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

Saturday, 06 November 2010

BBC News

• £1m rail station upgradeFlintshire railway station is officially re-opened after a £1m upgrade include a new ticket office, waiting areas, paths and signage.
• Injuries as lorry falls on trainSeveral people are injured when a lorry falls from a bridge and lands on a London-bound train at Oxshott, Surrey, Network Rail says.
• Toyota profits continue to soarToyota raises its annual profits forecast again as green-car subsidies boost sales.
• UK high-speed rail link is soldThe UK government sells a 30-year lease on the 68-mile London to Folkestone high speed rail link to a Canadian consortium for £2.1bn.

Financial Times

• Virgin Atlantic calls in bankers to review businessSpeculation about the future of Sir Richard Branson's airline has intensified after it said it had hired bankers to
• Canadian funds pay £2.1bn for Channel tunnel linkTwo Canadian pension funds are to pay a higher-than-expected £2.1bn for the right to run the UK's only dedicated high-speed rail line, in the first significant privatisation of the new coalition government
• £2.1bn HS1 sale lifts privatisation prospectsThe sale of the high-speed rail line from London to the Channel tunnel to two Canadian groups, the first significant privatisation under the coalition, has been hailed as 'great news for taxpayers and rail passengers'
• Second jet in Rolls-Royce engine scareA second Qantas passenger jet “ this time Boeing 747 jumbo “ has had to return to Singapore with engine trouble, just a day after one of the airline's Airbus A380s made an emergency landing when one of its Rolls-Royce engines failed
• Aer Lingus ready to return to blackIrish airline is on track to achieve its first annual profit in three years after slashing long-haul capacity, which reduced fuel costs, and cutting its Dublin-based workforce

The Guardian

• Rolls-Royce engines in 'BP moment'Warning comes as second Qantas jet, also powered by Rolls-Royce technology, returns to Singapore airport after reporting engine problemRolls-Royce was today warned it could face a BP-style backlash in the US after an engine design flaw was cited as a potential cause of the explosion that forced the emergency landing of a Qantas-owned A380 in Singapore on Thursday.The warning came as a second Qantas jet “ a Boeing 747-400 also powered by Rolls-Royce technology “ returned to Singapore's Changi airport after reporting an engine problem shortly after take-off today .Qantas said the second inciden...
• Channel tunnel rail link sold for £2.1bn to Canadian pension fundsTwo of Canada's largest pension funds win 30-year deal to run High Speed One link between St Pancras and Channel tunnel
• East Coast rail's Elaine Holt signals a change of directioBoss of government-run East Coast rail company has high hopes for her once glamorous, twice abandoned franchise

The Herald

• £333m bill for getting rail line back on trackThe emergency renationalisation of one of Britain™s most famous railway routes last year will lead to Government losses of £333 million by 2012, new figures show.
• Air freight security to be tightened over alertCountries sending air freight to the UK will be œgraded according to risk, Transport Secretary Philip Hammond said last night.

The Telegraph

• Canada spots good deal in Channel Tunnel fast link Days after Canada blocked BHP Billiton's $38.6bn (£23.8bn) bid for PotashCorp, they have clambered aboard the 68-mile High Speed One link from London to the Channel Tunnel.
• Channel Tunnel rail link sale begins UK's big sell off The great austerity auction of state-owned assets has commenced after a pair of Canadian pension funds splashed out £2.1bn to acquire High Speed One, the UK's high-speed rail link.
• Five injured after cement lorry crashes off bridge onto train Five people were injured last night after a cement mixer plunged off a bridge and plummeted 40 feet onto a passenger train.
• Britain faces pilot shortage threat Britain is facing the threat of a pilot shortage because of the cost of training, which can cost recruits up to £100,000.
• Airbus A380 engine woe wipes £1bn off Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce has seen more than £1bn wiped off its market value since one of its engines on an Airbus A380 flown by Qantas exploded in mid-air, causing the Australian airline to ground its fleet of the super-jumbos.

Mail Online

• Airports cash in on terror checks: £5 charge to jump queues 'they keep long'At least eight airports have introduced the system and are charging travellers up to £5 to beat the queues.

Network Rail

• DRIVER TRAINING IS VIRTUALLY A REALITY FOR NEW RAIL LINK
• SERIOUS INCIDENT, OXSHOTT SURREY

Belfast Telegraph

• Rolls-Royce value falls by £1.2bn after jet accident Rolls-Royce was facing tough questions over the safety of one of its jet engines last night amid suggestions a design flaw may have caused one to explode. Related StoriesLiquidator appointed to one of Republic's biggest building firmsPictures and video: Belfast Telegraph Woman of the Year Awards 2010Be Vigilant Against Credit Card FraudGermany slams 'clueless' US economic policyHSBC threatens to leave UK over Osborne banking levy

Birmingham Post

• Smartcard launched on West Midlands buses A £14 million project to install Smartcard technology on West Midlands buses has been launched.

