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

Saturday, 24 December 2011

Cogitamus

• The Transportinfo Team would like to wish you all the very best of the seasonWe will be taking a little break over the holidays. TransportInfo not be updated on 25, 26, and 27 December, and also on 1 and 2 January 2012. Thank you for your continued interest and support.

BBC News

• VIDEO: Cairngorm rail consultation endsA public consultation on the strict measures operating on the summit of the Cairngorms ends.
• First unveils new Scottish buses head as Neil BarkerFirst has appointed a new regional managing director to head up its Scottish bus operations, it is announced.
• Rail signal staff stage walk-outNetwork Rail says it is confident it can run a comprehensive service in the west of Scotland as signal workers stage 72-hour walkout.
• Airports 'set for Christmas rush'About 40,000 passengers are expected to pass through Belfast International Airport in the next two days as the Christmas rush reaches its peak.
• The London festive travel guideYour guide to how the Tube, trains, buses and roads are operating over Christmas and New Year
• Bus company offers tours of M25A sightseeing trip round the M25 planned by a Brighton coach company proves so popular an extra tour date has been scheduled.
• No appeal over Tube strike rulingLondon Underground will not appeal against the High Court's refusal to halt a 24-hour Tube drivers' strike on Boxing Day.
• Extra carriages for rail servicesAdditional train carriages will introduced on services from London to the South West in 2013, the government announces.
• 'Excessive' card surcharges to goSurcharges for using a debit or credit card to pay for travel, theatre or cinema tickets will be banned by the end of 2012, the government says.

Department for Transport

• New platform and 60 extra carriages for Waterloo commutersPassengers on some of the country™s busiest rail routes are set to benefit from extra carriages to ease overcrowding and the former Waterloo International Station is to be reopened for commuter services, Transport Secretary Justine Greening announced today.

The Guardian

• Ryanair defiant over credit card surcharges crackdownRyanair says the £6 charge per passenger per one-way flight relates to costs associated with its booking system, and isn't a payments surchargeRyanair has defied the government's move to ban surcharges on payments to airlines and other firms by saying it does not charge its passengers any credit or debit card fees.Airlines, cinemas and holiday firms will be stopped from imposing millions of pounds in

The Herald

• £24m upgrade for Aberdeen HarbourTHE board of Aberdeen Harbour plans to invest £24 million in improvements at the port next year when directors expect strong activity levels in the North Sea to boost demand.

The Independent

• Airlines cleared to use Santa's short-cut Hard-pressed airlines have been handed the perfect Christmas present: permission to fly twin-jet aircraft over the North Pole, saving millions on fuel costs, opening up new destinations and reducing damage to the environment.

Mail Online

• Network Rail chief and wife in suicide pact after being caught taking luxury bribes from corrupt company executivesAnthony Burgess had been under investigation for alleged financial irregularities when he was found dead along with his wife at the couple's home, in Clavering, it emerged today.

The Mirror

• Train station car parking set to rise by up to 5%train operators have sparked fury by planning to hit travellers with higher station parking charges next year.
• Ryanair vows to fight credit card charge banBUDGET airline Ryanair was yesterday accused of defying the new Government ban on rip-off card charges.

ATOC

• ATOC responds to ORR consultation on the role of the regulatorResponding to the ORR consultation on the role of the regulator, Michael Roberts,...

Network Rail

• 95% OF SCOTTISH SERVICES TO RUN DESPITE STRIKEMajority of services on routes across Scotland will be unaffected by RMT strike Some local services from Glasgow Central to be reduced on Christmas Eve No disruption expected to cross-border operations No impact on published Boxing Day timetable

Derby Telegraph

• Minister gives rail firm hope that it can win £127m of workWORKERS at troubled Derby train-maker Bombardier have been offered some pre-Christmas cheer by the Government after it concluded that a multi-million-pound project to convert trains to hybrid power is viable.

London Evening Standard

• Expect chaos, Tube bosses warn shoppersTube bosses warn passengers of major disruption on Boxing Day after a High Court judge allowed a 24-hour strike to go ahead

Other Regional Press

• UK & World News: Rail scam boss committed suicideA Network Rail boss committed suicide with his wife after taking luxury bribes from two corrupt company executives, it can now be reported.
• Rail strike to hit Xmas revellersTRAIN services between Glasgow and Inverclyde will be disrupted tomorrow due to strike action by signalling staff.
• Aberdeen bus firm to cut back servicesAN ABERDEEN bus firm has announced plans to cut back services in the city.
• Electric bus runs out of fuel on M1THE new energy-efficient Routemaster bus that is being rolled out in London ran out of fuel on the way to Millbrook Proving Ground this week.

Global Rail News

• Siemens manufactures first Thameslink bogieThe first bogie for the Siemens Desiro City Thameslink train has been completed at Siemens™ global bogie manufacturing centre in Graz, Austria. Subject to contract close ...
• Bombardier to supply EMUs to Frankfurt areaCommuter trains of the 430 series from the successful electric multiple unit family will soon be in operation on the Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund (RMV) network. Bombardier Transportation has ...
• Train driver wins European transport photography contestAn Edinburgh-based train driver has won a European transport photography competition for his stunning photograph of a passenger train near Ballencrieff. Stephen Gorman won the Arriva Photo ...
• Train companies respond to ORR consultationResponding to the ORR consultation on the role of the regulator, Michael Roberts, Chief Executive of the Association of Train Operating Companies said: œTrain companies recognise ...
• Gatwick Express announces Christmas serviceGatwick Express, the non-stop rail-air link between London Victoria and Gatwick Airport, has announced its Christmas services during the festive period. On Christmas Eve, Saturday 24th ...
• London commuters to benefit from longer peak-time trainsLondon commuters are to benefit from longer peak-time trains and extra services as part of an investment announced by the Department for Transport (DfT) and South ...
• Have your say on the new Great Western rail franchiseRail passengers in the Thames Valley, the South West and South Wales are being asked for their views on how their rail services should be run, ...
• Unipart Rail wins major contract in AustraliaUnipart Rail today announced that in conjunction with its joint venture partner, UGL Limited (UGL), it has been awarded a major contract for the provision of fleet maintenance ...
• Alstom to supply advanced traction system for Qingdao MetroAlstom and its local joint venture, Shanghai Alstom Transport Electrical Equipment Co., Ltd. (SATEE), have been awarded a contract worth around €26 million by Qingdao Metro ...
• Official opening of upgraded Colchester stationThe Mayor of Colchester Councillor Helen Chuah has officially opened the newly upgraded Colchester North station. The station has been significantly improved by operator National Express ...

Aviation Industry

• Treasury to ban excessive card feesThe new rules, set to come into force by the end of next year, are likely to affect airlines