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

Friday, 25 April 2014

BBC News

• France mulls car-sharing GPS app banPrivate car hire services in France face a ban on the GPS-enabled apps that allow people to find available drivers.
• Tube boss not 'optimistic' on strikeThe boss of London Underground says he is not optimistic that next week's Tube strike will be called off.
• Rail extension would be 'wonderful'A council leader says extending the soon to be reopened Borders railway to run to Carlisle would be
• Plans for roundabout link unveiledPlans to improve the notorious Haudagain roundabout in Aberdeen with a new dual carriageway link go on show.
• Huge surge in rail travel since 90sThe number of journeys taken in England, Scotland and Wales has more than doubled over the last two decades, figures show.

Financial Times

• Virgin Atlantic chief dismisses EU fearsCraig Kreeger brushes off concerns in Brussels that Delta, which holds a 49% stake in the UK airline, effectively controls Virgin Atlantic

The Guardian

• Boris Johnson's transport planners forecast soaring London road congestionThe Conservative mayor's policies will do little to mitigate a 60% rise in traffic snarl-ups in the centre of the capital by 2031 according to Transport for London research

The Herald

• Boom in rail travel continues as passenger journeys double over 18 yearsRAIL journeys in Scotland have increased by almost 3% year-on-year, with only London and the south-east experiencing a faster growth in rail travel.

The Telegraph

• Stonehenge tunnel plans could be revivedTunnel beneath Stonehenge could be reconsidered as part of plans to ease traffic congestion
• Build 'green corridor' around HS2Creating a 'green corridor' along the length of the HS2 line could offset damage to the environment, wildlife charity claims

Daily Express

• Rail passengers take 1.2 billion journeys a year despite hike in faresRAIL passengers made more than 1.2 billion journeys last year despite inflation-busting fare rises.

Mail Online

• Nissan develops the world's first SELF-CLEANING car Nissan has unveiled its nano-paint technology that stops a car getting dirty. The first car to trial the paint, which costs £450 ($750), will be the Nissan Note.

This is Money

• Virgin Atlantic boss plots course for return to profit in 2014Sir Richard Branson's airline has made a profit only once in the past four years, but boss Craig Kreeger said he was 'committed' to a return to the black during 2014.

Network Rail

• New rail investment delivery agreement tested in the north of EnglandNetwork Rail, Northern Rail and First TransPennine Express (FTPE) have signed a formal collaboration agreement aimed at putting value for passengers at the heart of the rail improvements planned for the rail network in the north of England over the next five years.

Birmingham Post

• Experts criticise latest design changes to New Street StationLatest furore surrounds a revised planning application to retain and extend the old Navigation Street footbridge over tracks and platforms on the northern side of the station
• Morgan Motors celebrates 100 years of Midland manufacturing with Plus 8 Speedster The new Morgan Plus 8 Speedster embodies is part of a special line of vehicles to celebrate 100 years of vehicle manufacture at Pickersleigh Road in Malvern

Sheffield Star

• £70m railway depot plan to bring 160 jobsA massive contract to bring high-speed trains to the East Coast main line will include a £70m maintenance depot built in Doncaster creating 160 jobs.

Yorkshire Post

• Group warns high-speed railway poses threat to 500 wildlife sitesUP TO 500 wildlife sites will be affected by the development of the planned high speed rail line which will run from London to Yorkshire, conservationists have warned.
• Millions of extra journeys as passengers rediscover their love of the railway travelThe number of rail journeys taken in a year has more than doubled since the mid-1990s, according to official figures.

