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Wednesday, 15 June 2011

BBC News

• Office of Rail Regulation 'frustrated' at rail repairs Rail regulators have expressed "frustration" at the slowness of safety improvements to the train network.
• £150m A465 Heads of the Valleys road project awarded A £150m contract has been awarded to turn the Heads of the Valleys road in south Wales through Clydach Gorge into a dual carriageway.
• Work on £2.2m road scheme for Northampton due to start Work on a £2.2m road scheme to improve a busy Northamptonshire road junction is due to start next week.
• Average speed limit on M4 at Newport is lifted The 50mph average speed limit on the M4 at Newport has been lifted with work on variable speed limit signs completed.
• Humber Bridge 11% toll increase approved The Humber Bridge Board had applied to the Department for Transport (DfT) to raise tolls by 11% from £2.70 to £3 per crossing to pay back its £330m debt.
• Bus service to run all year roundA popular summer bus service is to operate all year round after winning extra funding, but it is unclear when it will start.
• Talks due over strike Tube driverA union and London Underground are to meet to discuss a planned four-day strike over the sacking of a Northern Line driver.
• Qantas cuts growth as service hitQantas airlines cuts its forecast for domestic growth as it grounds more flights due to ash from volcano in Chile.

Financial Times

• Avis car hire companies agree to reunite Avis Budget has agreed buy its European counterpart for £636m, reuniting the two parts of the car rental business after 25 years
• Business leaders back high speed rail planMore than 400 business leaders and entrepreneurs give their backing to Britain's proposed High Speed 2 rail route
• Network Rail shifts focus to expand abroadThe project planning unit will be forced to compete with outside bidders to design and manage projects helping it compete more effectively

The Herald

• Road link project to open early and under budgetA PROJECT to complete the œmissing link of Glasgow™s motorway network by extending the M74 has cost between £15 million and £20m less than budgeted for.

The Telegraph

• Motorists to be told to take the train Roadside signs urging motorists to let the train take the strain are being considered by the Government, MPs have been told. The initiative, which is contained as part of the biggest overhaul of traffic signs in 40 years, was unveiled by Mike Penning and Norman Baker, two transport ministers.
• Network Rail criticised by regulatorNetwork Rail failed to meet agreed punctuality targets last year, according to the industry regulator.
• Avis reunites US and European car hire businesses in $1bn deal A quarter of a century after they split, Avis car companies on either side of the Atlantic are reuniting in a $1bn (£636m) deal.

Reuters News

• UPDATE 1-Bombardier Transportation wins $577 mln London rail contract Bombardier Inc's (BBDb.TO) train unit won a $577 million contract for upgrading the signalling system on four lines of the London Underground network.

Mail Online

• Don't drive, take the train! What motorway signs could tell drivers as part of new green drive New road matrix signs encouraging drivers to leave motorways or even take the train instead are being considered, transport ministers have told MPs.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Protest over changes to Buttershaw to Greengates bus service Bus passengers say they have been left high and dry after changes were made to a popular bus route without any consultation.
• Bradford roads 'are third most congested in England' Drivers battling in and out of Bradford might have long suspected it, but now it has been confirmed that the city™s roads are among the most congested in Europe.

Journal Live

• Business leaders warn of cost rise for air passengers THE cost of flying short haul from the region could soar if Government proposals are implemented, business leaders claimed yesterday.
• Coal trains could be familiar sight on Weardale railway FREIGHT trains carrying thousands of tonnes of coal through picturesque countryside will soon be a familiar sight on a North East heritage railway.

Liverpool Post

• Liverpool’s Bibby Line Group reports strong rise in operating profits LIVERPOOL shipping line and financial services group Bibby has recorded a 46% increase in operating profits of £40.8m for the year to last December.

London Evening Standard

• Cabbies in revolt over Olympic ban London's 25,000 black cab drivers are planning a blockade to bring the capital to a standstill over a ban on them using the 100-mile VIP road network during next year's Games.
• Commuter fares to hit £10,000 a yearThe cost to commute into London is set to reach up to £10,000-a-year, transport experts warned today.

