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

Thursday, 30 October 2014

BBC News

• Norwich to London railway line to get £170m of improvementsA railway line across East Anglia is to receive a £170m upgrade to make it "more reliable", Network Rail has said.
• Public transport fares increasedPublic transport passengers in the Republic of Ireland face fare increases of between 1% and 28%.
• Women abused on London transportAlmost a third of women who use London transport have been verbally abused on the network, according to a poll.
• Penny donation scheme launchedUsers of public transport in London will be able to donate one penny for every journey they take as part of scheme to increase charitable giving.
• Heathrow expects faster growthThe UK's largest airport, Heathrow, reports higher sales and says it expects passenger numbers to grow at a faster rate.
• Fiat Chrysler to spin off FerrariFiat Chrysler Automobiles plans to spin off Ferrari and sell a 10% stake in the luxury carmaker on the stock market.
• Council backs Cambrian freight ideaA disused railway station could be reopened for freight services for mid Wales under plans being considered by Ceredigion council.

Financial Times

• Air France-KLM to accelerate cost cutsStrike-hit airline to limit investment as profits fall by 60 per cent
• Transport planners look to the horizonA look at some of the schemes intended to transform travel in a capital braced for a population boom
• Heathrow core profits rise 12%UK’s largest airport claims growing support for hub adding a third runway to increase flights
• Stagecoach to expand Megabus in EuropeGroup will spend £20m on buying new vehicles

The Scotsman

• Why ferries are underused in Scottish transportTHE Firth of Forth could be a waterway at the heart of a sustainable transport system for south-east Scotland, writes Russell Imrie.
• Cap rip-off motorway service fuel, says RACDRIVERS believe fuel prices at motorway service areas should be capped because they feel ripped off, the RAC said today.

The Telegraph

• Service station fuel prices 'hold drivers to ransom'Price of petrol and diesel at motorway service stations is up to 16p higher than at nearby forecourts, RAC finds
• No flying experience? Come fly with me, says Richard BransonVirgin Atlantic are to become the first European airline to put trainee pilots at the controls of long-haul aircraft

Mail Online

• Prototype flying car unveiled with groundspeed of 124mph and flight range of 430miles An incredible flying car that will allow drivers skip traffic jams and take to the skies has been unveiled. The AeroMobil 3 was unveiled at a technology conference in Vienna.

Network Rail

• Changes to access at Spalding stationAs part of a programme of rail improvements in Lincolnshire to improve safety and train performance, the level crossing at Spalding is being closed from Monday, 3 November.
• London to Norwich line set for major investment in 2015The railway line from London to Norwich is set to benefit from a major package of upgrades worth £170m next year, providing a better, more reliable railway for passengers.
• Landscape Photographer of the Year exhibition to turn Britain’s busiest railway station into art galleryNetwork Rail is to transform Britain’s busiest station into a multimedia art gallery this December, as London Waterloo plays host to the Landscape Photographer of the Year Awards exhibition.
• Passengers advised of Manchester Airport station closureWork to complete the new fourth platform at Manchester Airport station will resume in January as Network Rail begins to install the new track and signalling.

Birmingham Post

• New 'Green Travel Districts' for Birmingham to entice drivers out of cars Eleven areas in the city to receive special designated status as part of a major shake-up to encourage people out of their cars.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Airport access is backedTRANSPORT Minister Baroness Susan Kramer has backed calls for better access to Leeds Bradford airport ahead of a decision by the Government.

Bristol Live

• £11m investment to bring hydrogen cars to our roadsTHE arrival of hydrogen cars on UK roads is a step closer as the Business Minister, Matthew Hancock, announced up to £11 million of funding.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Three charged with fraud following probe into Padarn Bus companyTwo men and a woman from the Caernarfon area charged after Llanberis firm went into voluntary liquidation in May

Derby Telegraph

• SPY CAMERAS: Bus lane clampdown will be running in Derby by the end of November SPY cameras to crack down on drivers using bus lanes and blocking bus stops will be operational in Derby from "towards the end of November".

Liverpool Echo

• Cammell Laird looks to grab a slice of the booming Scandinavian maritime marketBirkenhead shipyard and engineering firm appoints Octagone AS shipping consultancy to act as its sole agent in Norway

London Evening Standard

• Arsene Wenger to voice Tube station tannoys on Poppy Day The voices of Arsene Wenger, Stephen Fry and Joanna Lumley will be heard across London Underground stations in support of London Poppy Day.
• 'Women feel safer on the Tube than the Metro in Paris' Women feel safer in London than Paris when using public transport, according to a study.

