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

Tuesday, 10 May 2016

BBC News

• HS2 headquarters to move to BirminghamStaff at the headquarters of the HS2 high-speed rail plans are being consulted as it prepares to move to Birmingham, the BBC learns.
• Electric rail works to cause disruptionRail journeys between Manchester and Preston will be disrupted when major works start at a Lancashire station.
• Girl, 10, records rail safety messageA 10-year-old girl records a safety message to be played at all 236 GTR stations in the hope her
• Mitsubishi up on compensation reportsShares in Mitsubishi Motors rise on media reports the Japanese car maker will compensate customers after it admitted falsifying fuel efficiency data.
• Easyjet rises as FTSE 100 dipsLondon's FTSE 100 dips in late trading, with Easyjet bucking the downward trend after a broker upgrade.

Department for Transport

• Government launches £2 million competition to promote roll-out of hydrogen-fuelled fleet vehiclesPublic and private sector fleets can get up to 75% off the cost of zero-emission fuel cell electric vehicles.

Financial Times

• New routes for laptops and frozen chickenSuppliers looking for ways around Russian restrictions
• Freight trains from China arrive in TehranLand route takes 14 days compared with 45 by sea

The Guardian

• France waves goodbye to sleeper trainsSNCF blames the demise of night trains on high costs as it announces plans to end services from Paris France is set to say au revoir to the couchette, as the country’s department of transport prepares to withdraw overnight train routes from Paris.The French government, which owns the national rail operator SNCF, has said sleeper trains are too expensive to run; it has withdrawn financial support and invited bids to run the services. But unless a proposal is received by July 1 all but three of the dozen or so overnight services will be axed.

The Herald

• Trainspotters urged to keep off the tracks as Flying Scotsman begins UK tourRail enthusiasts are being urged to keep off the tracks as Flying Scotsman begins its tour of England and Scotland after the inaugural run following a decade-long refit was marred by trespassers.

The Scotsman

• Video: Bus photobombs filming of iconic towers demoltionA MEMBER of the public hoping to capture the demolition of an iconic Glasgow tower block was left frustrated by an ill-timed bus.

The Telegraph

• Sadiq Khan’s victory gives Heathrow a surprise boost elieve it or not, but expansion at Heathrow may actually have become slightly more likely.
• Venice gondoliers block city canals to protest 'reckless' speed boats terrorising their passengers�

Labour Party

• Please don’t delay Crossrail 2 SadiqSadiq Khan’s brilliant victory on Friday made me proud. A Labour London Mayor winning by promising opportunity and hope, homes Londoners can afford, high-skilled jobs with decent pay, and an affordable and modern transport system.

Birmingham Mail

• Flythrough video reveals future for Birmingham's HS2 CollegeThe video shows the new college which will train thousands of youngsters in engineering and is on track to open its doors to students in September 2017

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• England cricketer backs campaign for Bradford buses to run adverts praising Allah BRADFORD is one of five cities where buses will carry adverts praising Allah during Ramadan as part of a fundraising drive by Britain's biggest Islamic charity.

London Evening Standard

• Sadiq Khan's election 'will not sway decision on Heathrow'Ministers today indicated that a decision on Heathrow expansion will not be swayed by the election of opponent Sadiq Khan as Mayor of London.
• Blackfriars to Bedford train route named as London's most violent commuter serviceA late-night train packed with revellers and workers heading home from London's Blackfriars station has been named as the capital's most violent late night commuter service.
• Plane lands safely at Heathrow despite bizarre square tyreAviation experts are stumped by this bizarre photograph of a plane's strangely misshapen tyre.

Wales Online

• Cardiff Airport reports 40% passenger rise in best performance since 2011 For the year to the end of April this year Cardiff Airport handled 1.25 million passengers

East Anglian Daily Times

• Train passengers’ anger as overhead wire fault at Shenfield causes eight hours of Sunday travel chaosFrustrated rail passengers have criticised train officials for a lack of contingency plan when major problems occur on the line after a day of travel chaos.

