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

Saturday, 26 January 2013

BBC News

• Lowestoft railway station's £1m interchange work Work has begun on a £1m scheme to improve Lowestoft's railway station.
• Bus fares criticised by Bristol MP Stephen Williams A Bristol MP has criticised the prices of First Bus fares and called on the company to make them more affordable.
• FirstGroup to sell bus operationsTransport company FirstGroup confirms the sale of its bus services in Worcestershire.
• Snowstorm strands motorway driversHeavy snowfall overnight left motorists stranded for hours in their vehicles on motorways in the north of England.

Financial Times

• Rail proposal set to spark Tory revoltThe chancellor hopes to use Monday™s formal launch of the planned high-speed link as proof that he has a long-term strategy for growth
• Boeing battery fire ˜unprecedented™Battery on Boeing aircraft spewed out hot, molten electrolytes, despite presence of numerous systems meant to prevent such an event, says NTSB chief
• Stobart fights to find fans in the CityGroup famous for its lorries has tense relationship with investors highlighted in a boardroom coup to insert a chairman of their choice
• Heathrow left out of rail plansMinisters expected to refer proposed spur to independent commission set up to consider how to meet rising demand in south-east

The Herald

• New flights from Edinburgh AirportDIRECT flights between Edinburgh and Oxford will be launched in March “ three years after a similar service was cancelled after less than a week.
• ScotRail in extra car parks planHUNDREDS of additional car parking spaces could be built at rail stations around Scotland in a bid to persuade more people to take the train.

The Telegraph

• Snowstorm strands motorway drivers and grounds planesHundreds of motorists on M6 forced to abandon cars in the early hours after sudden burst of snow brought motorway to standstill.
• Minister: high-speed rail is worth the upsetMinisters believe it is worth “upsetting people” to build the high-speed rail line from London to Manchester and Leeds, the Transport Secretary says on Saturday.

Daily Record

• Edinburgh airport to invest £15 million to expand routes The airport will also work with the council and businesses in the city in order to target specific markets for new routes.

Mail Online

• Tory heartlands revolt over next phase of the high-speed rail linkThe second phase of the £34billion project – a Y-shaped route from Birmingham to Manchester and Leeds – is to be unveiled on Monday by Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin and Prime Minister David Cameron.

The Sun

• People are s-train-ge!The weirdest moments from public transport around the world

ATOC

• £20 million new stations fund to help "improve and widen access to rail travel". Responding to the launch of the £20 million new stations fund, Nick Ellins,...

Network Rail

• Join as apprentice to earn your degree, says Network Rail Wales chiefThere are 16 places available on the 2013 Network Rail advanced apprenticeship scheme in Wales, the company announced today.

Belfast Telegraph

• Bombardier holds aircraft briefing Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster has addressed over 50 delegates at a briefing on the Bombardier C Series aircraft programme, held by the firm in Belfast's Merchant Hotel. Related StoriesUK and Ireland strike deal for green energyTop law firm makes a case for growth with 67 new posts30 jobs are lost as three traders quit Victoria SquareSpecialists to attend TechXploreFerry operator begins upgrade in Scotland

Edinburgh Evening News

• Transport chief rejects call for free OAP tramsTRANSPORT Minister Keith Brown has snubbed calls to guarantee free fares for older and disabled people on Edinburgh’s trams.
• Edinburgh Airport target new routes with £15m fundTHE owners of Edinburgh 
Airport are targeting new routes to the Middle East and North America using a 
£15 million war chest.

London Evening Standard

• Boris Johnson supports Stansted hub as 'easiest' solutionStansted airport emerged as Boris Johnson™s favoured option for a new international hub for the South-East today.

Manchester Evening News

• Passengers take lives in their hands after Stalybridge station fails to open on timePeople waiting for the first train from the Tameside station jumped down onto the railway and ran across tracks just minutes before the service arrived.
• Flights diverted after airport runway closed to be cleared of snowAirport bosses say the operation was essential for safety of passengers, but some flights were diverted to other airports

Nottingham Evening Post

• Nottingham Post published Staff and passengers left in lurch as bus firm foldsA TOTAL of 200 jobs are under threat after one of Notts' major bus companies ceased to operate, following financial trouble.

Sheffield Star

• Sheffield’s £113m transport funding boostSHEFFIELD is to receive £113 million to spend on major transport schemes in the city and surrounding area over the next 10 years.
• Snow Latest: Stranded motorway drivers build snowmen - 8amHEAVY snow, which saw stranded drivers building snowmen and snowball fighting on one motorway in the north of England, will make way for rain - sparking fears of flooding, writes Graham Walker.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• CCTV horror of boys putting lives on lineSHOCKED police issued a warning yesterday after teenagers were caught on camera risking their lives as a train pulled them along on their bikes.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Dangerous Leeds footpath to be replaced with bridgeCampaigners are celebrating as plans for a railway footbridge are unveiled – almost three years after a Leeds teenager was killed on the lines.
• Leeds and Yorkshire: Motorists stranded and planes grounded as heavy snow causes chaosMotorists have been stranded and planes grounded as snow storms caused chaos across the north of England today.

