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

Saturday, 30 June 2012

BBC News

• Rutland public transport plan wins £4m funds A £4m funding package has been approved for public transport in Rutland.
• Princes Street opens to vehiclesEdinburgh's famous Princes Street thoroughfare reopens to taxis and buses following tram works.
• East and west coast lines reopenThe two main rail routes connecting Scotland and England have both reopened after heavy rain caused massive disruption.
• Tube workers strike called offStrikes by London Underground staff are called off after agreements are reached.
• Rail overhaul put to governmentProposals for suburban rail franchises in London to be brought under the mayor's control are put forward to the government.
• New bus demos in 2012 bonus rowBus drivers stage further demonstrations across London over bonus payments to work during the Olympic Games.

Financial Times

• Payments row sparks Jubilee line fearsA dispute over delayed upgrade work to one of the main Tube lines serving the Olympic Park has led to questions about the route™s reliability

The Scotsman

• Rail firm refuses talks with unionA TRAIN company has told union leaders it will not renegotiate a pay deal as workers prepared to vote in a strike ballot in a row over an Olympic Games bonus.

The Telegraph

• Scotland cut off as 'superstorms', floods and landslips close main rail linksHundreds of rail passengers were left stranded on Thursday night after freak thunderstorms left England and Scotland cut off from each other.
• Why the East End's new cable car is the height of funBoris Johnson felt like Yuri Gagarin, recalls David Leafe

Daily Express

• Concession cut knocks NatExTRANSPORT group National Express took a hit from UK cuts to travel discounts for older people, but hailed a good showing in Spain.

Mail Online

• Rail chaos as derailed freight train blocks line in West Highlands after landslideThe 24-wagon train came off the tracks between Corrour and Tulloch just after 7pm yesterday in a remote part of Scotland. No one was hurt although the driver was badly shaken.

The Mirror

• Ryanair passenger gets on wrong plane and flies to Sweden instead of FranceThe teenager got on the flight by accident due to a last-minute gate change at Stansted
• UK weather chaos: The clean-up begins but rail delays continue after second wettest June on recordThousands of homes were still without power today after rainstorms swept large parts of the UK

Network Rail

• NORTH EAST RAIL REPAIR CONTINUES OVER WEEKEND

Belfast Telegraph

• Apprenticeship set for take-off at City AirportGeorge Best Belfast City Airport is to create at least one apprenticeship when it launches its first apprenticeship scheme later this year.Related StoriesRecession worse than first thoughtPeanut Putter golf club range is on course for major sporting successBarclays' shares in freefall over embattled chiefFalcon Holidays unveils summer sun programme for 2013Hundreds of telecom jobs to be created in Northern Ireland by Teleperformance

Birmingham Mail

• Warwickshire MP condemned Birmingham Council over HS2 depot moveA FURIOUS row has broken out between Birmingham City Council and a Warwickshire MP after the authority rejected plans for a high speed train depot in Washwood Heath.

London Evening Standard

• 'London buses won't stop when they see me,' says disabled commuterA disabled man told today how his promising career has been threatened by London bus drivers refusing to allow him on board with his mobility scooter.
• Tube bosses to close large part of Jubilee line on Sunday in 'Olympics reliability test'Jubilee line passengers should be entitled to believe the line will work after its £721 million upgrade.
• Boris rail: Mayor of London's bid to control suburban trainsBoris Johnson today launched his bid to take full control of London™s suburban rail services.

Sheffield Telegraph

• Rail users delighted by improved serviceTRAIN passengers have hailed long-distance train services from Sheffield.
• Improvements for Sheffield accident blackspotIT HAS taken more than 30 years of lobbying - but work is finally to start to improve safety on one of South Yorkshire’s most dangerous stretches of road.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• 98 jobs in Wakefield road schemeA £1.3m new roundabout and road scheme is set to bring jobs to a deprived area of the Wakefield district.
• Funding decision on Leeds trolleybus plan ˜just weeks away™The funding fate of the Leeds trolleybus scheme should be known within the next few weeks.

East Anglian Daily Times

• East Anglia: Rail wish list for region taking shapeTRAINS running between London and East Anglia should travel at up to 110mph to improve links between the capital and this region.
• Poll: Passengers on Greater Anglia route unhappy with servicesRAIL passengers in East Anglia were the least satisfied in the country during the early months of this year, according to new figures released by the official rail watchdog.

Northants Evening Telegraph

• Kettering MP Philip Hollobone asks if double-decker trains could be reintroducedKettering MP Philip Hollobone has raised the idea of reintroducing double-decker trains on the country’s rail network in Parliament.

Peterborough Telegraph

• Survey on road users™ satisfactionA satisfaction survey is being launched to get the public’s views on Peterborough’s roads and public transport.

Other Regional Press

• Transport charges for people with learning disabilities are scrapped CAMPAIGNERS were last night celebrating after “cruel” transport charges for adults with learning disabilities were scrapped by Renfewshire Council.

