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

Saturday, 15 September 2012

BBC News

• Four cars collide with van on M4Motorists experience five mile tailbacks on the eastbound carriageway of the M4 after four cars collided with a van at junction 29 between Cardiff and Newport.
• True cost of London's new busBuried in the latest Transport for London board papers is the true cost of the new bus for London

The Herald

• Three-year delay for west coast ferry bidding processA COMPETITION to run the CalMac network of ferry services off Scotland's west coast has been delayed by three years amid a privatisation row, a union has claimed.
• Ruling on pollution dataEDINBURGH residents who complained about traffic pollution due to tram works have won a partial victory in a bid to have information released by the council.
• New car purchases rise 4%PURCHASES of new cars have recovered significantly since the start of Britain's economic crisis in 2008 but remain lower than a decade earlier, figures show.

The Independent

• How to make a runway out of a molehill Two of the most powerful figures in aviation have demanded urgent airport expansion in South-east England “ reawakening the spectre of demolition in communities bordering on Heathrow, Stansted and Gatwick.

The Scotsman

• Driver escapes ban after cyclist knockA DRIVER who broke a cyclist’s wrist when she knocked her off her bike escaped a driving ban yesterday.
• Motorist caused M6 mayhem to skip tollA POLISH motorist did a U-turn in the middle of the M6 Toll road before driving the wrong way along the motorway – because he didn’t have enough money to pay the charge, a court heard.

The Telegraph

• Cyclists set to get their own traffic lightsCyclists could get their own traffic lights under plans being considered by transport ministers.

Bristol Live

• The Post published Cautious optimism over BAE and Airbus mergerTHE proposed multi- billion-pound merger between Airbus owner EADS and BAE could be great news for Bristol's vitally important...
• The Post published Your chance to have a say on 20mph limitsCONSULTATIONS start this weekend on plans to impose a 20mph speed limit on Bristol's residential roads.

Metro

• Oldest Ford car The Model A expected to sell for £300,000The Model A, the car that prevented Ford from going bust in 1903, is set to go on sale in the US. Vintage: The Ford Model A (Picture: SWNS) The motor, known as Chassis 30, was bought for $170 (about £2,400 today) when the company had only $223 to its name and is expected to sell for more than £300,000 at auction next month.It is thought to be the oldest remaining vehicle from the car maker. A statement from sellers RM Auctions said: 'It is impossible to overstate the importance of chassis number 30.'It is accompanied by extensive documentation, detailing its extraordinary history, and its c...
• London underground pop-up cafe set to roll back years at design festivalTransport for London will launch a new pop-up canteen at the London Design Festival which it hopes will give people a flavour of how London Underground and bus workers used to take a break - albeit with more women and teaspoons this time around. Transport for London launches a pop up canteen for London Design Festival based on its archives. This is Chiswick Staff Canteen 1922. Times have moved on since 1922 when there was not a single woman, or a teaspoon, to be seen at the transport cafeteria during a typical break.The London Transport in-house catering division in Chiswick, west London, wo...

The York Press

• Riverboat rescue drama A BURNING boat carrying 20 stranded passengers on the River Ouse was the scenario dozens of firefighters faced as a huge training exercise was staged in York.

Yorkshire Post

• HMS York open to public for poignant farewellA ROYAL Navy warship affiliated to York will open its gangway to the public tomorrow after making her final journey before being decommissioned.

Bucks Free Press

• Booker site 'too small' for new airport plan BOOKER airfield is too small to be considered as a potential site for a proposed new four-runway airport west of Heathrow say local aviation experts.

Peterborough Telegraph

• Road in March to close for resurfacing worksA £94,000 resurfacing project in Hostmoor Avenue, March, will see it closed to traffic on October 18 and 19.

Other Regional Press

• Catch a glimpse of Olympic heros as Tour of Britain races through Devon Spectators who want to see Bradley Wiggins, Mark Cavendish and the other world-class cyclists in this year™s Devon stage of The Tour of Britain today have 106 miles of the county™s roads to choose from.
• Work to start on Northampton™s new railway station next monthArchaeologists are due to begin investigations of the land underneath Northampton’s railway station next month.

Bus and Coach.com

• Nottingham trials CNG-fuelled EcoCityThree weeks into a ten-week trial of a CNG-fuelled MAN EcoCity, Nottingham City Transport says that feedback has been extremely positive as it assesses the possibility of the bus producing a 30 per cent reduction in operating costs.

Global Rail News

• UK must move to meet demand for skilled rail workforceWith the Government committing to invest £9 billion in our railways over the next decade, this has arguably become the largest investment in the rail infrastructure in modern times. Writes Lawrence Dobie “ Education & Training Director of Vital Skills Training. It is all good news – for the commuter, for the rail industry and [...]
• Plumstead preparation completePreparatory work at Crossrail™s Plumstead portal is now complete. Engineers from Hochtief Murphy JV worked safely just three metres from the main line. The Plumstead portal will take Crossrail™s slurry tunnel boring machines below the River Thames in August. The last diaphragm wall panel marked the end of six months of intensive ground engineering utilising [...]
• 14 million more people travelling by trainAn extra 14 million passengers travelled on Britain’s rail network in the first part of the 2012-13 year compared to the same period last year. New figures released by the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) showed that there were more than 360 million passenger journeys between April 1 and June 30, 2012. The number of [...]

Railnews

• Strike ballot announced over West Coast crisis The RMT says it is preparing to hold a strike ballot in protest at the continuing uncertainty over the award of the next Intercity West Coast franchise. The DfT is making contingency plans in case Virgin's legal challenge prevents completion of the contract with FirstGroup in time for a transfer on 9 December.

Railway Gazette

• News in Brief - September 2012Germany™s federal Railway Authority has approved the regular operation of 835 m long freight trains between Padborg in Denmark and Maschen in Niedersachsen. After 25 expressions of interest, the only bids for a $1bn contract to operate Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad services from July 2013 came from Keolis and the incumbent which is majority owned by Veolia. As part of a €20m investment programme funded by the Spanish Ministry of Development, a new rail terminal has been opened to serve the Isla Verde Exterior container terminal within the Port of Algeciras Bay. A total of 3898 m of ne...

Other News Sources

• States Forge Stronger, More Sustainable Future For Aviation SecurityMinisters and senior security officials from 132 Member States of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and 23 international organizations concluded a High-level Conference on...
• Armitt joins Transport for London boardOlympic Delivery Authority chairman Sir John Armitt is among four new Transport for London (TfL) directors, an official announcement said yesterday.
• Parking permits under reviewTRANSPORT chiefs have launched a review of the borough's parking permit system with the aim of plugging a £300,000 deficit.
• UK must move to meet demand for skilled rail workforceUK must move to meet demand for skilled rail workforce
• 14 million more people travelling by train14 million more people travelling by train