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

Saturday, 18 June 2011

BBC News

• Airport wins best in Europe awardEdinburgh Airport is voted Best European Airport of its size at an award ceremony in Lisbon.
• Artist seeks Tube 'kind gestures'Passengers and staff are asked to recall moments of
• Assessing impact of Tube strikesLondon Underground says Sunday's Tube strike will have minimum impact; but what's the risk?
• Olympics security 'top priority'Security at the Channel Tunnel and Kent ports during the London 2012 Olympics is identified as the top priority for a cross-Channel police group.
• PM quizzed over train order lossThe leader of Derby City Council is to ask the prime minister why Bombardier lost a contract to build new carriages for the Thameslink route.

Financial Times

• SIA chief needs a steady hand on the joystickAirline's long-haul budget division has momentous implications for other carriers

The Independent

• Tube bosses play down strike threat London Underground today maintained that a planned six-hour strike by Tube drivers from Sunday evening will have

Mail Online

• Bob Crow: Champagne, £650 lunches and sickening hypocrisyIt is from this privileged position that ‘Comrade Crow,’ has been plotting the latest wave of Tube strikes, due to start tomorrow evening.

Belfast Telegraph

• EasyJet takes off from new airport Low fare airline easyJet is to begin operating from a new airport and will carry 8, passengers in the first 12 months from its new base. Related StoriesMexico bank chief in bid to charm China ahead of IMF challengeAlert over scam tax rebate emailsSpanish bank's boss in tax probeFridge firm gets cool festival jobTesco store gets thumbs down from planners

Birmingham Mail

• High speed rail offers home owners £20m compensation TAXPAYERS have offered £20million in compensation to homeowners affected by a planned high speed rail line through the Midlands to London – even though Ministers are still considering whether or not to build it.

Journal Live

• Siemens new rail contract to create hundreds of Tyneside jobs HUNDREDS of new jobs will be created on Tyneside thanks to the region’s competitive edge, a minister has declared.

London Evening Standard

• More than £1m of public funds paid to Tube union officialsAlmost 300 RMT officials involved in next week's Tube strike are paid hundreds of thousands of pounds from public funds for their union activities

Manchester Evening News

• Road rage driver fined after cyclist videos assault on helmet cameraA road rage driver who throttled a cyclist in rush-hour traffic was snared by a video camera on the victim's helmet. Fuming Michael Stewart, 47, jumped out of his black BMW and grabbed the biker - unaware he was being filmed.

The York Press

• Move to reduce railway suicides A CAMPAIGN to cut the number of people committing suicide on the railways in North Yorkshire is working, according to new figures.

Other Regional Press

• Train journey leads to 70 years of bliss for Pewsey couple Almost failing to catch a train after a day trip to the seaside threw Pewsey Vale couple Eddie and Kath Farr together and on Tuesday they received a card from the Queen congratulating them on their 70th wedding anniversary.
• Northamptonshire County Council to lobby Government on alternative route for high-speed rail linkTHE leaders of Northamptonshire County Council are set to lobby the Government to find an alternative route for the controversial HS2 high speed rail line.
• £20 million payout for homes hit by HS2 rail line ALMOST £20 million in compensation has been offered to homeowners who may be affected by the new HS2 rail line, it has revealed.
• Go-ahead for next step to Quality Bus Contract schemeContinued work towards London-style franchised bus services for West Yorkshire approved .

