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

Friday, 10 June 2011

BBC News

• Work to start on £2.2m station building for Wolverton Construction of a new £2.2m station building in a Buckinghamshire town will start on Monday.
• Fishguard and Goodwick Station may reopen 50 years on A railway station which closed almost 50 years ago may be reopened after a town secured five extra services a day.
• Newbury Buses to cut jobs and withdraw services Fifteen jobs will be axed at Newbury Buses when it scraps services from its depot in the town in August.
• Bristol bus and ferry service subsidies go in council cuts Council subsidies for Bristol bank holiday buses and the commuter ferry service will go after the city cabinet voted through transport cuts of £2.2m.
• South West Trains chaos: Delayed passengers break out Passengers have told how they got out of trains stuck for hours on South West Trains services outside London and walked down the tracks.
• TfL 'livid' at 'slapdash' gas jobTransport for London hits out at the National Grid downs tools on a repair job - despite vowing to work around the clock.
• Network Rail profits increase 11%Network Rail, which maintains Britain's rail track and signalling system, sees profits rise despite a fall in performance.
• Travellers 'face high fuel costs'UK holidaymakers are being warned that petrol prices have risen across Europe since last summer.
• EU carmakers cry foul over tradeEuropean carmakers want non-European rivals to be exposed to free market forces - but they also want their own government help.

Financial Times

• Network Rail on track to deliver cost-cutsThe owner of Britain's rail infrastructure says it has reduced its annual operating costs by £400m, in the second year of a savings initiative

The Guardian

• Cyclists' grand designs Whether they are assembled at home from secondhand eBay parts, or created by artisans to the highest specification, the business in custom-built bikes is booming
• Leeds on track for multi-million pound railway station improvements A "masterplan" outlining a series of improvements to Leeds city railway station has been unveiled

The Herald

• A transport of delight as architect tours museum WHATEVER anyone else thinks about the interior of Glasgow’s new Riverside Museum, at least Zaha Hadid likes the colour.

The Independent

• Tube drivers to strike over sacking Drivers on London Underground are to stage a series of strikes in a long-running row over the sacking of a colleague, threatening travel chaos for millions of Tube passengers, it was announced today.

ATOC

• Developers to get access to rail information services as part of Microsoft Hack Day More than 200 app developers will be given full access to National Rail Enquiries (NRE) live departures information services as part of Microsoft's Hack Day competition,...

Network Rail

• DRIVING AN EFFICIENT RAILWAY: NETWORK RAIL™S FULL YEAR RESULTS 2010/11
• CAMERA VAN SHOWS WOMEN AGED 50-65 ARE COMMITTING MOST LEVEL CROSSING OFFENCES
• NETWORK RAIL ANNOUNCES PREFERRED CONTRACTOR FOR READING STATION UPGRADE
• SAT NAV TECHNOLOGY TO HELP DRIVE DOWN LEVEL CROSSING INCIDENTS ON DISPLAY AT ROSSINGTON

Birmingham Mail

• Rail boss Phillip Hammond meets protestors in Lichfield TRANSPORT Secretary Philip Hammond came face-to-face with homeowners who will see their properties flattened by high-speed rail.

Metro

• Network Rail profits soar past £2bnTrack operator Network Rail revealed profits rose to more than £2billion “ despite fewer trains running on time.

Yorkshire Post

• Rail firm in shopping area talks over new £14m Leeds station entranceNetwork Rail is in talks with council and transport chiefs about how to increase the number of potential shoppers to the south of the city with the proposed new entrance to Leeds City Station.
• Rail union action ˜will not hit busy tourist line™BOSSES on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway have moved to assure passengers that industrial action by staff will not have an impact on the tourist line as it gears up for one of its busiest weekends of the year.

Other Regional Press

• Minister to consider Heathrow noise studyHeathrow's impact on the health of neighbouring residents could be the subject of a government study. Aviation minister Theresa Villiers promised to consider launching a full assessment when she met leading politicians from Hounslow on Tuesday (June 7).
• SWT says sorry after hundreds are marooned on trainsA rail company has apologised after hundreds of passengers attempting to travel from London Waterloo station were stuck on trains for up to four hours last night.
• Network Rail accused of turning its back on commuters in Tooting, Sutton, Wimbledon, Streatham, Mitcham and South MertonCommuters will face a fresh wave of travel misery under a plan to sever a direct rail link into the heart of the capital, it has been claimed.
• Visitors to HS2 roadshow in Balsall Common praised for 'good ideas' THE chief engineer behind controversial plans to build a high speed rail line that will slice through miles of Warwickshire countryside has praised visitors at consultation events for coming up with “lots of good ideas”.
• Businesses urged to support high speed rail Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce brought business leaders together yesterday (8 June) to discuss the High Speed Rail (HSR) campaign and its economic impact on our region.
• Drivers needed for new transport schemeA NEW scheme to provide low cost transport for elderly and disabled people in Whitby is being launched next month and volunteer drivers are needed.
• Resident fears over 20mph streets roll-outBringing in 20mph speed limits on some residential roads in north Preston could spark congestion chaos, community leaders warned today.
• Improvement works to make towpath safeA section of towpath on a popular stretch of a canal has been closed after it became unsafe.
• Trial starts to put freight on high speed trainsA bid to move some freight off Kent's roads and on to high speed trains 24 hours a day is being trialled.
• Blow for travellers as Prestwick flights axedBudget airline Ryanair is to axe three destinations from Prestwick Airport, leaving it with half the network it serviced two years ago.
• Airline axes Glasgow flights to CaribbeanA year after it was launched a flight from Glasgow to the Caribbean is being axed.

