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

Saturday, 20 April 2013

BBC News

• Passenger pulls gun on bus driverPolice release CCTV images of a youth they want to trace after a gun was pulled on a bus driver who challenged a passenger about his expired ticket.
• Railway station hotel plan viableA study is backing plans for a 130-bedroom hotel to be built within the proposed new railway station in Dundee.
• Arrest over 'Boris bike' lorry crashThe driver of a lorry which collided with a cyclist in central London, causing multiple injuries, is arrested.
• Car hire firms criticised over costsConsumer association Which? says many car hire companies are confusing their customers with
• US approves Dreamliner battery fixUS regulators approve a revamped battery design for Boeing's 787 Dreamliner, paving the way for flights to resume, after problems grounded planes for months.

Financial Times

• Congestion pushes Chinese on to their bikesImpact of traffic jams and smog is so high that some cities are even thinking the unthinkable: sending China back to its roots as a nation of cyclists

The Herald

• Price of fuel may drop 3p per litreA NEW crash in wholesale fuel prices is expected to lop another 3p off the average pump price within two to three weeks, according to industry analysts, as the latest figures show a 2%-3% drop in the cost of petrol and diesel in Scotland.
• Strike threat by airline staffjerusalem: Workers at Israel's three main airline carriers have threatened to launch an open-ended strike in protest at the Government's plans to ratify an open-skies deal with Europe they see as a threat to their jobs.
• City to get on its bike with £1.3m cycle hire schemeA major investment will make Glasgow Scotland's first

The Scotsman

• Flybe comfortable with 2013 trading Regional airline Flybe today told investors that its underlying losses would be at the lower end of expectations with forward ticket sales slightly up on a year ago.
• Contracts offered as £3bn A9 upgrade ploughs ahead MINISTERS today underlined their intention to complete one of the biggest projects in Scottish history in 12 years’ time by putting huge design contracts up for grabs as part of the £3 billion upgrade of the A9.

The Telegraph

• Parking at Heathrow Airport for a week costs up to £377 - surveyHolidaymakers who leave their car at Heathrow Airport for a week this summer could be charged as much as £377, an increase of nearly 10 per cent in two years, research has found.    

Derby Telegraph

• Derby Telegraph published Buses only as work on road continuesArticle

London Evening Standard

• Gatwick chiefs: Heathrow hub would raise cost of flights Holidaymakers would see the cost of flying from the South-East rise if Heathrow is allowed to become a super-hub airport, Gatwick chiefs warned today.

Manchester Evening News

• Queen of the Cobbles and a Corrie star as new Virgin Atlantic plane is unveiledM.E.N. competition winner Ruth Crawshaw beat hundreds of others to name a new plane, which she named The Queen of the Cobbles

Metro

• Champions League trophy shares morning commute with bemused London Underground passengersThe London Underground had a pair of unusual passengers aboard its services this morning as commuters rubbed shoulders with the Champions League and women’s Champions League trophies on their way to work.    

Nottingham Evening Post

• Nottingham Post published Sam's reinvented the wheelA NOTTS entrepreneur hopes to change cycling forever after reinventing the wheel.Sam Pearce's creation, the Loopwheel, has internal springs instead of spokes, giving wheels a smooth ride over harsh kerbs and bumps.It caused a storm when it was finally unveiled at a Bristol bike show last week after years of secretive development.Sam, 44, and wife and business partner Gemma, 45, from Eakring – between Mansfield and Newark – now hope Loopwheels will go global.A prototype of a...
• Nottingham Post published Full steam ahead: Town's train station to be opened 'by 2015'THE new railway station for Ilkeston could be built as early as 2015, the Secretary of State for Transport Patrick McLoughlin has revealed.He said he would be "very surprised" if plans for the new station didn't go ahead.Mr McLoughlin was speaking after a meeting yesterday where Ilkeston councillors, business people, and community leaders told him what the new station would mean for the town.Nick Davies, manager of Jobcentre Plus, Ilkeston, said the centre was dealing with 1,600...

Sheffield Telegraph

• Sheffield railway station bridge delayProgress has stalled on plans for a second pedestrian footbridge costing £3 million at Sheffield railway station.

The York Press

• National Railway Museum counts down to Mallard 75th anniversary THE National Railway Museum has launched its 75-day countdown to the celebration of the 75th anniversary of Mallard breaking the world steam speed record.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Leeds trolleybus bosses aim to counter oppositionCivic leaders have issued their strongest rejection to date of claims that the Leeds trolleybus scheme could prove an expensive flop.
• Expensive Leeds bus fares leave the young strandedSky-high bus fares in Leeds are leaving young people stranded and unable to reach training courses and job interviews, MPs have warned.

Yorkshire Post

• Video: Unique house with a window on to the Settle-Carlisle lineWhen Ribblehead had a station master, he sent hourly weather reports to the Air Ministry. If he was in doubt about the height of the cloud layer, he would release a balloon and time its ascent.

