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

Thursday, 04 August 2016

BBC News

• 'Spider' could keep an airship aloftLockheed Martin's Skunk Works has created a device which will help patch holes in airships
• China's elevated bus: Futuristic 'straddling bus' hits the roadThe 2m-high Transit Elevated Bus took its inaugural test run in the streets of Hebei, much to the amazement of Chinese citizens.
• Uber faces ban in TaiwanCar-booking app Uber could be banned in Taiwan, after state officials claim the company does not operate lawfully within the country.
• Landslip cuts off Highland transport linksA major route in the Highlands is closed
• 'Urgent action' needed on Scottish roadsUrgent action is needed to improve the condition of Scotland's road network, the country's spending watchdog warns.
• ScotRail RMT strikes called off for talksMore strike action planned by ScotRail workers is called off to allow bosses and union leaders to sit down for more talks.
• Swiss Cottage to West End cycle superhighway backedA cycle superhighway linking north-west London to the West End following a favourable public consultation, City Hall announces.
• Southern and Gatwick train drivers balloted for strikeTrain drivers employed by Southern Railway and Gatwick Express are to be balloted for strikes, the Aslef union says.
• Tesla reports deepening lossesTesla reported a loss of $293m (�220m) for the second quarter, the electric car maker's thirteenth consecutive quarterly loss.

Financial Times

• Uber faces ejection from TaiwanApp accused of misrepresenting itself as IT platform rather than car-hailing business
• Dubai airport reopens after crash-landingAll passengers onboard Emirates 777 safely evacuated but firefighter dies tackling the blaze
• Tesla claims output problems are easingChief executive dismisses concerns about plans to build self-driving cars

The Guardian

• ‘Nightmarish school-dinner fare’: airline food taste testAirlines are revamping their menus to offer more gourmet recipes – but has in-flight catering really improved? We put dishes from easyJet, Norwegian, Malaysia Airlines and Virgin Atlantic to the testIf you’ve ever been on a plane, chances are you have eaten a chicken breast so rubbery it could double as a squash ball, “nestling” in a sauce with Polyfilla consistency. To be fair to the caterers, dry cabin conditions and high-altitude pressure are not the best surroundings in which to serve up flavourful food. But, in recent years, airlines have supposedly revamped their menus to offer gourmet f...
• Look, no hands! How does it feel to ride in a driverless car?The unique simulator at the University of Warwick is designed to mimic the ‘vehicle autonomy’ of the future. Driverless cars are close to becoming a reality on Britain’s roads – and should make them much safer. For Tim Dowling, not having his stomach constantly lurch would be a start ...It’s my first time in Coventry, and I’m lost. Negotiating my way around its notorious ring road, I find myself entirely reliant on the instructions issued by my passenger, Dr Stewart Birrell, assistant professor of experiential engineering at the University of Warwick.“Stay in the middle lane here,” he says, “a...

The Herald

• Dubai airport crash: Firefighter killed after plane crashA firefighter was killed while responding to a plane crash-landing in Dubai, the chairman and chief executive of Emirates airline has said.
• Edinburgh flight diverted after passenger claimed to have a gun on boardThe man, who was sitting near the back of the easyJet flight, was arrested by Portuguese police when the Edinburgh to Madeira service touched down more than 600 miles away in Lisbon.
• Strikes by ScotRail workers suspended for further talksPlanned strikes by workers at ScotRail in a long-running row over driver-only trains have been suspended to allow further talks to be held.

The Scotsman

• Scots drivers facing crumbling motorways amid budget cutsThe surfaces of Scotland’s motorways are in worse condition and deteriorating faster than other roads, public spending watchdogs revealed today.

Mail Online

• Emirates pilots tried to abort landing when they crashed into Dubai runway All 300 on board, including 24 Britons and six Americans, were led to safety at Dubai Airport, minutes before the�Boeing 777 was completely destroyed in a massive fireball.
• Southern Rail commuters face a wave of walk outs Hundreds of thousands of commuters on Southern Rail face more misery as the network is threatened with three strikes. Aslef said there had been a breakdown in industrial relations at Southern.
• Southern Rail commuters face a wave of walk outs Hundreds of thousands of commuters on Southern Rail face more misery as the network is threatened with three strikes. Aslef said there had been a breakdown in industrial relations at Southern.

This is Money

• Why Heathrow must woo Theresa May's neighbours if it wants a new runway On the second Tuesday of every month 300 members of the Wraysbury Jazz Club meet at the 1960s red-brick village hall to hear some of the region's best bands.

