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

Wednesday, 29 October 2014

BBC News

• Is it worth screening for Ebola at airports?Is it worth screening travellers for Ebola at airports?
• Airports call for end to air taxGlasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen airports call for Air Passenger Duty to be devolved and eventually abolished in their Smith Commission submission.
• HS2 could spell hard lines for StokeWhat will it mean for Stoke-on-Trent if HS2 bypasses the city in favour of Crewe?
• Derry to Birmingham flight 'axed'The low cost airline, Ryanair, is axing its Londonderry to Birmingham route because of 'low numbers', say City of Derry airport.
• Crossrail 2's £20bn route outlinedA preferred route for a proposed £20bn Crossrail 2 scheme running north-south through London is identified by mayor Boris Johnson.
• VIDEO: Crossrail 2 route outlined by mayorA preferred route for a proposed £20bn Crossrail 2 scheme running north-south through London is identified by Mayor Boris Johnson.
• 'Golden thread' rail needs fundingThe main rail route between Norwich and London is in danger of becoming a
• Celebrities voice Tube announcementsThe voices of celebrities including Stephen Fry, Barbara Windsor and Joanna Lumley will echo across trains and buses as part of London Poppy Day.
• 'Terror' wi-fi signal delays flightA plane is delayed for hours at Los Angeles airport after a passenger spots a wi-fi signal in the area called
• Ryanair to pay 8.1m euros in damagesA French court rules that Irish low-cost airline Ryanair must pay €8.1m in damages and €200,000 in fines for breaches of French labour laws.

Financial Times

• London mayor’s fears without Crossrail 2Capital will ‘seize up’ if £20bn southwest-northeast link is not built, says Johnson
• NY bike scheme expands under new bossJay Walder to run group which spans US, Canada and Australia

The Guardian

• Crossrail 2 plan boosted by Boris Johnson funding claimsLondon mayor says Treasury is prepared to meet half the £20bn costs as transport authorities announce preferred route
• High-speed rail is the best argument yet for elected regional governmentTransport for the North may sound like a good idea, but dig deeper and it’s clear the body could rapidly go off-track
• An ultra low emission zone won't clean London's air aloneBoris Johnson’s latest air quality move might not be quite the game-changer he claims
• The windowless plane set for take-off in a decadeUK developer working on replacing heavy aircraft windows with uber-light smartscreen panels to cut fuel consumption and slash air faresFinally, the flying car may have landed Continue reading...

The Herald

• AA urges caution over price of petrolTHE price of petrol at the pumps has fallen to its lowest level since January 2011, according to the AA.
• East Coast pressure growsPRESSURE is growing for the publicly owned firm that runs the East Coast Main Line to be allowed to bid to retain the service.

The Telegraph

• TGV shows success of integrated public transport networksThere are indeed lessons to be drawn for HS2 and HS3 from the report on the TGV in France by the French audit office (France’s ‘incoherent’ TGV network fails to live up to high-speed promise, 27 October)
• Boris Johnson says Crossrail Two better for economy than HS2London mayor appears to undermine party line as he claims High Speed 2 will not be 'as powerful a booster of the economy' as second Crossrail link
• Parking sensors to end drivers' parking nightmare in WestminsterCouncil to introduce new ParkRight app which identifies available parking spaces in London's West End

Mail Online

• Nine of ten new cars now sold without a full size tyre The reluctance of car-makers to provide traditional spare tyres has led to a huge rise in puncture call-outs in just four years, research reveals today.

This is Money

• Major rail projects including HS2 have been made using a 'lack of common sense' and 'unrealistic analysis' damning report says Government decisions on major rail projects like the £50bn high-speed HS2 have been made using a lack of common sense and ‘unrealistic analysis’, a report by spending watchdogs says today.

Birmingham Mail

• Birmingham Airport taskforce launched to catch people traffickers and help their victimsHome Office team will be aided by National Crime Agency

Bolton News

• Bid to preserve historic features at Bromley Cross station IT has kept things ticking along at Bromley Cross Train Station for more than a century, taking pride of place on the platform.

Liverpool Echo

• Local control over Merseyside bus services could 'end constant price hikes and improve services'Labour plans to bring bus services back under local government control would end constant price hikes and improve services in Merseyside, it was claimed.

