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

Wednesday, 16 February 2011

BBC News

• Olympic cable car scheme in safety probe A safety assessment on a planned cable car has been launched over concerns the transport link could be too close to London City Airport.
• TfL's 'Russian roulette' over bag [Video]An unattended bag on the Tube in London was not checked for several stops - leading a manager to warn of "Russian roulette with people's lives".
• £1m grant for fuel cell companyA Cheshire company lands a £1m grant to develop affordable fuel cells for the mass car market.
• MSP in snow tyres for nurses callAn MSP says community nurses have told her that they have to pay for snow tyres to be fitted to work cars.
• Rail chiefs admit snow mistakesRailway bosses have admitted that they made mistakes in their response to the severe weather at the end of last year.
• Third of roads 'in bad condition'More than a third of Scotland's roads are in an unacceptable condition while the maintenance backlog for repairs now runs to £2.25bn, a report finds.
• Air traffic problems 'resolved'A problem with air traffic control systems which has affected some flights out of Glasgow Airport has been resolved.

Department for Transport

• Funding Agreed for Woolwich Crossrail Station Box Agreement has been reached to build a new 'station box' on the Crossrail line through Woolwich, Transport Secretary Philip Hammond has announced today.

The Herald

• Scotland facing £2 billion repair bill for potholes MOTORISTS are being warned Scotland’s road network is deteriorating rapidly and that more than one-third – or 12,800 miles – of all routes are now in an unacceptable condition.
• Threat to routes as Sunday service resumes Flights connecting Barra to other Outer Isles face axe IT is one of the most famous airport landing strips in the world, with planes touching down and taking off from a picturesque sandy beach on the island.

Press Association

• EU coach travellers get new rights Bus and coach passengers are joining the list of travellers on public transport covered by EU-wide rights to compensation for delays or cancellations.

Network Rail

• ACCESS PLANS FOR WREXHAM RAILWAY STATION UNVEILED

Belfast Telegraph

• Driving ambitions... the Wrightbus wayWilliam Wright began his career working in his father's shed behind their house at Warden Street in Ballymena in the 1940s.Related StoriesBelfast's Aurora project looks doomed as receiver steps in1,000 jobs at risk as Auto Windscreens collapsesShine comes off cash for gold firmsNorthern Ireland quarries face closure as UK levy drives up cross-border price divideInflation ‘will rise further’

Birmingham Mail

• Calls for Birmingham's Ring and Ride bus network to be overhauled Members of the ruling Tory majority on regional transport body Centro said users should be encouraged to use normal buses because the door-to-door service was no longer good value for taxpayers.

Birmingham Post

• Pro-High Speed Rail group Greengauge 21 says HS2 will benefit many towns Building the London to Birmingham HS2 high-speed rail line will benefit towns and cities across southern England, according to a report.

Derby Telegraph

• £45m rail line bid given bumpy ride by united opposition of councils AMBITIOUS plans for a £45m railway line from Ripley to Little Eaton seem to have hit the buffers after councillors scorned the idea.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Consortium 'ready' for trams probeTHE German engineering giants at the centre of the Capital's tram dispute are set to give evidence to a committee of MSPs after complaints they were sidelined during an au

Journal Live

• Alnwick to Alnmouth train service given cash boost PLANS to reinstate a steam rail link in Northumberland have been given the green light by funders.

London Evening Standard

• Staff let suspect bag pass through four Tube stations A suspect bag travelled unchecked on a packed rush hour tube train through four stations before it was declared safe, a leaked email reveals.

Nottingham Evening Post

• Number of train passengers hits 10m for the first time MORE than 10,000 people responded to a campaign calling for Sunday services to be reintroduced on the Robin Hood Line.

Burnley Express

• Row as Lancashire's hi-tech bus stops axedBUS firms have hit out at Lancashire County Council's proposed cost-cutting measures.

