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

Thursday, 23 August 2012

BBC News

• Sir Brian Souter to step down as Stagecoach chief executive Stagecoach co-founder Sir Brian Souter has signalled his intention to step down as its chief executive.
• New bus stations to boost cityTwo new bus stations are being planned for Newport to try to increase the number of shoppers using the city centre.
• 'Talking cars' tested on US roadsAbout 2,800 cars fitted with kit that lets them communicate with each other are being tested on a US city's roads.
• Edinburgh transport body set upLocal people and business leaders are to make future decisions on transport policy in the capital through a special forum set up by Edinburgh City Council.
• Dublin Airport taxi drivers strikeTaxi drivers at Dublin Airport have been on strike since Wednesday afternoon and are refusing to pick up passengers.

Department for Transport

• Helping train operators improve services for cyclistsA new Cycle-Rail Toolkit aimed at making it easier for people to combine cycling with rail travel has been launched by Transport Minister Norman Baker.

Financial Times

• Air France and Rolls-Royce in repairs tussleJet engine maker is facing a challenge to its maintenance business in a disagreement that is delaying the airline™s purchase of passenger jets
• Qantas scraps $8.5bn order after lossAustralian airline cancels commitment for 35 Dreamliners and postpones delivery of 50 others to focus on cutting debt and bolstering its balance sheet
• Concern over Stagecoach chief™s new roleShareholders react to Sir Brian Souter™s move from chief executive to chairman, which goes against the UK corporate governance code
• Stagecoach charts course for successionBritain will be losing one of its most colourful chiefs with Sir Brian Souter™s relinquishment of the top management role at the UK transport operator

The Herald

• Outcry at timescale of solution to A83The Scottish Government has conceded it could take 10 years to get a proper long-term solution to the landslide problems on the A83 at the Rest and Be Thankful, an MP has claimed.
• Celebrities call for U-turn on West Coast rail decisionCELEBRITIES have backed a campaign to force the UK Government to reverse its decision to bring in FirstGroup to run the West Coast train service between Glasgow and London.

The Telegraph

• National Railway Museum hit by nepotism row as curator's husband wins contracts The normally quiet world of steam train preservation has been hit by allegations of nepotism after it was revealed the husband of a curator at a taxpayer-funded museum received over £25,000 for work, including painting a train engine due to be named after his wife.
• Sir Brian Souter to become Stagecoach chairman Transport giant Stagecoach signalled it is all change on the buses as its co-founder and chief executive, Sir Brian Souter, is to become chairman next year, flouting corporate governance rules.
• War on motorist a myth says left of centre think tank The war on the motorist is a myth and fuel taxes should be raised without delay, a left of centre think tank has said in a report published today.
• Satnav systems being fitted with level crossing warningsSatnav systems are being fitted with warnings of level crossings to cut the risk of cars colliding with trains.
• Cabinet reshuffle is driven by plans for Heathrow expansionJustine Greening, the Transport Secretary, may be moved to another Cabinet position in a reshuffle as the Prime Minister considers allowing a third runway to be built at Heathrow.

Daily Express

• Le Shuttle posts Olympic recordCHANNEL Tunnel operator Eurotunnel said the recent Olympic Games in London had helped its Le Shuttle car and coach service post record traffic figures in the seven days to August 12.
• Boss Sir Brian Souter takes seat upstairs at StagecoachTHE flamboyant boss of Stagecoach is stepping down from the driving seat of the bus and train group for the second time.

Mail Online

• Ryanair: Woman forced to pay £236 to print out boarding passesSuzy McLeod, pictured, from Newbury, Berkshire, forgot to print off the passes for herself and her family for their flight home for Alicante and had to pay £236 for the airline to print them.
• Monarch Airlines: Cabin crew told passenger they couldn't give her a blanket for health and safety reasonsZoe Hammond (pictured), from Telford in Shropshire, said a stewardess on Monarch Airlines claimed that strict regulations prevented staff from handing out blankets.
• Ryanair and EasyJet: Herded like cattle and fleeced like sheep! We must be mad to endure the torture of budget flightsWith the holiday season drawing to a close, many of us can at last look forward to months of tranquility and relaxation. The stress, expense and inconvenience of air travel will, thank goodness, be behind most of us for another year.
• Ministers ready for a battle over greenbelt grab as they plan to seize land for housing and new airportThe Treasury is prepared to ‘have a fight’ with green campaigners by pushing through rules which would let ministers redesignate areas of greenbelt as available for development.