London Evening Standard

• London-bound flight delayed for 17 hours in terror scare sparked by 'Al-Quida' WiFi network An American Airlines flight travelling to London was delayed for 17 hours after a passenger reportedly spotted an ‘Al-Quida Free Terror Nettwork’ while trying to connect to WiFi.
• Crude test reveals hidden dust in seats on the London underground The amount of dust caked into seats on the Tube has been revealed in a crude test.
• Definitive Debrett's guide tackles London transport etiquette, including giving up your seat, E-cigarettes and eating on the Tube Londoners should always give up their seats on public transport for the elderly, pregnant or visibly needy, according to the definitive guide to British etiquette.

Northern Echo

• Former Tory Minister criticises decision to prevent in-house operator from bidding for East Coast MainlineTHE decision to prevent the current public-owned railway company from bidding to run the East Coast line has been criticised by a Conservative former Cabinet minister. Lord Forsyth of Drumlean said the point of a competitive process was to allow the best company to win.

Sheffield Star

• MP backs idea of using tunnels to connect citiesMP Angela Smith said building a new tunnel - or reopening disused ones - could help improve rail links between Sheffield and Manchester.
• HS2 boss: Poor transport links between Sheffield and Manchester ‘matter of national concern’Poor road and rail links between Sheffield and Manchester should be a matter of ‘national concern’, HS2 project boss Sir David Higgins has said.
• South Yorkshire rail cut protesters handed survey results over to transport bossesProtesters fighting cuts to travel passes for older people have handed over the results of their consultation to transport bosses.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• YEP LettersAs a retired public sector programme manager I have sat shaking my head for some years over the continuing farce that is the proposed trolleybus system.
• Leeds trolleybus inquiry could cost £2.6mThe public inquiry into Leeds’s trolleybus scheme could end up costing as much as £2.6m, the Yorkshire Evening Post can reveal.

Yorkshire Post

• Leeds trolleybus scheme public inquiry could cost over £2mTHE PUBLIC inquiry into Leeds’s trolleybus scheme could cost up to £2.6m, it has emerged.
• ‘Numbers did not add up on HS2’POLITICIANS were misled over the financial benefits of high-speed rail and other flagship projects because of bad calculations from bungling Government officials, financial watchdogs have found.

Doncaster Free Press

• South Yorkshire rail cut protesters handed survey results over to transport bossesProtesters fighting cuts to travel passes for older people have handed over the results of their consultation to transport bosses.

East Anglian Daily Times

• Rail revolution set to make journeys saferBritain’s railways are among the safest in the world – but that has not happened by accident.

Sunderland Echo

• Shadow minister backs bus overhaul plansShadow transport secretary Mary Creagh has given her backing to plans for an overhaul of Tyne and Wear’s bus services.

The Shields Gazette

• Shadow minister backs bus overhaul plansShadow transport secretary Mary Creagh has given her backing to plans for an overhaul of Tyne and Wear’s bus services.

Other Regional Press

• MP pushes for direct railway link from Horsham to WorthingMP Nick Herbert is pushing for a new rail link that would enable trains to turn east below Arundel, providing a direct link between Horsham and Worthing.
• New railway station southern interchange to open this weekRedeveloped area will include a large open square, new taxi rank, improved access to station and more bicycle parking
• Preston bus station price tag to reach £23mIt cost just £1 to buy, but the new owners of Preston’s listed bus station will have overseen the spending of a cool £23m by the time it emerges from its magnificent makeover.
• High-speed rail move welcomed in LancashireBusiness chiefs have given a cautious welcome to moves for a high-speed “HS3” rail link in the north of England, following a report by HS2 boss Sir David Higgins.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Govt outlines road network reformsA new watchdog and monitor have been established by the government to help make England's motorways and major roads run better. These are to be tasked with holding the Highways Agency - which is soon to be transformed into a government-owned company - to account, on behalf of road users, taxpayers and government. The new road monitor is to be run by the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) to ensure that the network is managed in a more transparent way than ever. Passenger Focus will meanwhile be tasked with representing users of the strategic road network. The body already has more than 60...

Aviation Industry

• GTMC welcomes HS3 proposalsTrain journey times between Manchester and Leeds could be cut to 26mins

Other News Sources

• Sir David Higgins: 'HS3 can be built simultaneously with HS2'Sir David Higgins has insisted that High Speed 3 can be built alongside existing plans for High Speed 2.
• Mayor seeks support for £20bn Crossrail 2 as preferred route revealedLondon transport authorities have revealed a preferred route for Crossrail 2, as mayor of London Boris Johnson has labelled the scheme as “vitalâ€� for the capital.
• Cycle route and footpath which links Brighton to the South Downs officially opened The red tape has been cut on one of the first off-road cycle routes in the country to benefit from a new fund.