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

Friday, 05 February 2016

BBC News

• HS2 rail headquarters openThe headquarters for the controversial �42.6bn HS2 high-speed rail project are officially opened in Birmingham.
• Train hit construction equipmentA train hit a piece of construction equipment on the railway line near Lisburn, County Antrim.
• RMT positive over Tube strike talksLast-minute talks to avert a strike by Tube station staff have been 'detailed and constructive', the RMT union says.
• Airports group records busiest yearScotland's regional airports group says 2015 was its busiest year yet in its 30-year history.

Financial Times

• New York tram stages an unlikely comebackMayor follows US light-rail trend to manage rapid economic growth

The Guardian

• Transport for London names partner companies for land development driveThe capital’s transport body hopes to raise £1.1bn from exploiting its land assets in tandem with some of the biggest names in the property business
• Bus services being wiped out in England and Wales, research saysGovernment cuts are forcing councils to slash spending on services by more than £27m, transport campaign’s report says
• Car fumes are killing us. So why isn’t anyone telling us not to drive?The health risks from vehicle air pollution are well known: heart attacks, strokes, lung cancer. It’s time to follow the mayor of Paris – and ban motorists when necessary
• Royal Mail 'secret' railway on track to reopen next yearStretch of Mail Rail that ran under London for almost a century will open to the public as part of £26m project at Postal MuseumA little known railway that ran under Londoners’ feet for almost a century, with its tunnels in places running within a few feet of packed underground commuter lines, will open to the public for the first time next year.A £26m project backed by the Heritage Lottery Fund is rebuilding the Royal Mail museum at Mount Pleasant in central London to hold its vast collection and archives, and restoring a stretch of the railway as a visitor attraction. Continue read...
• John Holland-Kaye: 'Expanding Heathrow has always been the only answer'Airport’s chief executive is not frustrated by the third runway impasse, he insists, but ‘working on being a good neighbour’If not quite digging a third runway, Heathrow was at least expecting by now to know whether the government would allow it. But if the airport’s chief executive, John Holland-Kaye, feels like banging his head on Westminster’s walls after years of its sputtering process, he’s not showing it.“Like Alan B’Stard,” he remarks, as he adopts the pose of Rik Mayall’s fictional MP beside parliament.

The Herald

• Police: 'unwitting' airlines helping gangsters by exporting illegal catchesAirlines have received police warnings that they are unwittingly aiding gangsters by carrying illegal shellfish out of Scotland.

The Telegraph

• Central line named as most crime-ridden on the London tube networkFreedom of Information request also reveals the capital's worst underground station for crime.

Birmingham Post

• Transport Secretary 'happy' to examine M6 Toll use after motorway nightmare Patrick McLoughlin acknowledges problems caused by major smash on motorway today and will look at role of M6 Toll at times of emergencies
• Go ahead for new National College for High Speed Rail City planners dismiss critics of HS2 as work can now start on institute which will train the next generation of rail engineers

Liverpool Echo

• Bright skies beckon at Liverpool John Lennon Airport as operators buy into strategy Airport celebrates strong start to year with new routes, and more to follow, says chief executive Andrew Cornish

London Evening Standard

• Zika virus: Planes landing in UK to be sprayed with insecticide Planes landing in the UK from areas affected by Zika are to be sprayed with insecticide as part of the Government's response to the outbreak.
• Sleeping New York subway riders to be woken by police in crime fighting planSubway riders in New York will be woken up by police if they fall asleep to combat a spike in transit crime.
• London's rail commuters 'should be compensated if trains are 15 minutes late'London rail commuters should get compensation if trains are 15 minutes or more late, Parliament was set to be told today.
• Commuter complains about freezing train carriage and is told to travel with a bottle of water to keep coolA chilly commuter who complained about the temperature of his train carriage was left furious after rail bosses suggested he carries a bottle of water to combat the heat.
• Mayor unveils plan for two huge tunnels under London to help ease traffic jamsTwo major tunnels could run across London under new plans today unveiled by Boris Johnson.
• UK 'set for electric cars revolution' with Scalextric-style road networkBritain is close to an electric cars revolution which could see driverless vehicles charge up as they use a Scalextric-style road network across the country, a Cabinet minister revealed today.
• Tube map from 2004 shows how the London Underground might have looked in 2016See how the proposed map differs from today's Tube network
• Part of 22-mile 'Mail Rail' beneath London to be opened to public next yearA hidden stretch of railway which runs beneath the streets of London is set to open for the public for the first time.

