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

Thursday, 12 May 2016

BBC News

• First Group to run Edinburgh to London budget rail serviceA new budget rail service between Edinburgh and London has been given the green light by the Rail Regulator.
• VIDEO: M4 hold-ups affect firms' 'bottom line'Work on a planned M4 relief road cannot start soon enough for businesses because congestion is having an effect on their
• Early test shows off Hyperloop systemAn early test of Hyperloop - a proposed high-speed transport system - accelerates a sled to 116 mph (187km/h) in 1.1 seconds.
• Heathrow offers to curb night flightsHeathrow Airport promises to reduce night flights and curb both noise and pollution if it is allowed to build a new, third runway.
• Boy, 12, designs new Travel Card walletA drawing by a 12-year-old boy is set to be turned into a new Travel Card wallet for London.
• Nissan in tie-up talks with MitsubishiJapanese car makers Mitsubishi Motors and Nissan confirm talks of a capital tie-up as the former struggles with a scandal over falsifying fuel efficiency.

Department for Transport

• Leeds Trolley Vehicle System Order: decision letterAnnouncing the Secretary of State's decision not to make the Order.

Financial Times

• The complicated politics of Heathrow airport expansionCameron can no longer rely on Labour support to pass a vote on a third runway, writes Sebastian Payne
• Takata to overhaul airbag inflator unitJapanese group to restructure amid deepening safety crisis
• We are suckers in airline cabin class warThe dividing curtain triggers envy, researchers say, but the surprise is that there is not more anger
• Nissan eyes 30% stake in Mitsubishi MotorsMitsubishi seeking outside capital to survive a fuel economy scandal

The Guardian

• Elon Musk's Hyperloop One tests high-speed train propulsion systemCompany carries out public track run of prototype that might one day rocket commuters down a vacuum-sealed tunnel on a supersonic sledElon Musk’s much-vaunted Hyperloop supersonic train system took a tentative step towards reality with its first public track test of its propulsion system in the Nevada desert.The company, which changed its name to Hyperloop One on Wednesday to coincide with the open-air propulsion test, has also closed an $80m series B funding round which included investment from the French national rail company SNCF. Continue reading...
• MH370: two new aircraft fragments 'almost certainly' from missing planeAustralian announcement about pieces found in South Africa and Mauritius means a total of five pieces of debris have now been confirmed from missing jetTwo aircraft fragments found on the beaches of South Africa and Mauritius are all but confirmed to be from missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which mysteriously disappeared two years ago with 239 people on board. A piece of engine cowling featuring a Rolls-Royce stencil, which was found in South Africa earlier this year, is “almost certainly” from the Boeing 777 that went missing more than two years ago with 239 people on board, the Austra...

The Scotsman

• FirstGroup to challenge Virgin with £25 Scotland-London fare Plans for FirstGroup to compete with Virgin Trains on the east coast main line have been approved by regulators.

Reuters News

• UK's Heathrow says will limit environmental impact of new runwayBritain's Heathrow Airport, seeking government permission to build a new runway, said it would comply with an extended ban on night flights and meet European air quality rules if the project gets the go-ahead.

Daily Record

• Watch as last Clyde-built turbine steamship begins journey home to Glasgow after Sunday Mail campaign THE TS Queen Mary is being towed from Tilbury Docks in Essex to the River Clyde where she was built and launched more than 80 years ago.

Birmingham Mail

• First class carriages on West Coast Main Line to be cut to reduce overcrowdingGovernment plans to reduce overcrowding include more standard class carriages and fewer trains stopping at Coventry or Wolverhampton

