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

Wednesday, 18 February 2015

BBC News

• VIDEO: Are self-flying cars on the horizon?Meet the company which wants to bring self-flying cars to the skies
• Freight firm to run sleeper servicesGB Railfreight is signed up by Serco to run Caledonian Sleeper services between London and Scotland when it takes over the franchise.

Financial Times

• Rolls-Royce gears up to launch 4x4SUV will prove big departure for luxury carmaker
• Kintetsu pays $1.2bn for APL LogisticsAcquisition from Neptune Orient Lines will expand US footprint
• Medallion profits point to taxi fightbackShort-sellers lose bet that Uber will overturn yellow cabs

The Guardian

• Aer Lingus hit by £40m damages claim by Belfast International airportIrish airline, which is in the middle of a takeover bid by BA owner IAG, is accused of breach of contract over its 2012 move to Belfast George Best City airport

The Herald

• Strike threat after rail worker is fired for telling first-class passengers: a hot breakfast's off the menu RAIL workers are threatening to strike in protest after a colleague was sacked for telling first-class passengers on a Scotland to London service that they would not get a hot breakfast because the train's boiler had broken.

The Scotsman

• A9 speed cameras may cover more key Scottish roadsAVERAGE speed cameras could be extended to more Scottish roads because the A9 scheme has won public support, transport minister Derek Mackay has told The Scotsman.

The Telegraph

• Mayor who imposed 20mph speeding limits across Bristol is caught speedingGeorge Ferguson, 67, apologises after doing 35mph in a 30mph zone at the wheel of an official fleet car hired by the council

City AM

• Oil Giant: Don’t write off OpecReport says the cartel could be wielding control over the market again by early next year SAUDI Arabia and its fellow Opec members are set to make a massive comeback and regain control of the world’s crude oil market, and could be in their previous position of influence as early as next year. The prediction, published by oil giant BP yesterday, is based on growth in America’s production of shale gas slowing down. The US shale boom is partly behind a collapse in global oil prices over the past six months. BP believes the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) will be ...

Mail Online

• A320 Airbus flies above Lauberhorn mountain in formation with six Patrouille Swiss fighters This astonishing video shows an Airbus A320 HB-JLT soaring over white snow-covered mountains in Lauberhorn, Switzerland, with six F-5E Tigers of the Patrouille Suisse.

Network Rail

• Wanted! 18 apprentices from the east of EnglandNetwork Rail is seeking to recruit 18 young people from the east of England for its award-winning apprenticeship scheme, as it continues the largest investment into the railway since Victorian times.
• Railway between Leamington Spa and Banbury to reopen by EasterNetwork Rail has confirmed that the railway line between Leamington Spa and Banbury will reopen by Easter (Thursday 2 April).

Liverpool Echo

• Walrus card: Merseytravel 'Smart Saveaways' to replace scratch off paper ticketsNext phase of electronic public transport ticket rollout to begin on March 9

London Evening Standard

• Sister of London cyclist killed by HGV: 'Riders cannot share roads with 32-tonne lorries' The sister of a former Tate Gallery worker who was crushed to death on her bike by a 32-tonne lorry has called for more protection for cyclists.

The York Press

• Flipping pancakes at York's National Railway Museum RAILWAY enthusiasts got ready for Pancake Day at York’s National Railway Museum by cooking up traditional treats on the footplate of a locomotive.

Wales Online

• Zig-zagging lane on the Wales Cycle Path catches the eye of cycling legend Jens VoigtThe cycling star Jens Voigt was left almost speechless when he spotted the zig-zag cycle path on Colwyn Bay's promenade

Yorkshire Post

• Council chiefs lobby for improved Harrogate rail serviceCouncil bosses have met with train companies bidding to run the Northern Rail franchise to press the case for improved services between Leeds, Harrogate and York.

Crewe Chronicle

• Crewe car park charge increases proposed Cheshire East Council looks set to target Crewe again – this time hitting the pockets of commuters who park near the railway station.

Other Regional Press

• Labour denies secret deal over Preston Bus StationCounty Hall chiefs have flatly denied buying Preston’s iconic bus station for £1 in a secret deal to “bail out” the neighbouring city council.
• Road scheme in Weymouth welcomed amid safety fears A DRIVER says work to repair fading road markings on a controversial roundabout couldn't come soon enough over fears someone could have been killed.

Rail Magazine

• LU promises 36 trains per hour for Victoria lineSummer work will allow a train every 100 seconds during peak hours
• Railway between Leamington Spa-Banbury to reopen by Easter Over 100,000 tonnes of earth removed from site of landslip

Rail Technology Magazine

• MP and Under Secretary of State for Transport Claire Perry Visits the Knorr-Bremse Melksham Facility Claire Perry, the Conservative MP for Devizes and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport, visited the UK headquarters of Knorr-Bremse in Melksham, Wiltshire, on 13 February.
• NextSense’s CALIPRI and NEM Solutions’ A.U.R.A Wheel Join Forces International partnership provides customers with a state-of-the-art solution for advanced wheel lifecycle management.

Railnews

• Harbury line now set to be closed until April Network Rail has warned that the line blocked by a landslip between Leamington Spa and Banbury is likely to remain closed for more than a month yet, but said it will reopen by 2 April. The route is used by more than 130 trains a day -- 50 of them freight -- and has been closed since 31 January. So far over 100,000 tonnes of earth have been removed and monitoring equipment has been installed to track the continuing movement of the slip.

Railway Gazette

• Balfour Beatty to build £12·5m Crossrail train facilityUK: Bombardier Transportation has awarded Balfour Beatty a £12·5m contract to build a production,...
• Helsinki to delay suburban train tenderingFINLAND: Helsinki regional transport authority HSL is negotiating a new operating agreement with...
• Bombardier Transportation assesses all the optionsBOMBARDIER: 'We are definitely the world leader outside China and intended to stay that way', Dr...

Aviation Industry

• Oil price fall puts spotlight on travel policyEnergy firms ‘scrutinise’ travel programmes to make savings
• British Airways franchise partner launches UK-Sweden routeSun-Air to start service from Cambridge to Gothenburg on March 2

Other News Sources

• HACAN Says No To A Third Runway At Heathrow3rd March: 7pm, Church House Conference Centre, Dean’s Yard, Westminster SW1P 3NZ 16 major speakers including Vince Cable MP Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, Natalie Bennett leader Green Party, top trade unionists and business people, leading environmentalists plus local MPs Mary Macleod, Andy Slaughter, Zac Goldsmith, John McDonnell and John Randall.
• Biofuel from trash could create green jobs bonanza, says report Creating biofuels from waste produced by industry, farms, and households could generate 36,000 jobs in the UK and save around 37m tonnes of oil use annually by 2030, according to a new report.
• Transdev acquires Cabfind.com Public transport operator acquires UK-based firm for an undisclosed fee