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

Thursday, 02 June 2011

BBC News

• How anti-skid stability control systems work at 50mph From November this year, every time a car manufacturer introduces a new model in the EU it will have to have anti-skid technology called Electronic Stability Control fitted as standard.
• Fears for council cuts to two Somerset bus services A transport group has expressed fears that two Somerset bus services could be hit by cuts planned by Bristol City Council.
• Airports accused of delays in lifting liquid ban An MEP has accused British airports of dragging their feet over lifting the ban on liquids on board planes. Transport committee chairman Brian Simpson said despite new scanners being ready to be rolled out, they would not install them on cost grounds.
• Stratford station will be the gateway to 2012 Games [video]Work on Stratford station in east London, a key transport hub for the 2012 Olympic Games, has been completed.
• High Speed Rail consultation group visits Ladbroke The first of four roadshows about the High Speed 2 (HS2) rail plan will take place later in Warwickshire. The Department for Transport plans to provide high-speed rail links from London to Birmingham in phase one with connections to Manchester in phase two.
• Olympics overnight delivery planDeliveries to shops and businesses will take place throughout the night during the 2012 London Olympics.
• Wooden bike poised for record bidA bicycle made entirely out of wood is being entered for its first land speed record attempt.
• Excitement builds ahead of river museum's opening For the last two years, the silver curves of Glasgow's new Riverside Museum have been a familiar sight to passers-by on either side of the River Clyde.

Financial Times

• Call to prevent Olympics crushEmployers and the public will need to think about changing routine journeys during next year's London Olympics to avoid overwhelming

The Guardian

• Monarch Airlines to scrap debit card booking fees Low-cost carrier will not add surcharge to debit card bookings, but has introduced a £10 flat fee for credit card use
• Pass notes No 2,986: the ash tsar The government has appointed Professor Sir John Beddington to make sure we're ready for the next Icelandic eruption

The Herald

• Bus industry warns against new tram planEDINBURGH™S public transport network will suffer irreparable long-term damage if a closure of Princes Street for up to 10 months to allow for repairs to tram tracks goes ahead, a leading bus industry group has warned.

The Scotsman

• Four more tram executives quit as fears deepen that project will be mothballed Edinburgh's troubled tram project has been thrown into further turmoil after it emerged four senior figures overseeing the scheme are quitting - amid growing speculation the entire project may be put on hold
• Airlines urged to copy rival and axe debit-card charges CONSUMER campaigners have called on airlines to follow the lead of a holiday carrier that has abolished charges for booking flights by debit card.

The Telegraph

• Monarch to compete with Ryanair and easyJet as it steers away from package holidays Monarch is to end nearly four decades as a charter airline and shift its focus to scheduled flights, as more tourists shy away from traditional package holidays towards cheaper internet deals.
• London 2012 Olympics: time-lapse of Stratford station construction [video]As time-lapse footage of the upgrade of Stratford station is released, Mayor London Boris Johnson says the transport system for London 2012 is "virtually ready".

Mail Online

• Monarch becomes 1st airline to lift charge on debit card paymentsMonarch has decided to drop its fee of 3.5 per cent of the booking total with immediate effect but at the same time is increasing its credit card charge from a minimum £5.49 to a flat fee of £10.

Liverpool Post

• £1.2m bike lesson wrangle means Liverpool school children miss out THOUSANDS of school children are missing out on bicycle safety lessons because of a legal wrangle over a £1.2m contract.

London Evening Standard

• Yellow 'money box' junctions earn TfL £20million in driver finesYellow box junctions operated by Transport for London have raised almost £20 million in traffic fines in the last three years. More than 330,000 motorists were issued with penalty charge notices for breaking the rules at TfL's 450 box junctions in the capital between January 2008 and April this year.
• Transport secretary: Cannot promise no travel disruption during GamesLondoners may need to rethink their journey plans during next summer's Olympics, Transport Secretary Philip Hammond warned today.
• Jets scrambled as passengers fight it out over reclining seatTwo F-16 fighter jets were scrambled to intercept an airliner when a fight broke out over a reclining seat

Manchester Evening News

• Monarch's bright future with sunshine flightsAirline Monarch plans to launch a string of new sunshine flights from Manchester as part of its move into the scheduled market.

Blackpool Gazette

• Plea for higher cab fares to meet costsCAB fares in Blackpool could be set to rise.

Other Regional Press

• Airport has open day for minoritiesEthnic minority representatives will be invited to a security open day at Glasgow Airport to try to allay fears they are being singled out for questioning by security staff.