Get West London

• Crossrail line neighbours in Hillingdon face night-time noise until the end of 2016Network Rail is electrifying the tracks to make way for the Crossrail Elizabeth Line - and the noisy work has to be done at night

Other Regional Press

• Hundreds of naked cyclists ready to ride to raise awareness of 'car-centric' culture It's the tenth anniversary of the World Naked Bike Ride

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• London container terminal launches the first vehicle booking app for hauliersTilbury’s London Container Terminal has this week launched the UK’s first fully integrated Vehicle Booking System (VBS) mobile app uniquely designed for the terminal’s hauliers. LCT is the only container terminal in the UK that has a fully integrated and fully functional VBS app that allows hauliers to make bookings and check the status of a container remotely using a mobile app on their mobile phone.   The app is available to download for free on App Stores for both iOS and Android devices and has been designed to be straightforward, allowing hauliers to create, view,...
• Bullocks Coaches extends its Scania fleetThe latest addition to Cheadle, Greater Manchester-based Bullocks Coaches is a pair of K 360 IB Scania Irizar i6 coaches. The order follows positive feedback from last year’s delivery of an identical vehicle, with fuel economy, reliability and aftersales back-up have all being major factors in securing this order.  The vehicles are both built to identical specification and comprise of 53 seats with leather headrests and three-point seatbelts, centre washroom, Bosch professional line audio/visual system, two LCD monitors, alloy wheels, USB sockets for the driver and a kerb lighting ...

Rail Magazine

• Network Rail making progress on Glasgow Queen Street refreshNetwork Rail is over 50 days into its 140-day closure of Glasgow Queen Street for the �742 million Edinburgh-Glasgow Improvement Programme (EGIP).
• Glasgow Subway to shut for a month for tunnel workSubway services in Glasgow are to be suspended for approximately four weeks from Saturday July 2, to enable modernisation work.
• VIDEO: Flying Scotsman safety awarenessFlying Scotsman is due to travel from York to Newcastle on May 10, and York to Edinburgh on May 14
• Virgin Trains offers data on train punctualityVirgin Trains begins publishing up-to-date punctuality data on its services.

Rail Technology Magazine

• ContiTech Railway Engineering-Railway Suspension Systems The ContiTech Group as one of the world's leading development partners and original equipment manufacturers in railway technology not only supplies high-tech products for suspensions, interior trims and resilient track support but also offers a close…
• Construction starts on high-speed rail collegesConstruction officially began on the two sites of the National College for High Speed Rail today. Breaking ground ceremonies were held at the new college sites, in Doncaster and Birmingham, which are due to open in September 2017. The sites were announced in 2014 after multiple delays, and John...
• Two-year track and drainage upgrades set to start on Metropolitan Line Metropolitan Line work to replace 6.4km of track and drainage systems will begin next Monday, meaning the line will close early on Monday and Wednesday evenings for two years. The work will take place on the section between Baker Street and Finchley Road, which is currently prone to flooding...
• NR asset sales must safeguard future rail requirements - PerryNetwork Rail asset sales by the newly-created Network Rail Property will still be subject to overview by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) and the transport secretary, rail minister Claire Perry has confirmed. Lilian Greenwood MP, the shadow transport secretary, asked Perry in a House of Commons...
• Interim HS2 construction commissioner to be appointed this summerAn interim construction commissioner for HS2 will be appointed this summer, transport minister Robert Goodwill MP announced in the House of Commons today. In response to a question from Conservative MP Cheryl Gillan, Goodwill said that an independent steering group will develop performance and...

Railnews

• Watchdog urges better relationship with passengers The rail watchdog Transport Focus has called for an improvement in the relationship between passengers and railway companies. Writing in the May edition of Railnews, Transport Focus chief executive Anthony Smith says surveys carried out by TF reveal that many passengers are dissatisfied, with commuters in the south east of England 'feeling the strain' in particular. He says 'it�s time the industry gave passengers some meaningful promises about when performance will stabilise'.
• Work starts on construction of HS2 colleges Construction started today on the two sites of the future National College for High Speed Rail. The ground breaking ceremony marked the beginning of work in Birmingham's university district and and Doncaster Lakeside. The College will provide specialist training, skills and qualifications required to build HS2 and other rail infrastructure projects in future.

Railway Gazette

• RBS orders EMUs to ‘crowd-sourced’ designSWITZERLAND: Regionalverkehr Bern-Solothurn has awarded Stadler Rail a contract to supply 14...
• Hull Paragon station to get �1�4m investment for City of CultureUK: TransPennine Express has applied for listed building consent for works which it plans to...
• Wabtec acquires Unitrac Railroad Materials and Pride BodiesNORTH AMERICA: Wabtec Corp has completed the acquisitions of Unitrac Railroad Materials and Pride...

Aviation Industry

• Amadeus partners with Plusgrade to provide customized seatingMadrid-based tech-solutions provider Amadeus has partnered with Plusgrade, which allows passengers to bid for either upgrades or “neighbor-free” seats. read more

Other News Sources

• New London mayor supports Gatwick expansion over HeathrowGatwick has gained a prominent political ally with the election of Labour candidate Sadiq Khan as mayor of London.