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

Saturday, 20 October 2012

BBC News

• Stagecoach raises $150m through US debt issue Transport group Stagecoach has raised $150m (£93.6m) through the issue of debt to cover the cost of buying several businesses from a US bus firm. The Perth-based firm said it had issued 10-year notes in a private placement transaction with US investors.
• Further delay to hourly rail planAn MP says he is frustrated at further delays to a planned hourly rail service from Aberystwyth.
• Laser pen directed at flight crewPolice are appealing for information after a laser pen was directed at a flight crew landing an aircraft at Inverness Airport.
• Translink free wi-fi costs £700KTranslink has spent more than £700,000 to provide wi-fi on buses and trains.
• Plane makes emergency landingA passenger plane flying from Manchester has made a safe emergency landing at Dublin Airport after crew detected smoke in the cockpit.
• Osborne 'first class ticket row'George Osborne has to pay for an upgrade after sitting in a first class train carriage with a standard class ticket.

Financial Times

• Osborne in first class ticket disputeChancellor has to pay £189 for upgrade on train to London after being denied permission to sit in carriage when he only had a standard fare ticket

The Herald

• £1m spent on rail deal contractorsTHE Government spent nearly £1 million outsourcing parts of the botched West Coast main line franchise to private contractors, a minister admitted.

The Scotsman

• Cheaper to commute to Edinburgh than live there, new study showsTHE high price of homes in ­Edinburgh means it makes sense for people to live outside the city and commute to work – ­according to research from the Bank of Scotland.
• £1m spent on botched West Coast franchise The UK government spent nearly £1 million outsourcing parts of the botched West Coast Mainline franchise to private contractors, it has emerged.
• No time lost in getting bypass plans under wayTransport Scotland had taken the first steps towards the start of construction of the long-awaited Aberdeen bypass.

The Telegraph

• Mexican airline waits four years to do business with Heathrow Heathrow has so little spare capacity to handle extra flights that it took four years for an airline hoping to launch routes to Mexico, one of Britain’s key emerging market trading partners, to complete the deal.
• Tighter security sees long queues at Heathrow Thousands of passengers faced long queues at Heathrow last night as new security measures caused delays.

Network Rail

• TARKA LINE IMPROVEMENTS WILL MAKE FOR AN EASIER RIDE

Edinburgh Evening News

• Glasgow airport incident: Passengers describe panic during plane emergencyFIVE people were taken to hospital and a further 15 were treated at the scene after an emergency situation on board a Jet2 plane led to the evacuation of all 189 passengers at Glasgow Airport.

Liverpool Echo

• Building complete ships returns to Mersey as Cammell Laird begins new vessel for Scottish operator Western FerriesTHE building of a complete ship returned to the Mersey for the first time in nearly 20 years with the keel-laying of the first of two new ferries.

London Evening Standard

• London travel: Tube and train delays hit commutersCity commuters suffered long delays into Fenchurch Street today after a signal failure hit peak time services.

Northern Echo

• Bosses at Durham Tees Valley Airport express "acute disappointment" at bid failure AIRPORT bosses last night expressed their œacute disappointment at the Government™s decision to reject a bid for regeneration cash.

Nottingham Evening Post

• Transport minister in city visit 'to learn lessons'THE Shadow Secretary of State for Transport visited the city yesterday at the invitation of Nottingham South MP Lilian Greenwood.

Sheffield Star

• Bus services on estate debatedRESIDENTS are being asked for their views on bus ser-
vices through a Sheffield housing estate.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Western link road changes to be revealed next monthDetailed design changes to the controversial Elgin western link road are expected to be revealed next month.

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• MPs in call over railway line fiascoMPs from the region have called for assurances that the fiasco that has engulfed the busiest rail line in the country will not be repeated.
• Rail users are facing delays over ChristmasTrain passengers in the West Midlands face delays getting home over Christmas due to major engineering works, which were announced today.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Letter: We’ve got clear aims for region’s transport system I would like to assure Janet Bailey and your readers that I am very clear what I want and that is the kind of integrated transport system that improves life for the people of West Yorkshire and supports the local economy.

Yorkshire Post

• Cameras to clock speed at accident blackspotSPEED cameras which measure the average speed of vehicles are being installed along a notorious stretch of road where six people have died in just five years.

Northants Evening Telegraph

• Bus users welcome extended servicesCampaigners celebrated the start of a new extended town bus service after an 18-month campaign.

Other Regional Press

• Community transport schemes expanding in countyEAST RIDING: Community transport schemes are expanding to help disabled and elderly people reach shops and doctors' surgeries.
• UK & World News: Osborne train ticket claim rejectedClaims that George Osborne tried to sit in a first class train carriage with only a standard ticket have been flatly rejected by the Chancellor's office and rail company Virgin.

Bus and Coach.com

• Go-Ahead aims for increased bus profitsGo-Ahead is looking for organic growth in its bus business with the aim of having a bus division operating profit of £100million by 2015-16 “ an increase of over 40 per cent on the 2012 figure of  £70,2million.
• Greyhound retrenches with major cutsFirst's UK Greyhound express coach operation, launched in 2009, has been cut back with the ending of the services between Glasgow and London and between London and the south coast.

Global Rail News

• East Coast supports Train Driver of the YearEast Coast is again sponsoring the Train Driver of the Year award at the RailStaff Awards 2012. Train drivers are an essential element of the railway industry™s daily operation. They are highly trained and the expertise they have ensures a safe and reliable journey for thousands of rail passengers each day. Tom O™Connor, managing director [...]
• Amtrak sets new ridership recordA record number of passengers have used Amtrak services in the U.S. this year, with one million more people travelling by train in 2012. Passengers figures were up 4.8 per cent on the Northeast Corridor in the 2012 fiscal year and 4.7 per cent on long-distance services. Amtrak has set ridership records in nine of [...]
• Final Pendolino coaches delivered to West CoastThe final Pendolino coaches of a 1.8 billion euro order have been delivered on to the West Coast Main Line. In 2008, the Department for Transport (DfT) placed an order with Alstom for four new 11-car Pendolino trains and 62 additional coaches. The contract included maintenance of all 56 Pendolinos which make up the current [...]
• Crediton-Barnstable rail line to close for renewal worksThe Tarka Line between Crediton and Barnstable will be closed for 16 days next month for track renewal works. November’s renewals will take the total amount spent on the line to £9.3 million this financial year. The nine-mile stretch of track has an average age of 55 years, with some components dating back to 1942. [...]
• Chilean state railway invests in new Alstom fleetChilean state railway EFE has ordered 12 new trains from Alstom for the country’s Santiago-Rancagua route. The new EMUs, which will cost US $68 million, are set to begin service in 2014. The five-year contract includes rolling stock and maintenance, with the option of extending to a maximum of 30 years. Minister of transport and [...]

Aviation Industry

• Kingfisher to stay grounded until November 6Indian carrier's continuing dispute with staff leads to further extension of stoppage

Other News Sources

• Wirral's transport cash boost could restart 20mph safety drive WIRRAL Council's ruling cabinet has approved a £3.2m funding boost for transport schemes which could rescue the borough’s stalled 20mph road safety drive.
• Too good for the rest of us? Osborne in first class train row George Osborne embroiled the Conservatives in another class-laden row today, after he refused to leave his first class carriage to sit in the main part of a Virgin train.