Reading Evening Post

• Prime Minister David Cameron visits Reading to look at new rail infrastructure projectsThe PM also talked about a third Thames bridge and the possibility of new housing south of Reading

Other Regional Press

• Grand old lady of the railways calls in at HuddersfieldSteam buffs meet up with classic locomotive in Huddersfield

Bus and Coach.com

• Wright forecasts electric breakthroughThe next five years could see a breakthrough in the viability of battery electric buses, according to William Wright, the former chairman of the Wright Group.
• Stagecoach confirms 10pc cut in WalesA major reduction of its operations in South Wales from July has been confirmed by Stagecoach with the closure of its 30-vehicle depot in Brynmawr.
• Crystals closes with contract lossCrystals Coaches has closed down after being excluded from bidding for a contract to carry children with special educational needs for the borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
• Tougher rules for sporting eventsRevised guidance for coach travel to sporting events in England and Wales has been published by the senior traffic commissioner.
• Catch the Bus Week comingMonday sees the launch of Catch the Bus Week 2014, a campaign coordinated by Greener Journeys and designed to encourage people who do not normally travel by bus to leave the car at home.
• Wales funding for co-ordinationWelsh transport minister Edwina Hart has announced £200,000 to support more efficient ways of co-ordinating conventional bus, community transport and local authority services in the Vale of Glamorgan and Ceredigion, including the use of council vehicles to help people get access to health and social care.
• Beagrie to step down from EvoBusMIKE BEAGRIE, interim chief executive officer and managing director of EvoBus UK is to leave the company in June when MICHAEL THIELMANN takes control of the business.
• Weimar leaves FirstFirst UK Bus chief operating officer JEROEN WEIMAR has left the company.
• Award for De Courcey's GodwinSeven coach industry professionals secured Gold Awards in the 2014 UK Coach Awards.
• Carter for FirstFirst UK Bus has appointed ALEX CARTER as managing director for its south-west business, which covers bus operations in Cornwall, Devon and Somerset.

Campaign for Better Transport

• Wigan link road campaign makes headlines as vital decision approaches24 April 2014: A local road campaign has become front page news with concerns about air pollution near schools and rumours of Camelot in its path. read more

Global Rail News

• Gare du Nord celebrates 150th birthdayEurope’s busiest railway station, Gare du Nord, is 150 this year and to celebrate the terminal is to undergo one of the biggest modernisations in its history. Built in 1864,[...]
• Alstom unaware of GE takeover plansFrench rolling stock manufacturer Alstom has issued a statement in which it says the company has not been informed of any approaches US giant General Electric (GE) to buy the[...]
• Faiveley awarded €13m doors contractHong Kong’s rail operator MTR has awarded Faiveley Transport a €13 million contract to upgrade door systems on 90 trains. The new doors will “be upgraded with a state-of-the-art noise attenuation system[...]
• Further growth in 2014 for EurostarYear on year sales revenue and passenger numbers both increased in the first quarter of 2014 for high-speed operator Eurostar. Sales rose by 7 per cent to £227 million while[...]
• Consortium awarded Spanish ERTMS contractA consortium comprising Alstom, Bombardier and Indra have been awarded a €410 million contract to overlay 310 kilometres of high-speed railway in Spain with ERTMS Level 2 signalling. The contract[...]
• Serbia seeks trade agreement with China to fund rail projectsSerbian Railways is looking at the possibility of borrowing €400 million from Chinese companies to fund rail improvement projects in the country. The deal, which was discussed by Serbian Railways[...]

Aviation Industry

• Airline Customer Rankings Fall On Service, Uncomfortable SeatsAs an industry, airlines ranked poorly, scoring just 69 on the ACSI's 100-point scale -- at the bottom of ratings, along with subscription TV, social media and the IRS April 22--Recent airline mergers have harmed customer-satisfaction ratings, as two of Chicago's biggest carriers, United Airlines and Southwest Airlines, saw their ratings slip, ... (more)
• Liverpool John Lennon airport in ownership changePeel Group becomes sole owner
• Virgin Atlantic still on course for return to profit this yearAirline halved losses last year

Other News Sources

• Four airlines implement Amadeus car rental servicesAmadeus has announced that four major airlines have implemented its car rental services through their websites.