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

Monday, 22 July 2019

BBC News

• Cardiff Central railway station to get £58m upgradePlans are also revealed for a new station which will help connect south and west Wales.
• Second 24-hour airport strikes beginsThe action at Sumburgh and Kirkwall will be followed by action at three other Scottish airports on Tuesday.
• 'Deficit' in Translink's finances highlighted in DfI reportThe Department for Infrastructure says the continued provision of public transport will be
• Cairo flights: Lufthansa resumes services but BA cancellations continueBut British Airways says flights from Heathrow to the Egyptian capital remain cancelled.

The Guardian

• UK rail passengers lost out on £100m compensation last yearRail passengers have been urged to claim compensation for every delay they suffer after missing out on an estimated £100m in payouts last year.
• Air travellers may have to pay carbon charge to offset emissionsAir passengers may have to pay an extra “carbon charge” on flights as part of a government initiative to reduce CO2 emissions and tackle the climate crisis.
• Cycle hire firms urged to help clear dumped bikes from canalsTrust says it is recovering 100 bikes a year – docked, dockless, even electric – in London alone

The Herald

• ScotRail bid to prevent ‘leaves on the line’ rail delaysTrain delays and cancellations caused by leaves on the line could soon be a thing of the past under multi-million-pound plans to tackle weather-related disruption.

The Independent

• Electric dreams: at last a glimpse of realityThe problem for designers of clean planes: boosting the power to weight ratio of the batteries

The Telegraph

• Steam trains could be forced off the tracks by new tougher safety rules, heritage railway boss warns [Subscription]Historic steam trains - like the "Harry Potter" Jacobite Express in Scotland - could be forced off the tracks unless they fork out millions to comply with tough new health and safety laws, a railway boss has warned.

Times Online

• Air travellers to be hit by carbon charge on all tickets [subscription]Air passengers face having a carbon charge added to the price of tickets automatically under government plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
• Confront parents who leave car engines on, minister tells pupils [subscription]Drivers who leave their engines idling are damaging children’s health with the exhaust fumes, Damian Hinds said. He was alarmed by the number of parents who continue to sit with cars running despite overwhelming evidence of the impact on young children.
• Baffled passengers fail to claim £100m delay payouts [subscription]Up to £100 million of compensation for delayed trains has not been claimed because the system is too complicated and time-consuming, according to the passenger watchdog.
• Ban on rail operator not my choice, says Grayling [subscription]Chris Grayling, the transport secretary, appears to have washed his hands of responsibility for the banning of Stagecoach and Virgin from the railways amid an escalating row over pensions.

Reuters News

• British Airways suspends flights to Cairo for seven daysBritish Airways and Lufthansa abruptly suspended flights to Cairo from Saturday over security concerns, but giving no details about what may have prompted the move.

City AM

• Business groups warn of delays for troubled HS2Business groups have said they remain broadly supportive of HS2 despite the admission from its chairman that the costs of the project could spiral by as much as £30bn.
• Rail passengers ‘missing out’ on £100m in compensation every yearRail passengers are missing out on up to £100m a year in compensation, a transport watchdog has found, as it called on consumers to claim whenever they can to send a message to train operators to improve.

The Mirror

• John McDonnell slams 'failing' Chris Grayling over HS2's £30billion overspendThe Shadow Chancellor accused the Government of losing control of the high-speed rail project after reports that the project could cost up to £85billion

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Bradford Council bank holiday bus lanes 'fleece public'AN MP has accused Bradford Council of “trying to fleece as much money out of motorists as possible” after it was forced to admit it handed out six times the amount of fines for driving in a bus lane on a Bank Holiday this year as it did last year.

Bristol Live

• Councillors argue over the best way to improve Bristol's bus serviceCity councillors fought over the best way to improve Bristol’s bus services this week. After lengthy debate on July 16, during which the Labour group suggested the council should run bus services directly, a majority voted for the mayor to “seek for” a bus franchising system to be “properly considered”.

