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

Thursday, 21 February 2013

BBC News

• Harecastle tunnel offered for sale by the government A disused Victorian railway tunnel in Staffordshire has been offered for sale by the government.
• Report due on high-speed rail lineThe business case for building a high-speed rail link between Edinburgh and Glasgow is to be outlined by the Scottish government.
• Major delays on East Coast linePassengers using the East Coast main line between London and Peterborough are advised not to travel.

Financial Times

• AirAsia and Tata to set up Indian airlineIf Indian government approves the joint venture, the Malaysian low-cost carrier will manage the airline, while Tata would become a strategic financial investor
• Qantas cuts international lossesAustralian carrier reports 10% rise in half-year profits, aided by better performance of its struggling international division and A$125m in Dreamliner compensation

The Herald

• Upgrades due to cut 18 minutes off M8 journeyA MAJOR roads upgrade that will take 18 minutes off the journey between Glasgow and Edinburgh has moved a step closer.
• Latest Forth Road Bridge tests dispel fears of closure to lorriesDIRE predictions the Forth Road Bridge could be forced to close to lorries by 2016 have been dispelled by new tests showing the crossing could still have decades of useful life.
• Further cheap rail fare deals emergeMORE train fare deals have emerged that allow passengers to save money by

The Independent

• Thousands hit and train company apologises as Kings Cross problems linger throughout today Thousands of train passengers endured travel misery on a key London to Scotland route today with the severe disruption likely to last all day.

The Scotsman

• Edinburgh Airport planning for petrol tanker strikeSCOTLAND’S busiest airport is discussing contingency plans to avert a fuel shortage should a threatened three-day tanker drivers strike go ahead tomorrow.

The Telegraph

• Government confident HS2 on track despite High Court challengeLooming legal challenge to high speed rail link will not cause
• Network Rail facing £30million fine as performance levels deteriorate furtherTaxpayer-backed Network Rail faces fines of up to £30million if their poor performance levels continue, the regulator warned today.

Daily Record

• Rail bosses apologise after line problems cause chaos for thousands of passengers on London - Scotland service THE fault led to passengers being stranded at London's King's Cross after the last train was cancelled.

This is Money

• I've saved £2K in less than a year with my electric carDavid Peilow has slashed his petrol costs by going electric. Now homeowners can even install charging points on their drive and charge users. So are electric cars about to take off?

Network Rail

• Impact of severe weather on train services ˜is a wake-up call to us all™, says Network Rail chief executiveCommenting on the Office of Rail Regulation™s quarterly performance monitor, which highlighted the impact of extreme weather on train performance, Network Rail chief executive David Higgins said:

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Bus services win survey praise œBus is Best say nine out of ten Arriva passengers in Yorkshire who would happily recommend their bus service to family and friends, according to a new independent survey.

Journal Live

• Nissan future looking rosier thanks to Government investment pledgeTHE long-term future of Nissan car plant’s electric car line has been given a boost as the Government pledged a £37m investment in charging points across the country.

London Evening Standard

• Power line crash at King's Cross will cause chaos all dayTens of thousands of rail commuters suffered major disruption into King's Cross today after problems with the overhead power lines at St Neots.

Manchester Evening News

• Merger of police teams could see bobbies travel on the busHeywood neighbourhood police will lose their inspector, and officers will either be asked to ferry colleagues to and from their beat

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Passengers face major rail disruption at Newcastle Central Station - UPDATEDA LONDON to Scotland train company has apologised to passengers after an overhead line problem led to major delays for thousands of rail travellers.

The York Press

• Council freezes tax bills and unveils £857,000 roads boost COUNCIL tax bills in North Yorkshire have today been frozen for the third year in a row - while an extra £857,000 is to be spent on repairing the region's flood-ravaged roads and preventing future damage.
• UPDATED 4.30pm: York commuters facing rail chaos after wire collapse THOUSANDS of rail passengers travelling between York and London are facing travel misery today because of an overhead wire collapse on the East Coast Mainline.
• Funding hope for new Haxby station PLANS for a new rail station in York could be given the go-ahead next month after city leaders today confirmed they are bidding for a share of a £20 million funding pot.