London Evening Standard

• Stunning images show how Crossrail stations along the Elizabeth line will lookThese stunning images show how stations along the �15 billion Crossrail route through London will look.
• First class carriages to be axed on busy commuter trains to ease overcrowdingFirst class carriages could be axed on peak-time trains to make more room for passengers on overcrowded journeys.
• South West Trains delays: Flooding causes problems on lines into London WaterlooFlooding has triggered delays on commuter routes into Waterloo after torrential rain hit London last night.
• Revealed: The most bizarre items confiscated from passengers at London City AirportTins of tuna, �40,000 in cash and a wooden meat hammer are among some of the most bizarre items confiscated from passengers at London City Airport.
• Heathrow launches dramatic bid to clinch David Cameron deal for new runwayHeathrow launched a dramatic bid today to clinch a deal with David Cameron for a third runway.
• Sadiq Khan's help for London City Airport expansion 'breaks green pledge'Green campaigners today claimed Sadiq Khan has already broken his pledge to be London's "greenest ever" mayor, after he removed a key obstacle to the expansion of City Airport.
• Evening Standard comment: Heathrow's bid to win London's airport battleThe unveiling today by Heathrow Airport of an updated blueprint for expansion is a significant moment in its battle to win Government permission for a third runway.
• Heathrow to open Uber car park after drivers 'litter and urinate in residents' gardens'Heathrow is opening a special car park for Uber drivers after they were accused of making life a misery in villages around the airport.

Northern Echo

• When will The Flying Scotsman be back in the region? The great days of steam have returned on the East Coast Main Line - as the world's best known loco rubs shoulders with modern electric expresses.

Wales Online

• David Cameron says businesses in South Wales are being hurt by the delay to upgrading the M4David Cameron says it is 'high time' the Welsh Government took action
• This furious horse riding business says low flying aircrafts are spooking their animals without warning Jenny Dimond said the health and safety of horses and riders is being put a risk, after a horse was spooked on a small local road

East Anglian Daily Times

• Final go-ahead for new A14 – work to start this yearThe £1.5billion project will see 21 miles of new road built to eliminate one of the worst bottlenecks on the route between East Anglia and the north and midlands.

Sunderland Echo

• Train firm given permission to compete on East Coast Main Line More services on the way as FirstGroup is given the go-ahead to compete with Virgin Trains on the East Coast Main Line.

Other Regional Press

• Plan to improve Portsmouth transport unveiled todayTRANSPORT links in the Solent area need to be drastically improved to cope with the growing population and to improve productivity, according to a report published today.
• PM confirms rail electrification plans are still under consideration EAST YORKS: The Prime Minister confirmed plans to electrify the train line between Hull and Selby are still under consideration by transport officials – despite having the proposals in-hand for two years.
• Heathrow agrees no fourth runway in an attempt to secure third as it 'meets or exceeds' Airports Commission conditions
• Northern Rail: We're aware Boro service needs sorting - but we only have a limited number of trains Hundreds of fans were again squeezed into the local matchday service for the Brighton game :: Northern Rail has again apologised
• New train routes to link Weymouth and Dorchester to Gillingham and Sherborne this summer ALL ABOARD- dates for the new summer service connecting Dorset towns and villages by rail have been confirmed.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and 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. Plans to make nearly every vehicle in the country zero-emission by 2050 have taken a further step forward today, Tuesday 10 May 2016, with the launch of a £2 million government fund to encourage more businesses to switch to hydrogen-fuelled vehicles. The Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV) Fleet Support Scheme will allow local authorities, health trusts, police forces, fire brigades and private companies to bid for funding to add hydrogen-powered vehicles to their fleets. The &po...
• Briggs Equipment wins Peel Ports ContractBriggs Equipment is now the primary supplier of materials handling services to Peel Ports Group, after securing a £38 million contract. This success builds on the long-standing relationship between Briggs and Peel Ports, through a partnership at the Liverpool operation that spans 22 years.  Briggs secured this latest contract with a compelling proposition that demonstrated value and innovation.  Following what has been widely acknowledged as one of the materials handling industry’s most challenging and diverse tenders of recent years, Briggs is thrilled to become the pri...
• InterCity West Coast franchiseRail passengers are being asked for their views on how the InterCity West Coast (ICWC) line can deliver better rail services in a government consultation launched today (10 May 2016). Passengers, businesses and local councils can have their say on the planned improvements for the new franchise — which runs between London, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Holyhead — ahead of the start of the competition for a new operator later this year. The franchise competition will invite bids from operators hoping to run the next ICWC franchise, with the consultation...
• Vantage Busway Service reaches 150,000 customer journeysAtherton resident Yvonne Sixsmith boarded the V2 service at Bag Lane this week (Monday 9 May) heading towards Manchester and became the 150,000th customer to board Vantage since services were first launched on 3 April. Presenting Yvonne with a Vantage goody bag and a month's free travel was bus driver Phil Ainsworth from Tyldesley who is one of the seventy-five specially trained Vantage drivers.  Customer Yvonne Sixsmith said,

