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Wednesday, 04 July 2012

BBC News

• Lincoln to London route 'needs more trains' says council More direct trains between Lincoln and London would boost the economy, Lincolnshire County Council has said. The council has called for more trains in its response to proposed changes to the railways, including the East Coast Main Line franchise.
• Lewis ferry hit by problems too often, councillor says A ferry that sails between the Scottish mainland and the Western Isles has broken down for the second time in about two weeks.
• Plymouth £4.3m push to cut car use Thousands of Plymouth householders are being asked to get on their bikes or take the bus instead of their cars in £4.3m campaign by the city council.
• A1033 Hedon Road link to Hull King George Dock to be revamped A major road leading to Hull's ferry terminal at King George Dock is to get £590,000 of government cash to ease congestion.
• Pressure is on for train companies during Olympics The train companies are under a lot of pressure to deliver a decent service during the Olympic Games. Not least because during the Jubilee they badly underestimated the number of extra passengers and only put on an enhanced Sunday service.
• HS2 branded 'burden for Warwickshire' over extension North Warwickshire Borough Council's leader has called HS2 a "burden" after a local MP claimed a proposed extension would come through the area.
• Helicopters to aid wealthy visitors to the London 2012 Olympics As the Olympic and Paralympic games get under way later this month, armies of wealthy, powerful or famous people will be flocking to London, only to find they will have to rub shoulders with the great masses.
• Trains manifesto for East EnglandMPs, councils and rail users have drawn up a rail manifesto for East England to provide a vision for rail in the future.
• Mayor records Games travel adviceLondon Mayor Boris Johnson records public transport announcements to warn travellers to plan their journeys ahead of the Olympic Games.
• ANA plans $2.6bn new share salesJapan's All Nippon Airways says it plans to raise as much as $2.6bn (£1.6bn) by selling new shares to fund its expansion plans.
• Boeing predicts strong demandBoeing predicts $4.5tn (£2.8tn) of new planes will be bought over the next 20 years, driven by demand in China, India and other emerging markets.

Financial Times

• Haji-Ioannou moves to sack EasyJet chairmanEasyJet faces a call by Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou for a vote to sack Sir Michael Rake, chairman and a contender to lead Barclays
• All Nippon Airways seeks to raise $2.6bnThe fundraising is also aimed at strengthening its balance sheet and paying for new planes, including dozens of 787 Dreamliners it has ordered
• A carefully managed take-offOnline flight search company Skyscanner exemplifies a more considered approach to growth, writes Ian Wylie

The Guardian

• Sexual harassment on public transport must stop Women shouldn't be subject to harassment while travelling – are posters telling men where to draw the line the answer?
• Network Rail engulfed in fresh row over directors' bonuses Unions denounce Network Rail over plans for £1.7m directors bonus scheme and annual payouts worth up to 60% of salary
• Bus operators plan free travel for 'neets' Young people not in work or education could be in line for free bus travel after leading bus operators pledged to back a plan aimed at helping the under-25s back to work.
• Olympic transport: plan ahead for congestion, London businesses told Transport secretary says waiting to see how situation pans out will spell disaster, as Lord Coe defends route network

The Herald

• Network Rail hit by row on executive bonus planA fresh row over executive pay flared yesterday when a leading union claimed plans were being drawn up for a new bonus scheme for executives at Network Rail.
• Council considers trams legal actionEDINBURGH council officials are considering taking legal action over tram works carried out on Leith Walk that will require extended road closures to repair.
• Airliner demand to doubleTHE world airline fleet is likely to double over the next 20 years, plane-maker Boeing forecast.
• Cut-price bus fares to help young people to find workTENS of thousands of unemployed young people will benefit from discounted bus fares under an industry-backed scheme designed to help them find work.

The Telegraph

• Network rail bosses in new £650,000 bonuses row Network Rail bosses are trying to get new bonuses worth up to £650,000 each, just five months after a public outcry forced them to waive their annual rewards.
• Boeing says 34,000 new passenger jets needed in next 20 years The growth of air travel in China and India will lead to the number of passenger jets in use around the world doubling over the next 20 years as 34,000 new aircraft are delivered to airlines.

Daily Express

• Asia boost for BoeingMORE air travel in Asia and demand for greener aircraft are set to boost jet orders in the next two decades, US aircraft giant Boeing said.

