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

Thursday, 24 September 2015

BBC News

• VIDEO: How do you test a car's emissions?BBC News visited Emission Analytics in London to find out about one common method of doing a detailed measurement.
• Study suggests Tube is 'too fast'A modelling study suggests that if London Underground trains travelled slower, there might be less overall congestion.
• Boeing to open assembly plant in ChinaBoeing will open a plant in China in partnership with state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China.
• Bicycles top of insurance claim listMore insurance claims are made for stolen bicycles than any other item taken by burglars, an insurer says.
• Chinese firms urged to bid for HS2 workGeorge Osborne urges Chinese firms to pitch for £11.8bn in construction contracts for the UK's proposed High Speed Two rail line, on his visit to China.
• Volkswagen chief Winterkorn resignsVolkswagen chief executive Martin Winterkorn resigns following the revelation that the carmaker manipulated US diesel car emissions tests.
• The beautiful stations of rail's golden ageAfter a long gap, train stations are being built again. But once upon a time there were some very lovely stations indeed.

Financial Times

• Osborne opens bidding on £12bn HS2 dealsChancellor seeks investment for high-speed rail and northern England regeneration projects
• BBA Aviation doubles bet on business jetsAircraft services group plans to buy Carlyle’s Landmark for $2bn
• Boeing touts China orders and plant plansChange of strategy will see group’s first facility outside US

The Guardian

• Councils in the driving seat: transport devolution explainedThe government is transferring transport powers to local government in a bid to improve productivity. We examine plans for the northern powerhouse
• HS2 bidding process to be opened up to Chinese companiesGeorge Osborne to open competition at event in Chengdu aimed at wooing Chinese investors to back high speed link and other UK infrastructure projects
• Whitechapel High Street cycle superhighway bus stop bypass is a messOne of the more conspicuous of Boris Johnson’s cycling infrastructure initiatives is doing little for the East End high street it has carved up

The Herald

• Ban on lighting up in cars carrying kids backed by Holyrood committeeLegislation to ban smoking in cars when children are present has been backed by Holyrood's Health Committee.

The Scotsman

• 80 people chasing every ScotRail train driver jobSCOTRAIL has been flooded with applications to become train drivers, with nearly 8,000 received so far for the 100 posts available, The Scotsman has learned.

The Telegraph

• Volkswagen CEO: 'I apologise in every way'The head of beleaguered Volkswagen, Martin Winterkorn, apologises for the rigging of US emissions tests
• Volkswagen scandal: 'flawed' car tests 'add hundreds of pounds to fuel costs'VW faces lawsuit in Italy from consumer group alleging drivers were misled over fuel consumption
• George Osborne opens bidding for £11.8bn north England HS2 contract in ChinaThe bill for construction of the first stage of HS2 from London to Birmingham has yet to receive royal assent

City AM

• Bidding kicks off for HS2 deals worth £11.8bnCHANCELLOR George Osborne is firing the starting gun on the government’s High Speed 2 (HS2) rail project today by inviting companies to bid on at least seven new contracts worth £11.8bn. The chancellor will announce the bidding process for phase one of the HS2 project at an event in Chengdu, China today. A Treasury spokesperson said that the event – one of many during Osborne’s five-day visit to China this week – is “aimed at wooing some of China’s biggest investors to be part of the project as well as a raft of other major UK infrastructure projectsâ€�. The chancellor is also expected t...

Mail Online

• Global warming zealots are to blame for the deadly diesel fiasco Amid all the reporting of Volkswagen’s rigging of emission tests, one truth has been overlooked. We very largely owe the prevalence of these death-traps to the pernicious tyranny of the Green lobby.
• Global warming zealots are to blame for the deadly diesel fiasco Amid all the reporting of Volkswagen’s rigging of emission tests, one truth has been overlooked. We very largely owe the prevalence of these death-traps to the pernicious tyranny of the Green lobby.

The Mirror

• Banning smoking in cars when children are present moves a step closer The plan, which could see motorists being fined £100, has been backed by the Scottish Parliament's Health Committee

Birmingham Mail

• Chinese firms asked to build HS2 rail line as Chancellor invites bids for £12 billion contracts The Government invited Chinese firms to bid for contracts worth £11.8 billion to build a high speed rail line between London and Birmingham

Bolton News

• Ryanair pledges to install defibrillators on all aircraft following death of mum-of-two RYANAIR has pledged to install defibrillators on all of its aircraft after a mother from Heaton died on one of its flights to Lanzarote.

Bristol Live

• First pledges to improve bus punctuality across Bristol FIRST bus has entered into a joint pledge with Bristol City Council to improve bus punctuality in the city.

London Evening Standard

• This artist has created a life-size wooden London Underground stationForget FriendsFest - artist Camilla Banard has recreated one of London’s most recognisable scenes at this year’s designjunction exhibition
• Teddington 'phantom framer' strikes in central London, framing road signs in Soho and beneath London EyeThe “phantom framerâ€� famed for assembling ornate bespoke picture frames around road signs in Richmond has struck again – this time in central London.

Manchester Evening News

• George Osborne in plea to China: Invest in Manchester and the Northern PowerhouseSpeaking in Chengdu, the Mr Osborne will say there are ‘unprecedented opportunities’ for investment into the ‘Northern Powerhouse’

Wales Online

• Cardiff's major roads gridlocked after A470 closed for eight hours because of overturned lorry The A470 was closed after a lorry crashed and spilled its load
• A note and a fiver gets passed through a carriage of a packed train... 20 mins later a can of beer comes back the other wayThe kind gesture by rugby fans is believed to have happened on a train service to Cardiff

Yorkshire Post

• 40 years of the National Rail MuseumIT is a top attraction which shows no sign of running out of steam.