This Is Local London Network

• Network Rail 'failed to deal with snow and rain' over Christmas Network Rail is failing to deal with snowfall and heavy rain on London and south east lines, according to an independent report released today.

Yorkshire Post

• East Coast line rail passengers face more miseryRail passengers endured more morning misery today when an overhead line problem led to major disruption to key services.

East Anglian Daily Times

• Suffolk/UK: Rail bosses warned after winter problems cause havoc for travellersNETWORK Rail failed to live up to the promises it made during the run-up to winter – that’s the bleak verdict of the government’s Office of Rail Regulation.

Peterborough Telegraph

• Bus crash, trains halted and days of rail misery for Peterborough commutersWednesday, 10.20pm: Thousands of Peterborough commuters faced up to another day of disruption to journeys to London today after overhead wires collapsed onto the East Coast Main Line.

Sunderland Echo

• ˜Tomorrow™s technology, today™ “ Transport Secretary in Sunderland to announce £37million boost for electric vehiclesPRODUCTION at Sunderland’s Nissan plant could be boosted after plans to increase the number of charging stations nationwide were announced.

Other Regional Press

• Heathrow runway works mean more noise for Kew and Barnes There will be increased aircraft noise for people under the flightpath, due to runway resurfacing work.
• Village bus service to include trip to Morrisons and town centre A VILLAGE bus service will extend its route to take people to a Basingstoke supermarket and the town centre.
• New petition launched in Luton Airport campaignA GROUP opposing plans to expand Luton Airport have stepped up the campaign, with another petition launched.
• £2 million transport improvements for North-eastMORE than £2 million of transport improvements were due to be signed off today.

Campaign for Better Transport

• Government fails to grasp Smart Growth20 February 2013: The government has missed the opportunity to make growth smarter read more

Global Rail News

• SNCF unveils cheap high-speed serviceFrench rail operator SNCF is preparing to launch a new low-cost high-speed train service between eastern Paris and Lyon, with further services to Montpellier and Marseille. With prices to ride the Ouigo starting at 10 euro, SNCF president Guillaume Pepy is aiming to bring high-speed to the masses when the new service is launched on [...]
• Skyfall Bond train takes to East CoastEast Coast has launched its very own Bond train to coincide with the DVD release of the franchise’s most successful feature, Skyfall. On February 16, a launch event, including one of the film™s stars, actresses Naomi Harris (Moneypenny), producers Michael Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, and writers Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, was held at King’s [...]
• Mumbai monorail testedMumbai’s new monorail system has completed its first trial run along the city’s 8.8 km Wadala-Chembur route. Once commissioned, Mumbai will have India™s first monorail network. The 19.54 km corridor will be world™s second longest monorail corridor “ the longest being Japan™s 23.8 km Osaka route. During the trail run on February 16, the monorail [...]
• HS2 awards Phase Two design contractsEngineering design contracts have been awarded for the second phase of HS2 to connect Birmingham with Manchester and Leeds. The contracts, which cover initial concept engineering designs and environmental services, are the first to be announced for the project’s northern route. AECOM and Mott MacDonald will deliver engineering services for the west and east leg [...]
• Services return after St Neots disruptionEast Coast rail services have restarted between King’s Cross and Peterborough after a kilometre of overhead line equipment came down at St Neots in Cambridgeshire. Two of the four lines affected by the fallen lines  have opened to diesel traffic, allowing a limited service to run, and this afternoon electric trains have restarted, coasting through [...]
• Å koda RegioPanter given type approval in Czech RepublicÅ koda’s new RegioPanter EMU has obtained type approval from the Czech Rail Authority following a five-month trial period. Czech Railways has already agreed a CZK 2.5 billion deal for 19 RegioPanter trains. The first five vehicles were delivered last year and are already in operation in five regions across the country – Olomouc, South Bohemia, [...]

