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

Friday, 06 February 2015

BBC News

• Tram strike timed to hit United gameA union leader admits a Metrolink tram strike has been timed to
• London buses hit by 24-hour strikeA strike by London bus drivers protesting at pay differences comes to an end after affecting more than half of the capital's bus routes.

Department for Transport

• Port set for growth after regaining rail linkThe Transport Secretary was at Port of Sunderland today to see the arrival of the first train in more than 20 years.
• Robert Goodwill announces winners of cycling ambition competition.Five national parks are set to benefit from more than £2.7 million to help develop new cycling facilities, Transport Minister Robert Goodwill announced
• Change to the rules for operators registering local bus servicesExplains changes to rules for registering local bus services and the outcome of a related government consultation.

The Telegraph

• Council plans mobile phone detector fines for motoristsA local council is planning to introduce fines for motorists caught using their mobile phones by a pioneering new signal detector
• Commuters vent anger as London bus strike causes delaysQueues and delays at London bus stops and stations as bus drivers walk out for the second time this year over pay
• Bus strike 2015 - as it happenedAnother strike has begun this morning, and Transport for London is warning of significant disruption

Reuters News

• UK new car sales rise 6.7 percent in January to eight-year highLONDON (Reuters) - British new car registrations rose by 6.7 percent in January to their highest level for that month since 2007, an industry body said on Thursday.

Mail Online

• Roads Minister launches inquiry into motorway services prices charged Motorists are to have a motorway station 'tsar' to drive up poor greasy spoon standards on Britain's motorways says roads minister John Hayes.

The Mirror

• Bus companies accused of 'ripping off' passengers after failing to pass on fuel savingsLabour says transport firms could save nearly a billion pounds through falling diesel costs and demands action to help commuters and protect services

Network Rail

• Stunning time-lapse footage shows a year in the life of the ‘orange army’ at DawlishOn the first anniversary of the notorious storms at Dawlish, time-lapse photography shows the extensive work undertaken by Network Rail’s ‘orange army’ over the last year to restore the south west’s rail connection and make the area more resilient for the future.
• Main line from London Euston to remain open throughout FebruaryPassengers will be able to use services on the main line from London Euston, the West Coast main line, as Network Rail today announced that it was cancelling its work planned for Watford over two weekends in February.

Liverpool Echo

• Liverpool John Lennon airport stages aircraft disaster to test its emergency responsePolice, fire and council took part in simulation

London Evening Standard

• London bus strike: Misery for commuters as one in two buses out of service Millions of commuters were hit with travel misery this morning as more than half of London buses stopped running due to strike action over pay.
• Bus strike: Half of London's buses not running as staff walk out over pay Millions of Londoners faced travel misery today as a drivers’ pay strike took more than half the capital’s buses off the roads.
• Revealed: Award-winning design to transform disused Tube tunnels into underground cycle routes The answer to making London safer and less congested for cyclists could lie underground, according to a leading design firm.
• Boris bikes 'could go red' under new sponsorship deal Boris bikes are set to turn red as two bidders close in on a multi-million pound deal with Transport for London, according to reports.

Manchester Evening News

• Airline set to see the cost benefit Airlines at Manchester Airport like Virgin are benefitting the drop in oil prices

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Two escape after bus burst into flames in WashingtonDriver and passenger managed to escape from the bus, which caught fire on the A184 Washington Highway on Thursday

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• Metro delays? Walking's better for you, say public transport bossesMidland Metro users facing delays due to long running engineering work are being handed leaflets about the benefits of walking to the station.

Crewe Chronicle

• Pensioners claim a victory after bus service is reinstatedBosses at GHA coaches say the service is able to run commercially and will be reinstated on April 7

East Anglian Daily Times

• Passengers have say on rail industry’s plans to cope with demand surgeA transport users’ group has come up with its own solutions to coping with massive predicted growth in demand on the region’s rail network.