Global Rail News

• RMT Tube strikes to go ahead “ they say London Underground is ˜undermining™ their campaignThe RMT has urged its members not to ’swallow LU’s line that they are acting fairly’ in a letter sent to them by MD Mike Brown. ...
• Research shows public transport ˜could match cars™New research from Campaign for Better Transport published today reveals how public transport could match the car when it comes to door to door journeys. Door ...
• Research shows public transport ˜could match cars™New research from Campaign for Better Transport published today reveals how public transport could match the car when it comes to door to door journeys. Door ...
• New trains launched in East LothianRail users in East Lothian are now benefitting from new electric trains which are being phased in to service on routes between Edinburgh, North Berwick and ...
• 1,200 new trains ˜won™t just benefit™ London passengersIn response to the Government™s announcement on new train carriages, a spokesperson for the Association of Train Operating Companies, said: œNew carriages and more seats will ...
• Philip Hammond delivers Rail Reform speech at RailtexAt Railtex this week, the rail engineer held a series of technical seminars featuring the Chairman of Network Rail, Rick Haythornthwaite and Sir Roy McNulty. At ...
• London Underground says RMT should ˜call off Tube strikes™London Underground™s MD, Mike Brown, wrote to Bob Crow yesterday to reiterate LU™s commitment to abiding by the employment tribunal™s ruling in respect of Arwyn Thomas. ...
• Route managing directors confirmed for more routes at Network RailWith the next routes moving to a devolved structure in October 2011, new route managing directors for Kent & HS1, LNW and Wales have now been ...

Railnews

• Siemens Thameslink deal 'will create 2000 jobs' Siemens has won a contract worth some £1.5 billion to build the new Thameslink fleet, after fending off competitor Bombardier to be named as preferred bidder. Siemens said the project would create up to 2,000 jobs in the supply chain. The Derby and Derbyshire Rail Forum is shrugging off the loss of the business to Derby-based Bombardier, saying that the Derby rail sector would 'remain very much in business'.
• Bombardier may review British presence after defeat Bombardier seems set to review its activities in Britain, after losing a £1.5 billion train order to Siemens. At least three thousand jobs now hang in the balance, while Bombardier seeks a 'debriefing' from the DfT on why it lost the order for some 1,200 new vehicles for Thameslink.

Transport for London

• UK first as TfL installs eco-lighting in a London road tunnelUpper Thames Street tunnel in central London is the first UK tunnel with linear LED lighting. New technology will deliver a 60 per cent reduction in energy consumption as well as reduced maintenance costs. The new lights are designed to improve safety.
• Normal Tube services expected on Sunday and Monday despite RMT strike actionThe action will have 'very little impact' on passengers. RMT leadership urged to abandon strike action and await tribunal outcome

Aviation Industry

• Easyjet announces 11th UK baseLondon Southend Airport will start taking Easyjet flights from April 2012

Green Miscellany

• Tube now 50% dearer than travelling by chauffeur-driven Rolls Royce Phantom Celebrity owners of the £250,000 Rolls Royce Phantom such as David Beckham, Simon Cowell and Alan Sugar pay less to travel through central London than users of London transport; tube fares can be 50 per cent more expensive than being chauffeured by Phantom over the same distance.read more

Other News Sources

• Bike WeekTeam Green Britain Bike Week aims to get more people cycling, more often. Last year almost half a million people took part at events across the UK.
• Frequency of use statistics underline shifts in public transport marketStatistics from the National Travel Survey show significant changes in the underlying market for different modes of public transport over the last decade The Department for Transport’s National Travel Survey provides analysis of attitudes, habits and behaviour amongst users of … Continue reading →
• Recession and fuel costs drive car ownership downwardsThe onset of the recession checked growth in car ownership in most parts of the country, and the proportion of households without a car has barely changed in five years The onset of the 2008 recession has apparently resulted in … Continue reading →
• Eurostar reiterates environmental commitment Eurostar has set itself new carbon reduction targets as part of its long-term plan to reduce its...
• Hundreds of engineering jobs are to be created in Sussex Hundreds of engineering jobs are to be created in Sussex building the next generation of train carriages.
• UK Flights Show Underlying Increase Of 2.4% In May 2011The underlying growth in the number of UK flights was 2.4% in May 2011 compared to the same month the previous year, according to NATS monthly statistics released today. However, due to...
• Carillion pulls out of Borders railway dealThe Scottish government has reaffirmed its commitment to create a rail link to the Borders after a consortium said it intended to withdraw from bidding for the scheme.
• Why the only way is Essex for EasyjetThe budget airline Easyjet unveiled ambitious plans yesterday to transform Southend-on-Sea airport into a rival for Gatwick and Stansted