Middle East North Africa (MENA) Rail News

• Italian Rail Subsidiary to Report on Ankara Airport Rail LinkThe Engineering Consultancy subsidiary of the Italian state-owned Railway Group, Italferr has been given the contract to carry out feasibility studies into a proposed rail link between Ankara and Esenboga International Airport. The proposed link will be a 27 km line with 8 intermediate stations linking Turkey’s capital with its fifth busiest airport. Esenboga International [...]The post Italian Rail Subsidiary to Report on Ankara Airport Rail Link appeared first on MENA Rail News.

Rail Technology Magazine

• Bombardier completes La Sapienza University training course Bombardier has completed its one-week course on railway applications at La Sapienza University in Rome, Italy, to prepare future engineers for the railway industry.

Railnews

• Second overhead line failure strands hundreds Network Rail engineers are battling to repair a kilometre of overhead power lines which were apparently dragged down by a train on the East Coast Main Line last night. Network Rail warned that repairs would take some time, and that the cause of the failure was not yet known. Investigations are still continuing into the cause of a similar failure on the Midland Main Line at Radlett last week, in which overhead wires collapsed over about a kilometre and caused several days of disruption. There has also been criticism following the plight of an estimated 200 passengers who were stranded at Londo...

road.cc

• Email deluge at City Hall as London Assembly Members urged to vote for additional £41m for cycling LCC campaign to back Jenny Jones amendment to TfL budget already backed by 12,000 people, but more needed

Aviation Industry

• Hawaiian focusing on Pacific RimWhile many other full-service carriers have cut services, consolidated and deepened alliances with rivals, Hawaiian has expanded rapidly through the Pacific Rim, and is about to start flying to New Zealand.
• American Airlines' CEO in line for $20 million severanceBy DAVID KOENIG AP Airlines Writer FORT WORTH, Texas - Tom Horton won't get to lead the new American Airlines after it merges with US Airways, but he'll get a going-away prize of nearly $20 million.
• New report questions FAA's airline safety promiseSince a deadly airline crash in 2009, the government hasn't kept its promise to ensure that major airlines are holding their smaller partners to the same safety standards, a federal watchdog says.
• British Airways Is Using Cheaper Fares To Compete With Budget AirlinesThe airline says the fares which will initially be offered on flights from Gatwick to Amsterdam, Dubrovnik, Jersey, Tunis and Turin will give its passengers
• Qantas more than doubles net profitQANTAS Airways shares have risen after the airline reported a hefty lift in first half net profit and an improved performance at its struggling international division.
• Lufthansa Group to buy 108 aircraft; swings to profit in 2012Lufthansa Group has announced plans to purchase 108 new Airbus and Boeing aircraft, valued at €9 billion ($12 billion) based on list prices.
• Pratt & Whitney GTF CSeries engine gains Transport Canada certificationPratt & Whitney™s PW1500G geared turbofan (GTF) engine, set to power the Bombardier CSeries, has gained Transport Canada type certification.
• Air Greenland appoints new CEOAir Greenland has named Michael Højgaard as its new CEO from Aug. 1.
• IATA: Premium traffic for December up 4.5%IATA reported that international premium traffic for December was up 4.5% year-over-year, up slightly from 4.4% in November.
• Cologne Airport security workers to strike Thursday Cologne Airport security workers will strike Thursday in a fourth day of strikes called by trade union Verdi over pay.
• Boeing engineers, technical workers split on contract offerBoeing™s engineers and technical workers returned a split decision after voting on a new four-year contract.
• Lufthansa deepens cuts; to close head office in CologneLufthansa Group has announced more changes and cuts as its cost-savings program SCORE goes into the second year.
• Lufthansa Group set to order new aircraftGerman aviation company wants to purchase another 108 new aircraft
• British Airways to add capacity to ShanghaiCarrier will go daily from Heathrow to the Chinese city from late March
• Air Asia to launch Indian no-frills airlineAviation tycoon Fernandes strikes deal for new joint venture in India

