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

Tuesday, 31 March 2015

BBC News

• Ceredigion Cardi Bach bus returnsThe scrapped Cardi Bach coastal bus returns after Ceredigion council secured funding from the Welsh government for the popular service.
• Translink launches redundancy schemeThe public transport firm, Translink, invites managers and supervisory staff to take voluntary redundancy in its efforts to make £3m savings.
• Talks due ahead of airports strikeThe operator of Scotland's regional airports is due to hold talks with union leaders in an effort to stop a 48-hour strike by security staff.

Financial Times

• Co-pilot suffered suicidal tendenciesLubitz had psychotherapy several years ago ‘over a long period’, say Düsseldorf prosecutors
• Shipowner warns private equity investorsTsakos says oversupply could ‘destroy’ markets
• Five-year itch in shipping and PE marriageInvestors all at sea after pouring cash into industry with plenty of vessels but too few orders

The Guardian

• Can't stop, must fly: 24 hours at Dubai International airport – in picturesDubai International is the world’s busiest airport – so just where is everyone going? Photographers Mathias Braschler and Monika Fischer capture some of the characters travelling through it in a single day. Interviews by Erica Buist‘The most shiny structure in which I’ve ever found myself’: Kamila Shamsie on Dubai’s Terminal 3 Continue reading...

The Herald

• New Oban air service may be taking off this summerNew flights giving Oban an air service to and from Glasgow may take off this summer.
• Germanwings crash pilot had suicidal tendencies, claim prosecutors
• Protest planned ahead of latest franchise ScotRail and Sleeper changesRail season tickets could be 10 percent cheaper by 2017 if services were run by the public sector instead of private firms, according to new research.

The Telegraph

• Children wrongly taxed on summer holiday flightsEasyJet is paying refunds because its iPad and mobile app can't offer the right prices
• Traffic jams on the rise as city gridlocks worsenJournies are up to 70 per cent longer at rush hour, according to a study which shows congestion is getting worse
• Invisible spray to keep cyclists safe on roadsNew spray paint can be applied to any fabric or surface, washes out - and reflects beaming headlights

Mail Online

• Range Rover's most luxurious 4x4 EVER set to go on sale - complete with tailgate chairs, deep-pile carpet, 150mph top speed ... and a £150,000 price tag The most luxurious, exclusive and powerful production Range Rover ever launched has broken cover in New York – with a £150,000 price tag to match.
• How drivers spend 16 days a year stuck in traffic jams: Gridlock in major cities said to have 'worsened considerably' over past 12 months In some areas, evening rush hour journeys last 80 per cent longer than they would in free-flowing traffic. The poll is published ahead of the Easter getaway, when 16m are expected to hit the road.
• Germanwings pilot Andreas Lubitz was treated for suicidal tendencies before Alps crash Killer co-pilot Andreas Lubitz, who deliberately crashed his Germanwings plane into the French Alps killing 149 people, trawled gay porn websites in the days before his death, it has been revealed.

The Mirror

• Train tickets would be 10% cheaper if rail networks were run by public sectorTrain commuters could potentially find themselves enjoying around 10% off season tickets if rail services were run by the public sector, a study claims on Tuesday.

Birmingham Post

• Jaguar Land Rover unveils most expensive Range Rover yet The Range Rover SVAutiobiography will cost from £150,000 upwards when it goes on sale this summer - double the price of an entry level model.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Road safety work award for campaigning MP MP Greg Mulholland has received an accolade from road safety charity Brake and the Direct Line insurance group in recognition of his campaign for better justice for victims of bad driving and their relatives.

London Evening Standard

• Jaguar so rare it roared up £2m in a year It is described as “the coolest car in the worldâ€�, shooting up in value even faster than the mansions that surround it in the heart of Mayfair.
• City Spy: Warm words for Willie Walsh as Etihad boss airs views Plain-speaking Etihad Airways chief executive James Hogan had a few things to say in the long-drawn-out debate over which London airport should be allowed to expand at the Aviation Club’s lunch in Pall Mall.
• 'There are no MPs... Remain calm': Hilarious TfL information sign goes viral The London Overground is running a good service - but if it's an MP you're after, you'll be waiting for six weeks.

