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

Friday, 01 August 2014

BBC News

• Firm takes over airport bus routeA coach hire company is taking over running the Cardiff Airport shuttle service after the existing operator said it will stop.
• Arts bid for Victorian tram shedsPush to turn historic tram and trolley bus sheds in Cardiff into a new arts and culture centre for the Welsh capital.
• Arrests in bus fraud investigationPolice arrest five employees of a Gwynedd bus company as part of a fraud investigation, BBC Wales understands.
• Gatwick staff to help with baggageGatwick Airport will bring in up to 45 of its own staff to help with luggage handling to ensure there is no repeat of last weekend's delays.
• Tesla and Panasonic to build factoryElectric carmaker Tesla is to team up with Japanese electronics firm Panasonic to build a battery manufacturing plant in the US.

Financial Times

• Thomas Cook plagued by flight oversupplyTour operator sees strong demand for holidays but average selling prices are down from last summer as competition in the low-cost market intensifies

The Guardian

• Gatwick staff increased after baggage delays hit passengersHandling firm Swissport left passengers waiting hours at arrivals for luggageMore workers have been brought in by Gatwick airport and its baggage handlers in an attempt to avert further embarrassment after passengers were left without their luggage over the peak holiday weekend.Swissport, the handling firm which failed to cope with an influx of late-evening flights, has bolstered its 1,500 staff by 40 but this was too late to save it from being axed by one airline, Monarch. Continue reading...
• Boris Johnson tries to distance himself from idea of driverless London busesNo plans for automated buses in the capital, insists mayor's office, despite publishing document that talks up cost savingsReplacing London's driver-operated buses with driverless vehicles would provide large cost savings as part of a "paradigm shift" in the way people travel, according to a controversial passage in a document published by Boris Johnson this week.However, the loosely worded job-cutting suggestion had to be swiftly disowned by the mayor's office on Thursday, even though the document in which the futuristic idea was aired was published in support of Johnson's 2...

The Telegraph

• Gatwick passengers warned to keep essentials in hand luggageFears of further disruption at Gatwick this weekend after severe delays caused by Swissport baggage handlers

City AM

• 14 plans for the future of London transport: From 24/7 Tube to Crossrail 3London Mayor Boris Johnson has said £1.3tn of investment is needed in the capital over the next 35 years in order for London to retain its world class status.

Birmingham Mail

• Watch: Birmingham Airport runway extension taking shape to bring worldwide destinations within reachNew £40m scheme adds 400m to runway and allows jets to link with long-haul destinations

London Evening Standard

• Plane forced to land at Gatwick after passenger 'throws prosthetic leg at cabin crew' A passenger plane was diverted to Gatwick after a woman threw her prosthetic leg at cabin crew during a foul-mouthed tirade, according to police.

Sheffield Star

• Third runway at Heathrow - or better use of Doncaster?Would an expansion of Heathrow Airport be good for Sheffield City Region businesses?

Wales Online

• 'Stop the bickering' - rail union bosses lash out at UK and Welsh Ministers over rail electrification funding rowRMT rail workers' union urges a resolution to the row over who should fund the Valleys network

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Making more space on Yorkshire trains for bicycles ‘crucial’ to Tour legacyMaking more space for bicycles on Yorkshire trains is “crucial” to a lengthy Grand Depart legacy, it has been claimed.

Western Daily Press

• Minister for Transport unveils new £1.6m Stagecoach bus fleet while on visit to Exeter The minister for transport has unveiled a new £1.6 million fleet of Exeter buses while on a visit to the Westcountry. Baroness Kramer, Minister of State for Transport, launched the new Stagecoach Ex-citi branded vehicles while touring the company’s depot.

Other Regional Press

• Bus wrecked in blazeA single-decker bus has been destroyed by fire on the M6 motorway.
• Bus crashes into Preston stationParamedics and firefighters were called to Preston bus station this evening after a bus crashed into its glass frontage.
• Thanet council commissions new business plan for Manston AirportCouncillors decided tonight to draw up a business plan and carry a feasibility study into the airport's commercial future.
• Buss pass subsidy Catch 22 for teenA teenager from Putnoe could be left out of pocket after being granted a subsidised bus pass.

Bus and Coach.com

• Granada launches BRTA bus rapid transit service has been inaugurated in Granada.
• New owners for struggling Black VelvetBlack Velvet Travel of Eastleigh briefly ceased operation, restarting after 36 hours under new ownership.
• Smoother traffic cuts pollutionPoor traffic flow and the resultant stop-start movement of buses has been identified as a major contributor to higher emissions in a study carried out in Brighton by engineering company Ricardo and test equipment specialists Horiba.
• PTEG calls for new funding approachReform of the way buses are funded is being called for by the Passenger Transport Executive Group.
• Arriva Micro Hybrids for Kent routeArriva Southern Counties has taken delivery of its first new vehicles for this year, with the arrival of 16 Wrightbus StreetLite Micro Hybrids valued at £2.
• London cleans up with SCR programmeWhat is being claimed as the world’s biggest bus environmental retrofit programme has been completed by Transport for London.
• Artist’s impression of £68million buswayAn artist’s impression of a section of the 4.
• Door death verdictA verdict of accidental death has been returned by a jury at Bolton Coroners Court in the inquest into the death of a Stagecoach Wigan bus driver.
• Professional standard for bus engineersCPT, in conjunction with People 1st, has launched a new professional standard, the Bus & Coach Engineering Manager Accreditation.
• Go-Ahead to take 500 flywheel hybridsGo-Ahead has placed an order with GKN Hybrid Power for the supply of 500 Gyrodrive electric flywheel systems over the next two years.

Aviation Industry

• Lufthansa profits hit by strikes and ticket price dropSecond-quarter operating profit fell by 17%
• Gatwick luggage delays to hit ‘weekend getaway’Airport offering free baggage home delivery for delayed travellers

Other News Sources

• North East IT company secure multi-million pound rail sector contract creating 15 jobsOne of the North East’s fastest growing IT solutions companies has been awarded a multi-million pound contract that will help Network Rail deliver a hi-tec Railway.
• Boris launches £1.3trn London infrastructure planMayor of London Boris Johnson has launched a consultation on a long-term infrastructure plan for London that could cost £1.3tn to 2050.