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

Saturday, 14 January 2012

BBC News

• Hammersmith Flyover open to carsThe Hammersmith Flyover in west London reopens after three weeks of strengthening work but lorries and coaches still cannot use it.
• Prosecution over Grayrigg crashThe Office of Rail Regulation is to prosecute Network Rail over the Grayrigg rail crash in Cumbria in which a Glasgow pensioner died.
• Barriers plan for open crossingsA new style of barrier could be installed at 23 open level crossing on railway lines in Ayrshire and the Highlands.
• Passenger boost for new rail linkA reopened rail link between North Lanarkshire and West Lothian has boosted passenger numbers along the route, according to Transport Scotland.
• Invensys shares plunge on warningShares in UK engineering firm Invensys dive 20% after it warns its 2011 operating profit will be
• Easyjet amends its booking chargeAirline Easyjet amends its pricing amid government plans to ban excessive surcharges when buying tickets online.

Financial Times

• How the first high-speed‰rail spat ended peacefullyThe latest dispute echoes a controversy two decades ago when grassroots anger developed over Britain™s first high-speed rail line through Kent
• Network Rail faces prosecution for Grayrigg crashThe UK™s rail regulator has commenced criminal proceedings against Network Rail, the owner of the country™s rail infrastructure
• Abertis offloads Eutelsat stake to cut debtIndebted Catalan infrastructure and toll road operator disposes of half its stake in the French satellite group for €981m in the latest of a string of divestments

The Guardian

• Boris woos London motorists as transport battle lines grow clearer With logical yet rather depressing predictability, Boris Johnson's response to Ken Livingstone's Fare Deal pledge on public transport has been to reach out to the most natural of Conservative voters, the frustrated motorist - primarily the suburban variety.

The Independent

• Network Rail faces criminal prosecution over fatal crash Network Rail is to face criminal prosecution over the 2007 rail crash in Grayrigg, Cumbria, that killed one passenger and injured almost 90.Related StoriesNetwork Rail to be prosecuted over Grayrigg crashEvery little helps: Tesco executive sold shares before profit warningPayday loans for alcoholSold down the river?The quiet American making a big noise at Soho House

The Telegraph

• Drivers forced off the roads by escalating costsFuel prices and insurance make driving less enjoyable - and some drivers are prepared to break the law to save money.

Daily Express

• Halfords gets on its bikes to ride slumpMILD weather dented sales of winter car-care products at Halfords. But the chain made up some of the lost ground thanks to booming demand for bicycles.

Mail Online

• Easyjet fined £60,000 for barring disabled passengers from flyingThe company claimed that the disabled passengers would pose a 'safety risk' in the air while the no-frills carrier was criticised for putting 'profits before principles.' The court was told how three paraplegic passengers tried to board EasyJet flights at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport during 2008 and 2009.
• HS2 rail link: Hundreds of historic houses will be ruined by the new high speed lineDozens of listed buildings are due to be demolished, or severely blighted, if HS2 is built.

Network Rail

• NETWORK RAIL ANNOUNCES £1.5BN FRAMEWORK AGREEMENTS
• KING™S CROSS PUBLIC SQUARE PLANS GIVEN THE GO-AHEAD
• NETWORK RAIL TO SHOW COUNCILLORS THAMESLINK INVESTMENT

Derby Telegraph

• Derby Telegraph commented Never seen the inside of 'wonderful' bus stationArticle

Journal Live

• Health bosses keep Consett-Durham Sunday bus serviceHEALTH bosses have agreed a donation towards restoring a Sunday bus service between Consett and Durham which was axed following cut-backs by Durham County Council.
• Newcastle Airport celebrates year of eco-savingsNEWCASTLE Airport bosses are celebrating another year of eco-improvements with more than one million kWh of electricity saved in the last 12 months.
• Tory peer Lord Astor's rail remarks 'offensive and pitiful'NORTH East Labour MPs have lambasted a Tory Peer who claimed they “relish” the idea of digging up the Chilterns to make way for a new rail link.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Daily bill of £3,000 for Strome ferry link after road closureOperating ferry services to combat the closure of a lifeline road in Wester Ross will cost Highland Council around £3,000 a day.
• City bus operator takes over axed school routeAn Inverness bus firm has stepped in to take pupils to school after the route was axed by transport giants Stagecoach.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Leeds is vital to HS2 rail proposals - George OsborneCHANCELLOR George Osborne stopped off in Leeds to reassure the city it WILL get its much-anticipated high-speed rail hub - but couldn’t promise it will arrive any earlier than 2032.

Carlisle News & Star

• New bus cuts cost of travel to Cumbrian village school A west Cumbrian primary school has slashed the cost of transport for youngsters to encourage more pupils to join.

Other Regional Press

• Strike is set to disrupt rail servicesRAIL services from Glasgow Central will be disrupted during a walkout by signal workers.
• Road sign rejoicing for Turvey peopleHEAVY goods vehicles which once thundered through Turvey causing trouble for residents have been re-directed by Borough Hall chiefs.