Liverpool Echo

• After Anfield - the other new rail link that Liverpool is crying out forPeople are passionate about better connectivity across the city - with a couple of particular examples

Wales Online

• The valley with one way out that faces losing a vital bus serviceCommunities like Blaengarw and Pontycymer in the Garw Valley are being hit hard by Wales' bus service crisis

Yorkshire Post

• Rail passengers' £100m missed opportunity to heap pressure on under-performing train operatorsRail passengers can heap pressure on train operators to improve service reliability by ensuring delay compensation worth millions of pounds does not go unclaimed, according to an independent watchdog.

Carlisle News & Star

• Roger Lytollis column - Train and bus companies are taking us for a rideInsurance company Tempcover has been studying social media to see what we think about our public transport operators.

Kent Online

• Medway council leader fears Boris Johnson could revive estuary airport ideaThe leader of Medway council has expressed fears that Boris Johnson could revive his controversial plan for an estuary airport - despite assurances to MPs that the idea has been shelved.

North Wales Live

• Airbus patents obesity seats and foldable chairsThe US Patent and Trademark Office has given the green light to trademark these inventions

Other Regional Press

• Crossrail bosses still paid huge bonuses despite delay to new London railway lineUnrealistic expectations and a failure to understand challenges were “hugely damaging” to the delivery of Crossrail, according to a new report.
• CHESHIRE East Council is set to play a key role in making decisions on HS2’s construction and design.The council agreed on Thursday to become a ‘qualifying authority’ for Phase 2a – the route between Crewe and Birmingham – in parts of the high-speed rail route that sit in the borough.
• Hope Valley Explorer bus service launches for Peak District visitorsThe Peak District National Park Authority has launched a new seasonal bus tour service in the Hope Valley this weekend.
• Relief as 'absolutely essential' bus service saved from axeAn under-threat bus route popular with schoolchildren and branded "absolutely essential" by an MP is no longer facing the axe under Suffolk County Council plans, it has emerged.

London TravelWatch

• London TravelWatch urges delayed rail passengersLondon’s passenger watchdog today backed a national campaign to encourage more rail passengers to claim the compensation they are entitled to and send a message to train operators that reliability must keep improving.

Rail Advent

• Network Rail has stopped work on new Dawlish sea wall for the SummerNetwork Rail has announced that they have stopped work on a new sea wall at Dawlish, in Devon, to reduce the impact on tourism and the community during the summer period.

Rail Magazine

• Sheffield unveils ambitious new rail strategyA new railway to Doncaster Airport, tram-train extensions, new stations and route upgrades are at the heart of Sheffield City Region’s new Integrated Rail Plan, launched on July 18.
• Rolling stock “left to rot in sidings”An unintended consequence of a move to alternative fuels could result in nearly-new rolling stock being “left in a siding to rot”, claims Angel Trains Chief Operating Officer Kevin Tribley.
• EXCLUSIVE: Network Rail's flagship New Measurement Train to star at Rail Live 2020Rail Live is barely over for 2019… but already a major exhibit is being lined up to star at Britain’s leading outdoor rail event next year.

Other News Sources

• Derby rail design and engineering consultancy bought by Swedish-owned firmA Derby rail design and engineering consultancy has been taken over by a Swedish-owned company. Dg8 Design and Engineering, based at The College Business Centre, in Uttoxeter New Road, has been bought by Icomera UK, a subsidiary of Gothenburg-based Icomera AB, for an undisclosed sum.
• Doncaster Sheffield Airport to slash emissions with £2m solar farmAviation Minister Baroness Vere visited Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA) at the beginning of July, as the Peel Group announced plans to build a £2 million solar farm that will generate 25% of the energy used by the airport.

EIN News Subscription

• Airbus patents obesity seats and foldable chairs … a regular basis to European and US patent bosses … industry, with some smaller airlines charging passengers by their weight … of an aircraft cabin to allow for a transport of either … flexibly adapting the respective transport capacities of the aircraft."