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

Saturday, 22 October 2011

BBC News

• London Oyster zones extend in Essex and Hertfordshire Details have emerged of the stations in Essex and Hertfordshire which will be given the London "smart card" system Oyster, after Dutch company Abellio was awarded the Greater Anglia rail franchise.
• Lincoln park and ride £5m funding bid discussed A new bid for funding for a park and ride scheme in Lincoln is being prepared, officials have confirmed.
• Bus depot ownership delays Guernsey transport policy The private ownership of Guernsey's only bus depot is holding back a new road transport strategy, according to the island's Environment Department.
• Long-term safety fears over Yorkshire's Pacer trains Pacer trains are some of the most unpopular on the network. Built in the 1980s, they are essentially a bus body mounted on a freight wagon chassis with a diesel engine slung underneath.
• Jaguar in cruise control recallJaguar, which produces cars in Castle Bromwich, near Birmingham, recalls 18,000 of its X-Type model over fears the cruise control cannot be switched off.
• Road grit supplies 'highest ever'Stocks of road grit are at their highest ever levels following criticism when supplies dwindled in last winter's big freeze.
• Saab rejects Chinese takeover bidCash-strapped carmaker Saab rejects an offer from its Chinese suitors to buy the company, seemingly moving a step closer to bankruptcy.

Financial Times

• All change at Air France-KLMSwift departure of Pierre-Henri Gourgeon was unexpected

The Guardian

• Rail is Japan's newest export foothold in the UK A consortium led by Hitachi will build the sequel to the Intercity 125 fleet – and its class 395 javelin carriages are already ferrying passengers from St Pancras to Ashford and beyond
• Will the High Speed 2 rail line reduce emissions? Supporters say HS2 will reduce the number of domestic flights in the UK, but critics say it could increase net emissions

The Independent

• Government's drive to boost electric car sales falls flat A government plan to make 2011 "the year the electric car took off" appears to have stalled, with uptake of a scheme to promote sales of environmentally friendly vehicles falling dramatically. The "plug-in car grant", conceived under Labour and launched by Philip Hammond in January when he was Transport Secretary, offered an incentive of up to £5,000 to buy an electric car.

The Telegraph

• Motability car charity moves to stop abuse of benefitsA state-funded charity which helps provide new cars for the disabled and costs £1.5 billion a year is to tighten its rules to stop widespread abuse.
• Jaguar recalls cars after cruise control faultJaguar is recalling almost 18,000 cars due to a problem with their cruise control.

Mail Online

• Cheap London to Scotland sleeper service launched... by a coach company!If you want to go to sleep in London and wake up in Scotland without forking out for the train, Megabus claims to have the answer, with a new sleeper coach service, complete with your own berth.
• Jaguar recalls 18,000 cars in the UK after discovery that cruise control 'off' switch may not workThe problem affects diesel-engined X-type models from 2006 to 2010. Customers say that in some circumstances the cruise control, if engaged, cannot be disengaged.
• UK traffic trouble expected as half-term break beginsAn estimated 15 million cars are expected on Britain's roads this weekend and these photographs of congestion on the M5 near Bristol give a glimpse of what's to come.

ATOC

• Half-term expected to boost family rail travel Train companies are expecting a big increase in the number of families travelling by rail over the weekend and over the rest of the half-term week. Edward Welsh,...

Derby Telegraph

• Hopes of winning £200m contract to help save factoryBOMBARDIER has said it will submit its bid for a multi-million-pound contract which could help towards saving its Derby factory early next month.
• Margaret Beckett: There's an alternative way to kick-start our stalled economyOur campaign to save Bombardier in Derby goes from strength to strength winning popular backing across a broad political, industrial and social spectrum – from the Archbishop of Canterbury to German train workers who confirmed last week that they were on our side and that such a travesty would never have been allowed to happen in Germany.
• Union rep's heartache over workers facing axeA UNION rep at Derby train-maker Bombardier has spoken of his heartache at dealing with the final stages of the redundancy consultation process at the firm.

Journal Live

• Air France-KLM boss thinks Newcastle Airport could rival ManchesterA BOSS at one of the world’s biggest airlines says he believes Newcastle Airport could grow to rival Manchester as a top transport hub.

Northern Echo

• No decision on air traffic control plans AIRPORT bosses have yet to make a decision on where its air traffic control will be based after agreeing on an improved safety system allowing a wind farm to be built.

Sheffield Telegraph

• Plans for faster trains are on trackEAST Midlands Trains says a £69m project to speed up rail services between Sheffield and London to under two hours is due to start early next year.
• Plea to save old transport HQTRANSPORT managers are being urged to spare their old headquarters in Sheffield city centre from demolition.
• Longer trains set to ease overcrowdingEXPRESS rail services between Sheffield and Manchester will have 50% more seats by December to ease overcrowding.

