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

Thursday, 15 July 2010

BBC News

• Wheelchair passenger train 'ban' First Great Western offers its apologies - and free travel - to a disabled Devon man who was told he could not travel by train with his wheelchair.
• Rare tour inside an abandoned tube station London Underground's David Leboff offers a guided tour round St Mary's in East London, which closed in 1938, and is one of the tube network's least well-known or visited disused stations.
• Warning over railway line dangerNetwork Rail reveals that nearly 50 people died after trespassing on live railway tracks last year as it urges others to stay clear.
• Ministers against airport £1 feeScottish ministers are not supporting Edinburgh Airport's plans to charge £1 for dropping off passengers.
• Jobs to go at Prestwick AirportJobs look set to go at Prestwick Airport in a bid to cut costs after a significant drop in passenger numbers.
• EU gives backing to BA allianceEuropean regulators pave the way for British Airways, Iberia and American Airlines to work together more closely.

Financial Times

• Flybe-Air France tie-up raises speculationThe deal, which allows both airlines access to new routes, could be a precursor to a merger or an attempt to strengthen Flybe's appeal ahead of a potential IPO, say analysts
• Owners take dry bulk ships off marketTwo Capesize vessels have been put into layup in Singapore rather than offer them for charter at the $10,000 a day or less currently available in the Pacific Ocean
• Oneworld secures EU green light on tie-upsBrussels competition officials formally clear the global tie-up between British Airways, American Airlines and Spain's Iberia after concessions offered by the three carriers

The Herald

• Flybe joins forces with Air FranceFlybe, the regional British airline, and Air France-KLM have announced a commercial tie-up that will offer better flight options for passengers of both carriers.

The Telegraph

• State-run railway has worst punctuality figures Britain’s only state-run rail service ran more late trains than any other operators according to the latest official figures.

Press Association

• New aviation taskforce set to meet The Government's "better not bigger" approach to airports was being presented at the first meeting of a new aviation taskforce.
• Olympic transport upgrades 'on track' Upgrades to Stratford Regional Station, the main transport hub for the London 2012 Games, are on track for completion by the end of the year, the Olympic Delivery Authority has said.

Daily Express

• Stormy British Airways meeting reveals merger planBRITISH Airways is eyeing the possibility of a tie-up with a no-frills airline once its merger with Spanish group Iberia is completed later this year.
• BA’monster' deal with American Airlines and Iberia cleared for take off A TRANSATLANTIC tie-up between British Airways, Spain's Iberia and American Airlines, dubbed

Mail Online

• The first look inside futuristic high speed train nicknamed 'Concorde of the tracks'This sleek, aerodynamic and downright sexy train is the way in which the backers of a new high speed rail link think travellers should be transported within 15 years.

Network Rail

• LEVEL CROSSING OFFENCE EVERY THREE MINUTES LEADS TO HAMPDEN PARK CRACKDOWN
• FOUR IN A ROW FOR VIRGIN TRAINS
• JUNE SEES GOOD PERFORMANCE MAINTAINED
• NETWORK RAIL STEPS UP TO SUPPORT BUSINESS IN LONDON

Birmingham Mail

• Warwickshire rail vandals who nearly caused a train to derail at 95mph to be sentenced today TWO vandals who nearly caused a Midlands train to derail at 95mph are set to be sentenced today.

Bolton News

• Transport police target cable thieves CABLE thieves are the focus of a new crackdown by British Transport Police.

Liverpool Post

• Ash casts cloud but Liverpool John Lennon Airport enjoys first-half growth THE volcanic ash cloud cost Liverpool John Lennon Airport (JLA) 100,000 passengers and its owners Peel Airports £1m – but it still achieved a 5% increase in traffic in the first half of 2010.

Manchester Evening News

• Airport’s parking war on the tailgate cheats Manchester Airport is installing spy cameras in its car parks after a surge in drivers dodging parking fees. The cameras, which check number plates, are being brought in after a surge in people cheating the system.

The York Press

• East Coast rail firm poor for punctuality YORK’S flagship train company, East Coast, has again suffered the poorest punctuality record, according to figures from Network Rail.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Leeds Bradford Airport: Lord Mayor opens £400,000 loungeThe Lord Mayor of Leeds, Coun Jim McKenna, has officially opened Leeds Bradford International Airport's (LBIA) new Premier Lounge.