Network Rail

• Work progressing well as Network Rail’s £76m track upgrade through Banbury, Bicester and Leamington continuesNetwork Rail’s £76m upgrade to track and signalling on the Chiltern main line, which will help with reliability and punctuality between the West Midlands and London, is progressing on schedule as the nine-day closure of the line reaches the mid-point.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Watch the first Airbus A350-1000 get a paint job The long aircraft headed to the paint shop to receive its 'colours'

Derby Telegraph

• Derby's Bombardier could have crucial East Anglia franchise decision this monthA previously delayed decision on who will run a key UK rail franchise – the outcome of which could result in Derby's Bombardier receiving orders for hundreds of new carriages - could be made this month.

London Evening Standard

• Mayor to press on with controversial Swiss Cottage to Oxford Circus cycle superhighwaySadiq Khan today announced he was pressing ahead with one of Boris Johnson's most controversial cycle superhighways.
• Southern Railway threatened with fresh strike action over emergency timetableMembers of the Aslef union are the latest workers to threaten crisis-hit Southern Railway with industrial action, it was announced today.
• Letters to the editor: Sort out the Southern rail fiascoAs a daily user of Southern trains I have lived through the past few months of severe delays and cancellations with thousands of other rail passengers.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Time to get serious about Leeds, Mrs May! Council leader urges PM to come to Leeds and talk transportJudith Blake has issued an open invite to Theresa May to come and visit Leeds for the first time since her premiership began - and to see why “serious investment” in the city’s transport future will pay massive dividends far beyond regional boundaries.

Yorkshire Post

• Harry Fairhead: HS2 should be scrapped to get regional rail services back on trackEVEN the Government can’t even decide why it wants to build HS2. First it was an alternative to Heathrow expansion, then it was about speed, then it was about capacity, now rebalancing the economy.

East Anglian Daily Times

• Regulator calls for review of crossing on rail line at HalesworthRail chiefs have been asked to look again at other options before closing the barrow crossing at Halesworth station.

Get West London

• Heathrow Express turns 18 with monumental race to mark the occasion Watch Victoria Pendleton vs Heathrow Express in race to Heathrow as the rail operator celebrates its 18th birthday

Other Regional Press

• Fears of a 'noise ghetto from hell' if Gatwick is allowed to expand Any new runway at Gatwick Airport would create "noise ghettos from hell" for residents in the surrounding area. That is the claim from campaigners fighting against development at the airport.
• Wheelchair user delayed on way to wedding after Southern staff 'refuse' to help him board train at Clapham JunctionA disabled man claims he was refused access to a Southern train at Clapham Junction station despite asking staff for help boarding with a ramp.
• Port Talbot's £13million railway station is officially openedPORT Talbot's new £13 million railway station has been officially opened this afternoon.
• Dearne MP demands HS2 route rethinkA RETHINK of the newly-proposed high speed rail route through South Yorkshire has been urged by an MP.
• HS2 plans unacceptable to Rotherham, says council leaderCOUNCIL leader Chris Read has called on the transport secretary to rethink HS2’s “ill considered” plans in South Yorkshire.
• Electric bike firm plugs into Cotswold tourism boom A FORMER primary school teacher has spotted a business opportunity helping tourists power around the countryside.
• Sophisticated cycle thieves may be using apps as �1.8m of bikes takenFormer Army captain Colin Johnson was left devastated when his hand-made bike was stolen in June – just as he was given the go-ahead to get back on the bike after spinal surgery.
• Four Dartford truck drivers have been attacked in the last two weeks because of 'a spike in migrant activity' at CalaisFour Kent truck drivers have been attacked in the last two weeks because of 'a spike in migrant activity' at Calais.
• Lorry drivers warned by Freight Transport Association after trucker threatened A Kent freight organisation has warned lorry drivers heading into the county - after a trucker was ambushed and threatened with a chainsaw.

Rail Technology Magazine

• Wheel Profile Measurement: CALIPRI Prime Forget the error-prone calipers: here comes the digital alternative for your wheel profile measurement. Enjoy calipri prime´s highest quality of measurement data at low costs.
• RMT and Southern talks restart in last-ditch effort to avoid five-day strikeSouthern has said it will have to cancel over 40% of its services next week if RMT does not call off a five-day strike by tomorrow afternoon. Southern and RMT are now in talks at the Acas offices to try to avoid the strike, due to start on 8 August. If the strike goes ahead, it will lead to...
• London Midland adopts new apprenticeship standardLondon Midland is recruiting four apprentices in one of the new standards announced by the National Skills Academy for Rail (NSAR) earlier this year. The level 3 rail engineering technician apprentices will complete a three-year placement, developed with the National Training Academy for Rail...
• Thameslink Class 700 passes first stage of ETCS testingThe new fleet of trains for Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) have completed a successful journey through central London using European Train Control System (ETCS) signalling. The first 240m-long Class 700 Desiro City train successfully entered into passenger service in June, but they are due to be...

