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

Friday, 24 June 2011

BBC News

• York teenager, 14, charged over railway line 'planking' A boy has been charged with trespass on a York railway line after a picture emerged allegedly showing someone taking part in a "planking" incident.
• Hidden railway art goes on show Hundreds of works of art telling the story of the railways are to go on show in a new gallery in York.
• Edinburgh trams 'a financial train wreck' [audio - today programme]The controversial project to put trams through the centre of Edinburgh, which has already used up 80% of its £545m budget and faced chronic delays, will be debated by the city's council next week.
• Oxford bus companies to get integrated services Bus travellers in Oxford will get a cheaper more efficient service from next month, according to bus operators.
• Swansea West MP Geraint Davies hope on electric rail An MP believes there is still hope for electrifying the railway as far as Swansea. A £1bn electrification of the main line from London was given the go ahead in March but only as far as Cardiff.
• Falmouth and Brixham coastguards welcome safety report Falmouth and Brixham coastguards have welcomed a report that suggested plans to close some coastguard centres raised "serious safety concerns".
• Officials recommend backing tramsCouncil officials recommend councillors should vote to complete the tram line to St Andrew Square instead of scrapping the project.
• 'Sacked driver' Tube strikes offThree strikes planned for next week on London Underground are called off after a driver who was unfairly dismissed is reinstated.
• Saab cannot afford employee wagesSwedish carmaker Saab says it does not have enough money to pay its employees' wages.
• Airbus seals record aircraft dealAirbus announces the largest single order of commercial aircraft in history as Malaysian carrier AirAsia buys 200 of its A320neo jets.

Department for Transport

• Transport StatisticsThe Department for Transport on Thursday 23rd June published the following Transport Statistics:
• ATOL overhaul underway as government plans to extend holiday scheme to millionsThe biggest overhaul of financial protection for holidaymakers in more than a decade officially got underway today. Up to six million extra holidays could be covered by the Air Travel Operators' Licence (ATOL) scheme under the reform proposals put forward for consultation by Aviation Minister Theresa Villiers.

Financial Times

• Coucher defends Network Rail payoutThe former chief executive of Britain's rail infrastructure owner has defended the £1.07m payout he received on leaving the company
• Airbus secures 200 jet order from AirAsia Toulouse-based aircraft maker has secured an $18bn deal, at list prices, from the Malaysian low-cost airline, adding to pressure on Boeing

The Guardian

• Fury over £1m payoff for Network Rail's Iain Coucher • Transport secretary says deal 'sticks in the gullet' • Departed chief executive warned over pay last year

The Herald

• Call for tram public inquirySENIOR officials involved in Edinburgh™s troubled trams project face the prospect of being held to account after First Minister Alex Salmond backed calls for a public inquiry.
• Fresh blow for trams as Holyrood rejects bailoutEdinburgh™s controversial trams project faces renewed doubt over its future after the Scottish Government washed its hands of the scheme.

The Scotsman

• £1bn to complete full Edinburgh tram line All for nothing? Edinburgh has suffered years of disruption, but some councillors still want to scrap the whole project THE full cost of completing the first line for Edinburgh's crisis-hit tram project is set to top £1 billion - double the funding awarded by the Scottish Government.

The Telegraph

• Tube strikes planned by London Underground workers called offA series of crippling Tube strikes planned by London Underground workers has been called off following the reinstatement of a sacked driver, union officials have announced.

Mail Online

• Aston Martin driving rail chief's £1.6m reward for failure Outgoing Network Rail boss Iain Coucher received a £1.6million 'golden goodbye' when he quit the troubled firm, it emerged yesterday.

Network Rail

• BETTER FACILITIES AND INCREASED SECURITY AT TWO MANCHESTER STATIONS
• NETWORK RAIL PUBLISHES ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2010/11
• DIARY MARKER - MINISTERIAL LAUNCH OF MAJOR RAIL INVESTMENTS ON GREAT WESTERN

Daily Post (North Wales)

• North Wales policeman slashed in head at railway station A POLICE officer was slashed in the head with a knife in front of rail passengers.

Journal Live

• Newcastle to London rail service discussed TWENTY years ago, the North East was told to prepare for an exciting new era in high-speed rail travel – electrification of the East Coast Main Line meant that journey times between Newcastle and London were to be reduced to just two hours and 36 minutes.

Metro

• Former Network Rail chief Iain Coucher left with £1.6million Former head of Network Rail Iain Coucher left with £1.6million after quitting last year, it has been revealed.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• MPs criticise North East coastguard cutbacks PLANS to cut back on coastguard bases have been condemned by MPs in a new report. Under Government proposals, the number of centres open 24 hours a day will be reduced from 18 to three. They would be based at Aberdeen, the Southampton/Portsmouth area and Dover.

