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

Friday, 05 August 2011

BBC News

• Work on controversial Bristol bus route begins Work has started on a controversial bus route in the Eastville area of Bristol.
• Japanese giants feel merger boostShares in Japanese infrastructure giants Hitachi and Mitsubishi Heavy rise on speculation they plan to merge some businesses.

Department for Transport

• New franchising programmeThe Government is committed to a major reform of rail franchising that will benefit passengers and taxpayers alike. In preparing our policies we have paid careful attention to the views the rail industry, and others, have expressed to us.
• New Government guidance on minicabs to give volunteers and care workers a smoother rideVolunteers, childminders and care workers should be freed from the unnecessary and costly process of being licensed as minicabs following guidance published by Transport Minister Norman Baker today.
• Transport Statistics: RoadsThe Department for Transport has today published the following Transport Statistics:

Financial Times

• China to take shot at aircraft duopolyChina is to make aircraft production key to its
• Congress compromises on FAA disputeTemporary solution will reinstate 4,000 employees and put 70,000 construction workers back on the job but union issue smoulders on

The Guardian

• Nicola Shaw: the first lady of High Speed One The new chief executive of Britain's fastest railway line comes from an unusual background. But her interest in transport dates back to childhood

The Scotsman

• Passengers saved from freezing on coolest railway trip in the world SHIVERING passengers travelling on one of the world's most scenic railway lines are to come in from the cold with plans to replace internal doors removed after a crash.

The Telegraph

• Road casualties continue to fall as speed cameras stripped outThe number of people killed and seriously injured on the roads continued to fall despite speed cameras being stripped out across the country, according to the latest figures released by the Government.

Daily Express

• GERMAN FIRM ’NOT READY’ TO COMPLETE BOMBARDIER DEAL CAMPAIGNERS last night raised fears that a German firm may be late with a £1.5billion building job it was awarded ahead of a British company.

Mail Online

• Sorry, but electric cars are a waste of spaceThey claim to be clean. green and quiet and will soon replace petrol and diesel engines. Except there appears to be a few problems with electric cars.

The Mirror

• Bombardier: Tory boss warns David Cameron train deal will cost party votes The Tory boss of Derby council has told David Cameron the Bombardier jobs fiasco will "cost us very dearly" at local and general elections. In a hard-hitting letter to the PM, city council leader Philip Hickson says reversing the controversial deal to award the Thameslink train contract to German firm Siemens is within Mr Cameron's power.
• 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.

Belfast Telegraph

• Motorists sceptical over rail link Only 3% of motorists say speed would be an important factor in persuading them to use the Government's proposed HS2 high-speed rail line, according to an AA/Populus survey.

Derby Telegraph

• £1.4bn rail deal boss's links to Prime Minister A KEY figure in the investment company backing Siemens' bid for the £1.4bn Thameslink rail contract is also a close business adviser to David Cameron, it emerged last night.
• Soapbox Raymond Collinson: To Tories, Bombardier is just another cog in industrial economyTHE Bombardier saga takes on new twists and turns each day, hopes raised and dashed, and the big guns are shooting off in the direction of "call-me-Dave" Cameron. But for all that he cares, said guns are misfiring.
• All the country recognises that national interest must be served WHAT better indication could there be that the Bombardier rail contract storm is not just a parochial Derby issue? It might have been argued that opponents of the Government decision to award the Thameslink train-building contract to German firm Siemens, rather than Bombardier, have been exaggerating the wider significance of the ruling.
• Government has scored spectacular own goal [letter]IT would seem that Siemens engineering is not the paragon of corporate excellence as it might seem.
• We need nation's leaders to set a better example [letter]MAY I add my voice to, what I am sure, is probably the biggest public outcry to a crisis in Derby seen by the Derby Telegraph?
• Sad times if we lose our skilled train workers [letter]AS an ex-employee, I believe it will be a very sad time for us if we lose Bombardier and its skilled people.
• Siemens to create 300 North East jobs but region's MPs want rail deal to be reviewed MPs from the North East, where Siemens says it is planning to create hundreds of jobs from the Thameslink rail contract, are backing calls to review the deal and award the work to Derby train-maker Bombardier.
• SHOW VISITORS GIVE SUPPORT TO BOMBARDIER AMID the throngs of people at the Bakewell Show was a union stand where volunteers in the rain were getting signatures for a petition in support of trainmaker Bombardier.
• Continuing scandals make me sad for Britain THE Derby Telegraph is to be congratulated for revealing Siemens' corruption.
• Derby Telegraph commented Faulty signs meant to show arrival time of next bus are removedArticle

London Evening Standard

• The next stop in London's railway renaissance Something remarkable is happening at King's Cross. Hidden behind hoardings, scaffolding and sheets the railway station, until now more renowned for its squalor, prostitution and Harry Potter platform, is undergoing a transformation that would do justice to the boy magician's talents
• Motorists sceptical over rail linkOnly 3% of motorists say speed would be an important factor in persuading them to use the Government's proposed HS2 high-speed rail line, according to an AA/Populus survey.

