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

Thursday, 12 March 2015

BBC News

• More bumps in the road for the New Bus for LondonThe march of the New Bus for London - or New Routemaster - as it has been rebranded, continues. There are already 400 operating across 11 bus routes in the capital and by May there will be a total of 800.
• M4 relief road 'will cut traffic'Alternative routes to a planned £1bn M4 relief road in south Wales would not eliminate traffic congestion, a judicial review hears.
• Public meeting over M4 trial closureTraders unhappy about the closure of a motorway junction are holding a public meeting on Thursday as the eight-month trial comes to an end.
• Road safety comparison website axedThe Department for Transport is axing a website comparing data about car accidents in England because of a lack of interest.
• New ScotRail train designs unveiledNew ScotRail trains which will be
• VIDEO: Drone's-eye view of Crossrail tunnelsFor the first time, the BBC has been allowed to fly a remote controlled camera along the tunnels of London's Crossrail service.
• Mixed fortunes for Scottish airportsGlasgow Airport records its busiest February in eight years, but passenger numbers fall at Aberdeen International.

Department for Transport

• £3 million green bus funding to help clean up town and city airNearly 150 buses across the country to be fitted with pollution-reducing technology. Seven towns and cities have been awarded government grants to fit green technology to existing buses to help improve air quality and create a better environment for residents and visitors.

Financial Times

• FirstGroup selects Hauser as chairmanTransport group aims to be steered back on track to profits

The Guardian

• Greater Manchester's transport plans: a blueprint for the rest of the UK?MPs from the three main political parties debated bus and rail franchising and major infrastructure projects at a recent Guardian event

The Herald

• New ScotRail operator signs deal that will see Japanese trains launch first passenger services in Scotland THE Dutch operator due to take over the ScotRail franchise in April has signed a contract which will see Japanese-built trains running in the Central Belt.

Birmingham Post

• Ex-JLR boss takes helm at London Taxi CompanyCarl-Peter Forster stepped down as chief executive of Tata Motors more than three years and has now been unveiled as chairman of the Chinese-owned producer of the world-famous London Black Cab

Liverpool Echo

• Liverpool John Lennon Airport in routes appeal to city businessesLiverpool & Sefton Chambers of Commerce supporting airport survey

London Evening Standard

• Automatic refunds for rail passengers delayed by two minutes or more Rail passengers delayed by more than two minutes could be entitled to automatic refunds under a new Government crackdown.

Manchester Evening News

• Manchester council reveals 20mph speed limit is coming to 1800 more roads across the cityNew limits would take a total of 46 per cent of roads in Greater Manchester to 20mph

Sheffield Star

• Suggested changes to proposed Sheffield bus schemeChanges could be made to a planned bus scheme after Sheffield residents voiced fears trees would have to be axed to make way for the project.

Sheffield Telegraph

• AER Lingus restarts US flights as airport takes offDoncaster Airport has had a turbulent few years, but the relaunch of flights to Dublin – and onward to the US – proves it is finally taking off, bosses say.

The York Press

• New station for Haxby a step closer, claims MP THE long-awaited re-opening of a railway station in Haxby has moved a step closer, a York MP claims following a meeting with Rail Minister Claire Perry.

Wales Online

• North Wales Labour MPs stress the importance of better transport and communications for their region as they set out their prioritiesThe MPs warn of the impact of an EU exit as they prepare for the formal election campaign

Bucks Free Press

• Councillor speaks out on fifth anniversary of HS2 announcement Today marks the fifth anniversary of the announcement of the route HS2 will take through Buckinghamshire. To mark the occasion Cllr Seb Berry - who was elected to Chiltern District Council as an independent councillor off the back of an anti-HS2 campaign - gives his views on the past five years.

Sleaford Standard

• VIDEO - Minister praises rail upgradeBuoyed by a visit from Rail Minister Claire Perry on Monday morning, villagers are now vowing to press for further rail service improvements on the Lincoln to Peterborough line.

