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

Tuesday, 02 October 2012

BBC News

• Slough MP Fiona Mactaggart backs Heathrow third runway The Labour MP for Slough has said there should be a third runway at Heathrow despite the party having abandoned its plans for the development.
• Pod travel plan for Bristol enterprise zone Automated pods on a guided roadway may be used to transport workers around a multimillion-pound enterprise zone in Bristol.
• Push for more Scottish air linksA major drive to convince airlines to fly to and from Scotland is being made at an international forum in Abu Dhabi.
• 'Scottish Oyster Card' announcedPlans are revealed for a Scotland-wide travel smart card which can be used across public transport networks.
• Ealing's tunnel vision for HS2Why Ealing Council wants a £150m tunnelling solution to avoid HS2 disruption in the borough
• Free transport for 60-year-oldsLondoners aged 60 are to be entitled to free travel on the capital's transport system again.

Financial Times

• Kingfisher to cancel flights after worker unrestIndian airline forced to ground aircraft after engineers, who have not received salaries for seven months, refused to certify that the planes were safe to fly
• European airlines head for bigger lossesIata lifts global profit forecast as some carriers raise fares but eurozone crisis leads to decline in first and business class passengers
• Qatar Airways joins oneworld allianceThe move is a coup for the global airline group and underlines how the Gulf carriers may no longer be viewed with hostility by western airlines

The Herald

• Sturgeon unveils Saltire Card for smart travelScotland's answer to London's Oyster card was revealed today - the Saltire Card.
• Claim transport smartcard plans watered downPLANS to introduce a Scotland-wide travel smartcard for use on all public transport ahead of the 2014 Commonweath Games in Glasgow have been watered down by ministers.

The Scotsman

• ˜Let rail passengers know we are on their side™, Labour urgedLabour was pressed yesterday to support a call for an inquiry into claims that rail passengers have been “ripped off” by more than £150 million on refund payouts.

The Telegraph

• Boris Johnson to challenge David Cameron on 'nonsensical' airport delaysDavid Cameron must speed up his decision on a new airport for London as current delays are

Press Association

• Labour will reform transport: Eagle Transport networks need fundamental reforms to ensure they can be made affordable for ordinary commuters, Maria Eagle has said in a keynote address to Labour's conference.

Mail Online

• European airlines set to descend into the red as first and business class passenger numbers nose-dive amid economic gloom and cost-cuttingThe International Air Transport Association (IATA) today predicted a drop in premium passengers as firms cut costs by sending their executives in economy, or fly with low-cost budget airlines.

Labour Party

• Maria Eagle's speech to Labour Party Annual Conference 2012 Maria Eagle MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Transport, said today at Labour Party Annual Conference 2012:

Network Rail

• MANAGEMENT FOCUS SIGNALS CHANGE FOR NETWORK RAIL GRADUATE SCHEME- Intake doubles for general management scheme- New focus on rail vehicle engineering - More paid sandwich placements for university students to gain vital work experience
• PASSENGER IMPROVEMENTS AT LEICESTER STATION UNVEILED BY CITY MAYOR

Birmingham Mail

• West Midlands bus pay deal agreed HUNDREDS of bus drivers across the West Midands are in line for substantial pay increases of nearly £50 a week – if they stay behind the wheel for five years.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Bradford taxi firm boss speaks out over rise in insurance costs A cab driver boss fears taxi firms will be driven out of Bradford if insurance companies insist on keeping their premiums sky high.

Liverpool Post

• Maria Eagle calls for railway fare increases to be scrappedMERSEY MP Maria Eagle was today demanding that inflation-busting rail fare hikes are scrapped – warning they will create a

London Evening Standard

• Train passengers are being 'ripped off' over late service compensationA government inquiry into the "rigged" system of rail fare refunds given to passengers will today be demanded by delegates at the Labour Party conference.
• Families to be hit by Christmas closures on London rail servicesMajor sections of the London commuter and national rail network will be shut down yet again between Christmas and the New Year, it was revealed today ” causing travel chaos for hundreds of thousands of passengers.
• US-style ˜bussing™ needed to tackle segregation in London schools, says headAmerican-style œbussing should be introduced in London to break down the segregated school system, a leading headteacher said today.

The York Press

• £5.5m A64 junction scheme opens A NEW £5.5 million junction on North Yorkshire™s busiest road has finally been completed after a string of delays.

Yorkshire Post

• More co-operation on transportYORK could join forces with local authorities in West Yorkshire in a bid to bolster growth and attract more cash to transport projects.

East Anglian Daily Times

• Essex: New footbridge at Braintree Freeport station to ease commutingPEOPLE will soon be reaping the benefits of improved access to Braintree Freeport Station with the installation of a new footbridge.

Other Regional Press

• TRANSPORT MINISTER TO VISIT A590 BLACKSPOTS IN SOUTH CUMBRIA TRANSPORT minister Stephen Hammond MP will tomorrow visit the A590 danger spots.
• Saltire Card is smart move for transport A new system, the Saltire Card, would allow customers to pre-load funds on the card and then use it to pay for trips on all forms of public transport.
• New platform 9 plan for Huddersfield Railway Station and access bridge from car park – what would you like to see done?TALKS are under way for a further platform at Huddersfield Railway Station.
• Closure costs a million pounds a minute: M62 works boss and police on new scheme to widen motorway and improve safety - what do you think?THIS project will ultimately save lives.
• First Aberdeen bus boss in pledge to refund unhappy customersFIRST Aberdeen™s new boss today promised to refund the fares of bus passengers œunhappy with any aspect of their journey.
• Disabled passenger row ˜concerns™ bus companyA bus firm has admitted it is 'concerned' about complaints made about the treatment of disabled passengers by its drivers.