Railnews

• Inquiry launched after Midland Main Line bridge collapse Train services between London, Derby, Nottingham and Sheffield are almost back to normal after part of a bridge collapsed near Loughborough. Network Rail is investigating why part of the roadway on one side of the road bridge over the line at Barrow upon Soar collapsed in the small hours of Tuesday morning, blocking the Midland Main Line with debris. It has emerged that contractors were working at the site as part of an assessment of the condition of the bridge.
• Southern dispute: now ASLEF joins in ASLEF is to ballot its Govia Thameslink Railway members over strikes and action short of a strike, following what the union describes as a 'breakdown in industrial relations'. The news came as GTR and the RMT were locked in talks at ACAS in the long running dispute over extensions of driver-only operation on Southern. At the heart of this new dispute are the rosters which have been introduced in connection with Southern's reduced emergency timetable, but Govia Thameslink Railway condemned ASLEF's action as 'cynical and desperate'.

Railway Gazette

• Great Western Railway orders more Hitachi trainsetsUK: Franchised passenger operator Great Western Railway and leasing company Eversholt Rail...

Aviation Industry

• Singapore Airlines launches premium economy on NY flightsSingapore Airlines (SIA) has launched premium economy class on Airbus A380 flights from New York JFK to Frankfurt and Singapore. read more
• Airberlin to increase US flights for summer 2017 Germany-based airberlin will increase flights to the US up to 50% by summer 2017, from 55 to 78 weekly nonstop flights from Berlin and Dusseldorf compared to this summer. read more

Other News Sources

• London's Heathrow Airport Saves 130 Million Liters of Water Annually with GE Advanced Water Treatment SolutionsThe largest airport in the United Kingdom saved more than 130 million liters of water annually using GE’s (NYSE:GE) advanced water treatment solutions. Thirty-nine cooling towers across four terminals at London’s Heathrow Airport were treated with GE's corrosion inhibitor, cooling and chemical treatment technologies. After 12 months, the airport saved the equivalent of 5 percent of total site water usage and $310,000 in costs.
• How Heathrow Airport learned to apply tech innovationDespite a risk averse, regulated environment, Heathrow Airport has learned to apply tech innovation in crucial operational functions
• Join our board - volunteers wantedAt Northern we have ambitious plans that will transform our company and help our region to be a great place to live and work. Innovation - improving and changing what we do and how we do it - underpins this transformation. A new Innovation Board has been set up to lead this and we are passionate about ensuring that our customers have a voice on this. One way we will deliver this is by recruiting a customer advocate and we're inviting interested individuals to apply.
• US EPA to adopt aircraft engine emission standardsLast week, the US Environmental Protection Agency ruled that emissions from the aviation industry are harmful to human health and therefore will move to adopt aircraft engine emission standards. But Lux Research says that the EPA missed an opportunity to bring Biojet (renewable fuel for the aviation sector) to the fore.
• Behind the scenes of the new Cambridge North railway station, which is on course to open in MayCambridge's new railway station is taking shape as the countdown continues to its long-awaited opening date.
• From Platform 0 to Platform 9¾: The strange world of British Rail mathematicsAny fans of traditional counting systems unfortunate enough to find themselves travelling via King’s Cross will immediately develop a headache. There are 13 platforms – only one of which doesn’t exist – and yet the highest platform number is 11.
• South West Trains to build 60 more parking spaces at Winchester Station SOUTH West Trains is set to boost car parking at Winchester Station with work to start next month.
• Southern Rail strike: 'Breakdown' in talks as ticket office closures sparks further walkout ballot Drivers and station staff could stage a five-day walkout if an agreement is not reached this week
• FTA backs Home Affairs Committee report after night of violence in CalaisFollowing a night of violence which saw a truck driver threatened with a chainsaw, the Freight Transport Association (FTA) is backing a Home ...
• Passengers face prospect of SIX public transport strikes as workers go to war with bosses FED-UP passengers face the prospect of six strikes on our public transport as more bus and rail workers take on their bosses.