Other Regional Press

• Minister promises to look into Devon's funding shortfall TRANSPORT Minister Norman Baker has pledged to look into the funding shortfall Devon County Council is facing over the concessionary travel scheme.
• Appeal over bus pass shortfall DEVON County Councillor Stuart Hughes has called for a fair deal for the county in order to plug a £5million funding gap caused by the concessionary travel scheme.
• Bus boss™ takeover vowRoutes across the Preston Bus network will be reviewed by the company’s new owners following a £3.2m takeover, a company chief revealed today.
• Eurotunnel passengers evacuatedNinety-seven passengers had to be evacuated from a Eurotunnel train in the early hours of this morning.
• Inquiry launched into Lydd Airport planAn Arab businessman's £25 million plan to extend Lydd Airport will come under government scrutiny today.

Global Rail News

• Arriva Netherlands launch on board WiFiArriva Netherlands today launched their complimentary on board WiFi service providing on the move connectivity for the first time, much to the delight of their rail passengers. The new service was unveiled today at Sliedrecht station, where Anne Hettinga, Managing Director of Arriva Netherlands, Asje van Dijk, Deputy of Zuid-Holland and others gathered to celebrate the launch, with design and installation partner, Nomad Digital. Anne remarked “We are delighted to be able to offer our ...
• Nexus launch new travel smartcard ˜Pop™Popping onto Metro or bus is about to get much easier with the launch of the biggest smartcard initiative outside London. Pop is the name of the new travel smartcard from Nexus set to be rolled out across the Tyne & Wear region this year. Nexus bosses unveiled the Pop card brand on a Metro train on 14th February at St James station. The Pop branded train is now in service across the network, staffed ...
• Greengauge 21 reports that cities and shires across southern England will benefit from HS2Research published today by Greengauge 21 shows that building HS2, the new high-speed line from London to the West Midlands, opens up lots of opportunities for new services on the existing rail network to meet local needs. œServices which simply cannot be fitted on today™s network will become viable once HS2 is built, says Jim Steer, Greengauge 21 Director. œNonstopping inter-city services from the North and the Midlands to London will transfer across to HS2, making space on the West ...
• Centro responds to Greengauge 21²s HS2 reportA spokesman for Centro, the region™s transport authority, said: œResearch already shows that HS2 will bring substantial economic benefits to the West Midlands in terms of 22,000 new jobs and a £1.5 billion a year boost to the regional economy. œThis new report shows how it will also allow major enhancements to the region™s existing rail network, benefitting towns like Lichfield, Tamworth, Nuneaton, Rugby and Kenilworth. œThis is in stark contrast to not building HS2 ...

Aviation Industry

• Walsh receives Spanish honourWillie Walsh, CEO of the newly formed International Airline Group, has received a royal decoration from the King of Spain

Other News Sources

• Agreement reached over Woolwich Crossrail station Berkeley Group has signed an agreement with the Department for Transport to enable the Woolwich Crossrail station to go ahead.
• Coach passengers rights to increaseA new EU law on coach passengers’ rights will come into effect in 2013. The rules cover all long-distance scheduled passenger services, whether national or crossing borders.
• New green programme launched for HDVs Heavy duty vehicles (HDVs) need to become more fuel efficient, an issue which is becoming increasingly important.
• Half of Brits 'would switch to efficient car' As fuel prices rise, half of UK drivers have revealed that the next vehicle they purchase is likely to be a green one.
• Transport is top performer, says Bibby survey Transport and storage is the best-performing industry in the UK, according to the latest quarterly Business Factors Index from Bibby Financial Services.
• Scottish bus and coach transport firm announce expansion plans West Scotland’s biggest bus and coach transport provider, McGills, have revealed their expansion plans after winning a number of new bus routes in the region.
• London begins work on electic vehicle charging pointsTransport for London (TfL) has begun work to install 1,300 new electric vehicles charging points in the capital.
• Gillingham station upgrade work startsWork on a £2.6M upgrade of Gillingham station, which will create a new entrance and ticket office, has begun.
• Tube cuts 'left package unchecked'A Tube train with a suspect package on board passed through four stations because staff cuts meant there was no-one available to evacuate and search the carriages, according to a leaked memo.

Other Subscription Services

• Pirate operations disrupted as second mothership capturedBut navies forced to release 33 pirates as they ˜were not committing an act of piracy™ at the time