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

Thursday, 07 February 2013

BBC News

• £18,000 rail theft investigatedPolice appeal for help after thieves take £18,000 of rail equipment from a storage unit near a Wrexham station.
• 20mph zones call to protect youngMore 20mph zones should be introduced on roads in built-up areas to protect pedestrians, and particularly children, say a group of Welsh assembly members.
• Jobs threat at car parts factoryUp to 80 jobs are under threat at a Conwy car parts factory after administrators are called in.
• London taxi fares to rise by 1.7%A below inflation rise in taxi fares is agreed by the board of Transport for London (TfL).
• Dreamliner probe result 'weeks away'A US regulator says it may take

Financial Times

• Aer Lingus continues to reject RyanairIrish flag carrier™s board restated its opposition to any proposed takeover as it reported a 41% rise in underlying operating profit in 2012

The Guardian

• A better deal on public transport for people with learning disabilities Charity the Brandon Trust is presenting its report, 100 Voices on Transport, at the House of Commons

The Herald

• Swathes of no-go areas for electric vehiclesELECTRIC car drivers face no-go areas covering vast swathes of rural Scotland despite moves to install a national network of charging points.
• Thousands bid for 18 rail jobsSCOTRAIL has been bombarded with applications from people who want to be train drivers on the new £300 million Borders Railway.

The Telegraph

• Silent cars to be made noisierManufacturers of new electric and hybrid cars will be obliged to fit an artificial noise to make them safer.

Daily Express

• Ryanair woos FlybeRYANAIR has stepped up efforts to gain European clearance for a takeover of Irish rival Aer Lingus at the third attempt after lining up a deal with regional airline Flybe.

Mail Online

• Railway safety in the wrong hands, claims parliamentary report Not many people would be aware that the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) - the principal investigator of rail accidents and supervisor of safety matters - actually functions under the aegis of the civil aviation ministry.
• Private buyers drive a boom in car sales: Big discounts from manufacturers prompt sales increaseThere were 143,643 new registrations in January 2013 – an 11.5 per cent rise on January 2012, according to official figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
• Toll of illegal foreign cars on UK roads: Only four out of 15,000 vehicles being driven illegally were caughtNot a single motorist driving a foreign car illegally on Britain's roads was prosecuted last year (library image), according to figures from the Department for Transport.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• 80 jobs at risk as Mochdre car parts factory enters administrationUP to 80 jobs at a car parts factory are at risk after bosses filed to enter administration.

London Evening Standard

• Kimo-no! It is Tube boss Hendy in his PJs for Red Nose DayLondon's transport boss today urged commuters to follow in his example by wearing their pyjamas on the Tube.
• TfL pays out £40,000 to right van man over Emission Zone blunder Transport chiefs have had to compensate dozens of van owners a total of £40,000 after wrongly telling them their vehicles did not comply with pollution rules.

Wales Online

• 'Devolution's put Wales-England transport links on backburner' - MP Read more: Devolution has put cross-border transport links on the “backburner” with no prospect of improvement, it was claimed in Westminster today.

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• Petition against 20p Walsall bus station toilet chargeA petition is being drawn up against a controversial 20p charge to use public toilets at Walsall™s main bus station by a group opposed to the scheme.

Yorkshire Post

• Northern cities ˜still ¨lagging behind on ¨transport funding™YORKSHIRE’s major cities are losing out to London when the Government hands out transport funding, according to a new report.

Lancashire Telegraph

• Undercover cops catch Preston bus vandals Undercover police have been riding buses around a Preston estate where yobs have been attacking the vehicles with golf balls.

Other Regional Press

• First Capital Connect extension on Thameslink route First Capital Connect has been handed a 28-week extension on its Thameslink route from Brighton.
• Dorchester bus routes get extension COUNCILLORS have agreed to preserve threatened bus routes in Dorchester for another five months.

Bus and Coach.com

• Scotland cuts concessionary paymentsThe rate of reimbursement for concessionary bus travellers in Scotland is being cut from 67 per cent of the adult fare to 60 per cent in 2013/14 and 58.
• Commons committee attacks DfT plansConcerns about the accountability and effectiveness of the government's plans for local transport boards have been voiced by the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee.
• First lose out in LondonStagecoach is expanding in London with the winning of five contracts with a peak requirement of 56 buses.
• Bus for Jobs successAround 45,000 journeys were made by users of last month's Bus for Jobs scheme, which offered free local bus travel to job-seekers.