Other Regional Press

• Flybe will consider new route from Durham Tees Valley Airport to AberdeenFlybe consider the move following Facebook campaign with hundreds of comments from Teesside based off-shore workers
• MP Charlie Elphicke demands action for Dover's congested roads that lead to operation stackOperation stack and the weekly gridlock in Dover: MP Charlie Elphicke calls for Kent's traffic woes to be prioritised in Parliamentary debate.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Government fleet to purchase electric vehiclesPlans to buy 140 electric vehicles for the government’s fleet have been announced by the Department for Transport. The cars will serve a total of 15 government departments, including the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Ministry of Defence and the Home Office. An additional four vehicles will be provided to the Government Car Service, whose role is providing transport to ministers. Transport minister Baroness Kramer said: “This is an important step. These cars will save taxpayers money on running costs and will bring low emissions benefits to our fleet. Today’s an...

Railnews

• Contract signed for The contract has been signed for two new fleets of electric trains for the Scottish central belt. Hitachi is to supply its AT200 units for the Edinburgh-Glasgow electrification as 46 three-car and 24 four-car sets, which will mainly be assembled at Newton Aycliffe in County Durham. They will be delivered between 2017 and 2019 for use on the main Edinburgh to Glasgow Queen Street line. They will also run to Stirling, Dunblane and Alloa when electrification of those routes has been completed.

Aviation Industry

• Scandinavian Airlines sells another pair of Heathrow slotsScandinavian Airlines (SAS) has sold a pair of slots at capacity-constrained London Heathrow Airport to Turkish Airlines, marking its second slot disposal this year. read more
• Norwegian strike ends after union accepts deal11-day action has affected more than 200,000 passengers

Other News Sources

• DERBY FIRM WINS £15M BOMBARDIER CONTRACTA Derby engineering business has been awarded a £15m contract to assist train manufacturer Bombardier with its Crossrail project.
• UK's first supermarket hydrogen filling station opensThe UK’s first supermarket-based Hydrogen filling station has opened at a branch of Sainsbury’s in Hendon, North London.
• Carne makes case for a more diverse workforceNetwork Rail  must recruit more women and ethnic minorities   Network Rail apprentices. Pictured in 2011   Network Rail chief executive Mark Carne has called on the rail industry to target significant improvements in workforce safety and the recruitment of more women and ethnic minorities as part of a major culture change programme. He said a different approach to these issues should be seen as  an essential part of the industry’s strategy to deliver consistently high levels of punctuality and remedy recent declines in performance. In a speech to rail industry leaders, Carne highligh...
• Can new app offer low cost alternative to AV?Bus stop announcement app for blind and visually impaired passengers is launched, but charity says it’s no substitute for audio-visual announcements   The BUSFORUS app launch in Leeds last week   First and Arriva, in partnership with the Confederation of Passenger Transport, launched a new next stop announcement smartphone app last week. They claim that it could revolutionise bus travel for blind and visually impaired passengers. Bus operators are facing pressure to provide audio-visual announcements on their services. Guide Dogs, which has run a ‘Talking Buses’ campaign, has called ...
• What I learnt at the DfT: small is beautiful (Norman Baker)Small interventions in transport often make the biggest difference but the talk has once again drifted back to big macho schemes     In July 2011, I visited York, one of 37 local authorities that shared £155m of funding as part of the first allocation from the Local Sustainable Transport Fund   If there is one lesson that I learnt very firmly in my three and a half years as a transport minister it is that the small, often quite inexpensive interventions can make a big difference and therefore represent very good value for money. I’m thinking of the road junction that causes long...
• First challenges airlines and Virgin East CoastGroup says open access London-Edinburgh service would offer travellers ‘significantly lower’ fares than Virgin Trains East Coast, Easyjet and Ryanair   First’s existing open access operator, First Hull Trains   FirstGroup has applied to run 10 new open access services per day from London to Edinburgh on the East Coast Main Line. The proposal is designed specifically to take passengers from budget airlines. As such, the trains would have standard class seating only. First said average prices would be “significantly lowerâ€� than current fares offered by Virgin Trains East Coast, E...
• Heated debate over reopening historic railway line between Cranleigh and GuildfordMore than 2,000 people have backed a petition to reopen the railway line between Guildford and Cranleigh
• Industry ready to tighten up O-licensing and testing, but is government?Operators are more worried about the authorities’ capabilities to meet new road safety laws than their own. ...
• Government drops HS2 Heathrow spurThe Department for Transport has confirmed HS2 will not include a Heathrow spur as part of the first or second phase of the programme.