Campaign for Better Transport

• The view beyond the Competition Commission 1 June: Big change in the bus world has been off the table since Jan 2010 while everyone has been waiting for the Competition Commission to finish their review of the industry. Last month the provisional findings were published, so is the future for the UK™s most popular form of public transport now any clearer? read more

Global Rail News

• Bombardier Transportation reports ˜good financial results™For the first quarter ended April 30, 2011, Bombardier Transportation™s revenues totalled $2.5 billion, compared to $2.3 billion last fiscal year. EBIT reached $171 million, or ...
• Network Rail: Industry must work together to design & procure new trainsHuge cost savings could be made when Britain buys its next generations of trains if the rail industry works together even more closely to design and ...
• Chiltern Railways outline engineering worksChiltern Railways have outlined the engineering work taking place between now and September to enable the creation of the Chiltern Mainline. From Monday 6 June until ...
• Borough Market gateway structure reshapes streetscapewriter Chris Parker As a regular user of the Midland Main Line, I have seen Network Rail™s capacity improvement works on the Thameslink route at first ...
• Siemens & Sinara Group to produce EMUs in RussiaSiemens has signed an agreement with Russian train manufacturer Sinara Group to create ‘Train Technologies’. Train Technologies is a joint venture to manufacture Siemens’ Desiro trains ...
• DB Schenker Rail UK targets intermodal growth with appointment of Managing Director LogisticsDB Schenker Rail (UK) Ltd has appointed Dr Carsten Hinne as Managing Director Logistics to lead a strategic expansion of its intermodal and rail logistics division. ...
• Crossrail™s tunnel boring machines due to arrive early 2012Crossrail™s first two tunnel boring machines (TBMs) will arrive in London early next year ahead of being launched from Royal Oak for the western running tunnels. ...
• McNulty™s rail value for money study “ Realising the Potential of GB Railwriter Graeme Bickerdike And now for something completely different It can™t have escaped your attention that the nation™s Garden of Plenty, cultivated by easy credit, has ...
• One out, one inA 126-year-old bridge taking the Swinton Junction to Milford Junction line over the A645 near Pontefract has been replaced during a 53-hour possession. The work was ...
• Realising mapping™s true potentialValue for money and driving down costs are two linked themes that are very much the focus of attention at present. The Rail value for money ...
• Innovative Support Systems take another turnwriter Collin Carr In the heart of Devon, situated on the main line between Taunton and Exeter, is Whiteball Tunnel. Brick lined, it was designed by ...
• Something for everyoneThis year™s Railtex will be the tenth in a successful series of exhibitions that have taken place since 1993, showcasing railway technology and services. Now as ...
• Rail on-track plant life grows productivitywriter Nigel Wordsworth Britain™s railways are under pressure to reduce costs and increase efficiency. There is nothing new in that. But while the recent report by ...
• Public transport for Olympic Games ˜on track™The transport ˜Big Build™ that will help spectators and the rest of London keep moving during the Games is complete with works at the main ˜Gateway™ ...
• Thales wins contracts for Santo Domingo & Panama metro linesThales has been selected to provide Tetra radio communications systems for two new metro lines in Santo Domingo and Panama. The Thales™s Tetra solution, called DigiM@x, ...
• Arriva wins National Transport AwardArriva was recently presented with a CILT Cymru National Transport Award. Held in the City Hall, Cardiff on 27th May, the awards celebrate best practice and ...
• Northern Rail named Sustainable Business of the YearAs further affirmation of its commitment to its environmental programme, Northern Rail has won the Sustainable Business of the Year award. The UK™s largest rail operator ...
• Eurostar sees a rise in bank holiday travelEurostar, the high-speed passenger service between the UK and mainland Europe has carried 5% more passengers over the May bank holiday weekend, compared to the same ...
• The Rail Engineer seminars featuring at Railtex 2011This year™s Railtex will be the tenth in a successful series of exhibitions that have taken place since 1993, showcasing railway technology and services. Now as ...
• Bank Holiday rail improvements completed on timeWith thousands of Network Rail people working out on the tracks all weekend, train services returned to normal yesterday morning, after planned rail improvements were completed. ...
• Bombardier to maintain Dallas/Fort Worth Airport™s Innovia fleetBombardier Transportation has announced that it has signed a contract with Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) International Airport to provide maintenance services for the Bombardier INNOVIA APM 200 automated ...

Aviation Industry

• Bombardier wins Braathens Leasing order for 10 CSeries aircraftBraathens Leasing Limited, a subsidiary of Braathens Aviation of Sweden, placed a firm order for five Bombardier CSeries100s and five CSeries300s valued at $635 million at list prices, providing a boost to the Canadian manufact.urer's narrowbody aircraft program

Other News Sources

• Caltrain boosts bike trains for every line in service Bicyclists using Caltrain will now have a lot easier time securing a seat for the commute to work.
• Trains could be cheaper, says Network RailHuge cost savings could be made when Britain buys its next generations of trains if the rail industry works together even more closely to design and procure them, a Network Rail report reveals.