shoulder of M62 to improve travel times is an "unnacceptable price" Mersey MP part of committee not happy with the cheap alternative to widening motorways

Peterborough Telegraph

• Deepings Community Library launches new free bus serviceLibrary users in the Deepings can take advantage of a new free bus service to be launched by charities in the area from Monday

Other Regional Press

• Newport woman says ongoing bridge works are 'absolute joke'A NEWPORT woman has called the ongoing Somerton Bridge works an “absolute joke”, saying that work has now started going on overnight "without any prior warning" to residents.
• M62 to M1 link road planned to cut through KirkleesCouncillor reveals bid to ease jams and regenerate areas with bypass between M62 at Brighouse and M1 at Horbury
• Volkswagen to pay �11bn to settle Dieselgate claimsGerman car manufacturer Volkswagen is to spend up to $15 billion (£11.3bn) to settle consumer lawsuits in the US after it admitted cheating on emissions tests.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• New scheme announced to make commercial vehicles greenerVans and trucks on UK roads could soon be greener than ever after the government announced a new scheme to introduce technology that cuts fuel consumption and carbon emissions in commercial vehicles. The Low Carbon Accreditation Scheme will provide vehicle operators with practical information on how to reliably assess the effectiveness of retrofitted measures such as low rolling resistance tyres, more aerodynamic vehicle exteriors or more efficient engine technology. Operators will also be informed on how to properly introduce such measures. A lack of reliable and accessible data was found to ...
• HS2’s 2026 open date is “unrealistic”, says NAO reportThe HS2 high-speed rail programme is “facing cost and time pressures”, according to a report by the National Audit Office (NAO). Phase one of HS2, a 140-mile link London to the West Midlands, is targeted to open in 2026 but that date is “at risk despite good progress” due to an over-ambitious schedule set by the Department for Transport. Funding is also an issue with the first phase expected to cost £27.4 billion, which would overshoot available funding by £204 million. The combined impact of cost and schedule pressures facing the project could lower the cost-to-benefit ratio from 1.7 to aroun...
• Fewer passengers eats into Stagecoach profitsStagecoach saw profits fall in the 12 months preceding May as more passengers shopped online or used their own car to get about. Total operating profit for the bus operator fell by 21.4 per cent to £171.1 million for the year ending April 30th, compared to the same period previously, while pre-tax profits dropped 36.7 per cent to £104.4 million. This in spite of a healthy 20.8 per cent rise in global revenue, with Stagecoach turning over £3.87 billion between June 2015 and the end of April 2016. As a result, the company will adopt “a prudent approach to controlling costs” and review bus servic...

Railnews

• Maiden voyage for Great Western Intercity Express The first Intercity Express to carry passengers has run on the Great Western Main Line. The unit, still officially under test, carried guests from Reading to London Paddington. They included the transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin and Network Rail chairman Sir Peter Hendy. The test run was performed by a bi-modal version which also has diesel engines, because the line between Reading and London is not yet fully electrified.

Aviation Industry

• Malaysia Airlines appoints Peter Bellew as CEOChristoph Mueller moves forward his resignation and will depart on July 1
• Easyjet denies UK HQ move Airline releases statement saying it had no plans to move from Luton - its home for 20 years

Other News Sources

• Wales votes 'leave' despite millions in EU supportBRYNMAWR, Wales (AP) — The modern highway connecting Brynmawr to other former coal-mining towns in South Wales was partly funded by the European Union, replacing a three-lane road known for deadly accidents. Other EU funds have been used to improve railway lines, open museums and regenerate dreary town centers shattered by the decline of heavy industry.