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

Wednesday, 20 November 2013

BBC News

• Seat booking option boosts EasyjetEasyjet saw a 51% rise in yearly pre-tax profits to £478m, partly thanks to the introduction of allocated seats.
• Electric bus links port to stationTransport Minister Keith Brown officially launches the first fully-electric local bus service in Scotland in Wigtownshire.
• Seven vehicles involved in A9 crashSeven vehicles are involved in a crash on the A9 trunk road at the Tore roundabout north of Inverness.
• Metrolink 'sorry' over ice delaysThe head of Greater Manchester's tram service apologises after commuters suffer severe delays and suspensions caused by frozen overhead lines.
• VIDEO: Crossrail reveals its first tunnelCrossrail has unveiled its first completed train tunnel in London after 18 months of digging.
• VIDEO: HGV curbs 'being considered'Mayor of London Boris Johnson says he is considering restrictions on lorries at peak times to make cycling safer.
• Pakistan airline faces £400,000 billA court orders Pakistan International Airlines to compensate two UK travel agents after it stopped paying them commission for selling its tickets.

ITV News

• Passengers create online announcement board signsA new website allows Londoners to create their own ’thought for the day’ announcement board, similar to ones often seen at entrances to Tube stations. You can have a go at the unofficial style of signs for yourself here.

Department for Transport

• HS2 Growth Taskforce comes to Yorkshire to secure maximum boost for region's economyThe HS2 Growth Taskforce is meeting key figures from across Yorkshire today (20 November 2013) as part of a series of roadshows designed to ensure regions maximise the benefits of high speed rail.

Financial Times

• EasyJet to pay £175m special dividendCarolyn McCall, chief executive, cites easyJet’s ‘structural’ advantage in the European short-haul market for its strong performance
• EasyJet chief says: vive la differenceWhile Ryanair has issued profit warnings, blaming a weak economy and competition, easyJet has flown above the turbulence

The Guardian

• Asda puts shopping collection points in tube station car parksPilot scheme with Transport for London will allow shoppers who order before midday to pick up groceries after 4pm

The Herald

• Rail bidders must hit fast trackTHE successful bidder for the new ScotRail franchise will be expected to provide a new 42-minute express service between Glasgow and Edinburgh and a smart ticketing system for passengers.

The Telegraph

• First Crossrail tunnel completedAs the first Crossrail tunnel is opened up in north London, Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander hails the 4.25 mile tunnel as a

City AM

• Asda to launch click and collect in tube stationsCUSTOMERS at Asda will be able to collect their weekly shops at London underground stations under plans announced today by the Walmart-owned supermarket chain

Mail Online

• Foreign diplomats refusing to pay Congestion Charge have racked up £74 MILLION in unpaid finesTransport for London has revealed foreign embassies owe a whopping £74,047,592 in unpaid congestion charges - with the US being the biggest culprit.
• EasyJet lures older fliers by ending the scramble for seats: Profits surge by 50% after change in policyTraditionally the airline did not allocated seats, leading to a free-for-all once boarding began.

Birmingham Mail

• UKIP launches petition against Birmingham's new 'life-saving' 20mph speed limit Minority party claims  restrictions will impact on businesses, slow journey times, increase pollution but do little to save lives

London Evening Standard

• Former transport secretary Lord Adonis tells HS2 boss to 'get a grip on costs'The former transport secretary Andrew Adonis, who is a keen proponent of high speed rail, has told the new HS2 chairman Sir David Higgins that he must 'get a firm grip on costs' and that the line cannot be built at 'any price'.
• Police blitz on drivers, bikes and HGVs to tackle 'appalling' litany of cycling deathsHundreds of police are to flood central London in a “zero-tolerance” campaign against dangerous road users in a bid to halt the “appalling” spate of cyclist deaths. 

Manchester Evening News

• New MAG graduate training schemeManchester Airports Group has launched a new graduate scheme.
• Buoyant easyjet is aiming high at hub Airline easyJet today pledged further investment in its Manchester Airport operations over the next two years.