Other Regional Press

• Failing bus service is a nightmare for pupils ... A HANGING Heaton mum wants action to stop her son being constantly late for school due to late-running buses.
• Firms battle it out over bus routes... TRANSPORT GIANTS Arriva have been accused of declaring a ’bus war’ against a small Dewsbury firm that is launching a new service in North Kirklees.
• Hillingdon's Heathrow referendum - which way will you vote? FROM next week, the people of Hillingdon have been given the opportunity to have their say on the issue of expansion at Heathrow. What is your stance?
• Holyrood committee to look at community transport How easy is it to get out and about in Edinburgh if you are elderly and / or disabled and find it difficult to access public transport? This is the challenge being looked at as part of an inquiry by members of the Scottish Parliament’s Infrastructure and Capital Investment Committee.
• Transport hub move to unite rail and bus stations in Oxford HOPES are high that an integrated “transport hub” for Oxford could be created as part of the redevelopment of the city’s railway station.

Bus and Coach.com

• DLR shortlist announcedFour operators have been shortlisted to bid for the franchise to run the Docklands Light Railway from September next year.
• Stagecoach unveils megabusgold.comStagecoach has confirmed it will launch a network of overnight sleepercoach services from Scotland to London this summer.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• WORK STARTS ON £250M STAFFORD RAIL IMPROVEMENTS The first phase of a £250 million project aimed at removing a bottleneck on the West Coast Main Line in the Stafford area has begun.
• WORCESTER BUS DRIVERS EXPERIENCE LIFE AS A BLIND PASSENGER Bus drivers in Worcester are being given a chance to understand what it is like for a blind or partially sighted person to use public transport.
• FOREIGN DRIVERS OWE £358K IN PARKING FINES FOREIGN motorists have left Oxfordshire County Council chasing £358,290 in unpaid parking fines over the past four years.
• LONDONERS BENEFIT FROM REVAMPED RAIL STATIONS Earlsfield station has benefitted from more than £5.5 million of investment to provide new lifts and staircases and expand the ticket hall.
• GREAT EXPECTATIONS AND NORWAY’S NATIONAL TRANSPORT PLAN Everyday life increasingly depends on the transport facilities that move people, goods and services across towns, cities, counties, countries.
• PORT OF DUNKIRK TO RECEIVE NEW LOGISTICS DEVELOPMENT Plans for a new logistics development in Dunkirk have been submitted and work could begin in 2015.
• NORWAY OUTLINES PLANS FOR WORLD'S FIRST SHIP TUNNEL The Norwegian government has unveiled ambitious plans for the world's first ever tunnel for large ships.

Global Rail News

• Railtex 2013 preview: Bosch RexrothThe railway market makes special demands on its suppliers. Standards that cover difficult environmental conditions or electromagnetic conformity need to be met. Products also have to last the lifetime of the train, with ongoing engineering support. For years, Bosch Rexroth has been supplying a multitude of components and subsystems for use in rail technology. Branded [...]
• Engineering consultant to advise Crossrail tunnel fit-out worksATC – the joint venture awarded Crossrail’s tunnel fit-out contract – has appointed Mott MacDonald as engineering consultant to the project. Mott MacDonald will support the Alstom, TSO and Costain JV by providing detailed design of all the systems – tunnel ventilation, mechanical and electrical systems – and the tunnel walkway. This phase of construction [...]
• EU approves Siemens’ Invensys acquisitionSiemens can now complete on a £1.74 billion buyout of British engineering firm Invensys Rail after receiving clearance by the European Commission. Investigations by the Commission concluded that Siemens and Invensys Rail have “geographically complementary activities” and that the acquisition would not affect competition in the EU. The Commission examined the impact the proposed acquisition [...]
• Heathrow Express announces combined air and rail ticket partnershipA new partnership between Heathrow Express and Aer Lingus will allow customers to book train tickets as part of their flight for the first time. Aer Lingus passengers will now be able to choose to add the Heathrow Express service to London while purchasing flight tickets. Heathrow Express has said it selected Aer Lingus as [...]
• First class 458/5 nears completionThe Wabtec works in Doncaster and Loughborough are currently refurbishing and converting 60 Porterbrook-owned former Gatwick Express class 460s in order to provide additional capacity on the Windsor line from Hounslow, Weybridge, Reading and Windsor. South West Trains’ engineering director Christian Roth told the Rail Media Group: “This project is more complex compared to just [...]

London TravelWatch

• New Policy Committee meets for the first time on 23 April 2013 London TravelWatch's next public meeting will be its newly established Policy Committee meeting on Tuesday 23 April 2013 at Dexter House, 2 Royal Mint Court, London, EC3N 4QN. The new Committee replaces the previous Consumer Affairs and Transport Services Committees and the meeting is open to all members of the public. It will begin at 9.30am and end at approximately 11am.

Aviation Industry

• Boeing 787 fleet cleared for takeoffUnited Airlines is planning to resume 787 Dreamliner flights May 31, that is if the FAA has certified Boeing's lithium-ion battery fix by then.

Other News Sources

• Minister backs call for extra runway at Gatwick Defence secretary Philip Hammond said expanding the Sussex airport is the best way to boost London's capacity
• Time to get bike marked by Sussex Police Bike marking events are being held at the end of this month and throughout May
• Trainline expands ‘print your own’ optionsOnline rail agency adds two more train operators to its PYO system

Other Subscription Services

• HS2 Ltd rethinks Euston to rein in programme High Speed Two Limited has announced major changes to its preferred option for Euston station.The changes are primarily driven by cost and scheduling concerns and will do little to appease...