Rail Magazine

• Campaigners call for Borders Railway improvementsThe Campaign for Borders Rail is urging better trains and more reliable infrastructure on the new Edinburgh-Tweedbank railway following failures in April.
• GWML wires will meet Hendy targets - Network RailNetwork Rail says the Great Western Route Modernisation (GWRM) will be completed to targets set after the Hendy Review.
• Great Western wires in use by SeptemberNetwork Rail tells RAIL the first section of electrified track to be completed on the GWML will be between Reading and Didcot at the end of September.
• West Coast franchise consultation startsConsultation on the next InterCity West Coast franchise, which starts in April 2018, began on May 10.
• RAIL 800: Chris GreenCelebrating 800 issues of the market-leading modern rail magazine, 35 years of coverage, 21 years edited by Nigel Harris

Rail Technology Magazine

• Shaw report recommendations need quick implementationAdrian Shaw, senior vice-president of global programme management and rail sector head, Europe, Middle East, India and Africa at Aecom, reflects on the Shaw Report's recommendations and the need for changes to be adopted quickly.
• More trains on crowded InterCity West Coast may be delayed until after HS2Stakeholders are being invited to submit their views on the InterCity West Coast franchise in order to shape requirements for future bidders. The consultation, aimed at groups including passengers, employees, communities, businesses and railway industry groups, includes...
• Unique designs for new Crossrail stations releasedNew images of the remodelled stations along the Elizabeth Line, as Crossrail will be named, have been released to the public. The images, which are also featured in a free exhibition at the Royal Institute of British Architects, provide a new glimpse of the Elizabeth Line, which is now...
• RMT accused of 'cynical ploy' over changed strike datesThe industrial dispute over plans to introduce driver-operated only (DOO) trains on Southern has grown more heated after a sudden change of strike date from union RMT. Southern accused RMT of trying to deliberately maximise the disruption caused by the strikes by changing the date from 20 May to...
• GB Railfreight names last Class 66 locomotive 'Evening Star' GB Railfreight has named the last Class 66 locomotive to be built for the UK and European markets ‘Evening Star’. Locomotive 66779, which has been liveried in lined passenger express ‘brunswick green’, was named after the last steam locomotive to be built by Swindon Works...

Railnews

• Revenue threat on East Coast Main LineNEW open access services on the East Coast Main Line have been approved by the Office of Rail and Road, but a warning has been sounded that Virgin Trains East Coast's revenue could come under pressure as a result.

Railway Gazette

• Go-Ahead orders Flirt EMU fleetGERMANY: The German subsidiary of UK-based rail and bus group Go-Ahead has awarded Stadler Pankow a...
• Abellio DMU financing in placeGERMANY: Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp and KfW IPEX-Bank announced on May 11 that they had concluded...
• Alstom announces ‘sound results’ for 2015-16ALSTOM: ‘Successes across all regions and product lines’ made 2015-16 ‘the second record commercial...

The Business Desk

• Green light for East Coast Main Line expansionVIRGIN has been given the go-ahead to introduce new train services on the East Coast Main Line. New services will be introduced to Middlesbrough, York, Newcastle, Morpeth, Lincoln, Leeds, Bradford, Harrogate and Stevenage.

Other News Sources

• Heathrow pledge to reduce night flights in bid to build third runway is 'good outcome' for SpelthorneThe borough council's leader, Cllr Ian Harvey, said he wants to see the airport expand in a way that is sympathetic to the environment
• FTA hopes new runway is a step closerThe Freight Transport Association (FTA) says it hopes today’s response by Heathrow to recommendations by the Airports Commission will bring the ...