Campaign for Better Transport

• Finally, some practical help for sustainable transport9 June: Within the next month, the first decisions on which transport authorities will get money from the Government™s Local Sustainable Transport Fund will be announced. read more

Global Rail News

• New group to ensure closer cooperation of independent rail regulators across EuropeIndependent rail regulators from across Europe today signed an agreement which will ensure closer cooperation to meet the needs of passengers and freight customers. A group ...
• Network Rail announce preferred contractor for Reading stationA Costain/Hochteif joint venture has been named preferred contractor for Network Rail™s rebuild of Reading station. The contract will see five new platforms constructed at Reading, ...
• Union announces further London Tube strikesFollowing a row over the sacking of one of its members, the RMT has announced further strikes on the London Underground. An Employment Tribunal found RMT ...
• Sabre Rail appointed as distributor of Atlas Copco™s GAR rail vehicle compressorsRail rolling stock component specialist, Sabre Rail, has been appointed by Atlas Copco Compressors as an authorised distributor for its GAR range of rail vehicle rotary ...
• An interview with Network Rail™s Head of Network ElectrificationWritten by Grahame Taylor Right place, right time Last month, the rail engineer carried the first part of Grahame Taylor™s interview with Peter Dearman, Network Rail™s ...
• Network Rail™s profits increase as performance fallsNetwork Rail has seen their pre-tax profits increase from £395m to £438m in 2010/2011. However, as earlier reports show, the number of trains running on time ...
• Plant & equipment “ One step aheadWith ongoing changes to the demands made of the rail industry, it is only to be expected that adjustments will be needed to the nation™s fleet ...
• Sat nav technology to help drive down level crossing incidentsBritain’s motorists are set to benefit from a world first in sat nav technology which will improve awareness of level crossings and encourage safer driving. A ...
• Eurostar upcycles old uniforms & seat coversEurostar, the high-speed passenger service linking London, Paris and Brussels is issuing its train managers with a world’s first – bags created entirely from recycled Eurostar ...
• FirstGroup hosts preview evening at Glasgow™s Riverside MuseumFirstGroup hosted a stakeholder™s preview evening at the Riverside Museum on Thursday 2 June, three weeks before the doors open to the public. The evening celebrated ...
• East Midlands Trains ˜Recognised for Excellence™East Midlands Trains announced today that it has received a prestigious business excellence award. The train company “ part of Stagecoach Group “ has been recognised by ...
• Police target level crossing as part of awareness dayOakham level crossing in Rutland will the focus of British Transport Police™s attention today as part of an International Level Crossing Awareness Day. Officers from British ...
• Cable theft on Britain™s railways is up by 70%Crime on Britain™s railways fell by 2.9% in 2010/11, the seventh successive annual decrease. The figures include a 2.8% fall in violent crime and a 1.6% ...
• Consultation on second Manchester tram line launchedTransport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has launched a public consultation on proposals for a new tram line, which will provide passengers with a second city centre ...

Aviation Industry

• London City Airport called to halt all flights immediately.London City Airport has continued operating flights while acknowledging that a flock of swans located in the airports Crash Zone pose a significant risk of bird-strike and potentially putting passengers and the public in severe danger.

Other News Sources

• Gatwick Airport welcomes the Nissan LEAFGatwick Airport has begun a partnership with the Nissan LEAF.The collaboration was marked when Stewart Wingate, chief executive officer at the travel hub, drove the vehicle through the check-in at North Terminal.This was the first time a car – in this case a 100 per cent electric motor – has been operated inside the terminal building.At the same time, the travel hub has installed eight new charging points for the public, playing its part in supporting the UK's electric vehicles.Over 12 months, motorists can access the charging points free of charge and can park without paying f...
• Concern over direction of railway plans Railway operators fear less competitive market.
• Heathrow reveals disappointing performance on waste and water Heathrow has released its sustainability performance report 2010 showing mixed performance on the environment.

News from Europe

• Siim Kallas Vice-President of the European Commission The Rail Baltica Growth Corridor Rail Baltica Growth Corridor kick-off conference HelsinkiThe title of today’s conference points to discussion about a concrete project – “Rail Baltica” (priority project No. 27 of the Trans-European Transport Network) – but also to much broader issues: growth related to transport connections, and discussions about the larger picture concerning transport infrastructure development in Europe and in neighbouring areas.