Regulator also vetoes extra Blackpool service, citing lack of space on west coast mainline for new direct trains to capital
Plans to run direct train services to Wrexham and Rochdale from London have been rejected by the rail regulator because of “significant pressure” on the line.
The Office of Rail and Road said that there was insufficient space on the crowded west coast mainline to introduce the two new separate train services.
Continue reading...Planned rule change forms part of Burnham’s bid to crack down on the ‘little charges that add up’
Airlines will be blocked from charging parents extra to sit with their children on planes, according to government plans.
The new rule would require airlines to seat passengers aged under 14 next to their parents or an accompanying adult free of charge. Passengers will also no longer need to pay to tweak the name on their flight booking if they need to correct a mistake.
Continue reading...Nats says fault at Prestwick has been ‘fixed’ after airports in Scotland, northern England and Northern Ireland are hit
Airlines have called for “action and accountability” over the UK’s air traffic control services after a technical issue led to flights being disrupted for the second time in a fortnight.
Dozens were cancelled and others severely delayed after a fault on Monday morning at National Air Traffic Services (Nats), this time at its second control centre at Prestwick in South Ayrshire.
Continue reading...The Warsaw event saw 26 teams compete across a series of demanding tasks, inspired - to varying degrees - by tram drivers’ day-to-day tasks
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It’s the grand final for gunzels. But despite having one of the largest tram networks in the world, Melbourne’s Tramaroos finished second last at this year’s European TramDriver Championship, just ahead of London.
The event, held in Warsaw on Saturday, saw 26 teams compete across a series of demanding tasks, inspired – to varying degrees – by tram drivers’ day-to-day work.
Continue reading...Error first occurred at 10am but major incident was not declared until 12.30pm, says report
A software defect in part of the UK’s air traffic control system corrupted flight data “in the space of a millisecond”, leading to a six-hour outage and mass airline cancellations and delays across the UK last week, National Air Traffic Services has said.
But ministers said the Nats report into the incident still left questions unanswered, saying they needed “to urgently understand why this issue was not discovered and fixed before it caused chaos”.
Continue reading...Potholed roads are ‘devastating political advertising’ for the Victorian government – but Ben Carrol’s made them the focus of his campaign
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At a press conference to celebrate the sold-out NFL match played at Melbourne’s MCG on Friday, the Victorian premier, Ben Carroll, was heckled on one issue.
“Fix the potholes,” a punter called out as they walked past the Victorian premier’s press conference.
Continue reading...More than 1,000 flights cancelled with problems continuing on Wednesday and airlines calling for overhaul after third incident in just over three years
Flight delays and cancellations were expected to continue into Wednesday at UK airports after another air traffic control failure kept planes grounded for hours, affecting hundreds of thousands of passengers.
At least 177 flights scheduled for Wednesday to and from UK airports had been cancelled, plane tracking site Flightradar24 said, “nearly all at London Heathrow”. More than 1,000 were cancelled by about 8pm on Tuesday.
Continue reading...Passenger recalls seeing cabin lights flicker and ‘a lot of screaming’ after suspected engine issue
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Liza-Jayne Loch was returning home from a business trip to New Zealand when her Qantas flight ran into trouble.
The plane was climbing above the scenic South Island’s mountain ranges on Saturday afternoon, bound for Sydney, when a bang shook the cabin.
Continue reading...London mayor’s office says he is ‘victim of a scam’ after conviction under fast-track system where magistrates can decide outcomes in seconds
Sadiq Khan’s office has revealed he was the victim of a scam that led to him being fined for failing to tax a car that did not belong to him.
The London mayor was found guilty last month under a system of “conveyor-belt justice”, in which magistrates decide on hundreds of cases a day, sometimes spending less than a minute on each.
Continue reading...Deal agreed between Avanti West Coast and Aslef is first to be approved by Burnham government
Train drivers have secured a significant pay rise after the threat of strike action was floated on busy routes across the UK, including on the busy London-Manchester line.
The deal, which was agreed on Saturday between Avanti West Coast and the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (Aslef) union, is the first to be approved by Andy Burnham in his premiership.
Continue reading...Drivers concerned that bus operator’s offer to retrofit cabs on 730 buses will not be complete by next summer
London bus drivers have resumed strike action over having to work in high temperatures, amid fears that proposed improvements to air conditioning will not be complete by next summer.
