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

Thursday, 21 July 2011

BBC News

• Hull Trains chief apologises for disruption The head of Hull Trains has apologised to commuters who have been hit by weeks of disruption on services to London.
• Cycle hire scheme extended across Newcastle A city-wide bike hire scheme is being launched in Newcastle following the success seen in London.
• Bus fares for over-16s in Derby to increase Teenagers using Derby's buses will have to pay more for their journeys from 1 August as council cuts come into force.
• US high speed rail plan [audio clip]President Barack Obama has announced his intention to make high-speed rail a priority in the US.
• Rail ticket sites 'too confusing'A report by Passenger Focus says train companies must do more to ensure passengers do not overpay when using their websites.
• District Line shows up antique TubeMuch of the equipment on the District Line is from the 1960s, says Tom Edwards
• American Airlines buys 460 planesAmerican Airlines, the world's fourth-largest, announces multi-billion dollar orders for 460 new Boeing and Airbus planes.

Financial Times

• American to split order for more than 600 jetsThe third-largest US airline by revenues is set to order more than 620 aircraft, including options, from Boeing and Airbus over at least a decade
• Radical rail signal plan faces union battleNetwork Rail faces a battle with staff over plans to close nearly all Britain's 800 signal boxes and replace them with computerised centres
• Boeing bows to pressure on 737 upgradeAmerican order will be widely seen as a victory for Airbus, as the European aircraft maker has secured orders for more aircraft than its US rival
• Watershed deal for carrier and industryAmerican Airlines makes the largest order of jets in history, cajoles a supplier into developing a new aircraft type and steals a march on its main rivals
• Changes signal death of old technologyNetwork Rail plans to centralise its signalling so a single worker can handle up to 200 times the workload of some mechanical signal boxes

The Herald

• Union to fight plan to cut rail signal workers PLANS to drastically reduce the number of signallers working on Britain’s railways and close hundreds of signal boxes were met with a fierce response by a trade union yesterday, which said it would fight any compulsory redundancies.
• Electric car grant fails to switch on Scots motoristsFEWER than 700 people have taken advantage of a Government grant to encourage the take-up of electric vehicles in its first six months of operation, underlining doubts about the green technology.

The Independent

• Rail signal workers cut proposed Network Rail has started consulting on plans to drastically reduce the number of signal workers and signal boxes as part of a modernisation programme aimed at saving £250 million a year and improving punctuality.

The Scotsman

• Online rail ticket price warningSome rail passengers may be paying too much for tickets when they shop online, a report by a train customer watchdog has said.

The Telegraph

• Rail passengers could be paying too much online Rail passengers could be paying too much when they buy their train tickets online, a consumer group has warned.
• Electric car scheme fails to excite motorists The £400 million drive to persuade motorists to buy electric cars is proving a costly failure, according to the latest Whitehall figures.

Daily Express

• Royal wedding hitches travellers to EurostarA BIG rise in American travellers visiting London for the royal wedding put sales on the fast track at Channel Tunnel high-speed train operator Eurostar.

Mail Online

• Drivers are turned off by electric car offers despite £5,000 government subsidies The electric car revolution has stalled. Public interest in a government scheme to promote 'green' vehicles has dropped, despite hefty taxpayer subsidies of up to £5,000 per vehicle, the RAC Foundation said yesterday.
• Train passengers 'bamboozled' by jargon and paying over the odds when booking tickets onlineRail companies should do a lot more to simplify the system as customers are buying the wrong seats or missing out on a cheaper deal, a study found.

Derby Telegraph

• Cameron's pledge to look for work for Bombardier PRIME Minister David Cameron has pledged to look at whether he can push potentially job-saving work Bombardier's way.
• Impact of job losses on tax revenue not known THE Treasury has admitted it does not know what impact redundancies at Bombardier will have. Derby North MP Chris Williamson submitted a question asking the potential effects on tax revenue of the job losses.
• Firms eager to recruit Derby's 'world-class' train makers SUITORS for the Bombardier staff who have been made redundant are already forming an orderly queue.
• Soapbox Peter Robinson: We need Bombardier to help create a cleaner, greener future for us all SCIENTISTS overwhelmingly agree the threat from man-made climate change is enormous. As Sir David King, until recently the Chief Scientific Adviser to the Government, said: "Climate change is the biggest threat to humanity that we have ever known – bigger than terrorism."
• Come on, let's have some disaster aid for Derby WHAT televised portion I saw of our MPs' session in Westminster over Bombardier made depressing viewing, with the Government still rolling out the old "bound to follow the criteria set out by the Labour government" routine.
• My experience of French not following the rulesI HAVE resisted, so far, in making any public comment about the Bombardier scandal. But now I feel that I must.

