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

Saturday, 16 October 2010

BBC News

• Stagecoach buys London bus firmPerth-based transport firm Stagecoach buys London's third largest bus company for £53m.
• Films mapped on Underground routePassengers can brush up on their knowledge of cinema with a new Tube map showing films shot in London.
• European car sales see 9.2% fallCar giants including Toyota, Fiat and Ford see falls in European sales now that there is no support from scrappage schemes.
• Car buyers lift US retail salesUS retail sales increased by a better-than-expected 0.6% in September, helped by a rise in car sales, figures show.
• Eurostar faces strike disruptionEurostar says there will be no services between the UK and Brussels on Monday because of industrial action set to hit Belgium's rail network.

Financial Times

• Stagecoach buys back London bus companyStagecoach Group, the UK bus and rail operator, is to re-enter the London bus market after buying back a bus business for a fraction of the price that it sold it in 2006

The Guardian

• Stagecoach buys back London bus business at a discount Transport group Stagecoach is re-entering the London bus market by buying back a business it sold four years ago, at a fraction of the cost.

The Herald

• Rail passenger numbers set to soar in 20 yearsNew train services and an enhanced railway network are needed to cope with an increase in passenger numbers, which are expected to more than double in the next two decades, according to a new report.
• Stagecoach drives a £210m bus bargainBrian Souter™s Stagecoach has bought back the London bus business it sold four years for barely a fifth of its original sale price.

The Independent

• Stagecoach gets back on the buses with £60m East London deal The transport giant Stagecoach is re-entering the London bus market after buying back a business it sold in 2006 for a fraction of the price.

The Scotsman

• Bus boss insists company is not under threat THE under-fire boss of Edinburgh's biggest bus company has insisted it is not at threat from a controversial merger with the capital's troubled tram project.

Reuters News

• France takes Eurostar case to EU Commission - reportFrance has stepped up its opposition to Eurostar's decision to buy trains from Germany's Siemens AG instead of French supplier Alstom by taking the case to the European Commission, a German newspaper reported on Friday.

Daily Express

• Stagecoach's bargain buyTRANSPORT group Stagecoach yesterday bought a London bus company for a knockdown £52.8million - four years after selling it for £264million.

Daily Record

• CalMac ferry crashed into Kennacraig pier after losing control, report finds AN ISLAND ferry hit a pier after one of its propellers went out of control, an official report has revealed.

The Mirror

• Union steer Jaguar Land Rover jobsto safety A FEW short months ago it looked like the end of the road for at least one Jaguar Land Rover factory.

Network Rail

• ACTION STATIONS FOR READING AS COUNCIL GIVES GREEN LIGHT TO REDEVELOPMENT PLANS
• NETWORK RAIL OUTLINES FUTURE FOR SCOTLAND™S RAILWAYPassenger numbers set to soar across the network over next two decadesMore train services and enhanced infrastructure needed to match demand
• NETWORK RAIL AWARDS MAJOR CROSSRAIL DESIGN CONTRACT
• BIRMINGHAM GATEWAY STARTS TO SHAPE UP
• FASTER RAIL SERVICES FOLLOWING LINE IMPROVEMENT ON MIDLAND MAIN LINE

Birmingham Mail

• region’s transport schemes at risk of being axed in favour of flagship projects SOME of the region’s most important transport schemes are at risk of being axed in favour of flagship projects.
• 'New era' as Jaguar creates thousands of jobs Car giant Jaguar Land Rover is to invest billions of pounds in its business, creating thousands of new jobs and safeguarding its UK factories, including two in the West Midlands, it has been announced.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Longer trains 'not the solution' Rail passenger watchdogs have said there is no œlong-term solution to ease passenger congestion on the overcrowded Airedale and Wharfedale lines.

