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

Saturday, 07 January 2012

BBC News

• Railway extension nears half wayWork to restore a rail line to a Denbighshire town is approaching the half-way mark, say enthusiasts.
• Cars on rails may overcome detourRoad traffic could be allowed to travel along railway tracks to avoid an area where landslides have closed a road for weeks.
• Roads closed as tram work resumesWork on the next phase of the Edinburgh trams project gets under way with St Andrew Street closed to traffic from this weekend.
• Searching for the most expensive train journeyRail fares have gone up again, provoking ire from commuters. But what is Britain's most expensive stretch of railway?
• Bridge work shuts M1 interchangeOne of the UK's busiest motorway junctions is shut for the weekend so engineers can dismantle an old viaduct.
• Tanker's cargo transfer underwayAn operation to remove 54,000 tonnes of oil from a damaged tanker in Belfast Lough is launched late on Friday.
• Fast rail link 'to be approved'A government-backed report gives the clearest signal yet that a new high speed rail line between London and Birmingham will be approved.
• Hong Kong Air places Airbus dealHong Kong Airlines places order for 10 Airbus A380 aircraft worth about $3.8bn, easing concerns about an EU dispute with China.
• VW sells record 5.1m cars in 2011Volkswagen, Europe's biggest carmaker, says it sold a record 5.1 million cars worldwide last year.
• UK car sales 4.4% lower in 2011New car registrations in the UK fell 4.4% in 2011 to 1.94m, their lowest level in over a decade, new figures show.

Financial Times

• HS2 battle heads for its climaxTraditionally Tory heartland unifies across party lines against the proposed high-speed rail link between London and the north
• Beijing objections fail to stop $3.8bn Airbus orderAirbus, the European aircraft manufacturer, was celebrating on Friday after securing an order for 10 A380 super jumbos from Hong Kong Airlines
• High Speed 2 technology is in vogueDeveloped and emerging nations embrace fast rail almost 50 years since the Japanese introduced the bullet train

The Herald

• Ferry lifeline for isolated familiesA FERRY service that has been out of operation for 40 years is expected to be temporarily resurrected to transport residents cut off after a landslide closed a vital road.

The Independent

• Short trip gives Britannia a spot of botherThe Royal Yacht Britannia steamed 1,087,623 miles and weathered almost every sea condition imaginable during the 44 years the Queen sailed in her. But she was almost undone yesterday on a journey just a few hundred yards long.Related StoriesApprentice winner accuses partner of running off with $1m prize moneyConfessions of a Traffic WardenHow Thatcher's election win launched secret war on CNDFull steam ahead for high-speed railTravellers will be offered sites to avoid repeat of Dale Farm
• Confessions of a Traffic Warden The caring traffic warden? Now there's a rare epithet for such an unloved member of urban society. Yet that was the label granted to Hakim Berkani after an employment tribunal this week, when he claimed he was sacked for refusing to bow to pressure to
• Full steam ahead for high-speed rail A £32bn high-speed rail link between London and Birmingham that would cut through some of Britain's most prized countryside and infuriate Conservative MPs is set to be approved by the Transport Secretary.

The Telegraph

• High-Speed rail line is given the green lightJustine Greening, the Transport Secretary, will disclose that the Coalition has rejected calls to abandon or alter its plans for the project, which will see trains travelling at 250mph through the Chilterns.

Mail Online

• Pilot dies in crash after helicopter plunges into fieldThe two-man Robinson R22 pitched into a field behind Lancaster Way Business Park, Ely, Cambridgeshire just before lunchtime.
• Rail's high-speed future: Fast link for UK's biggest cities will get green lightThe biggest rail project in over a century will cut the journey time between Britain’s two biggest cities from one hour 24 minutes to just 49 minutes.

The Mirror

• Bumper deals for car buyers in 2012, expert predictsCar buyers could drive a hard bargain this year after dealers suffered a fall in sales in 2011.
• Rail report rejects HS2 alternativeA Government-commissioned report has given the clearest indication yet that the proposed £32 billion HS2 high-speed rail project will be given the go ahead.

