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

Thursday, 23 June 2016

BBC News

• Swansea electrification uncertainty 'affecting business'Uncertainty over the date when electrified trains start arriving in Swansea is affecting potential investment, it is claimed.
• Riba Awards: York abbey, M5 services and Liverpool hospital honouredA grass-roofed children's hospital, a Yorkshire abbey and a
• Aslef drops legal action and accepts 12-car Gatwick trainsA train drivers' union decides against further legal action after losing a court battle over a strike ballot in protest at longer trains.
• Trains to be cancelled on second day of rail strikesCommuters are facing another day of disruption as ScotRail workers continue a planned series of one-day strikes.
• Hornby to cut number of toys in turnaround bidToymaker Hornby plans to cut the number of toys it makes as it strives to make the business profitable again.

Times Online

• Dutch transport concession lawful [Subscription]By providing access to fares at preferential rates on public transport in the Netherlands for students who were registered with a private or public educational establishment in the Netherlands, but only extending that concession to students from other member states of the European Union who were economically active or had obtained the right of permanent residence in the Netherlands, the Kingdom of the Netherlands did not discriminate against non-Dutch students who were studying in the Netherlands.
• Heathrow accused of third runway ‘rip-off’ - Willie Walsh [Subscription]The boss of Britain’s biggest airline has accused Heathrow of “ripping off” passengers with plans for a new runway when it could save billions of pounds by doubling the length of an existing one.

Mail Online

• Angry motorists call for the end of the Lycra lout cyclists Three out of four British motorists called for cyclists to be licenced to help put an end to Lycra louts, with one in three saying they had experienced road rage from someone on a bike at some point.

Birmingham Mail

• Mercedes reveals wireless car charging 2017 Mercedes 500 e hybrid will offer contactless charging

Liverpool Echo

• Stagecoach offers free wi-fi and USB charging points for Liverpool bus passengers18 of the new double-decker buses will be used across the 82 and 86 routes and 14 of the vehicles on the 14 route

London Evening Standard

• Revealed: London's most overcrowded Tube stations Oxford Circus has been revealed as London's most overcrowded Tube station, with passengers being prevented from entering the station more than 100 times each year.
• Night Tube to be expanded to extra line within weeks of launchThe new Night Tube is set to be extended to a third line within weeks of being launched.
• Tesla dims after Musk bid for struggling SolarCityShares in Elon Musk's Tesla slammed into reverse after his pioneering electric car firm launched a $2.8 billion (�1.9 billion) takeover of the celebrated entrepreneur's struggling solar power company.
• Uber driver and 'black cab driver' fight in the street in 'road rage clash'Dramatic footage has captured the moment an Uber driver was repeatedly punched in the face by another motorist in an apparent road rage clash.

Northern Echo

• Cycling festival will leave "legacy for years to come"

The York Press

• Bus subsidy cuts set to be scaled back PROPOSED cuts to bus subsidies are set to be scaled back by senior York councillors to ensure some key services continue to run after all.
• Park&Ride shake-up A NEW bus company could take over York’s Park&Ride service from next year, and council bosses say they want to make sure harmful emissions are kept low on the ever-growing services.

Wales Online

• AM calls for valleys to regain lost rail services under Metro planValleys which lost rail services decades ago should get them back under future phases of the South Wales Metro transport scheme, Ogmore AM Huw Irranca-Davies has said.
• Big winners from the £1.2bn City Deal will be communities outside of Cardiff says Valleys council leaderAndrew Morgan said that the long list of City Deal projects for transport alone far exceed the £1.2bn available

Plymouth Herald

• Plymouth rail improvements delayed as key report is put back until after summer Campaigners are struggling to make the case for an improved rail network because businesses are not telling the Government how important faster services would be.

Reading Evening Post

• Finchampstead woman feels 'trapped' by bus shortage Barbara Wilks, 74, claims the Reading Buses services she depends on are too few and far between