Bus and Coach.com

• Oxford Street bus plan attackedA plan by London business group New West End Company to cut the number of buses using Oxford Street has been attacked by London TravelWatch.
• UK Bus Awards shortlist announcedThe shortlist has been announced for the 2012 UK Bus Awards, containing more than 90 people, projects and organisations selected from over 270 nominations.
• Cambridge busway ahead of forecastsIn their first year of operation services on the Cambridge busway carried 2,5 million people, 750,000 more than forecast.
• Busway Volvos arrive in LutonArriva has taken delivery of 11 Volvo B7RLEs for operation on the 13,4 kilometre Luton to Dunstable busway, which is scheduled to open next May.

Global Rail News

• London Rail™s Olympic legacy: Howard Smith Q&ALondon’s rail network experienced record passenger levels this summer, as the city took on the colossal task of hosting both the Olympic and Paralympic Games on top of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations. Howard Smith, chief operating officer for London Rail at Transport for London (TfL), spoke to Rail.co about how he kept the trains [...]
• Network Rail sets track renewal recordsNetwork Rail’s high output track relaying system has been behind a series of record-breaking renewals during Britain’s Olympic summer. In August, the new track relaying system – known as system 4 – replaced 1,800 yards of rail and sleepers “ more than a mile “ in 16 hours. The same system working on the Carlisle [...]
• Lost letters discovered at Birmingham New StreetUndelivered letters dating back almost 25 years have been discovered in a post box at Birmingham New Street station. The post box, which has long sat on the station’s main concourse, was sealed up a year ago after complaints that people were getting their fingers caught in the slot while dropping off letters. Staff at [...]
• Network Rail acquires Bristol-based points manufacturerNetwork Rail has said it will not be making any immediate changes to IAD Rail Systems after acquiring the points manufacturer from parent company Claverham Ltd. The purchase includes a transfer of employment for all IAD Rail Systems staff. Martin Elwood, director of Network Rail™s national delivery service, said: œThe purchase of IAD Rail Systems [...]
• Alstom Prima II tested in Channel TunnelPlans to standardise rail freight services between the UK and Europe have taken a step forward following successful trial runs of the Alstom Prima II locomotive in the Channel Tunnel. Until now, Class 92 locomotives, which are not approved to run on the French RFF network, have operated exclusively through the tunnel, but in July, [...]
• Fake rail worker sought over cycle theftsA man thought to be posing as a rail employee to steal bicycles from stations across the north of England is wanted by British Transport Police (BTP). Officers have said the man, who wears an orange high-visibility vest or yellow jacket similar to those worn by rail staff, is their ‘number one target’ in connection [...]
• Bombardier signs €44m Austrian tram service contractBombardier has signed a service contract worth 44 million euros for 32 Flexity Outlook tramswith Austrian operator Innsbrucker Verkehrsbetriebe & Stubaitalbahn GmbH. Bombardier will perform the complete service management for the tram fleet until 2028. Martin Baltes, CEO Innsbrucker Verkehrsbetriebe & Stubaitalbahn GmbH, said: œWe were aiming for service and maintenance agreement that was economic [...]
• What is the Rail Accident Investigation Branch?Continuing our series looking at people and organisations in the rail industry, RailStaff asks the question: What do they do? So far, this series has looked at the work of the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) and the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR). Both promote safe working practices on the railway, with the RSSB [...]

Railnews

• Labour considers publicly-owned East Coast Labour has said it is considering keeping the East Coast franchise in public hands, although as things stand the Department for Transport is preparing to return the operation to the private sector in December next year. A new East Coast franchise, once let, would be difficult and expensive to reverse until it had run its natural term, which could be ten years or more. Labour leader Ed Miliband said there was growing 'resentment' among passengers, who see reports of train operators' profits while fares continue to rise ahead of inflation.

The Business Desk

• FirstGroup “confident” of rail franchise success TRANSPORT operator FirstGroup - which controversially won the contract to operate the West Coast Main Line rail route - says it is confident Virgin Rail’s legal challenge will not succeed.

Aviation Industry

• Etihad starts using new Sabre toolsAirline is launch partner for tech firm's network manager programme
• EU urged to remove 'roadblock' on emissions tradingIATA boss calls for Europe to delay ETS to allow a global deal to be reached

Other News Sources

• West Coast franchise fiasco ratchets up pressure on Labour to renationalise the railwaysWith Labour Party delegates arriving in Manchester on West Coast Main Line trains over the weekend for their conference, rail union RMT said today that the continuing fiasco over the award of the route's franchise has ratcheted up the pressure on the Labour Party to adopt a clear policy of renationalising the railways or risk alienating millions of key voters who will be decisive at the next election.
• Schwarzenegger helps terminate London's CO2 emissions Arnold Schwarzenegger was among the celebrities to ride in London's new fleet of hydrogen fuel cell powered taxis during the Olympic and Paralympic games.
• Eurostar trains to be hit by Belgium strikeServices set to be cancelled from London to Brussels due to Wednesday's industrial action