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

Friday, 17 April 2015

BBC News

• Plan for link road completion passedA revised plan to complete a £4.5m road which links Swansea city centre to the Liberty Stadium has been approved.
• Underground freight travel testedA high-tech study to see whether underground freight deliveries could become reality in the UK is to be carried out in Northampton.
• New luggage bins fit 50% more bagsBoeing has shown off its 'space bins' that can hold 50% more luggage than existing designs.
• Noise warning as flight path changesResidents close to Edinburgh Airport are warned about increased aircraft noise while the regular flight path is temporarily changed.
• German cars 'amongst least reliable'German cars are amongst the least reliable, and Japanese cars amongst the most dependable, according to an industry survey.
• Rail staff to vote on strike actionThousands of Network Rail staff are to be balloted on industrial action over a pay dispute, the Rail, Maritime and Transport union says.
• AA: Drivers' pockets being plunderedThe AA has accused fuel retailers of

Financial Times

• Alstom unit charged with briberyAllegations add to sprawling corruption case against several UK divisions of French group
• Low-cost airlines: sitting comfortably?Today’s budget airline customer wants to feel the love
• Rolls-Royce set to secure engine orderContract to break stranglehold that US rivals have on A380s
• IAG pulls out of trade body over Gulf spat

The Guardian

• Eurostar revenues down after Paris terror attacksFirst-quarter takings slump by 6% after January attacks, tunnel fire and rise in sterling, but company says trading has reboundedEurostar’s revenues fell in the first quarter of 2015 as ticket sales faltered after the Paris terror attacks and disruption from a fire in the Channel tunnel.After years of growing passenger numbers, only cheaper advance fares kept thetrain operator’s journey numbers at the previous year’s level of 2.3m.With forward bookings up on this time last year, we are gearing up for a busy summer period Continue reading...
• Which party's manifesto is strongest on cycling?With a couple of honourable exceptions, the main parties show depressingly little vision or ambition in their election programmesIf you followed the Big Cycling Debate, an event in March involving transport spokespeople from the three main parties, you'd be forgiven for thinking policies on cycling would at least be relatively prominent in the election.

The Herald

• Rail workers strike moves a step closer COMMUTERS could face disruption on the railways after the threat of a strike by thousands of Network Rail workers moved a step closer.

The Telegraph

• Diesel car drivers paying £3 more than they should to fill tanksThe AA warns that motorists are being 'plundered' as retailers fail to pass on falls in the price of oil

City AM

• The Garden Bridge needs our supportAN EYESORE and a vanity project, un-English and out of keeping with the times... that was, once, the contrarian view of St Paul’s. Thankfully, Sir Christopher Wren ignored the critique of its “heavy archesâ€� and accusations of Popish design, going so far as to hide the works behind screens so his controversial vision could succeed. When I heard about the London Eye, I thought it sounded absurd. Experts derided the plan for Shakespeare’s Globe as Disneyfication. Because our city is magnificent already, it is easy for new additions to be feared and mocked. But London can’t be fossilised. Today...
• Alstom facing further charges in SFO inquiryFRENCH engineering group Alstom is facing further corruption charges filed by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) as part of its ongoing investigation. Both Alstom Network UK, a subsidiary of Alstom, and Michael John Anderson, a UK resident who was previously business development director for Alstom Transport in France, have been charged with two corruption offences and two offences of conspiracy to corrupt. The allegations centre around the supply of trains to the Budapest Metro, and the offences are said to have taken place between January 2006 and October 2007. The fraud office announc...

Mail Online

• Californian scrap yard where jumbo jets from around the globe are sent to die Dozens of major airlines send their unused aircraft to the deserts of California to store them while a final decision is made as to whether scrap the jets or return them to the air when demand increases.

Birmingham Post

• No MG sports car in the pipeline as firm instead focuses on SUV arrivalMG Motor UK's marketing chief says a sports car is still some way off but did not rule out future development

Bolton News

• Labour will push for 'passenger power' in Edgworth, Chapeltown and Belmont LABOUR’S shadow transport secretary visited Edgworth to campaign for “passenger powerâ€� and offer local communities in Edgworth, Chapeltown and Belmont the ability to save crucial bus routes.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Lib Dems’ vow on northern rail links THE Liberal Democrats have vowed to “deliverâ€� an ambitious strategy to transform Northern rail links – despite its multi-billion pound price tag.

London Evening Standard

• Gone in 30 seconds: New CCTV footage shows latest ‘keyless’ Range Rover theft New CCTV footage has emerged of a man stealing a Range Rover in 30 seconds as the ‘car hacking’ crime wave continues across London.
• Another hazard to worry about on the Tube? Comedians perform stand-up routine to divided crowd of passengers Five men set themselves the task of bringing joy to London's "miserable" commuters - by performing stand-up comedy on the Tube.

Wales Online

• Drivers are paying out more for petrol despite a dip in world oil prices, claims the AAThe AA says motorists are paying too much for fuel given the big fall in oil prices globally

North Wales Live

• First charter flights at Liverpool John Lennon Airport in seven years Thomson and First Choice to run cruise and city break service for next summer

Peterborough Telegraph

• Relief for drivers as roadworks ease in PeterboroughDrivers are set for some relief after nearly a month of traffic congestion from road works.

