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

Saturday, 18 May 2013

BBC News

• Severn bridges toll fee cut hopes hit by £88m debts Hopes have been dashed that Severn bridge toll fees can be reduced soon after the crossings revert to public ownership in about 2018.
• Chiltern Railways London Marylebone to Oxford line to go ahead A new £130m rail route is to be built between Oxford and London Marylebone after a bid to stop the project was turned down by the High Court.
• Quantifying the benefits of HS2 The creation of a high-speed rail line from London to the north of England will produce quantifiable benefits to society, the government believes.
• Heathrow and London mayor submit ideas to aviation commission [video]Both London Mayor Boris Johnson and Heathrow's operator have submitted their ideas on how to better use existing airports on the final day of submissions to the government's aviation commission.
• Heathrow 'muddle along' warningBoris Johnson has warned the government aviation commission of the dangers of taking a "muddle along" approach.

Financial Times

• Maersk warns on slowing global tradeDanish shipping group adjusts expectations for container demand as it reports net profit down almost a third compared with a year earlier
• Northeast rail services disrupted after trains collideConnecticut governor said route was likely to remain shut at least until Monday, as investigators tried to establish what had caused the crash

The Guardian

• Where to park your bike? The question often missing from the cycling debateCycle infrastructure isn't just about roads and junctions – it's about homes and gardens too. What can councils do to help?
• Hot topic of high-speed rail and airport expansion [Letter]The planned high-speed rail link between London and Birmingham (HS2 rail project has £3.3bn funding shortfall, warns spending watchdog, 16 May) is the land-bound equivalent of Concorde;

The Independent

• You thought the attendants had it bad? Wait ’til you hear about Ryanair’s pilots Ryanair pilots have been warned not to sign a letter to airline regulators expressing concern that the airline’s employment practices could jeopardise passenger safety.

The Telegraph

• Forget three runways, Heathrow needs four Students of the interminable debate over Heathrow’s future will have permitted themselves a wry smile at chief executive Colin Matthews’ submission to the Davies Commission.

Mail Online

• Ryanair air hostess blows whistle on how contract staff are forced to take three months' unpaid leave and buy their own uniformsSophie Growcoot, 20, from Liverpool, worked for the airline after she was employed by Crewlink, a contractor for Ryanair.

Birmingham Mail

• Birmingham Airport says nationwide network would be better for UK - but MPs back Heathrow expansion Paul Kehoe, airport chief executive, claimed Birmingham had the second largest business catchment area of any long-haul airport that specialised in manufacturing.

Derby Telegraph

• Derby Telegraph commented We're all searching for new ways to ease jams, pledges city...DERBY'S deputy leader has taken up the issue of city traffic chaos with officers in a bid to ease roadworks congestion – after revealing he is one of those who have fallen foul of the delays.Ranjit Banwait said he was pleased traffic officers had come up with ideas to minimise the number of jams on the roads.The traffic and transportation team will be changing the timings on traffic lights at Pentagon Island, as well as on Morledge.Mr Banwait said: "These are very old roads that are...

Liverpool Post

• Virgin staff “furious” over uniform row, says Liverpool union chiefA UNION chief preparing to ballot Virgin Trains staff for strike action in a row over uniforms today said he had never seen employees so angry.

London Evening Standard

• Tunnel vision: stunning picture of Crossrail constructionAt first glance you wonder what on earth it is … In fact it’s 40ft under the earth at Stepney Green, where workers on Crossrail posed in one of the world’s largest man-made caverns.
• More early morning flights for Heathrow, say airport bossesMore early morning flights could land at Heathrow between 5am and 6am under proposals unveiled by airport bosses today.
• Road test: Peugeot’s green machinePeugeot is known for its big estates, especially the Seventies 504. Now the firm has a new contender; the capacious 508 SW, starting at £18,695, and offered with a choice of 1.6 petrol or diesel engines or 2 and 2.2-litre diesels.
• 60 hurt as commuter trains collideTwo commuter trains serving New York City have collided in Connecticut during Friday's evening rush hour, sending 60 people to hospital, including five critically injured and one very critically injured, governor Dannel Malloy said. There were no reports of fatalities.

