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

Thursday, 13 December 2012

BBC News

• Central Lancashire transport network to receive £275m A £275m investment to improve the transport network in central Lancashire has been set out by the county council.
• Bristol, Bath and Weston transport plans vital: Study Planned transport schemes for Bristol, Bath and Weston would unlock 19,000 jobs, an independent report has said.
• Plans for wi-fi on ScotRail trains due to be announced Plans to roll out wi-fi on more ScotRail trains are expected to be announced by the Scottish government.
• Reading Buses supports initiative for blind passengers A Berkshire bus company is supporting a new initiative to give blind passengers greater support.
• Bus venture faces US legal actionUS authorities launch legal action against a Stagecoach joint venture which offers sightseeing bus services in New York City.
• First Aberdeen tables new offerFirst Aberdeen tables a revised offer in the ongoing bus pay dispute, amid a threat of strike action.
• Train wi-fi plans to be announcedPlans to roll out a wi-fi service on more ScotRail trains are expected to be announced by the Scottish government.
• London bus fares go contactlessAbout 8,500 London buses are to accept contactless credit. debit and charge card payments, using NFC technology.
• Edinburgh loses route to GlasgowGerman airline Lufthansa Regional switches its Düsseldorf service from Edinburgh Airport to Glasgow Airport.
• Porsche breaks car sales recordGerman luxury carmaker Porsche says it has beaten its annual record for car sales, selling almost 129,000 sports cars so far in 2012.

Financial Times

• Delta set to resume paying dividendsThe world™s largest airline by revenue expects to start returning cash to shareholders during 2013, in the latest sign of the US airline industry™s improving financial health
• Stagecoach queried over NY tour busesUS authorities file a civil antitrust action over an alleged monopoly in a $100m sightseeing market following UK operator™s partnership with City Sights

The Herald

• Glasgow joy as German airline switches routeGLASGOW Airport has landed a major coup as Lufthansa has switched its Dusseldorf flights from Edinburgh to the west coast from next April and will expand from summer-only to an all-year service.

The Scotsman

• Barra lands place on list of stunning airports THE beach landing strip on the island of Barra has been included in a “bucket list” of the most stunning airports in the world to visit.

The Telegraph

• Councils spend £218 million on repeating poor street repairs£218 million a year spent on repeat street repairs poorly carried out by utility companies' contractors.
• Council announces £70 fines for drivers who park 50cm from kerbCouncil pledges to fine any driver £70 if their car ends up further than 20 inches (50cm) from edge of the road.
• M25: not a single motorist caught by speed cameras in a yearDrivers speeding on the M25 have not been issued with a single ticket from its overhead cameras over the past year.

Daily Express

• Sir Richard Branson takes on BA in link-up with DeltaSIR Richard Branson said he was going to give British Airways a

Mail Online

• Speeding drivers on the M25 escape without tickets... Because new network of digital cameras hasn't been switched onNot a single speeding ticket has been issued from a network of 36 overhead cameras trained on the London orbital motorway over the past year.
• Heathrow cancels 189 flights as ice and freezing fog brings chaos to roads and railTravellers have been warned of major disruption throughout the day after 98 arrivals and 91 departures were called off at the UK's biggest airport because of poor visibility.

This is Money

• How much does it cost to charge an electric car at home?I travel ten miles return to the office and roughly drive 30 miles over the weekend - how much would a Renault Twizy or Nissan Leaf cost to charge per week?

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Pakistan International Airlines told to cut noise at Leeds-Bradford Airport An airline which has breached night-time flying rules at Leeds-Bradford Airport is being asked to give a formal commitment to introduce quieter planes.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Rise in bus fares for special subsidised school bus services will hit parents in the pocketA CONTROVERSIAL 55% rise in “school special” bus fares was voted through yesterday despite major opposition.

Derby Telegraph

• Derby Telegraph commented Faster train times but anger over rail ticket price hikeEAST Midlands Trains has promised faster trains between Derby and London on Sundays as part of its new timetable.

London Evening Standard

• Firms back Tube spending Nine out of 10 London businesses back the Mayor’s multi-billion-pound spending spree on roads, cycle lanes and the Tube, a survey reveals today.

Manchester Evening News

• Shaw and Crompton Metrolink trams start this SundayPassengers will be able to board trams to Shaw and Crompton for the first time this weekend after tests proved a success. The new service will leave Oldham Mumps at 6.50am on Sunday and will arrive at Derker at 6.54am before reaching Shaw and Crompton at 6.59am.

Northern Echo

• Effort to bridge East Coast Main Line funding gap COUNCIL leaders have lobbied the Government in an effort to bridge a £260m shortfall in funding earmarked to improve the East Coast Mainline (ECML).

The York Press

• MP backs petition over bus changes A YORK MP has added his name to a petition organised in protest at changes to a local bus service on the edge of the city.
• Petition calls for Ryedale rail link to reopen THE reinstatement of a rail link which could see trains running from York through Ryedale to Whitby is now the centre of a petition.

Bucks Free Press

• Transport chiefs warn salt could be ineffective as temp set to drop to -8 COUNCIL chiefs have urged motorists to take care on the roads as the mercury is set to plummet to almost minus eight degrees tonight.

Doncaster Free Press

• Busy bus services get new lease of life BUSES in Doncaster have undergone a new lick of paint in a bid to freshen up public transport.