Nottingham Evening Post

• Nottingham Post commented First of Nottingham's new trams passes street testingTHE first of 22 new trams being prepared for the city's expanding network has been tested.The tram was run along the existing lines through Nottingham last week after normal operational hours.Alongside the other 21 new trams, it is due to enter service in spring next year.Testing work had already been carried out on track north of the Wilkinson Street depot, but last week it was done on street sections between there and the city centre.Paul Robinson, general manager of operator Nottingham...

The York Press

• Bus funding cuts 'could leave rural communities stranded' TRANSPORT campaigners have claimed bus funding cuts being considered by council bosses could leave rural communities in North Yorkshire stranded.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Barriers for blind people who use busesA group of blind and partially sighted people swapped places with bus drivers in Wakefield to demonstrate the barriers they face when travelling on buses.
• Trees facing axe for Leeds trolleybus ‘worth £14m’The cost of replacing felled mature trees along the planned NGT Trolleybus route in North Leeds could be as much as £14 million, according to an independent tree expert.
• Leeds City Council to issue ‘demands’ over HS2A PLAN designed to rally support for a new high speed rail line to Leeds will be unveiled today during a visit by the man in charge of making sure the project gives the city a major economic boost.

Yorkshire Post

• Highways officer condemned for not attending meeting over roadworksTHE most senior highways officer in North Yorkshire has been accused of passing the buck after declining to speak to Dales communities over grave concerns that isolated settlements will be cut off when a £1m programme of road repairs is carried out.

North Wales Live

• Easyjet annual profits soar to record levels Shares jump on results and announcement of a special dividend repayment for shareholders

Other Regional Press

• Rail union franchise claims expose Great Western train “robbery”The rail union RMT claims the 23-month contract extension handed to First Great Western has cost £247million. Read more: http://www.westernmorningnews.co.uk/Rail-union-franchise-claims-expose-Great-Western/story-20094424-detail/story.html#ixzz2lAVM10lj Follow us: @thisisdevonnews on Twitter | thisisdevon on Facebook
• Transport Minister signals answer to Dunoon-Gourock passenger serviceTransport Minister, Keith Brown, appeared today to signal the solution to a reliable passenger service between Dunoon and Gourock.
• Young people unveil mural at Mirfield Railway StationVolunteers from the Matrix Youth Project have designed and painted a mural under the railway bridge in Station Road

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Work begins on electric rail on Chase LineWork has started on electrifying the rail on the Chase Line between Walsall, Cannock and Rugeley Trent Valley.
• EC wants to 'bring seafarers into labour law directives'The European Commission (EC) has announced plans to include seafarers under five law directives.This would allow them the same benefits as those who work onshore, which includes consultations and the right to take part in European work councils.

Global Rail News

• SBB starts work on Gotthard tunnel depotGround has been broken on one of the two new depots that will house rescue and maintenance vehicles for the Gotthard Base Tunnel. In the event of a fire in[...]
• Northern Line extension inquiry launchedA public inquiry has been launched into Transport for London’s (TfL) proposed Northern Line extension to Battersea. TfL has said that work could begin on a new line west of[...]
• Signalling Solutions in South West recruitment callSignalling Solutions (SSL) is ramping up its recruitment effort in order to deliver major signalling renewal works in the South West. Earlier in the year, the Alstom/Balfour Beatty joint venture[...]
• Safety training essential for Canal TunnelsMartin Barlow, Carillion’s Senior Construction Manager on the Canal Tunnels project at Thameslink has praised the work of young apprentices Ashley Edwards, 18, Jason Platford, 17 and Jake Caddie, 17. ’The most important quality I look for in trainees is good time keeping and taking a real interest in what you are doing – and [...]

Other News Sources

• easyJet and Bristol Airport agree new long-term dealBristol Airport and easyJet have entered into a new long-term agreement that confirms the continued growth of the UKrsquo;s largest airline at the South Westrsquo;s leading airport. easyJet...
• easyJet: Results for the year ended 30 September 201351% rise in full year profits; 17.4% return on capital employed nbsp;20132012Changenbsp; Total revenue (pound; million) 4,258 3,854 +10.5% nbsp; Profit before tax (pound...