About 1,500 members of the Unite union working across north London and Essex are taking part in the four-day strike from Tuesday to Friday, after industrial action earlier this month. Further stoppages are planned for the coming weeks.
Continue reading...Drivers concerned that bus operator’s offer to retrofit cabs on 730 buses will not be complete by next summer
London bus drivers have resumed strike action over having to work in high temperatures, amid fears that proposed improvements to air conditioning will not be complete by next summer.
About 1,500 members of the Unite union working across north London and Essex are taking part in the four-day strike from Tuesday to Friday, after industrial action earlier this month. Further stoppages are planned for the coming weeks.
Continue reading...Move means holders will be able to travel free on local services at any time of day or night from April next year
Disabled people across England will be able to use their free bus passes at any time of day from next April, as Andy Burnham expands a policy he introduced as mayor of Greater Manchester.
The prime minister has said the current weekday restrictions on when disabled people can use their bus passes will be removed from 1 April 2027. Their passes are valid only between 9.30am and 11pm on weekdays, although some councils pay to allow people free travel outside those hours.
Continue reading...Move means holders will be able to travel free on local services at any time of day or night from April next year
Disabled people across England will be able to use their free bus passes at any time of day from next April, as Andy Burnham expands a policy he introduced as mayor of Greater Manchester.
The prime minister has said the current weekday restrictions on when disabled people can use their bus passes will be removed from 1 April 2027. Their passes are valid only between 9.30am and 11pm on weekdays, although some councils pay to allow people free travel outside those hours.
Continue reading...Angela Rayner to launch guidance for ‘default yes’ on developments near transport hubs, including on green belt sites
Thousands more homes could be built within 10 minutes of transport hubs, including on green belt sites, under a loosening of planning policy announced by Angela Rayner on Monday.
The housing secretary will set out changes to national planning guidance for England that will include an order for councils to have a “default yes” approach to housing developments that are within a reasonable walking distance of well-connected train and tram stations.
Stronger support in principle for development, meaning a more explicit presumption in favour of building in sustainable locations.
Pubs will get protection from being turned into housing or offices with developers having to prove there is no reasonable prospect of keeping a pub as a going concern, including evidence that it was marketed for sale for at least a year.
A requirement for at least 40% of homes to be accessible on bigger developments and stronger protections for community facilities.
Stronger support for growth and infrastructure including support for AI growth zones and datacentres.
Continue reading...Fan blade broke off shortly after takeoff on 10 July flight from Greece to Germany, preliminary findings show
Broken engine parts were responsible for shattering a window on a Ryanair plane, causing a passenger to be partly sucked out mid-flight in July, US investigators have said.
A preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found an engine fan blade broke off shortly after takeoff on the 10 July flight from Greece to Germany shattering the window and damaging the fuselage.
Continue reading...Air transport hub in west London reports 7.86m passengers in July, compared with 8.15m for Istanbul’s new airport away from the city
Istanbul airport has overtaken Heathrow as Europe’s busiest airport by passenger numbers, leading the London hub to say its “case for expansion has never been clearer”.
Figures published on Tuesday showed 7.9 million passengers passed through Heathrow’s terminals in July, compared with Istanbul’s 8.15 million.
Continue reading...Regulator finds many insurers raising premiums faster than inflation and advises customers to ask for better deals
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Car owners should challenge motor insurers over steep premium hikes, the corporate regulator advises, after finding many companies were raising prices faster than inflation.
In a report released on Tuesday, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (Asic) found that none of the eight insurers it reviewed adequately explained the reasons behind premium calculations to customers or why prices had changed in quote or renewal documents.
Continue reading...Transport minister says improved staff rostering will be in place from next month after ‘unacceptable’ delays and incident involving Qatar Airways and Jetstar planes
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The transport minister, Catherine King, has said improved staff rostering will be in place at Sydney airport from next month after “unacceptable” delays and a near-miss collision that resulted in two workers being stood down.
King called in the Airservices Australia chief executive officer, Rob Sharp, for a meeting in Canberra on Monday, the day after a Jetstar plane narrowly avoided hitting a Qatar Airways plane that was pulled across the runway in front of it.
Continue reading...Planes narrowly avoid collision on tarmac with Jetstar A320 forced to ‘brake firmly’ as Qatar Boeing 777 towed into its path
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Two planes have narrowly avoided a collision on the tarmac of Australia’s busiest airport as it struggles with staff shortages.
The Jetstar and Qatar Airways planes almost collided at Sydney airport at 7am on Sunday.
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