East Anglian Daily Times

• Rail `Oscar’ award for London Liverpool Street stationCommuters from Suffolk and Essex will benefit from further improvements at award-winning Liverpool Street station next year, it has been revealed.

Reading Evening Post

• Live: Reading to London on the 7.02am - one of UK's most crowded trains We take the journey that is officially one of the most overcrowded across the rail network

Other Regional Press

• Port of Ramsgate: Ferry expert Bill Moses says new passenger services can attract 500,000 people a yearA ferry expert is in talks with operators about setting up passenger services at a Kent port, which he says can attract half million people a year.
• New plan to limit roadworks to two-mile stretches on M62 Rules would hit current works on the M62
• Only female aircraft handler at Heathrow says 'the sky is the limit'Anasthasia, 24, from Iver, joined the team in April this year and is hoping she encourages more women to take her lead.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• £46m for projects supporting economy in WalesCardiff Airport is to get a £3m loan to develop flight routes as part of £46m. Welsh government spending on projects to support the economy. The money, from its £74m capital reserves, is the latest part of a £13m loan package to attract new airlines. Airbus will get £2.7m for training facilities at Swansea University and Coleg Cambria in Deeside, Flintshire. While transport projects in north Wales, including Llangefni link road on Anglesey, will also get £2.7m. The Welsh government will also set up loan funds for small businesses. Finance Minister Jane H...
• Stagecoach London takes the Omnibus Stagecoach London is making a big change in its current scheduling software and adopting Omnibus software for the first time. The company looked carefully at how suitable other products on the market were to meet their specific needs, and after considerable testing, Stagecoach London decided to adopt the OmniTIMES, OmniBASE, Crewplan, OmniROTA, and OmniMAN packages. Garry Nicholass, Commercial Manager for Stagecoach London, comments:  “the Omnibus software gave the best all round solution to our specific future London scheduling needs.” With a very experienced scheduling te...
• Steve Montgomery appointed as new First Rail Managing DirectorFirstGroup has announced that Steve Montgomery has been appointed as the new Managing Director of its Rail division. Steve recently served as Managing Director of the highly successful First ScotRail franchise. Under his leadership, ScotRail achieved the highest ever levels of customer satisfaction and punctuality in the franchise's history and won countless awards including Rail Operator of the Year in 2014 and Scottish Public Transport Operator of the Year in both 2012 and 2013.  Steve's career in the railway industry spans almost 30 years, during which time he has gained significant ...
• CalMac’s next generation to require bigger portsBigger, faster and more weather-resistant ferries are being planned as the next generation of vessels for CalMac’s west coast network. Major changes to harbours and approach channels would be required to accommodate them, with dredging, and blasting to clear rocks. The plans by CalMac fleet owner Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (Cmal) mark a significant change of direction from the past practice of des­igning ferries to fit ports. The larger vessels would have greater carrying capacity, higher speeds and more man­oeuvring power, and be better able to withstand bad weather. They pr...

Rail Magazine

• Stagecoach plans £13m improvements for East Midlands TrainsStagecoach will pay £150 million to operate East Midlands Trains until March 2018
• Voyager evacuation reveals Dawlish vulnerabilityThe evacuation of a CrossCountry Voyager shows the need to upgrade the south west's railway
• Virgin Trains HST livery celebrates National Railway MuseumVirgin Trains East Coast teams up with the National Railway Museum today, September 23,to celebrate four decades of the first national museum outside London
• Cheaper Heathrow Express ticketsHeathrow Express advance tickets will now be cheaper
• Rail contributes £10bn to economyThe rail industry contributes £10.1 billion to the UK economy, according to research
• Passenger growth helps to cover daily running costsThe rail passenger network now generates enough income to cover day-to-day operating costs
• HS2 Euston plans remain unalteredHS2 says services will not start from Old Oak Common, despite Transport Minister Robert Goodwill suggesting that they could

Rail Technology Magazine

• ENSCO Rail: Innovative Solutions for the Rail Industry ENSCO is an international leader in the design, manufacturing and operation of track and vehicle safety assessment systems. For more than 40 years, the company has delivered leading-edge rail safety solutions.
• Higher Standard Regarding Fire Protection in Rail Vehicles In order to maintain general safety of passengers, the requirements of cables in rail vehicles have always been very high.

Aviation Industry

• Boeing confirms 300 orders from China and 737 facility in ChinaBoeing confirmed 300 aircraft orders/commitments from Chinese companies and said it will open a joint venture 737 “completionâ€� facility in China. read more
• BA to close lounge at Gatwick’s North TerminalAirline will offer passengers use of the No.1 Traveller lounge as an alternative
• Luton airport receives recognition for energy saving policiesAirport accredited with Energy Saving Standard

Other News Sources

• Committee backs smoking in vehicles banLegislation which would introduce a ban on smoking in vehicles in the presence of those who are under 18 has been backed by the Scottish Parliament’s Health and Sport Committee.
• Driver shortage and Driver CPC are biggest challenges for transport managersDriver shortages and the Driver CPC are the most challenging issues faced by transport managers, according to a survey conducted for the Freight ...
• WIZZ AIR ANNOUNCES A321 LEASES FROM CDB LEASING Wizz Air, the largest low-cost airline in Central and Eastern Europe, announced today it has signed an agreement with CDB Leasing (the leasing arm of China Development Bank) to finance six...
• Asia Pacific Airlines Traffic Results - August 2015Preliminary traffic figures for the month of August released today by the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) showed sustained growth in international passenger demand, but air cargo...
• BBT Forum: Buyers urged to invest in virtual cardsBBT Forum in Dublin explores how buyers can optimise a risk strategy in a changing environment