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

Saturday, 25 October 2014

BBC News

• Slip road closure 'benefits' trafficA controversial peak time closure of a slip road to ease congestion on the M4 near Port Talbot is 'a benefit', a review into the trial finds.
• New HS2 station proposed for CreweA report into the route of the second phase of the controversial fast train project HS2 is expected to recommend a new station be built in Crewe.
• VIDEO: Drink-drive limit 'about saving lives'Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill says evidence from other countries shows that a lower drink-drive limit improves road safety.
• Ford profits fall on new truck costsFord reports a sharp fall in profits, largely due to the cost of developing its new F-150 pickup truck.
• Used car buyers 'need more support'Better protection is needed for consumers buying used cars, says a commission studying the high level of complaints against the sector.

Financial Times

• Rail line sparks Jerusalem tensionsService touted as breakthrough for Arab and Jewish passengers to navigate divided city attracts violence
• O’Leary lands five-year deal at RyanairOutspoken chief reassures investors that he will stay to reshape budget carrier’s business model
• Monarch Group sale saves 2,500 jobsTravel company put in hands of Turnround specialist Greybull

The Herald

• Survey finds that flying in and out of UK's major airports can be a lonely taskFlying appears to be a lonely business, with many taking the plane on their own and very few passengers being waved off by friends or family.
• Union attacks buffet car scrappingUNION leaders have hit out at
• Online travel agency shares dive after BA and Iberia pull faresSHARES in online travel agency eDreams Odigeo have plunged 59 per cent on the Madrid stock exchange after British Airways and Iberia said they were withdrawing their fares from three of its websites.

The Scotsman

• Seconds from death: rail workers evade 80mph trainNINE rail workers were just ­seconds from death after being given no warning that an 80mph passenger train was bearing down on them, rail accident investigators have said.
• Former trams figure to run Caledonian SleeperSERCO is poised to appoint Aberdeen-born Peter Strachan to run the Caledonian Sleeper when it takes over the franchise in April, The Scotsman has learned.

The Telegraph

• Bus driver fight with passengers caught on CCTVDavid Newstead leaps off 89 bus in Bexley and brawls with Tyler Belgrave-Breeds and Sean Dickson over unpaid fare in extraordinary footage
• Gatwick expansion a 'disaster waiting to happen'Crispin Blunt and other local MPs tell Stewart Wingate his proposals for a second runway are a

Mail Online

• End of the line for the lanes: Motoring groups hail Liverpool's 'bold' move to scrap bus routes...but will other cities follow suit? Liverpool is believed to be the first local authority in the country to remove bus lanes en masse after a successful year-long trial without them.

Birmingham Post

• Solo Rail Solutions expands on Long Acre Trading EstateA rail products company has expanded its footprint on a Birmingham industrial estate.
• Leading lights put future of region in the spotlightKey figures from the city's private and public sectors came together to debate projects in the region and future collaboration

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Bus timetables to change PASSENGERS have been urged to get on board for changes to the bus timetables from this weekend.

Derby Telegraph

• Derby Telegraph published TRAINS: Service to mark 175 years of rail in DerbyHUNDREDS of people are expected to descend on Derby Cathedral today for a service marking the city's 175-year association with rail.The service, starting at 11am, ends a year of anniversary celebrations.It will be led by the Dean of Derby, the Very Rev Dr John Davies, and has been organised with the support of the Derby and Derbyshire Rail Forum, the Railway Mission and Derby law firm Geldards.The ceremony will be open to the public and will be addressed by Transport Secretary Patrick...

Edinburgh Evening News

• Complaints against £270k transport chief Ian CraigThe man in charge of Edinburgh Trams – who pockets a £270,000 salary – has been blamed for a major rift at the heart of the Capital’s public transport firm.

Liverpool Echo

• Liverpool's bus lanes scrapped following council approval this morningLiverpool’s bus lanes are being scrapped- after a council meeting this morning approved the controversial measure.

London Evening Standard

• Seen it all on the Tube? Tell us the most surprising things you’ve seen… Just when you thought you had seen it all on the Tube, you can now touch in with your phone. Unusual eh?  But probably not the most surprising thing you’ve ever seen on the Tube.

Manchester Evening News

• 'We're being treated like paedophiles!' Asian cabbies protest after boss reveals he supplies white drivers on requestDozens of furious drivers who work for Car 2000 in Heywood gathered in the town centre tonight in response to the admission by owner Stephen Campbell

Northern Echo

• Buffet cars to be axed from Hitachi's East Coast Main Line trains A UNION says it is

Nottingham Evening Post

• DanRussell published Chancellor George Osborne slams council over Beeston tram delaysTHE Chancellor of the Exchequer has labelled those in charge of Nottingham's tram extension project

Wales Online

• M4 relief road: Anger as consultants' fees top £6m - before any work is done on £1bn projectAn FOI response reveals London-based engineering consultancy Arup has been paid more than £6.3m from 2010-2011 to advise on controversial project

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• Wolverhampton roadworks on busy main road to spark bus chaosMajor roadworks on one of the busiest main roads in Wolverhampton were beginning today – with buses forced to find diversions at short notice.