Derby Telegraph

• Derby Telegraph commented Bombardier staff to hold strikes in row over pay offerWORKERS at a maintenance depot owned by Derby train-maker Bombardier are set to strike in a dispute over pay.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Edinburgh trams will offer private joyridesTRIPS on Edinburgh’s trams and guided tours of the huge depot where 20 vehicles are being test-driven will be offered from next month in a bid to build support for the troubled project

London Evening Standard

• Growing revolt over ˜too high™ tan tax “ 100,000 complain about air passenger duty As many as 100,000 people have written to MPs to urge a review of the "too high" air passenger duty (APD) airport departure tax.
• Jaguar dealers top service tableJaguar has raced to the top of a car dealership customer satisfaction table.

Manchester Evening News

• 1,800 new jobs set for take-off with new logistics hub at Manchester AirportA new £100m logistics hub is set to be built at Manchester Airport “ creating more than 1,800 jobs. The ˜world-class™ centre will house up to 1.4m sq ft of cargo space for freight companies, offering businesses unrivalled access to air and motorway links.
• Disabled commuters face five-mile detour to get into Heald Green rail station - because ramp was built six inches too lowMums with push-chairs and people in wheelchairs are being forced to make a five-mile rail diversion “ because a ramp on a platform was built six inches too low. Network Rail started work on the £1m, 50ft access ramp at Heald Green last November. But company bosses realised in April an error in the design meant it would not sit flush with the pavement on Finney Lane.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Placard bid to shame government over fuel taxA new campaign has been launched to try to force the UK Government to cut the cost of fuel “ with placards to go on display at half of Scotland™s forecourts.

Yorkshire Post

• Celebrities support Branson over loss of West Coast franchiseCelebrities are backing a campaign to force a U-turn on the Government’s decision to strip Virgin Trains of its West Coast main line franchise.

Campaign for Better Transport

• MPs are backing our call for next year's fare hikes to be cancelled.22 August 2012: Our successful demonstration last week is already getting results. read more

Global Rail News

• Crossrail TBM reaches PaddingtonCrossrail™s first tunnel boring machine (TBM), Phyllis, has reached Paddington, three months and 750 metres after breaking ground at Royal Oak. Eight tunnel boring machine will be used in total to construct 21 kilometres (13 miles) of Crossrail™s twin bore tunnels running between Royal Oak in west London and Pudding Mill Lane and Plumstead in [...]
• Charity ˜chuggers™ banned from station entrancesStreet fundraisers have been banned from standing within three metres of a train or tube station, according to new rules imposed by the public fundraising regulatory body. The Public Fundraising Regulatory Association (PFRA) is threatening ‘chuggers’ with hefty fines if they break the rules, which also include not following someone for more than three steps. [...]
• Record traffic for Eurotunnel™s car carrying trainsEurotunnel’s car carrying trains have experienced record traffic levels, with more than 74,000 vehicles using the service in just one week in August. The Le Shuttle service, which transports cars, motorcycles, caravans and coaches through the Channel Tunnel between Folkestone and Coquelles, is part of the Groupe Eurotunnel. A new daily record was also set [...]
• West Coast rail petition passes 30,000 signaturesMore than 30,000 people have now supported an e-petition urging the Government to re-think it’s decision to name FirstGroup as the new operator of the West Coast Mainline. FirstGroup was awarded the sought after franchise after submitting a bid £5.5 billion for the 14-year contract. Since the announcement last week, Virgin, who have run the [...]
• Station staff save day-old kittensStation staff at Bedford have been praised for saving the lives of four kittens left abandoned in a carrier bag on the station. Staff spotted the day-old kittens “ all thought to be related “ and immediately took steps to keep them warm. They then alerted the local RSPCA. Says Gayle Simpkins of  RSPCA North [...]
• Formal proposal for RDGThe Rail Delivery Group will be given added powers and placed on a more formal footing as the government ramps up  plans for closing the gap between train operators and infrastructure provider. Proposals will be considered under the auspices of the Office of Rail Regulation. Says Tim O™Toole, chairman of the Rail Delivery Group, ˜Placing [...]
• Souter steps down as Stagecoach CEOMartin Griffiths has been appointed as the new chief executive of Stagecoach in a director reshuffle that will see former CEO Brian Souter take up the role of company chairman. The appointment follows last week’s announcement that Virgin Rail – which is 49 per cent owned by Stagecoach – had lost out to FirstGroup in [...]
• IMechE goes LocoDeveloping young engineers is a key role of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE). Since 1999, its Automobile Division has being doing so through the Formula Student Challenge in which teams design, construct and drive a racing car to specified criteria. Not to be outdone, this year the Institution’s Railway Division held its first Railway [...]

