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.

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
• 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...

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

• 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

London Evening Standard

• 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.
• 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.

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.

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...