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

Saturday, 05 September 2015

BBC News

• Fires 'deliberately started' on planeA passenger
• Battling against BeechingFighting for the return of long-lost rail routes.
• VIDEO: Call to reopen St Andrews railwayCampaigners are calling for the railway line between Levenmouth and St Andrews to be reopened.
• New city rail bridge formally openedA new £3.5m pedestrian bridge over the railway line in Dundee is officially opened by city MSP Joe Fitzpatrick.
• New car registrations rise in AugustThe number of new car registrations in Scotland in August grew slightly when compared to the same month last year, new figures have revealed.
• 'Golden' trip on Borders RailwayA group of specially selected passengers takes a trip on the Borders to Edinburgh railway a day ahead of its opening to the general public.
• M4 'smart motorway' inquiry under wayA planning enquiry is underway for a

Financial Times

• Scottish Borders railway opensLine’s prospects likely to influence transport policy across UK

The Guardian

• Boeing opens commercial spaceship plant at Nasa centre in FloridaCST-100 Starliner spaceships will be used to fly crews to the International Space Station, with a test flight targeted for 2017Boeing Co took the wraps off an assembly plant on Friday for its first line of commercial spaceships, which Nasa plans to use to fly crews to the International Space Station, officials said. “This is a point in history that reflects a new era in human spaceflight,â€� Boeing chief executive Dennis Muilenburg said at a grand opening ceremony at the Kennedy Space Centre. Continue reading...
• Passenger 'deliberately starts fires' on flight from Birmingham to EgyptWest Midlands police launch investigation into mid-air blazes on Monarch jet heading to Sharm el-SheikhThe crew of a holiday jet was forced to tackle two small fires thought to have been started deliberately by a passenger, police have said.The West Midlands force launched an inquiry into the incidents on the Monarch Airlines service from Birmingham airport to Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt. It said no one was hurt as both blazes were contained and extinguished by staff on board the flight on 27 August. Continue reading...
• Borders railway reopens signalling fresh hope for more Scottish linesHaving waited 45 years to bring back the Waverley line, supporters are stressing the benefits of further rail development David Shirres was a passenger on the very last train to leave Edinburgh on the Waverley line just before it was axed as part of the Beeching cuts. He remembers the “plummyâ€�, precise accent of the station announcer just before the sleeper to London pulled away on 5 January 1969.Then a trainee railway engineer aged 19, Shirres also remembers that the train’s journey south was heavily disrupted by furious locals blockading the track, despite a police guard, delaying its progre...

The Herald

• 46 year wait is over as Borders Railway launches passenger journeysIT is 46 years and eight months to the day since the last train linking the Scottish Borders to the capital rolled into Edinburgh Waverley.

The Scotsman

• Borders railway to make first passenger journeyHUNDREDS of passengers will today be among the first for nearly half a century to take a train to the central Borders, ahead of tomorrow’s historic line re-opening.

The Telegraph

• End of the road for cats eyes?LED lights could become the norm on Britain's roads after the government announced plans to change historic traffic regulations

Mail Online

• Women close gap on male drivers as two thirds are getting behind the wheel  As recently as a decade ago there was still a massive gender divide, with 81 per cent of men having a full car driving licence compared with only 61 per cent of women.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Jet2 invests £1.7 billion in 27 new aircraft as package holidays take off SOARING demand for flights and package holidays has led the owner of Yeadon-based leisure airline Jet2.com to spend £1.7 billion on 27 new aircraft.

London Evening Standard

• New Cross commuters face more travel delays after vehicle strikes bridgeCommuters travelling through New Cross faced another morning of disrupted travel after a vehicle struck a bridge near the station.
• Tube delays due to overcrowding hit five-year high, new figures showTube delays caused by overcrowding have reached a five-year high, new figures have shown.

Northern Echo

• Council will look at 'ghost' junction after comments from motorists DARLINGTON Council says it will send an engineer to examine the lights at a so-called ‘ghost’ junction on the outskirts of the town.

The York Press

• Grandmother injured after falling from train A GRANDMOTHER who was injured when she fell from a train after the staff assistance she prearranged failed to turn up is due to receive compensation from Virgin Trains.

Yorkshire Post

• Computer glitch causes bus pass chaos in South YorkshireThousands of bus passengers, including students and pensioners, have been forced to pay higher fares after a computer glitch caused travel pass chaos.

Peterborough Telegraph

• Speed cameras will make road saferNew speed cameras will help keep pupils, cyclists and other pedestrians safe from speeding drivers outside a Peterborough school.