Other News Sources

• Renaming Gatwick airport ’utter nonsense,’ says MP A call to rename Gatwick Airport, Croydon International, has been branded ’utter nonsense’ by Crawley MP Henry Smith.
• 'Tram progress' boosting satisfaction rating, claims council leader The leader of the City of Edinburgh Council claims progress on the controversial trams project has led to record levels of satisfaction among the public.
• RMT on OHL collapse at St Neots and travel chaos out of LondonRMT General Secretary Bob Crow on the OHL failure in St Neots causing chaos on rail services last night and this morning out of London.
• Rail union RMT calls for halt to 'radar detection' level crossing programme as pilot highlights major safety flawsRAIL UNION RMT today called on Network Rail to call a halt to the implementation of a new modular signalling programme which includes the remote operation of level crossings by 'radar detection' from centralised rail operating centres.
• HS2 phase 2 contracts awardedConsultants Arup, Mott MacDonald and Aecom have today won environmental and engineering contracts to develop the High Speed 2 (HS2) phase two route from Birmingham to Leeds and Manchester.
• Heathrow to stick with afternoon runway switch HEATHROW Airport bosses have ruled out ’mixed mode’ runway use that would have stopped residents’ half-day respite from aircraft noise.
• Petition calls for hospital's Peterbus to be saved MORE than 200 people have signed a petition to keep St Peter’s Hospital’s bus service running.
• B&Q partners up to create greener fleet The UK's largest home improvement retailer B&Q is powering 50 of its lorries with natural gas produced from waste, to develop a greener operating fleet.
• HS2 awards first phase two contractsHS2 has awarded contracts worth more than £7 million for engineering and environmental services for each leg of the second phase of the scheme.

Other Subscription Services

• Councils and homeowners offered EV point subsidy A £37m funding package aimed at drivers of electric cars has been set out by the Department for Transport.The money will part fund recharging points at homes, on streets and at railway stations....
• May Gurney/WSP moves ahead for Suffolk highways Suffolk's 10 year highways maintenance contract now looks set to go to a joint venture of May Gurney and WSP.In December 2012 Balfour Beatty Living Places was named as preferred bidder for the deal,...
• Rail Delivery Group participation now mandatory The Rail Delivery Group - the body set up to encourage closer working between train operating companies and Network Rail - became a formal part of Britain's rail decision making structure on Monday....
• Wales bill gives weight to cycling and walking Wales Minister for Transport Carl Sargeant visited Millbank Primary school in Ely, Cardiff on Monday (18 February) to mark the laying of the Active Travel Bill before the National Assembly for Wales....
• Southern first to offer smart tickets to capital Go-Ahead's Southern franchise is set to become the first train operator to offer season tickets into London on ITSO smartcards, opening up new payment options for travel from the south coast to the...
• First consults on Glasgow bus network overhaul First Glasgow has unveiled plans for a major revamp of the city's bus network.On 12 May the operator intends to roll out the 'SimpliCITY' brand to coincide with changes to routes and route numbers...
• Contractors battle for first NPD roads upgrade Two consortia will go head to head for Transport Scotland's £415m M8 M73 M74 Motorway Improvements contract.This is the first roads infrastructure scheme to be procured as part of the Scottish...
• HS2 Ltd kicks off phase two PSF contract awards HS2 Ltd has awarded its first contracts for phase two routes from the West Midlands to Leeds and Manchester.The contracts will provide engineering and environmental services for each branch of the Y...
• Airtrack 2 feasibility study to be commissioned Wandsworth Council says it will appoint a transport consultancy to develop the case for a direct rail service from Clapham Junction to Heathrow.The move could create a successor to the ill-fated...
• Metro car corrosion squeezes upgrade budget A contract to refurbish the Tyne and Wear Metro fleet has been renegotiated after it was found that vehicles in the fleet, built between 1978 and 1981, were in a worse condition than previously...