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

Tuesday, 23 November 2010

BBC News

• SmartWater to catch railway cable thieves in St Helens Copper cables by railway lines through St Helens in Merseyside are to be sprayed with a traceable liquid to deter thieves.
• Qantas to resume flights by A380sQantas says it is to resume flying some of its Airbus A380 aircraft on Saturday, three weeks after a mid-air engine blast.

Department for Transport

• THINK! Team up with Football Clubs to keep children safe on the roadsAn innovative new partnership between the THINK! child road safety campaign and four football clubs was launched today by Road Safety Minister Mike Penning.

Financial Times

• Qantas to resume Airbus A380 flightsQantas is to resume some A380 services from Saturday more than three weeks after one of its Airbus superjumbos made an emergency landing when a Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine exploded soon after take-off from Singapore
• QR National climbs on trading debutQR National, the Australian rail freight operator, became the country's second biggest initial public offering on record at the weekend after selling shares worth slightly more than A$4bn
• Rolls-Royce wins $1.8bn engine contractRolls-Royce secures another large contract to provide engines to a Chinese airline bringing the total value of deals in the country to $3bn in a fortnight
• TSA to review airport security protocolThe Transport Security Administration has agreed to look again at its controversial airport security protocol in response to sharp criticism that its use of full body scanners and aggressive 'pat-down' procedures are invasive and excessive.
• Swift to leave Go-Ahead for BAThe finance director will oversee the bus and train operator's interim results next year, before returning to the aviation sector as the British flag-carrier's chief financial officer

The Herald

• Scottish town in grip of cycling revolutionIt has the same miserable weather and attachment to the car as the rest of Scotland.

The Scotsman

• Bus Tracker in triumph at transport awards LOTHIAN Buses has won the Excellence in Technology and Innovation award for its BusTracker initiative.
• Transport chief given job in grubby deal, say critics THE row over the fate of Edinburgh's main bus company has taken a new twist amid claims the SNP only agreed to back the city's pro-tram business leader as its new figurehead in return for a deal to save a closure-threatened charity for blind and disabled people.

The Telegraph

• Rural passengers face lost services and higher fares Rural bus passengers face fare hikes of up to 50 per cent and the loss of hundreds of services because of Government spending cuts, the Daily Telegraph has learned.

Daily Express

• BA thinks bus firm boss is just the ticketBRITISH Airways alighted on a bus and train group for its new chief financial officer yesterday.

Network Rail

• LOCALS ON BOARD FOR RAILWAY AD CAMPAIGN

Liverpool Echo

• British Transport Police figures reveal surge in cable thefts from North West railway stations THEFTS of copper cabling from railways across the region have surged to an all-time high.
• Work begins to improve Anfield roads WORK to improve the road network in one of Liverpool’s best-known neighbourhoods was due to get underway today.

Liverpool Post

• New Wirral train station “one step closer” PROSPECTS for a new railway station in Wirral have moved a step closer after Merseytravel agreed to make it one of its priorities.
• Liverpool firm operated Birmingham Airport crash plane A LIVERPOOL aviation firm has confirmed a plane that crash landed at Birmingham Airport was one their jets.

Northern Echo

• Plea for cuts not to derail Metro scheme PLANS for a Metro-style transport system across Teesside must not be derailed if the region is to enjoy an economic renaissance, it has been declared.

Sheffield Star

• Tories could derail high speed trainsLONG-RUNNING plans to rejuvenate the South Yorkshire economy with a high-speed rail link to London could be jeopardised by three Conservative ministers who will oppose the sch

The York Press

• Trial of greener buses in York GREENER buses are to be trialled in York as part of a drive to improve the city™s air quality.

Wales Online

• ’Wasted opportunity’ if rail line not electrified FAILING to electrify the main railway line as far as Swansea would waste a huge opportunity, Wales’ foremost transport expert warned last night. Professor Stuart Cole of the University of Glamorgan said there was a very strong business case for the project, whose fate is due to be disclosed on Thursday.

