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

Thursday, 04 August 2011

BBC News

• Derby County players to wear T-shirts for Bombardier Derby County players are to wear T-shirts in support of train maker Bombardier during their first match of the new football season this weekend.
• MEP urges East Coast route for high-speed rail link [video]An MEP has called for the planned high-speed rail link to follow the East Coast mainline instead of going through the Midlands.
• Godalming man walks proposed HS2 high speed rail route The day after he was made redundant Tim Stansfeld embarked on a journey.
• Strengthening check for Tame Valley Viaduct Part of Birmingham's 40-year-old motorway network is to undergo a £2.6m safety assessment.
• Can we change our commuting habits? [video]Tom Edwards, Transport Correspondent's interview with the Transport Minister Norman Baker, who is urging Londoners to re-think their routine during the Games to alleviate the transport system.
• Michael O'Leary in NI air passenger tax scrapping call The boss of Ryanair has called for air passenger duty in NI to be scrapped.
• High-speed trains brought forwardThe high-speed rail service connecting two Kent towns with London is to begin a month earlier than planned.
• Package holiday firm collapsesTour operator Holidays 4 UK enters administration, with about 12,000 UK holidaymakers abroad.

Financial Times

• German court bans air traffic control strikeThe union involved is seeking to appeal against a ruling preventing a six-hour stoppage over a pay dispute, as airlines prepare an emergency timetable
• Obama calls for end to FAA stalemateCongress has begun a five-week holiday without passing routine legislation to fund the aviation oversight agency, which is expecting to cost the government $1bn
• RATP buys Manchester trams from StagecoachSale to French state-owned operator allows UK bus and rail group to focus on core business ahead of a raft of franchises coming up for auction

The Telegraph

• London 2012 Olympics: Transport minister says Londoners should work from home during Games Transport Minister Norman Baker has asked Londoners to work from home or change their office hours to ensure public transport can cope with demand during the 2012 Olympics.

The Mirror

• Derail this dodgy deal THE Government’s explanation for handing a £1.4billion train carriages contract to Germany has hit the buffers. Ministers tried to claim that EU competition laws had forced them to overlook UK-based company Bombardier.
• Derby County rally for rail workers DERBY County players yesterday unveiled the Save Our Rail Industry T-shirts they will wear on to the pitch before Saturday’s season opener.
• German train maker which beat UK-based Bombardier to a £1.4billion order does not make key component, critics warn GERMAN train builders who beat UK-based Bombardier to a £1.4billion Government contract do not manufacture a key component needed for the order.
• Paul Routledge: While sunning himself in Tuscany, Cameron needs to think again on Bombardier Must be nice, sitting on one’s trim little bottom sipping fine Chiantishire wine, without a care in the world. Not so nice sitting on a jobs time bomb while your Prime Minister enjoys the good life under the Italian sun.
• Qantas take 'cringeworthy' John Travolta safety vid off the air HOLLYWOOD pilot John Travolta has been axed from his “cringeworthy” role as a Qantas in-flight safety guru.

Network Rail

• ALL™S WELL AT BERKSWELL
• CHEADLE HULME STATION BECOMES ACCESSIBLE FOR EVERYONE

Derby Telegraph

• Rail-deal decision will cost us dearly at ballot box, city leader warns Cameron PRIME Minister David Cameron has been warned by the leader of Derby City Council that his Government will suffer at the ballot box if he does not change the Thameslink rail contract decision.
• 'This is a great football club supporting a vital employer' A UNION which represents Bombardier workers has praised Derby County for backing the fight to save city rail jobs.
• Bad service? We in Derby know what it means, Mr Cameron SO David Cameron has suffered poor service in an Italian bar. Excuse me while I have a little cry.

Liverpool Post

• Liverpool River Mersey cruise terminal battle turns nasty as Southampton post bosses and poiliticians accused PORT bosses and politicians in Southampton were accused of misleading the Government last night as the battle over bringing lucrative cruise rights to Liverpool threatened to turn nasty.
• Merseytravel chairman Mark Dowd's spending on transport authority’s credit card to be investigated THE district auditor has been asked to investigate Merseytravel chairman Mark Dowd’s spending on the transport authority’s credit card.

London Evening Standard

• High-speed rail is the fastest way to waste billions The British are romantic about railways. A train delivers a victim of injustice in The Railway Children; they glamorise homicide in Murder on the Orient Express and bring doomed lovers together in Brief Encounter. It's not like that in the US

Yorkshire Post

• Transport bosses in bid to win £40m for road jamsOFFICIALS in South Yorkshire are in the running to win £40m of Government money to tackle congestion hotspots and get more people onto public transport.