Northants Evening Telegraph

• MP™s Commons call for street lights to go onCorby and East Northants MP Andy Sawford has made a call for county street lights to be switched back on.

Sleaford Standard

• LETTER: Engaging discussion over railwaysDid you attend the Network Rail ‘community drop in’ session at the Source on Saturday?

Other Regional Press

• £55m to be available for Westcountry transport schemes Ministers are poised to hand down almost £55 million to officials in the Westcountry to spend on much-needed transport schemes.
• ˜Bus routes may be slashed™The boss of Preston Bus has warned it will be forced to look at cutting routes if the cost of giving pensioners free travel spirals.
• Ode to bus station™s ˜beauty™An epitaph to Preston’s under-threat bus station has been penned by a poet touched by its ’brutal beauty’.
• Fuel thieves damage kids™ busA school for deaf children whose mini-bus was damaged by fuel thieves have been flooded with offers of help.

Bus and Coach.com

• Adventure Travel Elite i orderThe first Plaxton Elite i for an independent operator will be delivered to New Adventure Travel in Cardiff.
• Metro backing off quality contracts?There are signs that Metro, the West Yorkshire PTE, is backing away from its pursuit of quality contracts, as it acknowledges alternative proposals which have been put forward by the Association of Bus Operators in West Yorkshire.
• œConsiderable work needed at FirstRevenue at First UK Bus was up 2,1 per cent in the three months to 31 December.
• Nexus accused of quality contract biasThe North East Bus Operators™ Association has accused Nexus, the Tyne and Wear PTE, of continuing to œtalk down proposals for a partnership agreement in favour of a quality contract scheme.
• Rotala takes First's Worcs businessThe retrenchment at First UK Bus continues with the sale to Rotala of the company's Worcestershire operations.
• First Borismaster route announcedLondon mayor Boris Johnson has announced that service 24, operating from Hampstead Heath to Pimlico, will be the first route to be converted to Borismasters.

Campaign for Better Transport

• Say no to more traffic in East London25 January 2013: A consultation on new river crossings ends on 1 February. We™re strongly against cramming more cars into an area already suffering from too much traffic. read more

Global Rail News

• Original lighting installed for Grand Central centenaryThe antique chandeliers, which adorned Grand Central Terminal when it first opened 100 years ago, have been returned to the station to mark its 100th anniversary. The melon-shaped light fittings have been brought back as part of MTA’s centenary event, which kicks off on February 1. Originally fitted with 110 incandescent lights, the chandeliers are [...]
• CSX announces $2.3bn improvement planRailway operator CSX is to invest $2.3 billion this year in fleet and infrastructure upgrades. Planned improvements will include the National Gateway initiative to create double-stack intermodal train access between the mid-Atlantic ports and the Midwest. The investment is also expected to include $325 million for the implementation of the industry’s Positive Train Control programme. [...]
• Launch ceremony for Sochi™s first Lastochka trainThe first Lastochka train has left St Petersburg, marking the start of service for Sochi’s Games’ trains. A launch ceremony was held at the city’s Moscow railway station on January 23. Present was the senior vice president of Russian Railways, Mikhail Akulov, and Jochen Eickholt, chief executive of business unit rail automation at Siemens. The [...]
• Video: Seattle™s First Hill Streetcar projectThe First Hill light rail project will add 2.5 miles to Seattle’s tram network, connecting the city’s iconic Capitol Hill and Pioneer Square districts. Construction began in April last year. Now nine months into the project, the partnership behind the extension have released a time-lapse video showing the completion of a section of the new [...]
• Latvian signalling contract for BombardierA Bombardier-led consortium has been awarded a contract for the construction and upgrade of signalling and infrastructure systems in Latvia. Along with Belam Riga, Bombardier will install its INTERFLO 200 system on a section of Latvian Railways’ Bolderaja – Zasulauks line, which connects the capital city Riga with the Boldoraja and Riga harbour area. The [...]

Aviation Industry

• German airports hit by security staff strike German airports are facing flight disruptions and cancellations for the second day as security staff continue a strike over pay.
• Buyers to focus on air and ground costsCWT report highlights how driving down prices will be the key issue in 2013

Other News Sources

• Lufthansa Technik's restructuring plans for its administration ...Lufthansa Technik AG intends an extensive reorganization of itsnbsp;administrative structures and processes. The planned changes are partof the Lufthansa Group's program for the future, SCORE.n...
• London Oxford Airport confirms two new scheduled routes for 2013London Oxford Airport today announces two new scheduled destinations to be operated by regional carrier Minoan Air.nbsp; The new routes will be introduced from March, 2013.nbsp;From 4th March...
• American to Continue New Look With Designer UniformsAmerican Airlines has tapped fashion designers Ken Kaufman and Isaac Franco of KAUFMANFRANCO to design new, more modern uniforms for its people. This update is another step forward in the...