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

Tuesday, 15 February 2011

BBC News

• Jubilee line 'will get better' [video]BBC London has been given a first look at the new technology installed on the Jubilee line.
• The politics of upgrading the Tube [blog]The upgrade of the Jubilee line is at long last entering its final stages and transport bosses say it should be finished by June 2011 at the latest.
• Electric car plan for London 'half-hearted' The mayor of London has been accused of having a half-hearted commitment to electric vehicles in the city.
• Road move for rail route agreedPlans to realign the A7 road to allow the Borders to Edinburgh rail route to re-open are agreed by councillors.
• Inquiry to be held on new A5 roadRegional Development Minister Conor Murphy announces that a public inquiry will be held into the new A5 road between Londonderry and Aughnacloy.
• Bus lanes plan could raise fundsTransport Scotland is deciding whether to decriminalise bus lane offences in a move that could bring in large sums for councils.
• Boeing unveils IntercontinentalUS planemaker Boeing has unveiled the latest version of its jumbo jet, the 747-8 Intercontinental, pledging to carry more passengers using less fuel.
• Panama Canal alternative plannedColombia has announced it is to promote trade with Asia by building an alternative to the Panama Canal with China.
• Amazon pollution: Chevron finedA court in Ecuador fines US oil giant Chevron a reported $8.6bn (£5.3bn) for polluting much of the country's Amazon region.

Financial Times

• Rolls-Royce wins $2.2bn Emirates servicing dealAero-engines group says contract will bring all of Emirates' 128 Rolls-Royce powered aircraft in service and on order under its TotalCare service arrangements
• Turkish Airlines stake primed for saleAnkara to hear bids to advise on move as it presses on with ambitious privatisation programme after flag carrier's rapid expansion
• Daunting challenge of pirates' growing rangeSeizing possibly the most valuable vessel ever taken, pirates have posed serious questions about security of oil supplies from Middle East

The Guardian

• In praise of … the Welsh Highland railway On 19 February a public passenger train will run from Caernarfon to Porthmadog, for the first time since the second world war
• Top London Bloggers: five transport champions My failure until now to include London Reconnections in my Top London Bloggers index and deluxe aggregator page is a crime and a sin for which I should be made to run through all 32 London boroughs and the City of London clad only in joggers with a hole in the pocket, an old T-shirt and a pair of mud-stained trainers. Oh, hang on. Anyway, that superb transport blog is now belatedly installed in both places. As are:

The Herald

• Weir tops Footsie gainer’s list on bid speculation GLASGOW engineering company Weir Group was among the top percentage gainers in the FTSE-100 share index yesterday, buoyed by vague speculation it could be a bid target for German giant Siemens and a positive research note from its own broker UBS.

The Scotsman

• Many motorists 'running on empty'An increasing number of drivers are "running on empty" due to high petrol and diesel costs.

The Telegraph

• Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou hits back at former easyJet chief Andy Harrison A fresh row has broken out between Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou and former easyJet chief executive Andy Harrison over his receipt of a controversial £1m payment for just three months work.
• Boeing unveils new, bigger 747-8 jet to cool response Boeing rolled out a new bigger jumbo jet on Sunday almost 42 years to the day since the 747 changed the face of the travel industry.
• FTSE today: market reportWeir Group and Invensys were at the heart of takeover speculation following comments by Joe Kaeser, finance director at German conglomerate Siemens.

Daily Express

• Rolls-Royce lands £1.4bn Emirates dealJET engine maker Rolls-Royce took another step in its recovery from last November's super-jumbo engine blowout by unveiling a £1.4billion deal with Middle East airline Emirates.

The Sun

• Asda joins Sun fight over fuel duty hike ASDA backed the Sun campaign to help rivers by handing out 90,000 Keep It Down stickers

Journal Live

• Cycle safety campaign gathers pace A ROAD safety campaign launched following the tragic death of a Northumberland-born cyclist heads for Europe today after winning further influential support.

