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

Monday, 19 March 2012

BBC News

• Greater Anglia 'sorry' for first month of rail service A train operator has apologised for its performance in its first month running services in the eastern counties. Greater Anglia took over the train franchise in the east from National Express East Anglia on 5 February this year.
• Boston 'worst area' in East Midlands for business Chief executive Simon Beardsley said members had identified a lack of investment in road and rail infrastructure as a potential contributory factor, as well as Boston's classification as a high-risk flood area.
• Branson in aviation capacity pleaRichard Branson has added his voice to the growing chorus of business leaders calling for the government to act now to tackle the lack of aviation capacity.
• PM to urge private roads fundingDavid Cameron will say much more private investment is needed in England's road network in a speech later.
• MP backs Branson's airport callA Kent MP welcomes Sir Richard Branson's comments that it is better to expand Heathrow than build a new airport in the Thames Estuary.
• Passengers escape double decker bus fire Passengers had to be led to safety when a double decker bus caught fire in south-east London.

Financial Times

• Cameron to unveil lease plan for roadsThe water industry could provide a template for UK™s motorways and roads, which would be turned into regulated utilities with reliable income streams
• UPS agrees to buy TNT Express for €5bnAgreement brings to an end years of speculation about a tie-up between the US and Dutch delivery companies and will increase UPS™s presence in Europe

The Guardian

• David Cameron unveils plan to sell off the roadsSovereign wealth funds to be allowed to lease motorways in England, says prime ministerDavid Cameron will clear the way for a multibillion-pound semi-privatisation of trunk roads and motorways as he announces plans to allow sovereign wealth funds from countries such as China to lease roads in England.Just 48 hours before the budget, the prime minister will give a speech calling for radical action to improve Britain's infrastructure, which is falling behind those of key competitors in Europe.In his most eye-catching proposal, Cameron will announce that the Treasury and Department for Transport ...

The Herald

• Rail compensation model should be shunted aside IN principle, it is right that Network Rail should have to pay compensation for train delays it has caused.
• ScotRail receives £2m for winter chaosTRAIN operator First ScotRail is due to be paid more than £2 million in compensation for train delays encountered during two successive winters when record freezing temperatures and heavy snowfall caused severe disruption to Scotland's rail network.

The Independent

• Cameron to fill hole in nation's finances by privatising roads Firms will be paid to maintain network – and tolls could be round the corner

The Scotsman

• Minister quits after raising rail faresIndia’s railway minister quit yesterday after he raised fares on the vast but creaking network.

The Telegraph

• Miles of hard shoulder opened to cut jamsHard-shoulders on more than 100 miles of Britain's motorways will be permanently opened to traffic under Government plans to reduce congestion.
• Bus drivers share £38 million Euromillions jackpot12 Stagecoach drivers from Corby, Northamptonshire, scoop jackpot.
• The big red bus that could take me straight back to City HallAs the mayoral election looms, the Routemaster is a shining example of how to spend wisely, says Boris Johnson.

Mail Online

• EuroMillions winner: Day after 12 drivers win £38m, not one turns up for workThere are suggestions the lucky dozen could resign from the Stagecoach depot in Corby, Northamptonshire, en masse – removing a fifth of the driving workforce in one fell swoop.
• Motorists face more pay-to-drive tolls under plans to lease roadsDavid Cameron will today say he wants to kickstart the economy by allowing firms and investment funds to compete to build, operate and maintain motorways and trunk roads.

The Mirror

• Toll road UK: Tory road sell-off will hit drivers in the pocket Private firms will be able to milk motorists by building toll roads to run alongside existing routes

Bristol Live

• Justine Greening: 'I'll meet MPs on trains'THE minister in charge of Britain's transport has said she would be "delighted" to talk to Bristol MPs over improving the city's rail network.

Edinburgh Evening News

• New crossing for the Forth will not be a bridge too farALMOST a year after the contract was signed for the new Forth Road Bridge, those in charge of the £1.6 billion project today said it was on time and on budget – and vowed to keep it that way.
• Station taxi ban put on hold by rail chiefsPLANS to ban taxis and all private vehicles from Waverley Station have been postponed for the forseeable future, Network Rail announced today.

Journal Live

• Chancellor told to fund North East rail improvementsTHE Chancellor has been told to fund rail improvements which could help reduce a record North-South employment divide.
• More cruise ships expected to dock on TynesideA RECORD number of families will sail into the North East this year, making millions for the region’s economy.

London Evening Standard

• Roads may be run by private firms England's major roads could be run by private firms in a deal compared to the sell-off of the water industry under plans to boost infrastructure spending being set out by David Cameron.

Metro

• David Cameron: I'll privatise the roads to get Britain going A network of privatised toll roads and widened motorways are part of a range of measures aimed at improving Britain's 'second rate' infrastructure, David Cameron will announce later.

Sheffield Telegraph

• £4.91m bid to improve buses TRANSPORT managers in South Yorkshire are to ask the Government to contribute £4.91m to help make local buses quicker and more efficient.
• City on move with transport upgrade MOTORISTS should be the first to see the benefits of a South Yorkshire package of multi-million-pound road, rail and tram improvements to be introduced over the next seven years.

Wales Online

• Cardiff news: Cardiff-New York air route worth £200m a year to Wales, report revealsA DIRECT flight service between Cardiff and New York could increase North American investment in Wales by more than £200m a year, a previously undisclosed Welsh Government report has revealed.

Plymouth Herald

• Minister refuses to rule out A303 plansTransport Secretary Justine Greening has signalled support for a complete second dual-carriageway into the Westcountry following the fatal pile-up on the M5 last year.

Other Regional Press

• Green opposition for Hastings to Bexhill link road plan ENVIRONMENTAL lobby groups are urging the Government not to approve the Bexhill Link road in the next few days claiming it could be the most damaging scheme in England.
• Parties clash over Ealing response to HS2 rail link EALING’s commitment to challenging the high-speed rail link, HS2, has been questioned after claims that it has not contacted the Department of Transport about the issue.

Global Rail News

• Glasgow gates completeThe final batch of automatic ticket gates at Glasgow Central High Level is now open for business, or closed if you haven™t got a ticket. This marks the completion of the ˜claymore clang™ at stations in and around the city centre, with gates already introduced at Anderston, Charing Cross, Argyle Street and Glasgow Central Low [...]
• Thales and Siemens awarded New York CBTC test track contractThales and Siemens have been awarded a contract to provide a permanent communications-based train control (CBTC) test track facility for Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) New York City Transit (NYCT). The test facility, to be installed on an express track of the subway system™s Culver line, will offer a controlled environment for NYCT CBTC equipment scenario [...]
• Jubilee line ˜biggest risk™ to Olympic transport plansThe London Assembly Transport Committee has said the Jubilee line on the London Underground is the ‘biggest risk’ to the 2012 Games transport plans. The Assembly has written to the Mayor Boris Johnson to ‘welcome good progress’ but express its ‘concerns’ regarding the ‘heavily delayed upgrade works and regular disruptions’ on the Jubilee line. The [...]