Derby Telegraph

• Mayor of London aide hopeful Bombardier deal will still go ahead THE man who advises the Mayor of London on his transport policy says he is hopeful a contract Bombardier is bidding for will still go ahead. Kulveer Ranger, Boris Johnson's director of transport policy, made his comments about the Thameslink contract during a visit to the trainmaker's Litchurch Lane factory yesterday – where he witnessed the production of Sub Surface Line trains destined for the capital.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Workers take fight to City Chambers DOZENS of Lothian Buses drivers and other workers took their fight against the merger of their company with tram firm TIE to the City Chambers.
• Trams could go to end of Leith walk within four yearsCITY chiefs now think they can take the tram line to the end of Leith Walk "within four years", it emerged today.

Journal Live

• Hitachi petition presented to Downing Street BUSINESS leaders campaigning to bring a trains factory to the North-east say the project will grow the economy. Dubbed the “new Nissan” because of the anticipated impact it would have on the region’s economy, Hitachi’s rolling stock factory could bring up to 9,000 jobs if it goes ahead at Newton Aycliffe.
• Durham Tees Valley Airport passengers face extra fee PASSENGERS travelling from a struggling North East airport will have to pay an extra charge for every flight from next month.

Manchester Evening News

• Northern Rail staff strip off for charity calendar Brave train staff have bared all “ for the perfect ˜model™ railway calendar. Nine women and three men from Northern Rail ditched their uniforms to pose nude on station platforms and raise thousands for the Bernardo™s children™s charity.
• Oxford Road will be ’low carbon lab’ for green experiments One of the busiest routes into Manchester is to become an experimental zone for investigating green ways of working and living. Corridor Manchester, the body behind the £2.5bn re-development of Oxford Road, plans to use the area to test methods of combating climate change.

Northern Echo

• Hoping for full speed ahead The region’s political and union leaders hope the Intercity Express Programme will provide a glimmer of sunshine amid the gloom of swingeing Government spending cuts next week. Joe Willis reports.
• Committed to improve public transportA MINISTER has said that the coalition Government is committed to improving public transport despite the forthcoming budget cuts.
• Airport introduces £6 charge to usersPASSENGERS using Durham Tees Valley airport have been told they must pay an extra £6 every time they travel to save it from closure.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Network must meet demand Train services for commuters in the north-east will have to be increased to cope with soaring demand over the next 20 years.
• Swiss railway triumph runs like clockwork SWISS engineers yesterday smashed through the last stretch of rock to create the longest tunnel in the world

The York Press

• National Railway Museum™s Great Hall to shut for £21 million transformation THE centrepiece of one of York™s biggest tourist attractions will close for more than a year to allow development of a new display.

Wales Online

• £40m improvements plan for Swansea’s ’Delayer’ road FOR decades, the name of the eastern gateway to Swansea has been an uncomfortable joke for commuters, travellers and shoppers stuck in traffic.
• Rural railway upgrade spells end of the line for delays RAIL consumer watchdogs claim a £5m project to upgrade a 142-year-old rural railway linking Wales with England will mean more punctual trains.

Yorkshire Post

• Video: Osborne green lights two key transport schemes in Yorkshire CHANCELLOR George Osborne has promised to give the green light to a host of under-threat projects in the region after approving two key transport schemes.
• Video: Giving diesel its due, after 50 glorious years The National Railway Museum is throwing a birthday party and steam isn't invited. John Woodcock reports.

Bucks Free Press

• HS2 chairman: line unlikely to benefit Bucks A TOP rail official admitted today a planned high speed railway line through Buckinghamshire is unlikely to have any major benefits to the county.

Burnley Express

• Funding aim for Burnley stationRAIL campaigners are pulling out all the stops to find cash to pay for the revamp of a run-down Burnley railway station.

Carlisle News & Star

• National award for team that built Workington's temporary road bridge The team behind the construction of Workington™s temporary road bridge has scooped a top international award for engineering.

