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

Saturday, 23 November 2013

BBC News

• Pensioners' free travel threatenedFree tram and train travel for over 65s could be scrapped in the West Midlands, as part of potential cost-cutting ideas.
• VIDEO: Why are flights routinely overbooked?Some travellers are disrupted by weather and mechanical problems, but people are even less forgiving when
• VIDEO: Snow's verdict on dangers of cyclingPoliticians must spend more money on cycling features to make British roads safer - but
• Met Commissioner 'would not cycle'The Metropolitan Police Commissioner says he would not cycle in London following six fatalities in two weeks.
• Tube may become Amazon pick-up pointTransport for London is in negotiations with retailers such as Amazon to use Tube stations as potential parcel collection points.

Financial Times

• EU launches container shipping probeEC launches antitrust investigation into concerns that prices move in harmony because groups signal planned changes through public statements
• Bus operators in Wales threaten to cut servicesCompanies say they expect to find out on Monday how much Cardiff will slash the reimbursement paid to them for carrying passengers with free bus passes
• Groups to pay $8.3bn to run Rio airportBrazil’s Odebrecht and Singapore’s Changi offer nearly four times the minimum bid for the right to operate Rio’s Galeão airport for the next 25 years
• EasyJet’s McCall leads the wayTop women and minority executives cannot just blend into the crowd so they may be less prone to the problems of groupthink

The Independent

• Too much traffic for me to cycle in London, says Met Police chief Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe London's top police officer has said he wouldn't cycle in the capital, after two weeks marked by a series of cyclist deaths.    

Mail Online

• Ryanair's boss Michael O'Leary decides to take a back seat in airline re-brand to stop 'unnecessarily p****** people off'Michael O'Leary, who has been the face of Ryanair for almost 20 years, has finally decided to remove himself from the public eye.

Network Rail

• Network Rail Transparency Challenge Panel's inaugural meetingAs part of its efforts to increase the transparency of its operations, Network Rail yesterday held the first meeting of its Transparency Challenge Panel. The panel, which will meet twice a year, includes members of the rail industry, other business leaders, experts in transparency and a journalist.
• National train performance for period 8 is 86.2%Punctuality on the railways reached 86.2% during Period 8, according to monthly performance data released today by Network Rail. The data for Britain's train services covers the period from 13 October to 9 November 2013. This compares to 88.9% for the same period last year. The moving annual average is now at 90.5%

Birmingham Post

• Royal green light granted for HS2 bill Legislation to kick start building of London-Birmingham rail line gets go-ahead

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Jailed Pakistan International Airlines pilot was three times over limit, court hears An experienced pilot who was found to be more than three times the permitted alcohol level as he was about to fly a jetliner from Leeds Bradford Airport to Pakistan has today been jailed for nine months.

Derby Telegraph

• Derby Telegraph commented New scanners at East Midlands Airport will see passengers in all...EAST Midlands Airport will be getting full-body security scanners that can see through clothing.It is one of nine airports earmarked to introduce the technology that produces an image that allows officials to see if travellers are concealing anything.Full details of when the equipment will be deployed have not been released.The move will mean that in the future, 19 UK airports will be using the scanners, able to detect non-metallic explosive devices.Transport Secretary and Derbyshire Dales MP...

London Evening Standard

• Legal fight over Stansted Airport expansion 'bias' set for High CourtThe legal fight over the planned expansion of Stansted Airport is due to reach the High Court today amid claims the decision-making process has been "infected by bias".
• Shutting 268 Tube ticket offices ‘is a step too far’Boris Johnson today came under pressure to scale back the closure of ticket offices at 268 Tube stations.

Nottingham Evening Post

• Nottingham Post published East Midlands Airport set to install full-body scannersArticle

The York Press

• Work of railway photography competition winners to go on show at NRM RAILWAY-inspired photography competition winners will see their work displayed at the National Railway Museum as part of a new exhibition.

This Is Local London Network

• Yellow ribbons used in protest against Mitcham bus lane plans Campaigners objecting to the relocation of Mitcham's clock tower have decorated the monument and surrounding trees with yellow ribbons and signs saying,

North Wales Live

• Liverpool Airport to get new scanners Machines will be able to detect improvised explosive devices

Other Regional Press

• Western Morning News published New bike link completes east estuary trailArticle
• Pensioners vow to fight huge cuts to Coventry bus and rail services OAP group campaigns against £14m savings over the next two years which could see free travel for elderly people scrapped
• More trains from Bedford to Gatwick Airport on SundaysTODAY marks the beginning of an improved Sunday service for Gatwick Airport customers, a train operator has announced.

The Economist

• Crossrail: Not so boringFOR the past 18 months Phyllis, a 1,000-tonne boring machine, has been whirring underground through London. Navigating its way past Victorian sewers and London’s labyrinthine Tube system, in October the bore (named after the woman who created London’s A-Z map by The Economist’s deputy editor in a competition) arrived at Farringdon station in north-east London, having tunnelled 13 miles through the city. The new tunnel marks the first stage of the ambitious Crossrail project, a £15 billion ($24 billion) new railway line.When it is finished in 2018 Crossrail will stretch across London, connectin...

Bus and Coach.com

• Biodiesel blend for Stagecoach LondonStagecoach London is using biodiesel made from recycled cooking oil in the 120 buses based at its Barking depot.
• Warrington strikes settled with UniteStrikes planned by drivers at Network Warrington have been called off after what the council-owned company describes as “an amicable agreement with Unite”.
• Rochdale opens new interchangeRochdale’s £11.
• Lothian launches mobile ticket appLothian Buses is the first Scottish operator to offer m-ticketing.
• BUSK calls for Section 19 reviewSafety charity BUSK this week launched a call for tougher legislation on minibuses including a review of the use of Section 19 permits which are mainly issued by local authorities.
• Souter threatens north-east withdrawalIn his hardest-hitting comments so far on the quality contract plans by Nexus, the Tyne and Wear ITA, Stagecoach chairman Brian Souter has described those promoting the idea as a “bunch of unreconstructed Stalinists who are completely driven by political dogma” and threatened to withdraw from the region.
• West Coast buys FairlineWest Coast Motors has expanded by acquiring Glasgow-based Fairline Coaches.
• Nexus plans “fundamentally flawed”Research carried out by consultants Oxera for Stagecoach suggests that there is a major funding shortfall in the proposals for bus quality contracts by Nexus, the Tyne and Wear ITA.
• Souter £10million expansion in PolandBrian Souter's PolskiBus business is to expand with 30 new Van Hool Astromegas running on four new services from a hub in Wroclaw.
• Shearings orders 38 SetrasIn what looks set to be Setra's last major UK order, Shearings has announced that it is buying 38 for delivery early next year.

Global Rail News

• Nomad Digital acquires EMEF stakeOnboard communications company Nomad Digital has acquired a majority stake in state-owned Portugese rail maintenance firm EMEF. The new joint venture, Nomad Tech, will “plug the £5 billion market” for[...]

Other News Sources

• Spendvision adds image options for travellersUsers can upload pictures of receipts with mobile devices
• Transport secretary to face HS2 grillingMPs will put costs and benefits of rail project under the spotlight