Global Rail News

• Second Avenue Subway construction updateWith tunneling work nearing completion on the Second Avenue Subway project, MTA has released new images of the new underground line’s progress. The photos show crews lining the tunnel at the site of the new 72nd Street Station. The Second Avenue Subway project will include a two-track line along Second Avenue from 125th Street to [...]
• Federal funding arrives to back Sandy reconstructionThe U.S. government has released $2 billion to support the reconstruction of New York’s public transport network. The funds are the first installment of $10.9 billion pledged by the FTA to support the Super Storm Sandy cleanup. Flooding of underground tunnels caused $5 billion of damage to MTA™s transport network, with $600 million alone needed [...]
• CN announces $1.9bn network investmentNorth American railway operator CN has unveiled a $1.9 billion package of works for 2013 aimed at upgrading infrastructure and improving customer service. More than $1 billion will be spent on track infrastructure this year. CN plans to extend its siding programme in northern British Columbia, Alberta and northern Ontario, double-track sections of its mainline [...]
• Railcare wins £20m class 165 and 166 overhaul contractAngel Trains has awarded Railcare a £20 million contract to overhaul class 165 and 166 Turbo trains operated by First Great Western and Chiltern Railways. In addition to being given an exterior repaint and door overhaul, the units will also be made compliant with Passengers of Reduced Mobility Technical Specification for Interoperability (PRSM TSI). This [...]
• JR East submits vision for Shibuya stationDesigns for the Shibuya Station District have been submitted to the Governor of Tokyo for approval. JR East has unveiled its plans for the site, which include building a 46-story mixed-use complex. JR East has said the Shibuya Station District, which lies directly on the JR Yamanote Line and the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line, will [...]
• Infographic: Brazil Rail 2013A few of the key projects and figures for Brazil’s railway in the year ahead.      
• Roma Termini project enters next phaseMajor works on a new gallery and multistory car park at Italy’s Roma Termini railway station are now underway. The redevelopment, which is being completed in nine phases, comes 12 year’s after the station’s last overhaul to mark its Golden Jubilee. The project is estimated to cost 83 million euros. “It’s a technically very complex [...]

Aviation Industry

• WestJet expects strong 2013 on internal changes, passenger demandWestJet chief executive officer Greg Saretsky says the airline believes its costs are 10 to 15 per cent lower than those for Air Canada.
• AirAsia X long-haul offers ˜kid-free™ sectionAirAsia X has introduced a œquiet zone for ages 12 and up in the first seven economy class rows on Airbus A330-300 long-haul flights.
• United to add extra Heathrow-Houston flightUS airline will begin a third daily service on the route from the end of March
• Flybe and Ryanair agree deal for new Irish carrierAirlines strike deal to create Flybe Ireland if Ryanair gets the green light to buy Aer Lingus

Other News Sources

• MPs call for greater scrutiny of local transport spending The Government could do more to scrutinise how transport spending is allocated by local authorities, a Committee of MPs chaired by Margaret Hodge has claimed.
• Edinburgh opens public consultation on fresh transport strategy Edinburgh Council opened a six-week public consultation on Monday (February 4th), asking residents to share their views on the development of a new transport strategy for the city.
• Cycling to be included in Trans-European Transport Network The European Parliament’s Transport and Tourism committee have voted on crucial guidelines that mean cycling will be included in the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) guidelines. This will potentially open the door for billions of Euros worth of cycling investment.
• RMT ON BUS FUNDS RIP-OFFTransport workers union RMT on Public Accounts Committee report on local authority transport funds being used to prop up finance gaps elsewhere
• RMT calls for decisive action on Crossrail Two and Bakerloo Line extensionTRANSPORT UNION RMT today issued a call for decisive political action on Crossrail Two (the project to link North East with South West London) and the extension of the Bakerloo Line beyond Elephant and Castle and into South East London.
• Tube bosses continue to spin pack of lies over on-going Bakerloo line staffing disputeTUBE UNION RMT today slammed underground bosses for continuing to spin the travelling public a total pack of lies over the impact of an on-going staffing and de-trainment dispute on the Bakerloo line which is leading to major disruption to services day in and day out.
• News from Darren Johnson: Alternative budget proposed to lower fares, save fire stations and reduce pollution 6 February 2013 Darren Johnson AM has published an amendment to be tabled at the London Assembly meeting on Friday 8th February, which is discussing the Mayor™s draft budget. The amendment has three principal objectives: to help low income Londoners by holding down fares and supporting them to find decent homes let by accredited landlords to protect Londoners from damaging and unnecessary cuts to fire stations, fire engines and firefighters whilst raising council tax below the rate of inflation to improve L...
• Surrey stations to benefit from Crossrail 2 route A PROPOSED new Crossrail 2 route would link Hampton Court, Epsom and Shepperton to central London.

Other Subscription Services

• GoCymru smartcard pilot begins in north Wales Trials of a new smartcard ticket for use on public transport have begun in Wrexham and Bangor.Funded by the Welsh Government, GoCymru is similar to London's Oyster card and could eventually be used...
• Professors call for fares subsidy over new roads Thirty-two of the UK™s most senior transport academics have written to transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin, urging him to take a more sophisticated and evidence-based approach to transport policy...
• Newport Transport introduces Chepstow bus routes Council-owned bus operator Newport Transport has announced that it will launch a new network of bus routes in the Welsh border town of Chepstow with three commercially-operated services that the firm...
• Transport minister envisages all-electric vehicles Transport minister envisages all-electric vehicles Electric vehicle charging points will be installed at least every 50 miles along Scotland's trunk road network under plans announced on Wednesday ...