The York Press

• East Coast train boss to leave THE boss of York-based nationalised train operator East Coast is to leave at the end of December, after the Government failed in a bid to extend her contract.

Other Regional Press

• High-speed rail warning. Frank Dobson tells House of Commons: 'Euston can’t cope with HS2EUSTON railway station is overcrowded and lacks the infrastructure in surrounding streets to be the terminus for a high-speed rail link, Frank Dobson warned the House of Commons this week.
• Norfolk’s bus fares fight goes national Norfolk’s battle to get £4.5m from the government to cover the cost of concessionary bus travel has gone national, with other councils joining the fight for fair funding.

Campaign for Better Transport

• A tribute to John Hartley, Devon transport campaigner19 October: We were very sad to hear that John Hartley, Chair of Campaign for Better Transport Devon, died on Monday night. read more

Global Rail News

• SBB Cargo & Stadler roll out new hybrid locomotiveSBB Cargo and Stadler Winterthur AG recently presented the new hybrid locomotive, type Eem 923, for the first time. In early 2012, SBB Cargo will start ...
• Balfour Beatty JV awarded £724m rail infrastructure contract in Hong KongBalfour Beatty, the international infrastructure group, has announced that Gammon Construction, the market-leading contractor in Hong Kong in which Balfour Beatty has a 50% shareholding, has ...
• Historic Norfolk Broads rail swing bridges to undergo ˜essential repair work™A pair of century-old railway swing bridges on the Norfolk Broads are set for a much-needed £900,000 revamp as Network Rail engineers carry out an extensive ...
• Groupe Eurotunnel reports revenue and trafficGroupe Eurotunnel, who operates and manages the Channel Tunnel, has reported a 10% increase in revenue in the third quarter of 2011. The company operates the ...
• BTP commends PCSO after aiding member of the publicA British Transport Police (BTP) Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) who rushed to help a member of the public being attacked by a dangerous dog in ...
• Buckinghamshire Railway Centre™s Traction Engine Rally weekend ˜a great success™Commercial Co-ordinator of the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre at Quainton, Sara Jefferson, summed up the Centre™s Traction Engine Rally weekend (24th & 25th September) as œAmazing, Fantastic ...
• Rail Minister ˜sees how new entrance to Leeds station will support growth™Rail Minister Theresa Villiers visited Leeds yesterday to see how £14.4 million of public funding for a second entrance to Leeds station will improve access and ...
• Skanska secures railway contract in NorwaySkanska has been contracted to build a double track railway on the Vestfold Line in Norway. The contract amounts to NOK 1.36 billion, which will be ...
• Half-term expected to boost family rail travelTrain companies are expecting a big increase in the number of families travelling by rail over the weekend and over the rest of the half-term week. ...
• Elaine Holt to leave Directly Operated Railways Limited & East CoastDirectly Operated Railways Limited (DOR) has announced that the Chairman, Elaine Holt, would be leaving the Company at the end of December, 2011. The announcement coincides ...
• RMT drivers ˜vote for action™ over Tube train safetyThe RMT confirmed this morning that Tube driver members have voted ‘overwhelmingly by a margin of four’ to one for action short of a strike in ...
• Perth train driver bags Employee of the Year Award at ScotRailScotRail staff have voted for their very own Employee of the Year “ Ricky McLeod, a Perth-based train driver. The 57-year-old, of Struan Avenue, has his ...
• Stobart Chief wins CILT award for logistics contributionStobart Group Chief Executive Andrew Tinkler™s contribution to the logistics and transport industry was acknowledged last night with the presentation of the Sir Robert Lawrence Award ...
• VolkerRail starts work on White Rose Way Improvement SchemeVolkerRail has been awarded the Overhead Line Electrification (OLE) and signalling works for the first phase of the White Rose Way Improvement Scheme by Balfour Beatty ...
• Rail user groups see progress at BlackfriarsRepresentatives of Thameslink route rail passengers have seen at first hand the massive redevelopment taking place at London™s Blackfriars station that will lead to significant changes ...
• Oyster pay as you go to be extended to Greater Anglia rail stationsTransport for London (TfL) has announced that as part of the franchise award to Abellio of the Greater Anglia national rail service Oyster pay as you ...
• Translink invites passengers aboard new Class 4000 trainsTranslink is inviting passengers to reserve a place onboard one of its new Class 4000 trains on a special free return service on Saturday 29 October. ...
• Tramlink rewarded for helping restore CroydonTramlink has won the Judges’ Special Award for Outstanding Achievement at the National Light Rail Awards. The prize was given in recognition of the dedication and ...

Aviation Industry

• TAM orders 32 new aircraftIncluding 10 A320 aircraft and 22 next-generation A320neo planes

Other News Sources

• RMT drivers vote for action over tube train safetyTUBE UNION RMT confirmed this morning that tube driver members have voted overwhelmingly by a margin of four to one for action short of a strike in a dispute over safety.