Derby Telegraph

• Derby Telegraph published Sales drop but car firm Toyota predicts 'exciting' year aheadArticle
• Derby Telegraph published 2,000-job rail freight depot deal now just weeks awayArticle

Journal Live

• Greggs boss backs South-North high-speed rail bidTHE chief executive of Newcastle-based bakery chain Greggs yesterday urged the Government to press ahead with a new South-North high-speed rail line.
• North East attack on metal theft wins wide supportLORD Henley, Minister for Crime Prevention and Anti-Social Behaviour Reduction, has launched a crackdown on North East metal thieves.

London Evening Standard

• Rail report rejects HS2 alternativeA Government-commissioned report has given the clearest indication yet that the proposed £32 billion HS2 high-speed rail project will be given the go ahead.

Manchester Evening News

• Driver jailed after killing pedestrian in Salford and then lying to police A drink driver killed a pedestrian trying to cross a dual carriageway - then lied to police in a desperate bid to avoid the consequences.

Wales Online

• Transport Minister Norman Baker maps out way to solve satnav issueA Government summit will be held to discuss how to prevent tragic accidents caused by drivers following the wrong directions provided by satellite navigation systems, it was announced yesterday.

Blackpool Gazette

• £2m windfall for tramwayCOUNTY Hall chiefs today confirmed a further £2m investment into the Blackpool and Fleetwood tram upgrade.

Other Regional Press

• Council want to know views on transport in Central Beds People throughout Central Bedfordshire still have time to comment on plans to improve transport in the area.
• Police probe after 10 cars vandalised in Aberdeen streetPOLICE were today investigating after 10 parked cars were vandalised on an Aberdeen street.
• Two cars crash on A90 Aberdeen to Stonehaven roadPOLICE closed part of the A90 Aberdeen to Stonehaven road after a two-car crash.
• DON™T RAILROAD gLASGOW CITY POLITICIANS CLIMB ABOARD OUR CAMPAIGN TO PROTECT NINE LOCAL STATIONS FROM THREAT OF CLOSURETODAY the Evening Times launches a campaign to stop the closure of nine Glasgow train stations.
• Bus re-regulation bid is thrown outSNP councillors have ruled out calls to re-regulate bus services.

Global Rail News

• Direct Rail Services launch trial for Sellafield SpecialStarting on Monday 9 January 2012, Direct Rail Services Ltd (DRS) will be running a six week trial train service for the Sellafield workforce, starting at Carlisle. The train will be made up of three reserved carriages for Sellafield workforce and one additional carriage for members of the public. The return service will run Monday [...]

Other News Sources

• TfL insist the Hammersmith flyover will be open for the OlympicsEngineers have inserted 100 cameras into the Hammersmith flyover to further assess cable damage as TfL staff insisted the structure will reopen in time for the Olympics.
• UK taxpayers face £140 million bill to prop up destruction of train building industryRail union RMT today demanded that the Government reverse the decision to award the crucial Thameslink fleet contract to Siemens after it emerged in a series of parliamentary answers to Derby MP Chris Williamson that the Siemens bid was priced in Euros and with the 10% decline in the value of the currency since tendering the cost to the UK taxpayer on the £1.4 billion contract has soared by £140 million.
• High-Speed Rail Link Plans Build Up SteamBusiness leaders have joined union bosses in urging the government to push ahead with plans for a high-speed rail link between London and Birmingham. The move comes as a government-commissioned ...
• Hammersmith flyover strengthening to focus on additional tensioningWork on the Hammersmith flyover is likely to involve additional tension cables, but not temporary props, Transport for London officials told NCE today.

Other Subscription Services

• No alternative route to export Middle East Gulf crude oilDespite theories bouncing around international media, the Strait of Hormuz is vital to the crude market