Yorkshire Post

• A critical time for the future of rail services in YorkshireWHEN James Lewis recently gave a presentation on rail in the North he put a picture of a pacer train on the screen.
• Exclusive: ‘Waste of billions’ if local rail is not improvedMINISTERS have been warned they are at risk of wasting billions of pounds on high speed rail unless they also invest in significant improvements to Yorkshire’s local network.
• Stephen Joseph: The Pacer train embodies our transport woesTHERE’S a consensus that a key part of improving the economy in the North of England must be better public transport, within and between the cities.

Blackpool Gazette

• Estate speedsters spark cycling pleaConcerns about speeding traffic on a Fleetwood estate have prompted a road safety event for cyclists.

Crewe Chronicle

• Sandbach M6 site is too noisy for houses, council rulesCheshire East turned down an application for 13 houses saying the proximity of the motorway would affect residents' quality of life

Doncaster Free Press

• Building HS2 station at Meadowhall ‘would put Sheffield at competitive disadvantage’Building Sheffield’s proposed HS2 station at Meadowhall would put the city at a ‘competitive disadvantage’ to its northern neighbours, council leader Julie Dore has said.

The Shields Gazette

• ‘Outrage’ – pensioners being charged £20 for ambulance journeys to hospitalANGRY pensioners have hit out at what they have branded an “outrageous” decision to make patients pay transport costs for medical care.

Other Regional Press

• Stoke-on-Trent Central MP Tristram Hunt calls for 'realism' on HS2 bid POTTERIES MP Tristram Hunt has called on council chiefs to give up their bid for an HS2 station in North Staffordshire.
• Transport Minister Baroness Kramer visited Milton Keynes Academy and said "We will embarrass bus services to improve travel for blind and deaf passengers" Transport Minister Baroness Kramer today (24 October 2014) launched a competition for students aimed at devising new ways to make bus travel easier for people who have visual or hearing impairments.

Bus and Coach.com

• Varied approaches in Scots Green FundThe Scottish government has allocated £3,7million to aid nine operators buying 83 low-carbon buses, including flywheel hybrids and battery electrics.
• Tyne & Wear proceeds on quality contractDespite strong opposition by bus operators, the North East Combined Authority this week agreed to submit plans to the Quality Contracts Board to introduce quality contracts in Tyne and Wear, rather than a pursue voluntary partnership.
• Stagecoach goes Gold in KentStagecoach is upgrading its service 16 between Canterbury, Folkestone and Hythe to Gold standard with ten new Scania/ADL Enviro400 double-deckers worth £2million.
• CPC training challenged by MPsThe effectiveness of training for the driver CPC has been criticised by the House of Commons transport committee.
• Most Liverpool bus lanes to goA review of Liverpool’s bus lanes by consultants Mott MacDonald has recommended that all but four in the city centre should be removed.
• King Long Direct pulls out of Euro BusKing Long Direct has pulled out of Euro Bus Expo.
• Belle Vue invests £1.25millionCoach operator Belle Vue of Stockport has added five new Euro 6 Mercedes-Benz Tourismos valued at £1,25million to its fleet.
• Norris joins Optare boardSTEVEN NORRIS has joined the board of Optare as an independent non-executive director, taking on the role of deputy chairman.
• NBfWY to Huddersfield As part of its drive to get Metro, the West Yorkshire PTE, to favour partnerships rather than quality contracts, First is displaying its green-liveried New Routemaster in Huddersfield over three days.
• Passengers pleased with Go-Ahead serviceThe latest customer survey at Go-Ahead shows 92 per cent of its passengers saying they are satisfied with the company’s bus services.

Railnews

• Up, up and still upwards: passenger figures rise again Growth in rail travel has outpaced the strengthening economy and rising employment levels over the last six months, according to new figures from the industry-wide Rail Delivery Group. The growth in rail travel between April and September follows a total of almost 1.6 billion journeys in 2013/14, and the latest totals are now reaching levels not recorded in peacetime since the 1920s. But speculation continues that Network Rail's budget for Control Period 5 will not be sufficient, and that some electrification schemes may lag.

Aviation Industry

• Qantas on course to deliver profit after record lossesAustralian airline’s $2 billion cost-cutting programme takes effect
• Flynas suspends all long-haul flights Saudi carrier cites poor load factors as reason for suspension