East Anglian Daily Times

• Update: Storms cause rail delaysFIERCE storms, thunder and lightning brought the warm spell that saw temperatures peak at just under 30C yesterday to an abrupt end last night.

Sunderland Echo

• Nissan hit back over ˜misleading™ Top Gear claims about the Leaf electric carNISSAN chiefs have defended the Leaf after a “misleading” TV review gave electric cars a rough ride.
• Eco-friendly bus will link Sunderland™s ˜top attractions™A NEW eco-friendly bus service will be rolled out to link up some of Sunderland’s top destinations.

Other Regional Press

• 'Seriously flawed' HS2 rail link bid attacked by North Warwickshire Borough Council SENIOR officers and members on North Warwickshire Borough Council have sent a strongly-worded response to Government ministers, objecting to the “seriously flawed business case” for the proposed High Speed Rail link.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• British motorists 'increasing risk with non-prescription sunglasses'More than half of those drivers in the UK who require prescriptions glasses choose to don generic sunglasses behind the wheel.This is according to a new survey for GetLenses, reported by the Telegraph, which found that 53 per cent of 1,000 individuals polled admitted they did not have eyewear suited to their vision to put on when it is sunny.Despite legislation stating that all motorists should be able to see clearly at a distance of 20 metres, the research suggested just 27 per cent of 1,000 respondents have prescription sunglasses.This means that many people are placing themselves and other ...

Global Rail News

• Stadler to maintain Bombardier™s Talent trains in HungaryHungarian State Railways MÁV has awarded Stadler Hungary Railway Maintenance Ltd with a contract to maintain 10 Bombardier Talent trains. According to the contract the company will ...
• Nominations for 2011 National Cycle Rail Awards openSchemes, projects and individuals that have improved or encouraged greater use of combined cycle and rail travel will be recognised at this year™s Association of Train ...
• Nominations for 2011 RailStaff Awards openThe RailStaff Awards is your chance to nominate people you think deserve wider acknowledgment for the contribution they make. In its fifth year, the RailStaff Awards ...
• Government urges commuters to travel differently during London 2012Transport Minister, Norman Baker, today urged commuters and businesses in London to think differently about how they travel during the Olympic Games, as he marked a ...
• Access improvements at Cheadle Hulme stationPassenger numbers at Cheadle Hulme railway station are set to increase now that all four platforms are fully accessible to everyone. The station is already used ...
• Berkswell station™s new ticket office completeBerkswell station, on the Birmingham to Coventry line, now has a new ticket office and waiting room. In a £1m project that started last November, Network ...
• Translink launch ˜DEADLINE™ rail safety campaignTranslink is appealing to motorists and pedestrians to Think Safe and Stay Safe at railway crossings, station platforms and on trains with the launch of its ...
• Indian Railways plan six high speed rail corridorsIndian Railways, the world™s fourth largest rail network is planning to build six high speed rail corridors to provide faster rail connectivity across the country. Indian ...
• Government earmarks region™s congestion busting project for fundingA proposed multi-million pound project to reduce congestion on some of the West Midlands™ busiest roads took a major step forward today when it was shortlisted ...
• TfL should ˜re-think™ Olympia closure, says watchdogLondon TravelWatch has urged Transport for London (TfL) to rethink plans to close Kensington Olympia underground station in the week, and to ‘consult people properly’ when ...
• Police appeal after two attacks of cable theft in West YorkshireBritish Transport Police (BTP) is asking for the public™s help after two incidents of cable theft in Pontefract and Knottingley caused outage of signalling cable. Detective ...
• HS2 proposals ˜need work to be right for London™, says AssemblyAlthough supportive of the principle of high speed rail development, the London Assembly Transport Committee is calling on the Government to rethink its proposals for High ...

Railnews

• Stagecoach surrenders Metrolink without publicity The Manchester Metrolink concession has been taken over by the French transport operator RATP, but the outgoing concessionaire, Stagecoach Group, has only revealed its transfer of the contract in a notification required by Stock Exchange regulations.
• Thames Water faces bill for flood on Brighton line Network Rail has said Thames Water will be charged for the costs of major disruption and subsequent repairs to the Brighton main line, which was flooded at Croydon at the start of this week by the burst of a high pressure water main.

Aviation Industry

• German air traffic controllers plan strikeThe GdF trade union has called a six-hour strike in a dispute over pay
• BA switches terminals for Spain and Eastern Europe flightsMadrid and Barcelona flights will move to T5, while Prague, Budapest, Warsaw, Bucharest and Larnaca flights will move to T3