Derby Telegraph

• Make cuts or our industry will die, rail companies are warnedTHE man leading the Government's review into rail spending has warned Derbyshire's firms that cuts will need to be made across the whole of the industry if it is to survive.
• Trains boss calls for businesses to get more help THE boss of the firm which owns East Midlands Trains has called on the Government to do more to help rail manufacturers by "tilting the playing field in the direction of our own people".
• Our engines are safe to fly, say city R-R workersWORKERS at Rolls-Royce have backed the company in the row over what caused the failure of an engine on a Qantas

Liverpool Echo

• Mid-Wirral rail line electrification 'a priority' – but still years off ELECTRIFICATION of the mid-Wirral railway line would bring major economic benefits to the region – but could take years to become a reality councillors were warned.

Liverpool Post

• Budget carrier Easyjet records 8.6% passenger increase for October EASYJET recorded an 8.6% increase in passenger numbers during October, to a total of 4.58m.

London Evening Standard

• Weekend work ban delays Northern lineThe £1 billion upgrade on the Northern line will be completed a year later than previously planned after transport bosses ruled out continuous weekend and early evening closures.

Metro

• Exploded Airbus A380 engine had been centre of previous safety alertsThe Airbus A380 Rolls-Royce engine that blew apart on a Qantas flight to Sydney had been at the centre of two previous safety scares.

Northern Echo

• Railway business ˜needed overhaul™ THE publicly-run firm that operates East Coast trains has claimed the franchise required a œcomplete business turnaround.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Pressure on Coalition to save Stornoway and Shetland tugsThe UK Government is under renewed pressure to reverse a decision to scrap the emergency tugboat service and launch a full consultation with the shipping and fishing industries.
• Electrified network hopes revealedScottish Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson outlined hopes last night to electrify œthe whole of the Scottish railway network within the next 20 years.

This Is Local London Network

• Salt stock piling high as council prepares for winterMountains of salt are piling high at county council depots across Surrey in preparation for winter.
• Investigation underway into Oxshott train crashAn investigation is underway this morning after a cement mixer dramatically plummeted from a bridge on to a train near Oxshott station.

Blackpool Gazette

• Jet2 win court injunction against airportBLACKPOOL Airport has been ordered to remain open past 9pm as airline Jet2 successfully won a High Court injunction.

Peterborough Telegraph

• Train operator back on trackTHE rail operator tasked with running the East Coast line used by thousands of Peterborough commuters each day has reported a profit and three per cent boost in passenger numbers in its first year of state ownership.

The Shields Gazette

• Pledge to end tunnel traffic congestionA TRANSPORT boss today pledged to tackle the Tyne Tunnel's unwanted reputation as one of the UK's worst traffic blackspots.

Other Regional Press

• High Speed One will get new operatorA Canadian consortium today won the right to operate the High Speed One Channel Tunnel rail link for the next 30 years.
• Death toll on city roads lowest ever recordedThe number of people killed on Glasgow™s roads is the lowest since records began.
• Warning to airports over Iceland volcano SCIENTISTS were today continuing to monitor an Icelandic volcano amid fears of further flights disruption.

Washington Post

• Trainmaker Talgo says its future in Wis. uncertain MILWAUKEE -- Trainmaker Talgo Inc. said Friday it can't promise it will stay in Milwaukee if Wisconsin scuttles its plans for a high-speed rail project as Gov.-elect Scott Walker has proposed.

Railnews

• News: Pledge to aid Derby firms on threatened rail site DERBY City Council has pledged its ’wholehearted support’ for rail companies based on the city’s RTC Business Park, which the Government has put up for sale. There are fears that key businesses could lose their vital rail connections if a buyer wants to use it for other purposes.
• News: Several people reported injured as mixer hits train Several people are reported to have been hurt after a cement mixer plunged on to a railway line in Surrey and struck a South West Trains unit.

Other News Sources

• TfL review to slash £300m from tube upgrades Piccadilly Line delayed and station improvements halted in bid to fill £2.2bn funding hole
• £1bn Gatwick Airport revamp starts take-offGatwick Airport is inviting tenders for the upgrade of the main runway, which forms a key part of the airport’s £1bn overhaul.
• Bids invited for Crossrail Farringdon stationCrossrail has started the search for a contractor to build one of the most complex stations on the £14.5bn project. The Farringdon station project will see the successful contractor construct two platform tunnels, each 245m long, between new ticket halls to the east and west.
• Rail Milestone For Joint Venture Costain is approaching a critical Christmas milestone in helping to upgrade one of London's major railway interchanges.
• Better transport despite the cuts, pledges MinisterThe plans support the goal set by the One Wales agreement of curbing carbon emissions by 3% a year.
• Blackburn parents hit by school bus fares increaseSCHOOLCHILDREN are being worst hit by increased bus fares, according to a group of Blackburn parents.
• Safety fears over next shared cycle route A FURTHER shared route for cyclists and pedestrians in Woking will be constructed, linking it to Goldsworth Park, in spite of ongoing safety fears.
• Transport plan 'flaws' for Waverley's rural routes WAVERLEY’S rural areas lack public transport while its roads are still poorly maintained and the borough is plagued by increasing congestion, a meeting has been told.
• VIDEO - Cement mixer falls on train, five hurt FIVE people have been hurt, three of them seriously, after a cement mixer crashed through the side of a road bridge on the A244 Warren Lane in Oxshott and fell onto a train passing underneath.

News from Europe

• EU looks to alternative fuels for 'green' cars The EU needs a long-term strategy on alternative fuels to decarbonise its transport sector by 2050, according to a draft report from the European Commission, seen by EurActiv.