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

Wednesday, 28 May 2014

BBC News

• Serco wins franchise for Caledonian sleeper train serviceSerco was been awarded the contract to run the Caledonian sleeper train service between Scotland and London.
• Councillor supports tram extensionAn Edinburgh councillor says the benefits the trams will bring to the city means he would support any proposals to extend the network.
• Google to build self-driving carsGoogle has announced that it will start building its own self-driving cars. They will have a stop/go button but no controls, steering wheels or pedals.

Financial Times

• Siemens preparing to make Alstom bidGE and Germans set out their plans for French engineering group’s power and rail divisions in public before Paris parliamentary committee
• Look, no hands – Google’s driverless carThe search engine group is producing its own fleet of 100 prototype two-seater vehicles that dispense with steering wheels and pedals

The Guardian

• Google reveals driverless car prototypeFirst of 100 test vehicles is unveiled with no steering wheel or pedals, two seats and a top speed of 25mphGoogle has demonstrated its own driverless car, a design that does away with all conventional controls including the steering wheel, and says it will build 100 of the vehicles for testing with the eventual aim of "bringing this technology to the world safely". The company had for several years been testing everyday cars equipped with sensors, navigation equipment and computers to drive themselves but in the meantime it has secretly developed a prototype from scratch tha...

The Herald

• Scheme extended for lower cost ferry faresA SCHEME that offers lower cost fares on ferries is to be extended to 14 more routes.
• Network Rail faces legal move on accessEDINBURGH City Council is considering legal action against Network Rail over safety concerns at Waverley Station.

The Telegraph

• Manston Airport 'could become garden city'Historic Kent airport that played a role in the Dambusters raid could become a garden city, according to its owner
• Petrol stations will die out as drivers plug electric cars into homes, scientists saySolar panel technology is improving so rapidly that petrol stations could be replaced in the near future by drivers plugging their electric cars into their homes, Keith Barnham, emeritus Professor of Physics at Imperial College, says

The Mirror

• 'If anything goes wrong at 149mph, you won't walk away': Driver clocked at DOUBLE motorway speed limit The offence was captured by a speed camera on the M25 at Swanley, Kent - the highest recorded in the last 12 months
• Google creates self-driving car controlled by computers and with no steering wheel or pedals The internet giant's car uses sensors and computing power to assess the surroundings and is intended to

Birmingham Mail

• Birmingham's Sky Ride is axed despite city's 'cycle revolution'The cycling event has been axed because Birmingham City Council could not fit it into their calender

Birmingham Post

• Capacity problems will curtail Jaguar Land Rover profits rise, analyst warns Alan Greene, vice president at Moody’s, said the car giant would be hampered by manufacturing constraints, despite surging demand for its cars in the Americas and Far East

London Evening Standard

• Boris Johnson hails new cycle safety crackdown Boris Johnson today joined police officers for the return of a road safety crackdown.
• Boris Johnson hails new cycle safety crackdown Boris Johnson today joined police officers for the return of a road safety crackdown.
• Tube carries record 1.265bn passengers in one year The Tube carried a record number of  passengers last year, according official figures published today.
• Bus engine bursts into flames sparking 'explosion' fears in north London A bus burst into flames and engulfed a road in smoke, prompting fears there was an explosion.

Nottingham Evening Post

• Nottingham Post published Cables fitted to Nottingham's new tram bridgeArticle

Sheffield Telegraph

• Sex assaults on trains increaseMore than 20 women have been victims of sexual assaults on trains and at railway stations in South Yorkshire and North Derbyshire in the past five years, The Star can reveal.

The York Press

• Residents' HS2 petition presented to Commons AN MP has helped objectors from a North Yorkshire village petition Parliament against HS2.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Member of rail staff punched to the floor in LeedsA Leeds train station worker was punched to the floor in a violent attack after trying to check someone’s ticket.

Bucks Free Press

• MP Gillan encouraged by HS2 petitioning response CHERYL Gillan said an HS2 tunnel through the whole of the Chilterns is a more realistic prospect after nearly 2,000 petitions protesting against the project were submitted.

Other Regional Press

• What next on the railway journey?It is nearly 20 years since the railways were privatised and there is a common but mistaken belief that all the improvements to the services which have occurred since then have been due to privatisation.
• Government 'pothole report' suggests Teesside has some of the best roads in the countryTeesside councillors have hit back, saying that more funding is badly needed to repair potholes and damaged paths in residential areas

Construction Enquirer

• Balfour Beatty confirms £180m Heathrow Airport dealBalfour Beatty has signed the deal to deliver £180m worth of infrastructure works for Heathrow Airport over the next three years.

Global Rail News

• Bombardier presents multi-engine locomotiveBombardier has officially presented the first of eight diesel Traxx locomotives to Südostbayernbahn (SOB). The multi-engine locomotives, which will be put into service between Simbach and Munich, have been designed to meet[...]
• Santos light rail vehicles arrive in BrazilThe first of a fleet of 22 new light rail vehicles for a new tram system in Santos, Brazil, have arrived ready for testing. The first new low-floor vehicles, which[...]
• Crossrail flyover launched over Great Western main lineCrossrail and Network Rail have inched a new flyover into place in Stockley, marking an important milestone in the completion of the new railway’s overground works. The structure will allow[...]
• Siemens to upgrade signalling on Vienna metro lineWiener Linien, the body which operate’s Vienna’s public transport network, has awarded Siemens a contract to modernise the signalling system currently in use on the U4 metro line. Between 2016[...]
• Dutch rail operator drops ‘Hispeed’ brandHolland’s main passenger rail operator has launched a new ’international’ brand as it looks to restructure the business. From 2015, NS is hoping to have its high-speed and conventional network operations[...]
• MTR loses legal challenge against state-owned operatorMTR has lost its legal challenge against Sweden’s state-owned operator after being blocked from selling tickets on its website. Sweden’s competition authority (FCA) has said it is dropping its investigation[...]
• RZD developing maglev freight trainRussian Railways (RZD) is partnering with state-owned nuclear power company Rosatom to research the use of maglev technology for freight transport. The cooperation agreement includes the creation of a 3-kilometre[...]

Aviation Industry

• Ethiopian Airlines receives seventh DreamlinerEthiopian Airlines has taken delivery of its seventh B787 Dreamliner.The carrier, which was one of the first in the world outside of Japan to receive the aircraft, will take three more B787s later on this year.
• Helmut Weixler named Air Berlin’s new COOWeixler returns to the airline after leaving in 2011
• Norwegian’s EU plans face renewed union oppositionUnions claim licence would help airline bypass 'strict labour laws'
• Qatar Airways completes ‘historic’ move to Hamad InternationalAirline commences 'full operations' at new hub

Other News Sources

• David Cameron: Our government says 'yes' to big infrastructureThe Conservative Party’s long-term plan on infrastructure is working, the prime minister has told Construction News, with nuclear and shale gas, Crossrail 2, HS2 and rail electrification in its sights if re-elected in 2015.
• Eurotunnel legal threat over ferry line’s subsidy Channel Tunnel operators could launch a legal complaint under anti-competition laws if the Newhaven-to-Dieppe ferry line continues to be subsidised.