Sheffield Star

• Expert fears South Yorkshire parkway station would fail A TRANSPORT expert has urged the Government to build a city centre station for the new high speed rail line in South Yorkshire – because a proposed station which people would have to drive to ’probably wouldn’t work’.

Yorkshire Post

• Train makers left to dream of past glory [letter]THE train building programme for the Thameslink trains is now not going to Derbyshire as promised – it is going to a foreign firm. The move was greeted with anger by unions and Labour MPs, who said the appointment made a mockery of George Osborne’s Budget pledge in March that: “We want the words made in Britain, created in Britain, designed in Britain, [and] invented in Britain, to drive our nation forward.”
• Fast rail link ˜last best chance to tackle North-South divide™BUILDING a high-speed rail network is the “last best chance” of overcoming the North-South divide, the Transport Secretary has said.

Other Regional Press

• MP pleads for rail station toilets Toilets should be installed at a railway station in connection with a planned rail link between east and west London to avoid passengers relieving themselves in public, MPs have been told.
• Rail link 'may close wealth divide' High Speed 2 (HS2), which would run between London and Birmingham, is the "last chance" to close the economic gap splitting Britain, the Government has said. Transport Secretary Philip Hammond claimed the controversial £32 billion scheme cutting journey times between the two cities could finally narrow the prosperity divide.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Call for comprehensive plans for future of London transportThe London Assembly has called for plans to be laid out for coping with the expected increase in road congestion in the capital over the next two decades. Compiled by the assembly's transport committee, the Future of Road Congestion in London report notes that traffic is predicted to see a significant increase over the next 20 years. Currently, the city's roads are used by private drivers who make over ten million journeys each day, as well as by operators transporting nearly 90 per cent of London's freight and almost 7,000 buses. The report says that the London mayo...

Global Rail News

• Two Manchester stations™ improvements completeTwo stations at opposite ends of Greater Manchester have been upgraded as part of the National Stations Improvement Programme. Passengers using Altrincham and Rochdale stations are ...
• Network Rail publishes Annual Report and Accounts 2010/11Network Rail has published its Annual Report and Accounts 2010/11, covering the second year of Control Period 4 which runs to 2014. It is also the ...
• Rail passengers want simpler compensation processResearch shows passengers want train companies to make the process of claiming compensation for delays simpler and more transparent. Passengers want companies to do more to ...
• Transport for London™s training tops 10,000Transport for London has announced that more than 10,000 NVQs have now been awarded to staff throughout the organisation, improving skills and boosting morale. NVQs build ...
• East Coast offers low book-ahead fare for new First Class serviceEast Coast is encouraging travellers to try its new First Class service “ with a super low book-ahead one-way fare of just £25. Customers can travel ...
• HS2 debate targets capacityOn 21 June, the Rail Freight Group joined other rail industry experts to give evidence to The Transport Committee on the Government™s plans for delivering HS2, ...
• Fixing myki is ˜key™ to getting Victoria™s transport ticketing system back on trackThe Coalition Government will put Victoria™s transport ticketing system back on track with an effective and reliable ticketing system for passengers and a financially responsible outcome ...
• FCC holds ˜Try a Train Day™ for the blind and partially sightedFirst Capital Connect this week hosted a ‘Try a Train Day’ to provide blind and partially sighted people with the confidence to travel by rail. The ...
• Apprenticeship scheme ˜will put rail sector on track to high skill future™Skills Minister John Hayes has welcomed a ground-breaking Apprenticeship to Fellowship scheme which will transform career opportunities for engineering apprentices joining the railway industry. The scheme ...

Aviation Industry

• Business travellers will benefit from OlympicsImproved transport facilities, better service in hotels and restaurants and a greater choice of meetings venues from the London Olympics

Green Miscellany

• The caravan designed to be towed behind a bicycle It™s the ideal accessory for cyclists who demand the height of luxury on their camping trips “ a fully-equipped, single-berth caravan designed to be towed by a bicycle.read more

Other News Sources

• Sustrans says investment needed in alternative transport to help fight cost of motoring Sustrans has called on local authorities should invest more in walking and cycling to provide alternative transport options for people forced to reduce their reliance on their cars as the cost of motoring continues to escalate, with the RAC saying that nearly have of drivers have cut down the number of trips they make.
• Heathrow among first to install electric vehicle charge pointsHeathrow has become one of the first companies to complete the installation of electric vehicle charge points as part of its collaboration with Transport for London (TFL) through the ˜Source London™ programme...
• Easyjet introduces business travel sales teamThere will be no negotiating on rates, says new UK head of sales
• Apps threat to travel managersTravel managers could see their travel policy destroyed if they do not get control of their travellers™ use of apps