Other Regional Press

• All change at CastlefordCastleford & Pontefract Travel Centre both open after upgrades.
• Transport investment welcomedMetro Chairman welcomes Chancellor's announcement on Leeds Station southern entrance and M62.
• MP adds weight to Hilmarton speeding campaign MP James Gray operated a hand-held speed camera for half an hour and œshot 250 cars.
• Railway summit to debate sidings noise row JERICHO residents and councillors will meet railway managers face-to-face to settle a long-running dispute over noise from trains.
• Drivers™ despairA high-tech test of Britain™s roads by celebrity chef and car enthusiast James Martin has revealed a Lanarkshire motorway as the noisiest and bumpiest in the land.
• Aberdeen road™s speed limit to be cut from 70 to 40mphPART of one of Aberdeen™s busiest roads will be shut on Sunday while new speed signs are put in place.

Campaign for Better Transport

• We tell Government what we think about rail franchises15 October: We™ve told the Government that train companies must not be given a freer hand at the expense of quality services for passengers. read more

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Checking tyres 'improves winter driver safety'Tyres should be checked carefully to ensure that they have ample tread depth to brave winter weather.This is according to the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM), which has urged motorists to carry out examinations of their wheels before cold conditions hit, with a minimum tread depth of 1.6mm allowed and 3mm advised,According to the organisation, road users should be sure their tyres can cope with surface water, snow or frost, which can all cause wheels to skid.The IAM noted highways can be particularly hazardous in winter and its chief examiner Peter Rodger pointed out that the rate of wea...

Transport for London

• London's transport upgrade creates 400 jobs in the MidlandsTransport for London (TfL) orders with Bombardier boosting employment in and around Derby.

Other News Sources

• Andrea Leadsom MP Organises HS2 Rail Lobby Day At Westminster Andrea Leadsom MP for South Northamptonshire is organising a Lobby Day on Monday 25 October 2010 in the Houses of Parliament.
• U-turn on British train ban for folding bikes Train companies have done a U-turn after issuing a leaflet that appeared to ban most folding bikes from the UK's railway network.
• Port development plan approvedNorth Lincolnshire Council has approved the area's biggest ever planning application for a £100 million port related development on the South Humber Bank.
• New Thematic Research Summary on Air Transport This Thematic Research Summary on Air Transport aims to provide the reader with a synthesis of results of completed European research projects and summarises the main relevant policy developments at EU level. This is done separately for seven sub-themes identified in the aeronautics and air transport related research reported in this summary.
• Drill breaks through to complete longest rail tunnelWorkers in Switzerland celebrated and waved flags as a drilling machine broke through the rock to complete the world's longest tunnel.
• Former Bobby is Traffic Officers’ New BossThe Highways Agency has appointed John McTaggart as its new Regional Operations Manager (ROM) in charge of the North West Traffic Officer Service – responsible for keeping motorway drivers across the region on the move. John, 45, is a former Cheshire Police and Merseyside Police officer who joined the Highways Agency’s strategic planning team in [...]
• Construction quangos' future remains uncertainThe fates of bodies responsible for billions of pounds of spending in the construction sector remain uncertain, after the government postponed its final decision on a number of quangos.
• Council approves Network Rail's Reading station schemeReading Borough Council has granted approval for Network Rail™s to redevelop the town™s railway station “ part of a wider revamp of the station and surrounding area.
• Balfour Beatty wins Network Rail Crossrail jobBalfour Beatty Rail has won a contract with Network Rail covering major works on Crossrail™s south eastern spur between Plumstead and Abbey Wood.

News from Europe

• Breakthough on world's longest railway tunnel SWITZERLAND: Tunnel boring machine 'Sissi' broke through the final 1·8 m of rock for the first main bore of the 57 km Gotthard base tunnel at around 14.15 on October 15.
• Madrid metro Line 11 extended to La Fortuna SPAIN: Esperanza Aguirre, President of the Madrid regional government, inaugurated the extension of metro Line 11 from La Peseta, in Carabanchel, to La Fortuna in Leganés on October 5.

Other Subscription Services

• Abbey Wood design contract goes to Balfour BeattyBalfour Beatty Rail has seen off rivals to clinch the Network Rail design contract for Abbey Wood station and associated track upgrades.The contract covers the design phase for works to four-track...