Other Regional Press

• General Election: Rivals vow to defy parties over Heathrow if neededConservative candidate Mary Macleod and Labour's Ruth Cadbury told hustings audience they would vote against Heathrow's third runway even if it was supported by their respective parties
• New 5km tunnel into Heathrow will 'relieve Paddington', developer claimsThe tunnel could open up 42,000 new jobs and relieve pressure on commuter lines into Paddington station, developers have said
• Southampton Airport announces passenger increaseSouthampton Airport today announced a big rise in passenger figures.
• Bus services cancelled due to traffic along Botley Road TRAFFIC on the Botley Road has caused some bus services to be cancelled.
• Stagecoach cancels bus route in Northampton due to ‘low passenger demand’A Northampton bus route has been cancelled due to low passenger demand, leaving two areas in the town without a bus service.
• Eurostar reports 2015 first quarter revenue drop in wake of Charlie Hebdo terrorist attack in ParisCross-channel rail operator Eurostar says its revenues dropped by £12m in the first quarter of 2015 in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Paris.
• Delight after improvements to bus stationA CAMPAIGNING pensioner says he is delighted by recent work at a bus station.

Rail Magazine

• Eurostar passenger numbers remain constantHigh-speed rail service releases performance figures for Q1 2015
• RMT ballots 16,000 Network Rail members on strike actionNR pay proposals rejected by 93% on a 56% turnout,
• Virgin Trains launches lost luggage tracking service PIN technology can reunite customers with whatever they choose to protect.
• Work begins at Finsbury Park Tube station to improve accessConstruction work will begin on April 20 to develop step-free access and a bigger station entrance

Railnews

• LibDems go electric, while UKIP would scrap HS2 The Liberal Democrat manifesto has promised that the 'overwhelming majority' of the rail network will be electrified and more stations and lines opened under their plans for transport, while the Ukip manifesto opposes road charging but gives no indication of any plans for rail transport, apart from saying that 'HS2 is an unaffordable white elephant' which 'must face the axe'.

Railway Gazette

• Go Rail to suspend Tallinn - Russia services EUROPE: Estonian private operator Go Rail, which operates Tallinn – Moscow/St Petersburg passenger...
• TDSi signs railway security technology agreement in ChinaCHINA: UK-based security and access control system manufacturer TDSi has signed a five-year...
• Ostrava airport rail link opensCZECH REPUBLIC: Ostrava became the first city in the country with a rail link to its international...
• All Aboard Florida selects GE signallingUSA: Private inter-city service promoter All Aboard Florida has selected GE Transportation to...

Aviation Industry

• London First backs Heathrow expansion over GatwickIn the ongoing debate about whether additional runway capacity for the UK should be added at Heathrow or Gatwick airports, Heathrow has said members of London First, an influential business membership organization, backs Heathrow’s expansion. read more
• IAG’s British Airways, Iberia leave AEA in clash over Gulf carriersIn the worst clash so far among European airlines over how to deal with the Persian Gulf carriers, Iberia and British Airways (BA) left industry lobby group Association of European Airlines (AEA) at the end of March. read more
• LOT Polish Airlines reports first profit in seven years in 2014LOT Polish Airlines reported a 2014 annual net profit on its core business of PLN99 million ($26 million), reversed from a PLN67 million loss in the year-ago period. read more
• BAR UK criticises Lib Dems over airport expansion stanceChief exec says party offering ‘no viable solution’
• Emirates launches second daily A380 to GatwickCapacity increases in all three classes by 11.5%

Green Miscellany

• Pedal-powered Bicycle of Death theme parkPatrons of a restaurant in Italy called Ai Pioppi have the option to forgo antipasto in favour of free entry to a giant, human-powered, theme park built by the owner. Rides include the Bicycle of Death. The incredible rides include a pedal-powered roller coaster and the Bicycle of Death, a safer – if more exhausting take on the Wall of… The post Pedal-powered Bicycle of Death theme park appeared first on ETA.

Other News Sources

• Railway lines between Bolton and Blackburn set for upgrade as part of £20m plan THE first stage of a programme of works to upgrade the railway lines between Bolton and Blackburn starts at the end of this month.
• FTA calls for better support from Government in Logistics Manifesto 2015The Freight Transport Association (FTA) has said that the logistics sector needs ‘better support from Government’ in order to make logistics more ...
• Hundreds seek Stansted job opportunities in North LondonOver 500 job seekers passed through the doors of the latest Stansted Airport Jobs Fair in just four hours this week.
• UPDATE: Cause of derailed train "appears" to be driver error The cause of yesterday's derailed train at Brighton station
• WIZZ AIR GROWS PASSENGER NUMBERS BY 18% IN FULL YEAR TO 31 MARCH 2015 Wizz Air, the largest low-cost airline in Central and Eastern Europe, today announced passenger statistics for the Companyrsquo;s full year to March 2015. The airlinersquo;s first months of...
• Eurostar revenues hit by Paris attacksRail operator receives business travel bookings boost