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

Saturday, 12 April 2014

BBC News

• Settle-Carlisle 25 year anniversary celebratedCelebrations have been held to mark 25 years since the Settle-Carlisle railway line was saved from closure.
• Ipswich restored trolleybus ready for passengersA trolleybus that last saw service in Ipswich more than 50 years ago is ready to carry passengers again.
• RMT rail union protests over East Coast privatisationA demonstration against rail privatisation has taken place at an event being held by bidders for the East Coast line.
• BMW recalls 156,000 motors in USGerman luxury carmaker BMW will recall 156,000 vehicles in the US to check for defective bolts that could lead to engine damage.
• Airports report strong March growthScotland's three busiest airports all report strong year-on-year growth in passenger numbers for March.
• CalMac considers river bus serviceCalMac, the Hebridean ferry operator, is considering a Clyde river bus sailing into the centre of Glasgow.

Financial Times

• Heathrow faces losing top passenger slotDubai’s forecast shows the UK will soon no longer have the world’s number one airport for international passenger traffic, London Heathrow says

The Herald

• Strong demand is boosting passenger numbers at airportsPASSENGER numbers at Glasgow Airport in March were up 4.1% on the same month of last year at nearly 532,000, with growth in both domestic and international traffic, the latest figures have shown.
• Solution to airport crises is low-tech loudhailers AIRPORT chiefs have been told they should buy loudhailers to communicate with passengers in case a power failure wipes out electronic communication systems.

The Scotsman

• Scotland’s airports see passenger numbers growSCOTLAND’S main airports experienced a rise in passenger numbers in March, figures show.

Network Rail

• Work to start on Redditch line improvements as part of £100m investmentWork will start later this year to increase the frequency of trains between Barnt Green and Redditch and redevelop the station at Alvechurch to provide a better railway for passengers.

Birmingham Post

• Rebel MPs in motion to block HS2 Compensation also set to increase for people affected by HS2.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Villagers face missing the bus in council funding cutHundreds of people are in danger of being cut off from public transport to schools, hospitals and shops after it emerged a bus route serving local villages is facing being scrapped.

London Evening Standard

• Easter travel misery on the trains as works hit linesTrain passengers face misery this Easter after rail bosses announced  line diversions, closures and bus replacement services over the Bank Holiday weekend.

Sheffield Star

• Let’s Get Cycling: Improve safety to get more cycling callImproving cycling safety should be the main focus of new measures laid out in a council report, bike riders say.

Sheffield Telegraph

• New bus lane on way for City RoadA new outbound bus lane is set to run along City Road, between the entrance to the cemetery and the approach to Spring Lane.

The York Press

• Political backing for rail college bid CROSS party support has been added to calls to bring the proposed High Speed Rail College to the city as the York Central site is officially put forward for the bid.
• New head curator appointed at National Railway Museum HE first visited the National Railway Museum as a five-year-old on the day after it opened in 1975 - now Andrew McLean has returned to the York museum as head curator.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Protesters condemn Leeds trolleybus ‘cover-up’Anti-trolleybus campaigners have taken their fight against the scheme to the doorstep of local transport bosses.
• Speed limit set to be slashed along ‘dangerous’ roadCampaigners are celebrating after plans were unveiled to put the brakes on speeding drivers on a dangerous stretch of road

Yorkshire Post

• High-speed rail debate could drag on into wee small hours, Speaker warnsSpeaker John Bercow says he is willing for MPs to sit until the early hours to debate the £50bn HS2 rail link – which will connect London with Yorkshire – amid concerns there is not enough time scheduled.

Bucks Free Press

• Neighbours club together to form world-first 'Electric Avenue' RESIDENTS in a Marlow cul-de-sac have ditched their petrol cars to go electric after signing up for a pioneering energy project which sees the street become the world’s first ‘Electric Avenue’.

Doncaster Free Press

• Robin Hood Airport launches flights to BelfastThe first flight to Belfast from Robin Hood Airport has taken off today.

Sleaford Standard

• VIDEO - new footbridge design for Southgate level crossing in SleafordA new footbridge design for crossing the railway at Sleaford’s Southgate once the level crossing is closed has been revealed by partners and a short video demonstrating the design has been released.

Other Regional Press

• Fare row over schoolgirl’s ‘fine’ for lost passA MUM is battling with a bus company after she claims her daughter was fined for not having her school bus pass - despite having the full fare.
• M4 plan could spell "death knell" for valleys electrification, say environmental campaigners ENVIRONMENTAL campaigners said the Welsh Government’s preferred M4 plan across the Gwent Levels could spell the “death knellâ€� for valleys railways electrification.
• Stagecoach investigating whether bus was parked on Northampton drivewayBus company Stagecoach says it is ‘not unknown’ for drivers to keep buses outside their own house – after pictures emerged of a single-decker on a Northampton driveway.

Bus and Coach.com

• ADL top in Arriva fleet orderArriva UK Bus has this week announced a £40million order for 231 new buses for delivery over the next 12 months, with Alexander Dennis being the biggest supplier.
• Wolmar attacks Borismaster costsWould-be London mayoral candidate and transport author Christian Wolmar has attacked the cost of incumbent mayor Boris Johnson’s New Bus for London, saying that the extra cost of the Borismaster is approaching £7million a year, and will rise as more enter service.
• Scots fund more green busesThe Scottish government is providing around £2million in funding for another 32 low-carbon buses in the fourth round of the Scottish Green Bus Fund.
• Welsh cuts blamed for BrynmawrStagecoach South Wales has announced the closure of its Brynmawr depot in July in response to cuts in support from the Welsh government and by local authorities.
• Battery-electric Optares for GlasgowThe Strathclyde Partnership for Transport has ordered two Optare battery-electric buses for operation on the half-hourly service which links the city centre with the Riverside transport museum.
• Stewarts expands with Woods of LeicesterStewarts Coaches of Reading has acquired Woods Coaches of Leicester for an undisclosed sum.
• Courtney Buses wins TUPE injury battleCourtney Buses of Finchampstead has won its battle over damages payable to an employee who was injured while working for a previous employer.
• Parrys International returns to Neoplan Parrys International of Cheslyn Hay has taken delivery of three new Neoplan Starliner 2 coaches, marking a return to Neoplan after standardising on Van Hools in recent years.
• Denton warns on ineffective TMsTransport managers who fail to appreciate the importance of their duties and refuse to attend public inquiries are in danger of losing their repute and professional competence.
• Translation service from CPTCPT has launched an interpretation and translation service for members operating in Europe.

Campaign for Better Transport

• Is this the beginning of the Concessionary Bus/Train pass?10 April 2014: Yesterday the Department for Transport released results of a yearlong trial which allowed senior and disabled concessionary bus pass holders to receive discounted rail fares on selected routes, without a railcard. read more

Railnews

• McLoughlin issues 'keep calm' message over HS2 The transport secretary has called for the railway industry to 'keep calm' over the continued criticism of HS2 which is coming from various opponents. Speaking at the Derby & Derbyshire Rail Forum's annual conference today, Patrick McLoughlin said it was not his place to 'castigate' opponents, but the fact remained that HS2 was vital to deal with the railway capacity crunch.

Other News Sources

• 3M graphic films refresh interior décor on Virgin Trains Virgin Trains completes interior makeover using anti-graffiti graphic films.
• Campaigners to fight Gatwick expansion proposalsGatwick Area Conservation Campaign has criticised the airport's second runway consultation
• Flight info on mobile becoming the normMore than half of travellers will use mobile to check flight info by 2016