Other Regional Press

• A giant new state-of-the-art bus information screen has been put up in Grimsby's Freshney Place shopping centre. The new 55-inch LED screen can be found in Friargate Square near Marks and Spencer and provides real-time details about local buses.
• Summer is the most successful for ferriesBRITTANY Ferries has said this summer was its busiest ever as it carried more than half a million passengers.
• This man has been banned from every Stagecoach bus on Teesside for two years Paul Goodman admitted harassing bus driver :: Court hears 'industrial deafness' and alcohol may have led to frustrations
• Portland Port set to welcome biggest ever cruise ship PORTLAND is set to welcome the biggest cruise ship ever seen at the port as another successful season comes to a close.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• New Felixstowe train for BIFTMaritime Transport has secured a new service at its Birmingham Intermodal Freight Terminal (BIFT) at Birch Coppice.  The new daily container service operated by GB Railfreight (GBRf), runs between the Port of Felixstowe (Port) and BIFT and is the latest rail path to be released by Hutchison Ports, the owners of the Port. The 31st path is the only service between the country’s biggest container port and BIFT and will provide a vital connection to the large manufacturing and consumer conurbation in the West Midlands.  'BIFT is an important strategic freight interchange in the W...
• £100m refurbishment of Hammersmith Flyover completedMajor work to strengthen the Hammersmith Flyover in west London is now complete, Transport for London (TfL) has announced.   The refurbishment, which has seen engineers working day and night over the past two years, means that the sixties flyover has now been fully restored and strengthened. The flyover is now safe to use for decades to come and will require less regular maintenance work, meaning less congestion and traffic delays in the future.   Since October 2013, vital restoration work has been carried out by TfL, its Principal Contractor Costain and main sub-contractors includin...
• Hull rail firm to buy 140mph trainsA rail company is investing £68m in a fleet of faster trains to ensure shorter journey times to London. Hull Trains said it was buying five trains capable of running on either electricity-powered routes or with diesel fuel. The firm said the trains had been bought because of delays in country-wide electrification of the rail network The trains are expected to be running by 2020, the company said. In a statement, Hull Trains said the speeds of up to 140mph would be reached compared with the current 125mph of Hull Trains' Class 180 units. Will Dunnett, managing director of Hull Trains,...
• City of York Council, First York Buses and Optare have been shortlisted in the Vehicle Operator category for the 2015 Low Carbon Champions awardsCity of York Council, in partnership with First Bus York and bus manufacturer, Optare have been nominated after creating two fully electric Park&Ride routes. A fleet of six buses were first introduced in June 2014 at the new Poppleton Bar Park&Ride site. This was then extended to include Monks Cross Park&Ride in May 2015. The electric buses are helping to reduce CO2 emissions by 62 percent in real world operation according to First Bus data. The most recent data shows that when operating in service on York’s Park&Ride routes, the ‘Well to Wheel’ efficiency is...

Rail Technology Magazine

• Hitachi opens first train manufacturing plant in UK Hitachi Rail has opened a rail manufacturing facility in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, UK, to manufacture InterCity Express (IEP) trains.

Railnews

• European Commission under fire for refusing railfreight grant Seven MEPs in East Anglia and the Midlands are urging the European Commission to reconsider its decision to refuse funding for a railfreight upgrade in the region. The Commission has declined to support a scheme to increase capacity for freight trains between Felixstowe and the West Midlands, but the MEPs are arguing that the rules appear to favour land frontiers, which puts Britain at a disadvantage. Writing in Railnews, GB Railfreight managing director John Smith has warned that capacity upgrades in the region for railfreight are 'vital'.

Railway Gazette

• Farnworth Tunnel enlargement delayed by poor ground conditions UK: ‘Exceptionally poor’ ground conditions have delayed the project to enlarge Farnworth Tunnel to...

Aviation Industry

• Southwest Airlines defends fares, disputes Delta's accusationsA Southwest Airlines-hired consultant is defending Southwest's fares at Dallas Love Field against attacks leveled by a Delta Air Lines-hired consultant. In a filing Thursday afternoon in U.S. District Court, Southwest summarized the testimony that will be given by its consultant, Campbell-Hill Aviation Group chairman Brian Campbell.
• American Airlines leaving downtown TempeAmerican Airlines leaving downtown Tempe American Airlines will leave the former headquarters of US Airways in downtown Tempe next year. Check out this story on azcentral.com: http://azc.cc/1EFSFwW American Airlines next year will leave the downtown Tempe building that served as the headquarters for US Airways, the company said Friday.
• Aeroflot agrees to lead Transaero restructuringRussia’s Aeroflot has agreed to be involved in the restructuring of Transaero Airlines, Aeroflot said in a statement. read more
• This week's poll question: Russia’s Aeroflot will acquire Transaero. This is: A further sign of Russia’s problems. A necessary step; consolidation was needed. A bad move for Aeroflot; it already has enough to deal with.
• Air France considers launching low-cost, long-haul subsidiaryAir France is considering establishing a long-haul, low-cost subsidiary as part of its ongoing plans to stabilize and improve its financial performance. read more
• Lufthansa CEO warns of ‘brutal changes’ in industryEuropean airlines need more support from their governments in a fast-changing world where now-privatized carriers are competing with state-owned airlines, Lufthansa Group’s top executive said. read more
• Iberia Express to launch Manchester serviceThree-times weekly service between Madrid and Manchester starts next week
• BA owner IAG sees passenger numbers soarIAG takeover of Aer Lingus formally accepted
• Abta calls for England to match Scottish APD cutAbta has renewed calls for a UK-wide cut in APD after Scotland confirmed plans to halve the controversial tax.

Green Miscellany

• Latest bicycle light is a flashing water bottleThe Candea Elite flashing water bottle uses LEDs and the diffusive properties of transparent liquid to transform itself into a distinctive flashing beacon. The innovation may herald a day when no single item of cycling gear is available without the option of flashing lights. The post Latest bicycle light is a flashing water bottle appeared first on ETA.
• London finally bans danger lorriesLondon has finally put a ban on the danger lorries responsible for so many cyclist deaths over the years The post London finally bans danger lorries appeared first on ETA.

Other News Sources

• ‘Smart Motorways’ make sense - says FTAThe implementation of 'Smart Motorways' in Northern Ireland would make economic, environmental and safety sense – is the message from the Freight ...