Sheffield Telegraph

• Bus campaign is on verge of successPASSENGERS are celebrating as bus managers plan to restore services to their neighbourhood.

Wales Online

• Cardiff news: Ferry link could join Cardiff with Somerset and boost tourism A NEW ferry service could operate between Cardiff and Somerset under new plans that would bring a major boost to tourism.

Yorkshire Post

• East Coast trains ˜worst for delays™TRAIN passengers in Yorkshire suffer Britain’s most unreliable services, new figures revealed today.

Blackpool Gazette

• Airport fury over homesBLACKPOOL Airport has slammed a council for failing to properly consider the detrimental impact a new housing development could have on the region’s economy.

Other Regional Press

• Fears over future of ’transport hub’ THE Government is being urged to help secure “a world-class transport hub” for Oxford by halting the sale of an eight-acre site at Oxpens.
• Extra buses put on for Sunday’s guided bus launch THE maiden voyage on the world’s longest guided busway will take place on Sunday with hoards of enthusiasts expected to jump on board in Cambridgeshire.
• Train company profits soar TRAIN bosses at National Express have announced profits of almost £100 million, thanks to its beleaguered Essex line.
• St Albans First Capital Connect commuters sign fares petition MORE than 350 St Albans rail commuters signed a petition against unfair train fares last Tuesday as part of a national bid to let ministers know how unpopular and damaging year-on-year hikes are.
• ˜Start taking utility firms to court for road delays™Councils have been criticised for failing to take action against utility companies for delays to road repairs..
• £1 million ticket office opens at Berkswell railway station A £1 MILLION ticket office and waiting room has opened at Berkswell railway station.

Global Rail News

• Managing Director of London Midland to retire at the end of the yearAfter over 37 years in the railway industry, Mike Hodson, Managing Director of London Midland, has decided to retire at the end of the year. Commenting ...
• MP patrols trains with British Transport PoliceBritish Transport Police (BTP) officers were accompanied on patrol by Cathy Jamieson, MP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun, on Friday night (29 July 2011). Mrs Jamieson travelled ...
• Nomad Digital to open new facility in FranceNomad Digital Ltd, the leading global provider of on train communications systems, is opening a new branch in France. After several years of sales effort in ...
• Rail services back to normal after South Croydon mudslideRail services have returned to normal following massive delays on Monday evening after a water main burst and flooded the tracks. The burst pipe caused a ...
• Midland Metro scoops first passenger safety awardThe Midland Metro has become the first tram system in the country to win a prestigious award for passenger safety and crime reduction. Judges from the ...
• UK rail punctuality at 92.2% for July 2011Punctuality on the railways reached 92.2% during July, according to monthly performance data released today by Network Rail. The data for Britain’s train services covers period ...
• TfL sets out plans to ˜transform™ central London into major 2012 Games venueTransport for London (TfL) and London 2012 have today set out plans to manage the huge influx of visitors expected in the heart of the Capital ...
• New ˜Station Garden™ at Wemyss BayScotRail is supporting the new ‘Station Garden’ created by the award-winning Friends of Wemyss Bay. It includes a vegetable plot with beds of carrots, leeks, onions and ...
• ScotRail restores rail “ ferry linkScotRail today confirmed it is to provide a taxi-on-request service for customers holding a ˜through ticket™ between the rail network and Orkney, to transport customers between Thurso railway ...

RMT

• RMT steps up fight for fair deal for Churchill cleaners on Tyne and Wear MetroRAIL UNION RMT today stepped up its campaign to secure a fair deal from Churchill Cleaners - the company with the contract on the Tyne and Wear Metro.
• RMT exposes another massive flaw in Thameslink contractRAIL UNION RMT today repeated the call for the Government to halt the Thameslink fleet contract award after it revealed that preferred bidder Siemens don't have a tried, tested and compliant set of bogies (the framework carrying the wheels) in production.

Aviation Industry

• Ireland backtracks on air tax pledgeThe Irish government is no longer planning to scrap its controversial €3 air tax

Other News Sources

• East Lancashire bus travellers in fourth bus fare hike in a yearBUS travellers in East Lancashire are facing a fourth rise in fares in under 12 months, it has been confirmed.
• Deutsche Bahn to publish monthly punctuality statistics online In a move towards greater transparency, German rail operator Deutsche Bahn will start publishing monthly punctuality statistics in September. The company says it wants to balance public perceptions with hard facts.
• Footballers support Bombardier workers Derby County has pledged its support for Bombardier workers, as the players will wear ’Save our rail industry’ T-shirts during the warm-up for their first game of the season.
• London Underground revises pay offer within bigger final year rise London Underground has revised its five-year pay offer for staff following last month’s rejection of an earlier offer by the RMT union.
• Gatwick contractor strategy makes savingsA new approach to managing contractor relationships has brought major cost and time savings for Gatwick Airport, according to the director of capital projects Raymond Melee.
• Bam drives off with £25m M25 services contractBam Construction has won a £25 million contract to build a new service station on the M25.
• Speed not enough to entice people onto HS2Quicker journeys may not be sufficient for people to ditch their cars in favour of high speed rail, a new study has revealed