The Sun

• UntitledBUSINESS leaders, union chiefs and airlines last night said Heathrow must have a third runway or Britain will lose jobs and growth.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Former Forumla One champion Damon Hill speaks out against 80mph speed limit on Welsh motorwaysA FORMER Formula One world racing champion has spoken against Government proposals to increase the motorway speed limit to 80mph in Wales.
• Welcome boost for North Wales bus users as cuts reducedBUS users in North Wales are in line for a surprise boost after the Welsh Government reduced the level of cuts to transport grants.

Derby Telegraph

• Derby Telegraph commented Business Secretary urged to back electrificationA GROUP of East Midlands MPs have met with Business Secretary Vince Cable in a final attempt to convince the Government to fund...

Edinburgh Evening News

• £500,000 bill for tram drivers 18 months before line opensTRAM bosses are set to spend almost half a million pounds paying drivers and controllers for at least 18 months before the line is even up and running, the Evening News can reveal.

Journal Live

• Virgin Money Cyclone festival sees 4,000 cyclists brave bad weatherMORE than 4,000 hardy cyclists ignored the bad weather and braved the Northumberland countryside for the Virgin Money Cyclone festival.
• Princess Anne re-opens Tynemouth Station - GALLERYAN historic railway station has been given the royal seal of approval after a £3.6m facelift.

Liverpool Echo

• Mersey Gateway bridge listed among world’s most creative projectsTHE Mersey Gateway crossing was today named among the most innovative and important infrastructure projects in the world.
• Merseyrail track defect leads to Wirral Line problemsA DEFECT on the city's underground rail network led to problems on the Wirral Line this morning.
• Merseyrail track defect leads to Wirral Line problemsA DEFECT on the city's underground rail network led to problems on the Wirral Line this morning.

London Evening Standard

• Rail chiefs get £300,000 NOT to find other jobsThree Network Rail bosses are to each receive œgolden handcuff� payments of £300,000 to stop them being poached by rival firms.

Metro

• Damon Hill: Don't increase speed limit to 80mphFormer Formula One driver Damon Hill has criticised government proposals to raise the national speed limit to 80mph.Hill said that the government's idea to raise the speed limit on motorways in England and Wales from 70mph to 80mph makes him 'shudder'. Damon Hill has spoken out against government proposals to raise the speed limit (Picture: PA) He told the Radio Times that he did not feel the majority of people were safe to drive over 55mph, let alone 80mph, while also adding that he rarely steps over the 70mph mark.Hill, who retired in 1999 having won 22 Grands Prix and an F1 world championsh...

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• £20m bid over Wolverhampton rail station planA bid is in for £20.2 million of public money to try and revive long awaited plans to rebuild Wolverhampton™s rail station.

Carlisle News & Star

• Former London buses can™t cope on Cumbria's open roads Stagecoach says it has sorted out a reliability problem with ex-London double-decker buses not used to travelling at more than 10mph on Cumbria™s open roads.

East Anglian Daily Times

• East Anglia: Call for service improvementsSUFFOLK and Essex MPs united during a special Parliamentary debate in support of an improved rail service for East Anglia.

The Shields Gazette

• Airport™s sky-high treat for youngstersSOUTH Tyneside youngsters got a bird’s eye view of their homes thanks to a special treat.

Other Regional Press

• Welsh ports and airports need boost “ Monmouth AM MORE need to be done to capitalise on Welsh ports and airports as a means of boosting the economy, according to a committee chaired by Monmouth AM Nick Ramsay.
• Northampton™s new bus station due to get the green lightOFFICIALS from Northampton Borough Council have said planning permission should be granted to build a new bus station in the town.
• Electric buses launched in Poundbury A GROUNDBREAKING new green bus service has hit the road in Poundbury.