Sunderland Echo

• Trains running to Port of Sunderland – Transport Secretary sees rail lines reconnectedTRANSPORT Secretary Patrick McLoughlin visited Wearside to see the Port of Sunderland get back on track.

Other Regional Press

• Heathrow advert deemed misleading by Standards AuthorityAN advertisement used by Heathrow Airport is misleading, the Advertising Standards Authority has ruled.
• £10m plan to improve Middlesbrough roads after transport chiefs admit 'years of under-investment'Middlesbrough Council will switch to a 'prevention is better than cure' approach - if plans are approved next week
• Rochester Airport £4million redevelopment approved by councillorsPlans for the £4 million redevelopment of Rochester Airport have been approved.

Rail Magazine

• Calder Valley electrifcation date awaitedMinister says there is no timescale for electrification of the Calder Valley route through Halifax.
• VIDEO: Dawlish - a year onTime-lapse footage of the repairs to the Dawlish Sea Wall line.
• VIDEO: First train in 40 years arrives at Galashiels stationBorders town welcomes track laying train - the first since the 1970s.

Railnews

• First Hull Trains launches East Riding service First Hull Trains has launched a new service between London and Beverley in the East Riding of Yorkshire. One council leader described the new service as a 'major coup' for the East Riding. The morning train leaves Beverley at 06.02, calling at Hull, Brough, Howden, Doncaster, Retford and Grantham, and arriving at London King's Cross at 09.16. The return journey follows the same route in reverse, leaving London at 18.50 and reaching Beverley at 21.46.
• Watford work cancelled because of landslip Network Rail has cancelled its planned engineering work at Watford Junction later this month, because of the landslip which is threatening the line between Leamington Spa and Banbury. The slip, near Harbury Tunnel, means that this route must remain closed for several weeks and the West Coast line through Watford will be needed as the principal alternative link between London and the West Midlands.
• Dawlish closure 'could have cost £1.2 billion' Severe weather in early 2014 which badly damaged 80m of the sea wall at Dawlish and destroyed a section of railway may have cost the regional economy as much as £1.2 billion, a new report has claimed. The assessment, from the non-profit Devon Maritime Forum, also reveals that many firms in Plymouth, which lost its rail link with the rest of Britain, were losing as much as £1,000 a day during the two-month closure.

Railway Gazette

• LokoTrain buys its first locomotiveCZECH REPUBLIC: Open access freight operator LokoTrain has taken delivery of the first locomotive...

The Business Desk

• Major redevelopment of Leeds railway station moves forwardA MAJOR redevelopment of Leeds station will be moved forward after Sir David Higgins was appointed to produce an interim report for the Government.

Aviation Industry

• Ryanair and Aer Lingus win court battle over EU air tax rulingDecision means airlines do not have to repay Irish state aid

Green Miscellany

• Flying with your bicycleThere’s always a sense of trepidation when you check a bicycle in as luggage with an airline, but there are steps you can take to minimize the chance of it being damaged in the hold. Flying with your bicycle First things first. You face a choice over how to package bicycle: Cardboard box, bag or rigid plastic case. A cardboard… The post Flying with your bicycle appeared first on ETA.
• World’s first road dedicated to driverless carsGermany is to unveil the world’s first section of public road dedicated to driverless cars. German car manufacturers do not intend to rely on Google for driverless car technology ,” Germany’s Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt told Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. “We must guard against the monopolization of the data. We must create for ourselves a digital sovereignty, regardless of the Americas… The post World’s first road dedicated to driverless cars appeared first on ETA.

Other News Sources

• Give jobseekers a ‘ticket to thrive’: new report shows key role of public transport in tackling unemployment Wednesday, February 4, 2015 - Report sets out seven key policies to overcome transport barriers to work - Topic:  Bus Social inclusion
• Ferry day trip service returns Business leaders have welcomed the planned return of day trips on the Newhaven to Dieppe ferry.