Other Regional Press

• Coventry trains services to Birmingham hit by reduced services COVENTRY commuters travelling to Birmingham this morning (Tuesday) will face disruptions after an incident in Watford led to Virgin Trains reducing its services.
• Opportunity to have a say on Island’s transport plan CONSULTATION has started on a transport strategy for the Island covering the next 27 years.
• Arriva Midlands in festive fundraiser CHRISTMAS could be coming early for charities and bus users in Hinckley thanks to Arriva Midlands.
• You are hereNews Train firm would slash price of faresA train company bidding to run services is promising to slash the prices for people travelling from Lancashire to London. The Grand Central Railway is bidding to run the line from the capital to Blackpool going through the stations at Preston and Kirkham and Wesham.
• Flagship Brighton train scrapped A “flagship” train service between Brighton and London has been scrapped after a last minute decision by the rail regulator.Southern Rail had been due to launch its new service of four fast hourly off-peak trains next month.
• Mayor of London unveils Crossrail plans in exhibition BORIS Johnson has unveiled new designs for eight of London’s central Crossrail stations, saying they will create a new “urban realm” in London.
• Bus company™s Christmas tree giveawayA BUS company are supporting their customers in Whitby’s favourite charities this year with the help of a virtual Christmas tree.
• Probe after Birmingham Airport crash drama Birmingham Airport reopened on Saturday afternoon after it was closed for almost 24 hours following a light aircraft crash-landed on the runway.

Campaign for Better Transport

• M4 bus lane - just how good was it?22 November: Ever wondered how effective the M4 bus lane was at cutting congestion? We've got the answers. read more

Aviation Industry

• BMI UpdateAs the carrier introduces a refresh to its mid-haul seating, Wolfgang Prock-Schauer talks about BMI's plans for the future
• Walsh dismissive of Easyjet™s corporate offeringWillie Walsh has brushed off the threat of Easyjet luring business travellers away from British Airways

Other News Sources

• Bombardier contests U.S. railway contract awarded to France's AlstomMONTREAL - Bombardier (TSX:BBD.B) is contesting a US$200 million U.S. railway contract awarded to French rival Alstom, in a situation similar to the recent battle to secure Montreal's subway contract.
• Bombardier contests U.S. railway contract awarded to France's AlstomMONTREAL - Bombardier (TSX:BBD.B) is contesting a US$200 million U.S. railway contract awarded to French rival Alstom, in a situation similar to the recent battle to secure Montreal's subway contract.
• Calmac wins Public Transport Operator of the YearFerry operator Caledonian MacBrayne, (CalMac) has won its second prestigious award of the year, after being named “Public Transport Operator of the Year” at the Scottish Transport Awards in Glasgow.
• Network Rail unveils cut-price plan for UK rail tunnels Network Rail and structural engineer specialist Donaldson Associates have unveiled detailed design ideas of how tunnels in the UK should be renewed and repaired over the next decade.
• Crossrail: all change at new stations As its new stations are unveiled, the £16 billion Crossrail project is set to redraw central London's property map, discovers David Spittles
• Hitachi tipped to win revamped high speed train deal THE government is tipped to confirm Japanese train manufacturer Hitachi this week as the winner of a slimmed-down deal to replace the UK’s ageing Intercity 125 high-speed trains.It is thought ministers have re-jigged an existing agreement with Hitachi’s consortium Agility Trains to make the £7.5bn trains it offered for the UK’s Intercity Express (IEP) scheme cheaper and simpler to run
• Unions step up fight to save Isle of Man Steam PacketUNIONS REPRESENTING hundreds of workers at the Isle of Man Steam Packet will this week step up their campaign to defend ferry services to the mainland against attempts to undermine them using vessels crewed by seafarers on poverty pay and appalling conditions.

News from Europe

• Weinberg tunnel holed through SWITZERLAND: Swiss Federal Railways held celebrations in Zürich on November 22 to mark the breakthrough of the Weinberg tunnel, which forms the centrepiece of the Durchmesserlinie cross-city rail link project.