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

Wednesday, 22 May 2019

BBC News

• Thousands of HS2 newly planted trees died in droughtThousands of trees planted along the High Speed Rail 2 (HS2) route will have to be replaced after saplings were not watered in last summer's drought.
• Drone flown 'within 150ft' of passenger jet off Essex coastThe jet's pilots spotted the drone flying directly above them at high speed, a report said.
• Driverless cars: Cambridge University model cars 'talk' to avoid jamsResearchers say it shows driverless cars working together could improve traffic flow by at least 35%.

The Guardian

• MPs call for national bus strategy and wider franchising powersTransport committee says ’fairer deal for bus user’ needed to reverse passenger decline. Ministers must set out a national strategy for buses and extend franchising powers to all local authorities to halt an alarming decline in usage, MPs have said.
• Could you give up flying? Meet the no-plane pioneersGrowing numbers of travellers are abandoning air travel to help save the planet – even if it means spending 14 days on a train

The Herald

• Lanarkshire rail maintenance firm sold for £80m expandsQTS, the rail maintenance firm that Scots entrepreneur Alan McLeish sold for £80m last year, has helped its new owners achieve record trading results.

The Independent

• Bus services outside London need reform, MPs warn amid passenger declineFunding of bus services in England is uncertain and needs reform, MPs have warned in a move that has been welcomed by campaigners hoping for services to be re-regulated.
• Virgin relaunching London to Mumbai flight after Jet Airways groundingThis is the third attempt at making a success of the route

The Scotsman

• Scotland’s most deprived urban areas more dangerous for young road usersChildren walking or cycling in Scotland’s poorest areas are three times more likely to be injured by vehicles than in the richest ones, a study shows.
• New luxury Caledonian Sleeper trains suffer further delayCaledonian Sleeper today announced a further delay to the introduction of its brand new trains on Highland routes.

Times Online

• Outside London the air quality crisis is deadly, and worsening [Subscription]Considering it is pretty much invisible, the air quality crisis faced by our regional cities is in the process of becoming a conspicuous political problem.
• Tory MP Murdo Fraser seeks brake on emissions rule for classic cars [subscription]A senior Tory politician who owns a 1972 Triumph sports car has pleaded for his pride and joy to be exempted from new pollution laws. Murdo Fraser, the party’s finance spokesman, wants to change proposed new low emissions legislation for vehicles built more than 30 years ago.

Transport Committee

• Government must set out bus strategy to halt decline in bus useA lack of co-ordinated Government policy and squeezed funding for local authorities is driving bus use into decline, says the Transport Committee.

Derby Telegraph

• MP calls for 'seriously flawed' HS2 to be scrappedStaffordshire MP Michael Fabricant has insisted there is still time for the £56 billion HS2 rail-line to be "halted in its tracks".

London Evening Standard

• Italy airport strikes: Why is it happening and which flights are affected?Hundreds of flights to and from Italy have been cancelled as workers stage a 24-hour walkout over pay and conditions.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Let councils run bus services to halt passenger decline, say MPsPlea from influential Commons Committee comes after Nexus was forced to abandon plans to take over bus services

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Air traffic controllers strike: Union warns airport boss to stop ’antagonising staff’In an open letter, Prospect negotiator David Avery has warned Inglis Lyon to stop “antagonising staff with misleading claims and focus on persuading the Scottish Government to help resolve the dispute”.
• Anger over delay to Caledonian Sleeper’s new luxury train fleetThe launch of a £150 million fleet of luxury trains on the Caledonian Sleeper’s Highland routes has been hit by another delay, it has emerged.

Yorkshire Post

• ’Leeds to Manchester in seven minutes’: Why the ’hyperloop’ is the future of public transportThere’s a future form of transport that would leave HS2 standing, and the North of England is a perfect fit for it. Mark Casci reports.

Other Regional Press

• Taxi driver's anger at 'ridiculous' parking fee changes at East Midlands AirportA taxi driver has hit out at East Midlands Airport's "absolutely ridiculous" changes to its rapid drop-off parking charges.
• New Tory leader could scrap HS2 amid rising costs and long delaysThe government is being urged to scrap HS2 by Conservative party members alarmed by the cost of the transport project.

Aviation Industry

• Report: China Eastern files claim with Boeing over MAX lossesChina Eastern Airlines has filed a claim with Boeing over losses incurred from the grounding of its Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, according to a news report. read more
• American sues mechanic unions over alleged work slowdown American Airlines is suing the unions representing most of its mechanics, alleging that union officers and members have engaged in a deliberate work slowdown to gain leverage during ongoing contract negotiations. read more
• Airbus studies production efficiency, vertical integration strategyAirbus is studying potential efficiency gains in its production system and what level of vertical integration makes sense in the future. read more

Other News Sources

• MPs call for coordinated bus strategy to address declineThe country’s most popular form of public transport is in serious decline due to fragmented government policy and reductions in council funding, a cross-party committee of MPs has said.
• Weaved frame keeps very light rail on trackA recyclable, extremely lightweight vehicle frame for Very Light Rail (VLR) has been developed in the UK.
• Extra train service between Shropshire and BirminghamTrain passengers travelling between Shrewsbury and Birmingham will now have an additional hourly service.

EIN News Subscription

• China, EU reach civil aviation pact CHINA and the European Union have signed two agreements … practical cooperation in this sector. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker … Bulc, the EU commissioner for transport. The agreements allow all EU airlines to fly …