Manchester Evening News

• Metrolink stations on Bury line get £5.5m security upgrade Major work has started to improve safety and security at stations on the Bury Metrolink line. Transport chiefs say there will be better lighting, new seats, shelters and cycle facilities.

Blackpool Gazette

• ˜Hidden agenda™ at tram crossingTHERE are fears a well-used tram crossing could close after all – despite protesters believing they had won the battle to keep it open.

Other Regional Press

• Four-year pledge for M6 link roadA highways boss says a controversial motorway link which has been in the offing for more than 60 years will be completed by 2015.
• Glasgow Airport passenger numbers hit six-year highGlasgow Airport is flying high with the best set of passenger numbers for six years.

Global Rail News

• Bombardier to deliver major London Underground signalling upgradeBombardier Transportation has been awarded the major contract for the Sub Surface Railway automatic train control signalling upgrade for London Underground. The contract, valued at approximately ...
• New signalling on the Tube to increase capacity on 40% of networkLondon Underground has awarded Bombardier Transportation the contract to upgrade the signalling on the Circle, District, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines. The new signalling contract ...
• NXEA continues to roll out new Class 379 Bombardier trainsNational Express East Anglia (NXEA) is continuing to make good progress with the introduction of brand new trains on its key Stansted Express route as part ...
• Railtex 2011 opens with Keynote from Network Rail Chairman Rick HaythornthwaiteEarls Court has opened the doors to thousands of industry professionals to meet, learn, discuss, network, and experience over 420 exhibitors, thousands of products and numerous ...
• TfL urges businesses to ˜plan ahead™ for Olympic GamesLondon 2012 and Transport for London (TfL) today urged businesses to take advantage of a range of tools and advice on offer ahead of the London ...
• TfL opens Invitation to Tender for cable car sponsorsWith construction of London’s cable car soon to be under way, Transport for London (TfL) has opened the Invitation to Tender for a commercial partner to ...
• Unipart Rail exhibit innovative products at RailtexInnovative products are the lifeblood of the railway, delivering cost efficiencies as well as increasing safety and reducing maintenance. The Unipart Rail stand at Railtex this ...
• Atkins showcase rail communications at RailtexAtkins, the UK™s leading railway consultant, provides services covering virtually every discipline in the industry. At Railtex, it will be showcasing its experience and service offering ...
• Schwihag exhibits S&C products at Railtex this weekSchwihag has been manufacturing S&C products, and building an expertise in permanent way technology, since 1971. This week, they are showcasing some of their latest products ...
• Alstom unveils the first Régiolis trainAlstom Chairman and CEO, Patrick Kron, today unveiled the first Régiolis train at a ceremony attended by the Vice-President of the Association des Régions de France, ...
• Network Rail™s performance setbacks mean ˜big challenges ahead™Network Rail has made progress over the past year including successfully delivering a number of major rail projects, however some performance setbacks mean that the company ...
• RMT tells London Underground it™s ˜not too late™ to stop Tube strikesStrike action is set to begin this weekend following a row over the sacking of a RMT member. The strikes, to begin on Sunday 19th June at ...
• Nomad Digital launch new partnership at RailtexNomad Digital is the leading provider of broadband communication solutions to the rail sector providing IP connectivity on over 2,000 vehicles, with a further 3,000 being ...
• Harting UK at Railtex this weekHarting UK Ltd has been supplying backplanes to rail signalling customers for more than 18 years. This week, you can find Harting at Railtex in Earls ...
• Network Rail awards Balfour Beatty Rail 7 year framework agreementBalfour Beatty Rail has been awarded a seven-year framework agreement with Network Rail National Delivery Service (NDS) for the supply of on-track machines. It is a ...
• Bombardier Transportation to create test track and design centre in QuebecBombardier Transportation has announced that it is creating a Product Design and Development Centre for North America in Saint-Bruno, Quebec, Canada. The world leader in rail ...

Other News Sources

• A ’wonderful spectacle’ at Railtex 2011 Revealing that no fewer than 424 exhibitors from 17 countries were participating in the Railtex 2011 exhibition at London's Earls Court Two centre, the Chairman of Mack Brooks Exhibitions Simon Brooks said the event presented ’a wonderful spectacle’, which demonstrated ’the very latest that the industry has to offer’.