Bus and Coach.com

• West Yorkshire confirms quality contractA head-on confrontation between Metro, the West Yorkshire PTE, and the region's bus operators now looks certain following an all-party decision by the West Yorkshire Integrated Transport Authority to continue to develop its plans to introduce a bus quality contracts scheme.
• Scania cuts Omni productionScania is cutting 142 jobs at its bus factory in Slupsk, in Poland, because of continued weak demand for its Omni range of buses.
• More Olympic bonus strikes announcedLondon bus workers are poised to stage a second one-day strike on Thursday (5 July) in pursuit of a bonus for doing their jobs during the Olympic Games.

Global Rail News

• Landslides and flooding cause severe disruptionFlooding and landslides have caused mass disruption to train services in Scotland and northern England. Services were cancelled last night on the West Coast Main Line and East Coast Main Line following landslips and severe flooding. Although service is returning to normal on the West Coast this morning, Network Rail has advised passengers not to [...]
• Amey takes on cycling challenge for Railway ChildrenEight employees from rail services provider Amey are in training for the London to Paris bike ride to raise money for the Railway Children charity. On July 6, the team will begin the 178-mile journey from Crystal Palace to the Trocadero Gardens, opposite the Eiffel Tower in the French capital. The team are aiming for [...]
• Merseytravel announces new chairmanCouncillor Liam Robinson was named as the new chairman of Merseytravel following his election at the authority™s Annual General Meeting yesterday. Cllr Robinson said: œI am honoured to have been chosen by the elected members of Merseytravel to be their chair, and delighted to announce that we have today also approved a new strategic plan [...]
• Green light for York Ops CentreCity authorities in York have agreed Network Rail™s plan to build a new rail operating centre and workforce development school close to York station. Says Phil Verster, Route Managing Director, ˜This decision is great news for York and the railway. These operating and training facilities will allow us to deliver a modern, efficient railway while [...]
• Simple safetySafety fencing. It™s something that™s always around, yet no-one sees. It needs to be put up at the start of almost every lineside job, and taken down afterwards, but other than that it™s just there – like sleepers and ballast. However, it needs to be put up quickly, as everyone else is waiting to get [...]
• Indian Railways launch train tracking text serviceIndian rail passengers are now able to track their train in real time with a new SMS service. Indian Railways and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur have launched the new service, which allows customers to find out where their train is simply by sending a text message. The service is currently available for [...]

London TravelWatch

• London TravelWatch supports decentralisation of rail services in its response to the Government™s consultationIn its response to the Department for Transport™s (DfT) consultation on rail decentralisation, London TravelWatch has welcomed the prospect of responsibility for rail services in the UK being devolved. The independent passenger watchdog has recommended that The Mayor of London and Transport for London™s (TfL) proposal for taking responsibility for Southeastern and Greater Anglia suburban services should be accepted by the DfT.
• Transport Services Committee meeting on 19th JuneLondon TravelWatch's next public meeting will be its Transport Services Committee on Tuesday 19 June 2012. The meeting will be held at our offices at 6 Middle Street.
• London TravelWatch welcomes new Emirates Airline and plans for Silvertown tunnel under the ThamesLondon TravelWatch has welcomed the new Emirates Airline which opened yesterday and this week™s Government announcement that it is backing the Silvertown tunnel, bringing its construction a step closer.
• London TravelWatch demands action by rail industry on Kentish Town train incident reportLondon TravelWatch demands action by rail industry on Kentish Town train incident report

Railnews

• Flash floods close East and West Coast lines Network Rail engineers have been battling to reopen the main lines which link England and Scotland, after both were blocked by torrential rain. The bad weather in the north triggered landslides, stranding one train for fifteen hours. A Scottish route was also blocked by a derailed freight train.

Aviation Industry

• Aer Arann poised to announce ATR order at FarnboroughIrish regional carrier Aer Arann (RE) is understood to be finalizing an ATR 72 deal, which could be announced at the Farnborough Airshow.
• Emirates adjusts expansion plan due to A380 wing repairsDubai-based Emirates Airline (EK) said its expansion plan will be readjusted after it lost nearly $100 million from necessary modifications to repair wing rib cracks on its in-service Airbus A380s.
• Virgin sells 10% stake in AirAsia XUK-based Virgin Group, parent company of Virgin Atlantic Airways (VS), has sold its 10% stake in Malaysia™s AirAsia X (D7), the long-haul, low-cost carrier (LCC).
• Delta to offer wifi on long-haul flightsAirline will extend internet access to international services from next year
• Directors' group joins fight against air taxInstitute of Directors becomes latest group to back anti-APD campaign
• Middle East Airlines joins SkyteamLebanon-based carrier becomes newest member of alliance
• Government won™t change mind on new runways “ GreeningTransport secretary again rules out new runways for Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted

Other News Sources

• Barclays scandal highlights risks in TfL's approach to sponsorship 29 June, 2012 - 12:50 Commenting on the news that Barclays has been fined £290m by financial regulators for attempting to rig interest rates in its favour[1], John Biggs AM, Chair of the Budget and Performance Committee said:œThe trouble that Barclays finds itself in underlines exactly why Transport for London needs clear, consistent and transparent rules about who gets to associate their brand with London™s transport network “ and what the options are if things go wrong. ...