Metro

• Drivers told to prepare for school holidays travel chaos on roadsDrivers were warned on Wednesday to expect traffic jams on major routes as the school summer holidays begin this weekend.

Other Regional Press

• £800k plans to boost public transport at railway station A BUSY railway station and the road outside it could be given an £800,000 makeover to encourage people to use public transport.
• Rail investment boost for Bath A £5 billion investment programme by Network Rail to dramatically improve the Great Western rail route has been welcomed by Bath & North East Somerset Council as a boost to its plans to improve transport and tackle traffic congestion.
• UK & World News: Online rail ticket price warning Some rail passengers may be paying too much for tickets when they shop online, a report by a train customer watchdog has said.
• Union leader warns: ’Cabbies will be forced underground’ by new Kirklees Council penalty points system CABBIES will be forced into the shadows by a new penalty points system, a trade unionist warned last night.

Global Rail News

• Eurostar reports continued ˜strong growth™Eurostar, the high speed passenger rail service between the UK and mainland Europe, today reported continued strong growth in the first half of 2011. Overall sales ...
• Indian Railways appoints Mott MacDonald to study high speed rail in Northern statesIndian Railways Construction Company (IRCON), has appointed UK based engineering and development consultancy firm Mott MacDonald to conduct pre-feasibility studies for a proposed high speed rail ...
• Balfour Beatty Rail wins £4.7m contract for Thameslink projectBalfour Beatty Rail, working with Birse Rail and Balfour Beatty Engineering Services, has been awarded a design and construct contract worth £4.7m at Tanners Hill, South London. ...
• What does the future hold for public transport ticketing?Passengers in London have embraced the Oyster card, with more than 7.5 million cards in regular use. Will Transport for London™s (TfL) plans for new forms ...
• The death of British train building?Reports on the death of British train building are premature says Andy Milne. How could we be so stupid as to lose the last train building ...
• Samaritans rail scheme sees suicide rate reduceA scheme to cut the number of suicides on the railways has been hailed as a quiet success. Specialist railway staff training has contributed to an ...
• Network Rail™s new appointmentsA psychologist, a one time carriage cleaner and a first aider are among the latest appointments to new roles as managing directors of Network Rail™s ten ...
• Institution of Railway Operators fills top jobLeading rail industry body the Institution of Railway Operators (IRO) has appointed a new Chief Executive Officer. Fiona Tordoff, 46, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute ...
• Last call on Victoria Line for ˜67A Victoria line driver who celebrates 25 years driving on the Underground this year, piloted the last 1967 train on its last journey up the Victoria ...
• Apprenticeship to Fellowship rail scheme praisedSkills Minister John Hayes has welcomed a ground-breaking Apprenticeship to Fellowship scheme designed to help engineering apprentices joining the railway industry. The scheme will enable apprentices ...
• First Capital Connect™s projects team completes Three Peaks ChallengeFour members of First Capital Connect™s projects department recently completed the Three Peaks Challenge and have raised over £3,000 for the Railway Children. David Statham, Nick ...

Aviation Industry

• Stansted Express signs lounge dealPassengers travelling in first class on the Stansted Express can now get free access to No.1 Traveller™s lounges at Stansted Airport

Other News Sources

• A greater Great Western Main LineIn February, the Cardiff Business Partnership & The Institute of Welsh Affairs published Mark Barry's report "A Metro for Wales' Capital City Region - Connecting Cardiff, Newport and the VAlleys". Here, he make the case of further investment of the Great Western Corridor, alongside the development of the Cardiff Metro, to mitigate the negative economic impact on Wales and SW England resulting from HS2
• Dutch Railway Station Installs Slide For Busy Passengers (VIDEO) Dutch train passengers running late to their appointments have a quicker option for getting across Overvecht Station - and that option isn't a new flight of stairs or an elevator.
• Thousands sign petition calling for Thameslink u-turnAs many as 50,000 people have signed a petition and handed it to Parliament, urging David Cameron to reverse a decision to award a train project to a German firm. The 1.5 billion contract for the Thameslink rail project has been given to Siemens, which was chosen over the British manufacturer Bombardier.