Wales Online

• Motorway fuel prices branded 'a rip off' by motorists in RAC surveyMotorists hit out at prices of up to 10p higher than elsewhere at motorway services

East Anglian Daily Times

• Video: Plans for £170m investment to make East Anglia rail line safer and more reliable set out - but brace yourself for disruptionRail users are set to face major disruption next year as part of a £170m raft of works to make the East Anglian rail link between Norwich and London safer and more reliable.

The Shields Gazette

• New bus service to rescue residents of flood-hit estateA NEW bus service to help people get around a flood-hit South Tyneside estate will get into gear from next week.

Other Regional Press

• New £7 million National Training Academy for Rail in Northampton praised by Transport MinisterThe Transport Minister has said a new £7 million national training academy in Northampton will be a “much-needed facility to support the future of the railways”.
• New ticket aims to ease traffic and lower costsA NEW travel initiative hopes to reduce congestion going in and out of Gosport at peak times.
• Cotswold Line timetable gets shake-up with key peak train speeded up EXTRA trains between Oxfordshire and Worcestershire be introduced on the Cotswold Line next May and a key morning peak train will be retimed to give an earlier arrival in London.
• Will we love Preston Bus Station after £23m spend?It’s big, it’s bold and it will cost an absolute bundle.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Merseyside buses 'may be brought under local control'Bus services could be brought under the control of local government to end price rises and improve services on Merseyside. Shadow secretary of state for transport Mary Creagh has suggested re-introducing regulated bus services controlled by local authorities, which would be able to force lower prices on firms, the Liverpool Echo reports. This model has been successful in London - currently the only city in which it is employed - as its services are widely praised as being among the best in the UK. Prices are considerably lower in the capital than in Merseyside, with a single adult fare costing...

Aviation Industry

• Air France-KLM Quarterly Profit Falls as Strike Takes TollAir France-KLM Group third-quarter profit slumped following a two-week pilot strike that crippled Europe's largest carrier, which said it may need to deepen savings as bookings remain weak into the fourth quarter. Operating profit declined to 247 million euros from 641 million euros a the year earlier, the company said today.
• Scottish airports in devolved APD callAberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow issue joint plea for scrapping of tax
• British Airways slams ‘out of control’ APDWillie Walsh wants government to ‘call time’ on the tax

Other News Sources

• All Aboard, Comrades! Labour Fires Up Rail Renationalisation PlanLabour MP Andy Sawford's bill signals the party's ready to renationalise the railways. Sort of.
• Project efficiencies fund station innovationNetwork Rail and Merseyrail partnered to find savings   Pictured: A visualisation of the planned platform at Hamilton Square station   Network Rail is including new approaches to improve customer experience in the £4m refurbishment of Hamilton Square station, funded by project efficiencies agreed with train operator Merseyrail. The funding has been freed up by Merseyrail allowing the project to be carried out during a six-month station closure rather than 48 weekend possessions. In addition, Merseyrail and Network Rail have agreed that Schedule 4 compensation payments to the train op...
• Report for HS2 calls for bus regulation rethinkStudy suggests that the bus industry’s deregulated structure may leave northern cities unable to maximise the benefits of new high speed rail links   Pictured: Buses in Sheffield. The report cites the Sheffield Quality Bus Partnership.   A study commissioned by HS2 Ltd has recommended that local authorities should have significantly greater influence over local bus services to boost economic growth in northern cities and maximise the value that will be achieved from the planned high speed rail network. The report by consultancy Steer Davies Gleave has been designed to inform work by ...
• Labour would let councils run buses, says CreaghPromise of London-style services for any city
• £5million Blackburn bus station on track for New Year opening BLACKBURN’S new £5 million bus station is on track for its New Year opening as the steelwork comes close to completion and the special glass frontage is being manuf-actured. These pictures show how the start of the public transport interc-hange is taking shape.
• FTA supports call for safer lorry design to be available as soon as possibleThe Freight Transport Association (FTA) has today supported calls for new safer and cleaner lorry designs to be allowed on Europe’s roads as soon ...
• 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.