Manchester Evening News

• Citypress secures Keolis transport brief Public transport operators Keolis has selected Manchester-based Citypress to manage its UK public relations brief following a four-way pitch.
• High-speed rail "still backed by business" despite audit blastA report by the National Audit Office claims it is not clear how much the £32bn line will deliver and rebalance economic growth.

Nottingham Evening Post

• This is Nottingham commented Watchdog's HS2 timetable warningA spending watchdog says it isn't clear whether the £30bn HS2 rail project will deliver the business and economic benefits that Government claims. The National Audit Office this morning issued a critical report about the work that has gone into the first phase of the project. It says government must do more work to show what benefits the project might bring, claims data used to assess its benefits is out of date, and says government is facing a £3bn funding gap in the first phase. It...

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Plea for ‘fallback’ plan in Elgin link road fightTWO councillors are calling for an additional planning application to be drafted as a “fallback” in case controversial proposals for the Elgin western link road are thrown out.

Bucks Free Press

• Three in four HS2 compensation claims rejected THREE quarters of the applications for compensation from homeowners affected by the HS2 project have been unsuccessful, statistics show.
• Wycombe-to-Oxford rail link to go ahead after failed High Court bid A NEW £130m rail link between London and Oxford will go ahead after a challenge to halt it was thrown out of the High Court.

East Anglian Daily Times

• Stansted: Ryanair partnership with National Express boosts coach transfer bookingsBudget airline Ryanair has reported record coach transfer bookings following the launch of a partnership with National Express.

Other Regional Press

• ’Two pence per day’ plan to boost transport Council tax bills in West Yorkshire could rise to support a £1 billion transport fund that its supporters say will help cut congestion and create jobs.
• VIDEO: First speed tests on buswayThe first speed tests on the £89 million Luton and Dunstable guided busway took place this morning (May 16).
• Thousands caught driving in Aberdeen bus lanesUP TO 400 motorists are getting caught breaking bus lane rules in Aberdeen every day.

Global Rail News

• Montpellier Saint-Roch concourse takes shapeThe transformation of Montpellier Saint-Roch station has reached the halfway point and operator SNCF has released new pictures of the site’s spectacular new arched roof. Construction began on the new[...]
• C2c handed 16-month extensionNational Express and the Department for Transport (DfT) have reached a deal to extend the operator’s c2c contract for 16 months. The short-term contract will run out in 2014 at[...]
• Carillion training centre launched to meet electrification skills shortageInfrastructure and support services provider Carillion has opened a pioneering training centre, for rail engineers across the industry, to develop skills needed to help deliver a £2 billion electrification expansion[...]
• Station refurbishment can regenerate wider communityAs our roads become more congested and the green agenda encourages us out of cars and onto public transport, rail is becoming more important as a means of travel. Writes Dave Darnell, UK rail sector director, WSP Group With the average Brit making over 140 trips per year on a train, and all of them [...]

Railnews

• Franchise logjam begins to ease The first franchise extension – announced in principle in late March – has been confirmed by the Department for Transport with just ten days to spare. The National Express contract to run c2c between London Fenchurch Street, Tilbury, Southend and Shoeburyness would have expired on 26 May, but will now run until September 2014 at least. The DfT said 'a long term partner is expected to take over' in September next year, but it has included a buffer zone of eight further railway periods, which could add up to another 32 weeks.

Aviation Industry

• British Airways to launch Gatwick-Larnaca flightsCarrier will operate new flights to Cyprus from the end of June

Other News Sources

• National Express welcomes extension to C2c rail franchise - Transport company National Express has cheered its investors with the news the Department for Transport has decided to extend the c2c rail franchise to September 2014.
• Transport Minister due to meet with Orkney Council over ferry problems Serco Northlink's Hamnavoe, which operates in the Pentland Firth, has suffered a serious engine breakdown and is currently at Rosyth dockyard.
• Taylor Woodrow beats two to £80m Croxley Rail linkTaylor Woodrow has beaten two others to the £118 million Croxley Rail link scheme which will bring the London Underground to the centre of Watford.
• Four Passengers Win Cars Onboard Ryanair Flights Ryanair today (16 May) presented four passengers from France, Ireland, Spain and the UK with brand new luxury cars, after they became Ryanairrsquo;s latest ldquo;Fly to Winrdquo; Scratchcards ...
• Deutsche Bahn to stop selling Thalys ticketsMove by German train operator will take effect from next month