The York Press

• Tadcaster's new footbridge is set to open next week It’s six weeks since Tadcaster Bridge crumbled into the Wharfe. Now, at last, a lifeline will soon reunite the town. MATT CLARK reports.

Wales Online

• When this student's flight home was cancelled without explanation she wrote British Airways a brilliant letter Kate Spalding's flight was cancelled with no explanation and just over an hour's notice

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• HS2 'will benefit all and won't be rushed', says transport ministerThe HS2 rail project will benefit people in Staffordshire and is not being rushed, according to the transport minister.

Blackpool Gazette

• Subsidy cut is ‘Dr Beeching’ for our busesLancashire County Council’s decision to cut all bus subsidies are on bus services are on a par with the controversial Beeching Report into the rail network, according to Campaign for Better Transport (CBT).

Crewe Chronicle

• Council says 61% supported Royal Arcade site in Crewe consultation for bus interchange A report, to be discussed next Tuesday at cabinet, says the best location is an off-street option on the western side of the Royal Arcade site
• New British-built Avatar car revealedKit car manufacturer targets track-days with affordable but exclusive new production model

The Shields Gazette

• Help to plot a course for region's transport plans for the next twenty yearsPeople are being invited to help set a course for the future of transport policy over the next two decades - starting from today

Other Regional Press

• Residents concerned as local bus route under threat from cuts BUS passengers in Littlemore have expressed fears the area will have even worse public transport if a subsidised service is withdrawn.

Rail Magazine

• Examination of Dover sea wall beginsEngineers are investigating how to repair the damaged sea wall at Shakespeare Beach, Dover
• First and Stagecoach shortlisted for South Western franchisePlans for smart ticketing and improved connectivity
• Modernisation programme helps TfL meet delay targetsTransport for London says London Underground has reached targets of 30% reduction in delays, set out by the city’s Mayor Boris Johnson five years ago.
• Thirteen developers selected to build on TfL sitesTransport for London has selected 13 property developers to build a total of 10,000 homes on more than 300 acres of TfL land,
• Bore work enables faster trains to run through Farnworth TunnelWork has been completed to widen one bore of the Farnworth Tunnel in Lancashire, so that it can accommodate two rail tracks.
• Borders Railway patronage exceeds forecast figuresMore than half a million passengers have used the �353 million Borders Railway since it re-opened in September last year.

Rail Technology Magazine

• On-Train Fibre-Optic Connectivity Applications such as on-board internet, communication-based train control and passenger information or entertainment systems require the reliable transmission of ever greater data volumes in trains.

Railway Gazette

• Moscow Small Ring agreementRUSSIA: Following consultation with the Moscow city government, Central Suburban Passenger Co and...
• UK and Thai universities form railway partnershipINTERNATIONAL: The UK’s University of Birmingham and Thailand’s Suranaree University of Technology...
• Incheon Airport maglev starts passenger servicesSOUTH KOREA: Passenger services on the first urban maglev line with domestically-developed...
• Norway starts passenger service tendering processNORWAY: The Ministry of Transport & Communications announced on February 4 that it had called...

Aviation Industry

• Singapore Airlines 3Q net profit up 35% Singapore Airlines (SIA) group reported a net profit rise 35% to S$275 million ($196 million) for the three months through Dec. 31, 2015, compared to a net profit of S$202.6 million in the year-ago quarter. read more
• Lufthansa rejects GTMC claims sales hit by GDS feeAirline hits back at figures that showed a drop in market share following introduction of DCC

Other News Sources

• Remit agreed for inquiry in to Forth Road Bridge defectsA Committee inquiry to consider issues around the structural defects that have led to the current closure of the Forth Road Bridge will get underway early next year.