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

Sunday, 01 March 2009

BBC News

• Rail ticket staff to go on strikeTicket office staff with a rail service operating between London and Essex are to go on strike in a dispute over holiday pay.

The Telegraph

• Blackfriars Underground station to closeThe station, used by 44,000 passengers a day, will shut until late 2011 while it is refurbished to serve the Underground and main line services is built. The existing Blackfriars main line station will stay open while the work goes on. Once finished, the new station, part of the Thameslink project, will span the River Thames with a new entrance on the south bank of the river. There will also be longer platforms, and longer and more-frequent trains.

Times Online

• Rolls engine in airliner safety alertA jet engine designed by Rolls-Royce is at the centre of a safety alert affecting 220 commercial airliners, including planes operated by British Airways.
• 10 best train trips in Britain Nostalgia’s a funny thing: you don’t have to have lived through an era to remember it fondly. Nobody under 50 was around when steam trains were common in Britain, but the appeal lives on — hundreds of thousands of children are besotted with Thomas the Tank Engine, and an equal number of volunteers (of all ages) keep more than 100 heritage steam railways running up and down the country.
• Ministers ’ignored’ Heathrow dissentPublic opposition to Heathrow airport’s proposed third runway was far higher than the government ever admitted, according to a Tory analysis of its consultation.

Mail Online

• Motorway cameras let police and MI5 track all car trips across the countryMotorway cameras let police and MI5 track all car trips across the country

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Three dead in Menai Bridge car crashThree people have died and another two have been seriously injured following a road traffic collision in Menai Bridge during the early hours of this morning (Saturday, Feb 28).
• On-the-spot fines for unsafe North Wales lorriesForeign lorry drivers will be forced to carry cash to pay on-the-spot fines for flouting traffic laws or face having their vehicles immobilised, the Daily Post can reveal.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• New London trains confirmed for Harrogate and Bradford Passenger on key Yorkshire to London rail routes will get improved services under plans green-lit today.

Sunderland Echo

• Green light for extra London linkSunderland's fourth daily rail link to London is full steam ahead.

International Herald Tribune

• Italy cracks down on transport strikesThe Italian government on Friday proposed new rules to limit rampant strikes in the transport sector that each year cripple air, rail and road travel.

Rail Technology Magazine

• Danobat Railway Systems Celebrates Winning the Largest Order in the Spanish Machine Tool Industry's HistoryDanobat Railway Systems is celebrating winning the largest order in the Spanish machine tool industry's history. On 4 December the Danobat Group, the machine tool division of the Mondragón Corporation, announced the signing of two supply contracts in Russia, one for €50 million and the other for €40 million, together with new offices to be opened in Russia, a new factory in Deba and a production plant in India.

Other News Sources

• More Misery For Rail And Road UsersWest Coast Mainline passengers suffered 50-minute delays following another overhead cable problem in Atherstone, Warwickshire. Services on the line have not ran on schedule for an entire day since before Christmas. Road users in the south also faced delays, after an accident on the M25 closed sections of the motorway in both directions.
• First Merseyrail Trials for Intelligent Wheel Flange Lubrication System on Network Rail TrackThe first live trials of Intelligent Wheel Flange Lubrication (iWFL) on a Merseyrail 507 electric multiple unit will begin in March. The iWFL system has been developed by rail systems specialist Rowe Hankins of Bury.
• $8 Bil. of Stimulus to Go to Trains, but Not Bullet-StyleIt may be the longest train delay in history: More than 40 years after the first bullet trains zipped through Japan, the United States still lacks true high-speed rail. And despite the record $8 billi...