Wales Online

• Cardiff council had 'no involvement' in plans to bring seaplanes and cable cars to the cityCardiff council's cabinet member for transport has revealed that the plans were previously scrapped due to cost
• Head teacher says she cannot encourage pupils to walk or cycle to school - because the route is 'too dangerous'Lane to Gwaelod y Garth Primary must be improved says the school and worried families
• A year since 20mph zones were brought to Cardiff, police catch 79 drivers speeding on one day on one roadThe two year pilot scheme will be reviewed before any other areas are included, the council have said

North Wales Live

• Anti-rail privatisation group to hold protest at Liverpool's Lime Street stationPublic rail
• Liverpool John Lennon Airport secures new flight link to destinations across the world Regional airline Flybe will connect Liverpool to global hub at Amsterdam Schiphol from September 7

Other Regional Press

• Cambridge bus users hit out over latest fare hike from Stagecoach Cash-strapped passengers will have to dig a little deeper to use Cambridgeshire's buses after a recent hike in Stagecoach prices.

Bus and Coach.com

• Metroline signs up to RNIB’s accessibility Charter
• Progress for Manchester bus priority package
• Call for London-style CBO powers for Centro
• “Outdatedâ€� child laws removed by First
• Year of the Bus sculptures raise £100,000 for charity
• More Air Deckers for Bath Bus link
• Tourismo backed by Shearings with 38 new coaches
• London ULEZ to start in 2020
• West Yorkshire consultation backs First’s New Routemaster

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Optare MetroCity buses for London’s fully electric bus routeArriva London has placed an order for seven fully electric, zero emissions, Optare MetroCity single deck buses which will operate on route 312. This will be the first route in London to be operated entirely with fully electric buses.
• Initial report on Manston airport releasedA report into the future of Manston airport in Kent has been published by consultant PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). The airport has been closed since May 15th 2014, despite efforts by Thanet District Council to find a way of keeping it open. This has angered many local residents, who see the facility as a key source of prosperity for the area. One of the main tasks has been to establish RiverOak’s financial status as an indemnity partner, as this will facilitate a compulsory purchase order to allow either local or national government to redevelop or reopen the site. Transport minister...

Rail Magazine

• London Underground Croxley Rail LinkLU will take over delivery of the Croxley Rail Link following agreement with DfT.
• FirstGroup bows out of ScotRail with message to passengers and staffChief Executive Tim O’Toole praises outgoing managing director
• Ordsall Chord given green light by inspector Essential element of Northern Hub scheme gets the go-ahead.

Railnews

• Time is running out for objections to railfreight plan The countdown is on over a controversial plan to build a new railfreight terminal in Hertfordshire. A proposed scheme on a disused airfield at Radlett, south of St Albans on the Midland Main Line, already has a tangled legal history. The proposal was first made nine years ago, when the freehold of the land was transferred to Hertfordshire County Council, but with a 21-year covenant attached. The controversy has been reinforced by a determined local campaign to block the scheme, including a petition which has most recently attracted more than 1,800 signatures in 24 hours.
• Network Rail privatisation rumour rejected by DfT The Department for Transport has denied reports that Network Rail could be returned to the private sector. Various possibilities are said to be on the table, including dividing NR into regions as well as the more extreme option of involving the private sector once again. The RMT union said it would 'fight these moves'.

Aviation Industry

• Government receives 19 bids for regional airport fundingThe government has published the details of 19 bids it received during the first application stage for funding from the Regional Air Connectivity Fund.

Other News Sources

• Cranleigh railway: A look back at the line before it closedArchive photos show how stations along the line used to look while we go and compare those scenes with today's view
• Labour would ‘take clear steps’ to cut HS2 cost The Labour Party has pledged to support the construction of High Speed 2  while “taking clear stepsâ€� to cut the cost of the £42.6bn rail project.
• Cambridge Ahead catalyst for launch of Stagecoach’s new, congestion-busting Route R serviceCambridge Ahead has been instrumental in the creation of Stagecoach's new Route R service which will launch on Tuesday 7th April 2015. The service will operate on the Guided Busway between Trumpington Park & Ride and Cambridge Railway Station, with a journey time of ONLY five minutes.
• Bus company to review policy of allowing passengers to board its vehicles with hot food following passenger's 20 minute stand off with driver A STUDENT was embroiled in a 20-minute stand-off with a driver who tried to chuck her off a bus for boarding with a pizza.
• Aeroflot Group Passenger Traffic Up by 13.5% in February 2015 JSC Aeroflot (Moscow Exchange ticker: AFLT) announces operating results ofnbsp;Aeroflot Group (laquo;the Groupraquo;) and Aeroflot airline (laquo;the Companyraquo; ornbsp;laquo;Aeroflotra...
• Passenger traffic at DXB tops 5.9 million in FebruaryPassenger traffic continued to grow steadily at Dubai International during February with nearly 6 million passengers, according to the latest traffic report issued by operator Dubai Airports.nbs...
• Solar Impulse arrives in ChinaAttempting the First Round-The-World Solar Flight to inspire innovation and encourage the use of clean technologies, the solar powered airplane of Bertrand Piccard and Andreacute; Borschberg...