Burnley Express

• Send a text to catch Lancashire bus stop vandals PUBLIC transport users who spot a trashed bus shelter are being asked to text a photo of the damage to a new Lancashire County Council rapid-response hotline.

Other Regional Press

• Kirklees Council accused of railroading Wooldale crossing plan RESIDENTS in Wooldale accused Kirklees Council of ignoring local opposition to a controversial crossing.
• Prestwick staff facing the axeDozens of jobs are set to be axed at Prestwick Airport in an attempt to save cash because of a major drop in passenger numbers.
• £3m bid to finish Swanage Railway works RAIL buffs face a race against time to secure cash to make their mainline dream a reality.

Railway Gazette

• Products & Technology in BriefErico has developed a Positive Train Control grounding kit, containing rods, clamps, welding material, moulds, and cable for protecting PTC signalling towers from lightning strikes. The first screens showing 20 min blocks of news, 'what's on', and advertising material went live on 18 København S-Tog trains on June 14, with the rest of the fleet to follow within a year. They are operated by DR Update & Commute Media, which also provides free onboard internet access. Transport for London is making available feeds of live data for the independent development of commercial information appl...
• Series E6 mini-Shinkansen trainset unveiledJAPAN: The: prototype Series E6 mini-Shinkansen trainset for East Japan Railway's Akita route was unveiled to the public at Sendai depot on July 9. Once trials are completed the train is expected to enter commercial service from 2013. The Series E6 has five motor and two trailer cars, providing 315 standard seats and 23 in the Green Car. The maximum speed in commercial service will be 320 km/h between Tokyo and Morioka on the Tohoku Shinkansen, and 130 km/h between Morioka and Akita on the mini-Shinkansen section of upgraded conventional line. The Series E6 features a nose around 13 m long t...
• DB Schenker moving to Frankfurt GERMANY: Deutsche Bahn is to concentrate the management of its freight and logistics division DB Schenker at a new site near Frankfurt Airport over the next one to two years, it announced on July 14. Teams currently based in Berlin, Mainz and Essen will move to the Frankfurt site, which will have around 330 staff. Mainz and Essen will remain as the respective headquarters of DB Schenker Rail Deutschland and Schenker AG, and DB Chairman Dr Rüdiger Grube stressed that DB's corporate headquarters will remain in Berlin. 'As a key international business capital, Frankfurt is an attractive logist...
• Locomotive workshop opens NETHERLANDS: NedTrain Chief Executive Michiel van Roozendaal opened the company's newly-built freight locomotive maintenance, servicing and refurbishment workshop at Rotterdam Waalhaven on June 24. The company said the new facilities would enable it to provide faster turn-round times and a higher quality of service than was possible at its previous Rotterdam Zuid site, which the local authority wishes to redevelop. The Waalhaven depot is strategically located to serve freight operators using the Betuwe Route and the Rotterdam port complex. It can accommodate up to seven locomotives, and has v...

Green Miscellany

• A picture of cycling in London Fifty illustrators and artists have drawn, painted, etched and stencilled their interpretation of cycling in London for an exhibition to be hosted next month by the London Transport Museum.read more

Other News Sources

• Calls to tear up Weymouth's tramway lines NEW calls were made today to tear up Weymouth’s historic harbourside railway line.
• Train times on track as county route improves A train firm which runs services on Lancashire’s most popular rail line has made it four months in a row as the country’s most improved operator.
• Residents demand rail parking at Longbridge railway station A PUBLIC meeting of residents has called for parking at Longbridge railway station.
• Sussex's rural bus services could be hit by funding crisis Thousands of people who rely on rural bus services could be left stranded if a multimillion-pound grant is cut.
• Bam wins £120m Network Rail job Bam Construction is understood to have won the prestigious £120 million contract to build Network Rail’s eco-friendly National Centre offices in Milton Keynes.
• Drought to shut canal through East Lancashire to boatsDROUGHT conditions are set to close the Leeds and Liverpool Canal throughout East Lancashire to travelling boats from the start of next month.
• Mayor urged to consult on transport faresThe Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has been urged to follow other major world cities and consult with residents over rises to public transport fares.
• Geared up to drive electric carsIt might be a well-worn cliché, but the last few weeks have seen the fate of electric cars in the UK at a crossroads. On one hand, there have been calls for Britain to move forward with a new, low-carbon transport system, with electric and hybrid cars playing an integral role.