London TravelWatch

• Walking and Interchange report publishedInterchange “ changing between stations or types of transport “ is key for those travelling in London, and it is vital that the interchanging is as easy and quick as possible for London™s travelling public, says London TravelWatch, the watchdog for transport users in London, in its report issued today, Walking and Interchange in London.

Rail Technology Magazine

• Competence in Bogie Testing Over the past decade, Nencki has reached a leading position as a supplier for bogie test stands, with more than 70 machines being delivered. Nencki's aim is to provide customers with the specific test bench to meet their needs.

Railnews

• Protests mount over West Coast decision A petition urging the Government to rethink its decision to award the intercity West Coast franchise to FirstGroup is gaining momentum. The protest has won the backing of Virgin founder Richard Branson, who has also announced that his company is to launch competing air services.

Railway Gazette

• Arriva takes over Stockholm light rail operations SWEDEN: Deutsche Bahn subsidiary Arriva took over from Veolia as the operator of Stockholm's Nockebybanan, Tvärbanan and Lidingöbanan light rail lines on August 20. In November 2011 Storstockholms Lokaltrafik selected Arriva for two parallel operating contracts covering local bus and light services. The overall package runs for 12 years and is largest integrated multi-modal transport deal in Sweden, accounting for 94 million passenger-journeys a year and doubling the size of Arriva's Swedish operations. The start dates are staggered to reflect the expiring of the previous agreements. The f...
• Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn orders Siemens control equipmentSWITZERLAND: Siemens has been awarded a contract to supply electronic interlockings, level crossing and operations control systems to replace life-expired equipment on the Mörel - Münster and Andermatt - Disentis sections of the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn. Commissioning is scheduled for autumn 2014, completing a phased upgrade of the metre gauge line which began in 2006. Nine Simis IS interlockings will replace life-expired ASEGA equipment, Iltis controls will replace the existing Command 900, and the current Iltis version 40 will be migrated to version 56. Eight ASEGA station level crossin...

Aviation Industry

• APD email campaign hits 100,000 targetCampaigners discussing new ways to pressurise government over air tax
• Ryanair in talks over Stansted investmentNo-frills airline could take minority stake in airport as part of a consortium bid

Other News Sources

• Train depot strike chaos DISGRUNTLED workers at a rail depot near Burton are to stage a series of strikes which threaten to bring chaos to the network.
• Train depot strike chaos DISGRUNTLED workers at a rail depot near Burton are to stage a series of strikes which threaten to bring chaos to the network.
• Birds left to die in deadly netting at Blackburn railway bridge NETTING to stop birds nesting under a Blackburn railway bridge has become a ˜pigeon gallows™, it has been claimed.
• Crossrail ramps up tunnelling work as second machine breaks groundA second Crossrail tunnel boring machine has broken ground today after the first successfully reached Paddington, having travelled 750 metres from Royal Oak.
• Crossrail launches BIM academy for supply chainExclusive: Crossrail will open its new BIM academy to multiple clients in a similar move to the lessons being learned by several large clients at the Tunnelling and Underground Construction Academy.