Global Rail News

• The dismantling planThere was genuine dismay in parts of the North-East when Auf Wiedersehen, Pet re-emerged from TV oblivion in 2002. Not because of Jimmy Nail™s singing (second only to Dennis Waterman™s) or the infliction of Tim Spall™s pantomime Brummie accent. No, it was the apparent demise of Middlesbrough™s landmark Transporter Bridge which the rogue builders took [...]
• South Wales coal trade gets green with trainsAn eight-miles long disused freight line at Cwmgrach has been brought back into use to enable coal produced by Unity Mine to be transported by freight trains to Aberthaw. This successful initiative owes to a collaboration between Network Rail and DB Schenker Rail. The new rail freight services will help remove over 49 lorries per [...]
• Network Rail announces £1.5bn framework agreementsNetwork Rail has today announced new framework agreements of up to seven years to deliver railway signalling projects worth approximately £1.5bn “ part of wider reforms to Network Rail™s infrastructure business, with a greater focus on partnership with suppliers and a restructuring of the way the company delivers capital projects. Network Rail intends to award [...]
• Manchester city centre rail bridge to be repairedNetwork Rail is to strengthen a vital rail bridge across one of the busiest approach roads to Manchester city centre. The bridge carries the ˜through™ rail lines between Piccadilly and Oxford Road stations over the busy London Road. Built in 1849, the single span cast iron bridge was encased in concrete just over 50 years [...]
• Regulator prosecutes Network Rail for Grayrigg train derailmentThe Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) has today started criminal proceedings against Network Rail for a breach of health and safety law which caused a train to derail near Grayrigg in 2007. On 23 February 2007, the 17.15 Virgin Trains service from London Euston to Glasgow Central derailed on the West Coast Mainline near Grayrigg [...]
• Airdrie to Bathgate line ˜boosts passenger numbers™The re-opened Airdrie to Bathgate rail link has resulted in a large boost in passenger numbers along the route. The new £300m Airdrie-Bathgate Rail Link was opened on 12th December 2010 and usage figures for the first 12 months show a significant increase in passenger numbers at existing stations. New stations at Armadale (89,388), Blackridge [...]
• Amey™s work tackling youth unemployment receives Royal seal of approvalLeading infrastructure services provider Amey pledged to double its intake of apprentices at an event aimed at tackling youth unemployment, attended by HRH The Earl of Wessex, Lord Digby Jones, Local and Central Government, HR directors and several national businesses. Mel Ewell, Chief Executive of Amey, told guests visiting the company headquarters in Oxford that [...]
• King™s Cross public square plans given the go-aheadPlans to create a new public space in front of King™s Cross, which will form the final part of the redevelopment of the station, have been given the go-ahead by Camden council. The design, by architects Stanton Williams, will reveal the Victorian Grade I listed station façade for the first time in 150 years. In [...]
• Balfour Beatty Rail celebrates successful delivery of Christmas worksUp and down the country over the Christmas period, Balfour Beatty Rail worked ‘around the clock to deliver Network Rail™s enhancements’. The major pieces of work were: Romford “ Gidea Park A complex plain line track renewal of 1,280 yards between Romford and Gidea Park Stations (Essex) was delivered. Over the 74 hour possession period [...]
• Record visitor numbers at Kent & East Sussex RailwayKent™s best loved steam railway, The Kent & East Sussex Railway in Tenterden, welcomed 100,000 visitors in 2011. This is an increase of 7% on 2010′s numbers. The railway™s General Manager Graham Baldwin said: œWe are delighted that in times of recession our visitor numbers are increasing. “With the continued support of our 400 volunteers [...]
• Network Rail to show councillors Thameslink investmentCouncillors from St Albans City and District Council are set to see first hand major improvements being carried out on the Thameslink route on Tuesday January 17th. Network Rail route managing director, Martin Frobisher, has invited councillors to see a number of infrastructure upgrades including new power supply arrangements in Borehamwood, new signalling equipment in [...]

Aviation Industry

• American Airlines Looks More Attractive In BankruptcyWith the worst recent financial record in the industry and poisonous labor relations, American Airlines wasn't a very attractive target for buyers.
• How the Ice Fighting Technology on Your Plane Makes Winter Flying SafeIcing on baked goods is delicious. Icing on a plane can kill you. Unfortunately, many have died as a result, but the lessons learned have made preventive measures a piece of cake.
• Ryanair to charge emissions trading levyNo-frills carrier adds 25p charge per flight from next week
• Easyjet adds booking charge to make fares 'more transparent'Carrier introduces £9 'admin' fee to replace booking charge
• Manchester Airport aims to become international business destinationPlans for £659 million 'Airport City' revealed by chancellor George Osborne
• Air France-KLM to restructure short and medium-haul networkCarrier to cut fleet and impose pay freeze on French workers

Green Miscellany

• The bicycle umbrella for rain and shine The Uberhood is an elongated umbrella that mounts to bicycle handlebars and is intended to protect the rider from sun and rain.read more
• Bicycles cost £2,000 per kg saved Cyclists who buy lightweight mountain bikes are paying over £2,000 to save a kilogram.read more

Other News Sources

• airberlin launches new cabins on long-haul flightsairberlin has launched the first of its long-haul fleet of A330-200s to have been equipped with new seats in Business and Economy Class and a new in-flight entertainment system. In Business...
• Air France continues to invest for its Business class customers in 2012Renowned for its high standard of attentive service, Air France's Business Class is constantly evolving to offer its customers the very finest from the art of French living. From its cabin...
• Bombardier Aerospace Appoints New President, Bombardier Commercial AircraftBombardier Aerospace today announced the appointment of Michele (Mike) Arcamone as President, Bombardier Commercial Aircraft effective February 1, 2012. Mr. Arcamone succeeds Gary R. Scott, who...