Other Regional Press

• New Heathrow route links district to world trade network Direct flights between Yorkshire and London Heathrow were reinstated on Monday when the first British Airways service touched down at Leeds-Bradford Airport (LBA) after an absence of 32 years.
• Scottish Labour MSP challenges Transport Scotland and Argyll and Bute’s MSP in request to Ombudsman n a challenge not only to Transport Scotland but to Argyll and Bute’s MSP, Scottish Labour’s Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, has written to the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman asking for an investigation of Transport Scotland’s tendering and letting of the Northern Isles Ferry contract to Serco.
• Redditch MP welcomes new Bus for Jobs scheme REDDITCH MP Karen Lumley has welcomed the Bus for Jobs scheme, which will provide free travel on the bus services of participating companies for the month of January.
• Campaigners' anger a rail debate Angry residents who claim their lives are being blighted to noisy night-time trains rumbling along the Stirling-Alloa-Kincardine (SAK) railway line have been left dismayed by a recent Holyrood debate.
• Hopes raised for direct rail to London via CumbernauldPREVIOUSLY shelved plans which would allow rail passengers from Cumbernauld to travel direct to London could be realised after all.
• MPs in call to fight Boris 'rail grab' bidA group of Kent MPs are today pressing the rail minister to resist an attempt by Boris Johnson to take over key commuter services.
• Train service a first for townA PASSIONATE rail enthusiast welcomed a new train into town this week which he believes is the first London service to be timetabled to terminate in Hartlepool.
• Aberdeen flights hit as fog causes chaos in LondonFOG today caused chaos in the skies “ leading to flight cancellations and delays which affected Aberdeen airport.
• Cycleway for new bypassPlans to build a cycleway along the new section of the Great Western Bypass are set to be approved by planning chiefs.
• Station chaosCommuters were evacuated from Bedford Railway Station yesterday after a security alert.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Birmingham New Street transformation gets underwayWork to completely transform one of the UK's largest train stations is well underway. Birmingham New Street has been the butt of many jokes over the years thanks to its unappealing "dark and dingy" appearance, but Network Rail insists it will become a "futuristic transport hub" by 2015. Workers have started installing 8,000 reflective panels that will eventually cover the building, giving it a distinctive modern look. The government is keen to bring some of the UK's more outdated passenger and freight transport services into the 21st centu...

Global Rail News

• £4m Beccles passing loop opensThe reinstatement of double track, which was removed in the 1980s, at Beccles station means passengers on the Lowerstoft to Ipswhich route can now take advantage of an hourly service along the increasingly busy line. The £4 million scheme, which was jointly funded by Network Rail (£3m) and Suffolk County Council (£1m), has seen a [...]
• IMechE visit sees Paris and London™s urban rail challengesParis and London are Europe’s largest cities after Moscow and rank amongst the world’s greatest. Although both are quite different, their size and populations are similar. Physicists in Brazil have compared the two cities for accessibility using a computer model of their street and underground networks. This showed that Paris and London have respectively 11,699 [...]
• Europe pledges more funding to Ukraine rolling stock renewalThe European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has committed a further 48 million euros to Ukraine’s state-owned rail operator to fund the country’s rolling stock renewal programme. The loan will allow Ukrainian Railways to buy new freight wagons and continue its fleet modernisation programme. EBRD has now given more than 300 million euros to [...]
• Olympic transport boss announced as new Interfleet MDOlympics’ transport boss Richard George has been announced as the new managing director of Interfleet. George will take over from current managing director David Rollin, who has led the company for almost 20 years, in February next year. In his most recent role, George was director of transport at the London Organising Committee of the [...]
• Belarus railway celebrates 150 yearsBelarusian Railways will be celebrating its 150th anniversary later this month. To mark the milestone, the operator organised an exhibition at the Belarusian National History and Culture Museum in Minsk as well as holding a gala evening at the National Academic Bolshoi Opera and Theatre of Belarus. Railways in Belarus date back to December 27, [...]
• Work starts on New Street façadeThe first of 8,000 stainless steel panels have been installed at Birmingham New Street, as the station continues to undergo its £600 million redevelopment. The reflective cladding will eventually cover the entire building once completed in 2015. Chris Montgomery, project director, Network Rail, said: œThe redevelopment of New Street will transform the station for the [...]
• First S Stock train in service on Hammersmith & City lineThe first of 53 new S Stock trains has entered service on the Hammersmith & City line. The new Underground train, which began operation between Hammersmith and Barking on December 9, is part of a £1.5 billion rolling stock order to replace 177 vehicles across the Metropolitan, District, Circle and Hammersmith & City lines. Nigel [...]

Railnews

• ATOC denies TUC's claims over fares Train operators have hit back at union claims that a 'huge disparity' exists between rail fare increases and wage levels. There were demonstrations at around 50 stations yesterday, in which protestors from the TUC's 'Action for Rail' campaign handed out 'Christmas cards' to passengers with an alleged message from operators reminding their customers that they could 'look forward to a 2013 packed full of cancelled trains, staff cuts and ticket office closures'.

The Business Desk

• National Express on the right road to meet expectations BIRMINGHAM-based public transport group National Express has said it remains on track to achieve “a good revenue and profit performance in 2012”.

Other News Sources

• New departure boards for Hereford train station AN information board at Hereford railway station is too small according to train passengers.
• New memorial signal on Hockley railway viaduct A NEW ˜old™ addition has been added as part of the restoration of Hockley railway viaduct near Winchester.
• Lilian Greenwood MP “ Transport Can Lead Green Growth AgendaLilian Greenwood MP explores how a sustainable transport programme led by local and national government can increase economic growth and cut carbon emissions.
• Click Travel unveils hold function for rail ticketsBusiness travellers can hold train tickets for up to two hours before confirming purchase