Global Rail News

• CAF to set up manufacturing plant in IndiaOne of the world’s leading train makers has set its sights on a new manufacturing plant in India. Spain™s Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF) is planning to set up a new manufacturing hub in the country to take advantage of an increasing demand for railway vehicles and equipment. Speaking about the plans, Juan Jose [...]
• RMT begins Olympic payment ballotsRail union RMT has confirmed that balloting for strike action and action short of a strike will begin this week on three main train services:  South West Trains, Greater Anglia, First Great Western. Ballot papers will be sent to members this week, with voting coming to a close on Thursday, July 19. The ballots come [...]
• Olympic torch beckons for Swanage Railway volunteerA Swanage Railway volunteer and devoted charity fund raiser has been chosen to carry the Olympic flame. Fifty-one-year-old former soldier Frank Roberts, who works as a Surrey and Berkshire station manager, is one of a select few people who will be carrying the torch through the seaside resort on Friday, July 13. Frank said: “I [...]
• Eurostar becomes official carrier for French and Belgium Paralympic teamA trio of Paralympic athletes visited Eurostar, the official carrier of the French and the Belgian Paralympic teams, at its East London depot yesterday to reveal the modifications being made to the Eurostar services carrying athletes to the London 2012 Paralympic Games this summer. The modifications will allow the trains to carry up to 18 [...]
• Pendolinos look EastAll four new 11-car Virgin Pendolinos have now entered service, nine months ahead of schedule, and work continues at Alstom’s Manchester Traincare Centre at Longsight to lengthen 31 of the nine-car Pendolinos to 11 carriages. The lengthening programme is expected to finish in November. A visit to Longsight on June 27 saw the 10th and [...]
• 100 not outThe Institution of Railway Signal Engineers (IRSE) celebrates its centenary in 2012, a remarkable achievement. The rail engineer interviewed Francis How, recently elected as President for the Centenary year, to discuss what had been achieved over the 100 years and the outlook for both the Institution and signalling into the future. The conversation ranged far [...]
• Rail contractors jailed for £1.5m track theftFive railway workers have been jailed for their part in stealing £1.5 million worth of track from Network Rail. The group had looked to exploit the maintenance and upgrade work being carried out by Network Rail on the West Coast Mainline in and around Rugby, the court was told. Paul Tandon, 47, of Great Barr, [...]
• Last Translink arrives at BelfastThe last of 20 new Translink NI Railways Class 4000 trains arrived at Belfast docks today. The arrival of train no.4020 completes the £114 million order funded by the Department for Regional Development and continues the introduction of Class 4000 trains onto the local rail network. The final train will be subject to rigorous testing [...]

Aviation Industry

• Profit warning for airlines despite oil price fallSlowdown in passenger growth does "not bode well" - IATA
• Stelios's Fastjet set for take-off by OctoberAfrican no-frills carrier agrees deal to use Airbus A319s for its launch in autumn 2012

Other News Sources

• FTA gives evidence on issues affecting the road freight sectorFreight Transport Association representatives have today (3 July) given evidence to the Transport Select Committee of MPs on major issues affecting the road freight sector.
• Hours-long immigration waits at the airport, the world's busiest in terms of international passenger traffic, caused major embarrassment to the British government in May, just weeks before the Olympic opening ceremony on July 27. Read more: http://www.Hours-long immigration waits at the airport, the world's busiest in terms of international passenger traffic, caused major embarrassment to the British government in May, just weeks before the Olympic opening ceremony on July 27.
• Cllr Liam Robinson, a station manager at Lime Street Station, has been voted in as the new chairman of Merseytravel THE new head of the region’s transport authority has been appointed after the controversial departure of its former leader.
• MP's back fight for pay justice for Tyne and Wear metro cleanersMP's have come out in support of the Churchill's cleaning staff on the Tyne and Wear Metro in their fight for pay justice.
• New figures reveal limits for harmful air pollution breached across the capital 3 July, 2012 Worrying new figures[1] released to the London Assembly today reveal air pollution in 2011 was so high in the capital that EU limits[2] were exceeded at most monitoring sites close to busy roads. Research at 100 monitoring sites by King™s College London[3] found limits for harmful Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) were breached at the majority of locations close to roads, with the worst pollution levels “ over three times the limit “ measured in Putney and Brixton.  ...
• New app launched - expect the unexpected in a summer like no other 3 July, 2012 - 11:00 Boris says expect the unexpected in a summer like no other The Mayor Boris Johnson today launched a new, free mobile phone app, 'The London Official City Guide', and an official guide, 'Summer's Looking Good', to help Londoners and visitors navigate the most exciting and ambitious festival of outdoor arts the city has ever staged. 360-house-thumb.jpg Yes read more