London Evening Standard

• Rush-hour failure on Met and Jubilee linesTube passengers suffered more misery after disruption on two lines during the morning rush-hour
• Many motorists 'running on empty'An increasing number of drivers are

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Nexus unveil its new Metro smartcard system METRO operator Nexus today unveiled its new smartcard system – the biggest initiative of its kind outside London.

Bucks Free Press

• Tory MP attacks 'ragtag' rail campaignersA CONSERVATIVE MP has sparked outrage by calling anti-HS2 campaigners œa ragtag alliance of luddites and nimbys.

Peterborough Telegraph

• More trains on East Coast routeA TRAIN operator has unveiled a new timetable.
• Station car park to close unless barrier deadline metCOUNCIL chiefs have told the train station they will close one of its car parks unless a barrier on a cycle path is removed by midnight on Sunday.
• East coast rail chaos hits thousandsThousands of travellers were left stranded on platforms up and down the East Coast Mainline because of problems near Finsbury Park in London on Thursday (10 February).

Other Regional Press

• £73m motorway link planWork on a multi-million pound project to link Scotland™s two major motorways and create a new town centre could begin within months.

Global Rail News

• Chiltern Railways announce 90 min trains to LondonWith just 100 days to go until the much anticipated launch of Chiltern Mainline, Chiltern Railways revealed their timetable plans for May on Friday 11th February. This will bring a real alternative to train travel between Birmingham and London. The faster journey times are made possible by a £250 million investment to upgrade the rail route from Moor Street station in Birmingham to Marylebone station in central London. The key benefits of the timetable show: ¢ ...
• First TransPennine Express wins awards for safetyFirst TransPennine Express (FTPE) has been recognised at the second annual Golden Whistle awards for running its services safely and for significantly improving customer information at times of disruption. The company received a Golden Whistle for Best Operational Safety and a Silver Whistle for Most Improved Operator for Passenger Information in Times of Disruption. FTPE was chosen as the safety award winner after judges took data from all train operators across the country and calculated ...
• Interfleet™s Guru system to be used by East Coast TrainsEast Coast Trains has chosen Interfleet Technology™s recently launched Guru product to help deliver a step-change in monitoring performance. Interfleet™s Guru system will enable the operator to make real-time informed operating decisions, speeding decision making and effectiveness. Guru encompasses remote condition monitoring, energy metering and interactive software and provides East Coast Trains with a sophisticated tool which can help deliver reductions in train maintenance costs and energy usage, increased rolling stock reliability, improved detection of ...
• Direct Rail Services solves rail gauge constraintsDirect Rail Services (DRS), the UK™s leading rail freight operator is delighted to announce the acquisition of a fleet of new IDA Lowliner vehicles to complement the company™s existing extensive fleet. These state of the art pieces of rolling stock will further expand DRS™ capabilities and unlock new routes for customers without the need for costly gauge enhancements. In addition, these new vehicles have an optimised platform length which will allow up to 20% more ...
• Network Rail seeks bright ideas with matchmaking websiteNetwork Rail is on a quest for bright ideas to help make the railway more efficient with the launch of a new matchmaking website for suppliers to submit solutions to a range of business challenges. The new website sets out a series of priorities and challenges Network Rail aims to overcome to deliver a better value railway and invites suppliers from the rail industry and beyond to submit their ideas on how they can help ...
• Gillingham station upgrade work beginsGillingham and Rainham MP, Rehman Chishti, joined Network Rail and Medway councillors to mark the beginning of work on a new entrance and ticket office at Gillingham station which will provide easier access and better facilities for passengers. Mr Chishti said: œI welcome the upgrading of Gillingham station; the work will transform the station into something that we can all be proud of. Dave Ward, Network Rail™s route director for Kent, said: œAn important part ...
• Northern Rail launches Community Ambassadors scheme for Greater Manchester and LancashireGreater Manchester and Lancashire™s largest rail operator, Northern Rail, has launched a new scheme to understand the needs of several local areas in the region when it comes to travelling by train. The areas included in the ˜Northern Community Ambassadors™ scheme have been highlighted for a variety of reasons, such as high ethnicity or social exclusion. Northern, who manages over 100 stations in the Greater Manchester and Lancashire region, has employed four Community Ambassadors who ...
• National Express™ Ben Rule wins industry awardNational Express East Anglia™s Deputy Operations Director Ben Rule has won the inaugural ˜Outstanding Individual Operator™ award at the rail industry™s prestigious ˜Golden Whistle Awards™. As Deputy Operations Director Ben has overall responsibility for 880 drivers and 200 conductors. Over the past year he has achieved several notable milestones, including receiving ˜Investors in People™ accreditation for NXEA™s train crew team, having successfully introduced a comprehensive suite of training and briefing processes. He has also focused ...
• Solar powered screens to be installed at Highland stationsSolar powered screens with customer information are to be installed at seven ScotRail stations “ all in the Highlands. No matter the weather, they will continue to operate in cold and even cloudy days. They will be installed by the train operator at Alness, Beauly, Golspie, Invergordon, Lairg, Muir of Ord, and Tain stations, with support from the Technology Strategy Board and HITRANS – the Highlands and Islands Transport Partnership. The screens have been developed ...