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Peel Ports hits biomass milestonePeel Ports has hit the milestone of dispatching more than 400 freight services from the railheads at Liverpool to Drax power station in North Yorkshire seven months after opening the first phase of its biomass terminal. Each train service carries around 1,700 tonnes of compressed wood pellets manufactured and imported from North America as a by-product from the sawmill industry. The terminal has created nearly 50 extra permanent jobs at the Port of Liverpool.
• Stena Line upgrades passenger ship communicationsStena Line has upgraded the communications systems on its passenger ships to enhance internet speed for its guests. It has upgraded VSAT connectivity and linked this to global mobile phone 3G and 4G networks and in-port WiFi. The system was deployed by Norway-based Marlink across Stena Line’s fleet of 25 ferries to enable passengers to access social media and online services. Marlink has trebled the bandwidth available in Stena’s fleet-wide closed user group service. It enables passengers to use their own mobile devices over these ships’ WiFi networks to link to satellite co...
• A chance to have your say on bus routes in the CapitalThe routes affected by the proposals are all in the Tottenham Court Road area and people have until 24 July to give their views. TfL says the plans, if adopted, will simplify the bus network and cut journey times for many passengers. The consultation comes ahead of the introduction of two-way traffic to Tottenham Court Road and Gower Street, which is planned for the end of 2018 as part of Camden Council's West End Project. TfL is proposing to make the changes in the Tottenham Court Road, Gower Street and St Giles High Street areas to accommodate this major traffic re-design. The routes tha...
• Liverpool rail connection provides environmental win for DraxSeven months after opening phase 1 of its biomass terminal, Peel Ports has dispatched more than 400 freight services from the railheads at the Port of Liverpool to Drax power station in North Yorkshire. The milestone was announced to delegates at TOC Europe in Hamburg today (15 June) by Port Director David Huck during a case study presentation about its partnership with the Drax facility. The site is both the single largest carbon saving project in Europe and the UK’s biggest single generator of renewable electricity. It produces almost 2,000MW of renewable power - enough for three mill...
• MTR joins FirstGroup’s bid for South Western rail franchiseUK: Shortlisted bidder FirstGroup announced on June 16 that MTR Corp (UK) is to join it in a joint venture to bid for the next South Western rail franchise. The Department for Transport has appoved the agreement, which will see the UK subsidiary of Hong Kong-based transport group MTR take a 30% stake in the joint venture. Both FirstGroup and MTR already hold Pre-Qualification Questionnaire Passports enabling them to express interest in franchises without resubmitting financial and other competence data.

Rail Magazine

• HS2 construction will inform West Coast Main Line capacityConstruction of Phase 1 of HS2 will allow rail industry to evaluate how capacity freed up on the southern section of the West Coast Main Line should be used.
• Higher demand for public transport in European UnionStudy by International Association of Public Transport (UITP) reveals 57.9 billion journeys were made on public transport in the European Union in 2014.
• Glos-Warks extension bid: share offer reaches halfway markThe Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway has reached halfway in its share issue plan to raise �1.25 million to extend the line to Broadway.
• New ‘Pop up’ depot to serve construction market and remove lorries from roadsDB Cargo and Cemex open ‘pop-up’ depot at Warrington, designed to serve the North West construction market. reduce number of HGVs in the High Peak area.
• Task Force delays publication of demands for South WestPublication of the Peninsula Rail Task Force’s 20-year plan on the needs for the South West has been postponed until after the summer.
• Perry: stock procurement remains a matter for operatorsProcurement and evaluation of rolling stock is a matter for the private operators, “as it has been since privatisation” says Rail Minister Claire Perry.

Rail Technology Magazine

• Rex Articoli Tecnici-Track Insulation Materials for Railway Lines Rex Articoli Tecnici SA specialises track insulation materials for railway lines, with or without ballast, including rubber to metal, rubber to plastic and rubber to rubber components. Specific railw...
• TfN must not reduce powers available to local transport authorities - WYCAA limitation on the use of concurrent powers by Transport for the North (TfN) must be included in the order to make it a statutory body to ensure powers to local areas remain protected, West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) has said. TfN is due to be established as a statutory body by the end...
• Publication of Peninsula Rail plan delayed until after summerA 20-year plan for improvements to the South West rail network will not be published until after the summer, it has been revealed. The Peninsula Rail Task Force announced yesterday that it has agreed with the DfT and Network Rail to postpone the report on improving the network’s resilience...
• SWT completes �65m roll-out of extra 108 carriagesSouth West Trains has completed the £65m roll-out of 108 additional carriages, allowing capacity for 23,000 new passengers on its services. The Class 456 and Class 458/5 carriages will be added to 34 morning services and 43 evening services, running on routes from London Waterloo to...
• Midland Metro extension to Wolverhampton approvedThe £18m Midland Metro tram extension to Wolverhampton was given formal approval yesterday by the transport secretary. Work on the extension can now begin later this year, and it is due to open in 2019. The route, part of a £120m redevelopment of the city centre, will take trams...

Railway Gazette

• Camcorder to test Thameslink ETCSUK: Network Rail is to make use of an ERTMSCamCorder to undertake integrated onsite testing of the...
• Midland Metro Wolverhampton extension approvedUK: Powers to extend the Midland Metro light rail line in Wolverhampton were granted on June 21 by...
• ERTMS business case confirmedEUROPE: A clear business case for the installation of ETCS throughout the nine European core...
• Independent freight operator launches in SerbiaSERBIA: Kombinovani Prevoz has become the first independent railway operator to launch...

Aviation Industry

• VLM Airlines files for bankruptcyBelgium carrier made a loss of €13 million last year