Railnews

• News: Network Rail ’surprised’ by call for litter orders Network Rail is facing a string of Litter Abatement Orders following an initiative to clean up railway property by the Campaign to Protect Rural England. The CPRE is encouraging its members to take action, led by its president, the author Bill Bryson. But Network Rail has greeted the news with surprise.

Aviation Industry

• Airport security to watch for suspicious passengers under pilot projectVancouver International Airport, shown in this file photo, will be the site of a pilot program to allow the monitoring of passenger behaviour to detect potential terrorists at the passenger-screening checkpoint.
• American Airlines launches social mediaAmerican Airlines is turning to social media to boost its loyalty program. On Monday, American, a unit of AMR Corp.
• Gatwick sees continued underlying growthThe number of flights at London™s Gatwick airport grew by more than 10% last month, compared to January 2010
• Easyjet trials green paint, but remains orangeEasyjet is hoping a new type of ultra light paint could lower its fuel consumption, by reducing drag and increasing efficiency
• Bigger B747 unveiledA new longer version of the Boeing 747, which Boeing says boasts many of the benefits of the B787 Dreamliner, has been unveiled in Washington

Other News Sources

• Partial hybrids offer emissions compromisePartial hybrid cars with low voltage engine boosters could provide advantages over full hybrids claim developers
• Airtrack scheme opponents launch traffic survey CAMPAIGNERS for a tunnel in Egham to prevent traffic congestion from the Airtrack rail link are running their own traffic surveys.
• Ministers back plan to make lorry drivers pay for noise and pollution Rules would apply to any motorway in the EU.
• Bill Bryson calls for legal action against railway litter Author and anti-litter campaigner Bill Bryson has railed against train companies over trash on their tracks.
• Jaguar Land Rover speed toward energy reductions The super car and off road vehicle market has not been known for its sustainability in the past but all that is beginning to change.
• Bombardier Boosts Training Capacity with a New Simulator in DallasBombardier Aerospace today announced that it has increased the capacity of its training network with the addition of a CAE-built Level D Full-Flight Simulator (FFS) in Dallas, Texas to serve...
• easyJet tests nano technology for fuel efficiencyeasyJet today announced that it is the first commercial airline to trial a revolutionary nano-technology coating on its aircraft aimed at reducing drag and increasing fuel efficiency. The...
• Ryanair Delivers World's 1st Free Mobile Roaming Ryanair today (14th Feb) launched the world's first free mobile phone roaming service, in conjunction with Maxroam, which allows passengers who travel on Ryanair's guaranteed lowest fares to no...