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

Thursday, 25 October 2012

BBC News

• Airline to end flights from cityA Dundee MP describes Scottish airline Loganair's decision to withdraw from the city as disappointing.
• VIDEO: Chancellor teased over rail ticketLabour leader Ed Miliband has teased the Chancellor for making a journey from Cheshire to London with a standard class ticket in a first class seat on a Virgin service.
• Vesting order for A2 road schemeThe Department of Regional Development is to take land from up to 80 properties on the outskirts of Belfast as part of a £60m road widening scheme.
• Illegal fuel levels 'staggering'North Antrim MP Ian Paisley says the amount of laundered fuel sold in Northern Ireland is

Financial Times

• Alitalia awaits shareholders™ shuffleItalian carrier expects partnership with Air France-KLM will strengthen but not immediately after lock-up period expires in January
• Aegean poised to buy rival Olympic AirGreece™s biggest airline by passenger numbers will make its second takeover attempt in two years in a deal which values its target at €74m
• Delta and US Airways underscore recoveryThe carriers reveal strong quarterly results, helped by lower fuel costs, in the latest sign that the industry is returning to stable profitability
• EasyJet wins UK slot for Moscow flightsCertification from the Civil Aviation Authority backs the notion that budget airlines can offer an alternative to full-service carriers
• Spain™s cutbacks hit National ExpressTransport group™s shares suffer after it says reduced holiday travel in Spain pushed intercity bus sales down, and warns next year remains challenging

The Guardian

• Rail industry needs clarity on contracts and public support The Guardian interviews Tim O'Toole, chief executive, FirstGroup, ahead of his George Bradshaw Address on 31 October

The Herald

• Virgin to run extra services to LondonVIRGIN Trains is to run an extra two services a day between Glasgow and London from December, plugging gaps in an otherwise hourly timetable.

Reuters News

• National Express buoyed by resilient UK rail and busLONDON (Reuters) - Transport group National Express Group said it had traded well in its third quarter, driven by resilient performances from its UK bus and rail businesses.

Mail Online

• Branson loses out on Russian route because watchdog says BA and easyJet will offer a better deal to passengersThe Civil Aviation Authority ruled passengers will benefit through cheaper and more 'dynamic' fares and that British Airways and easyJet's plans were 'likely to deliver the greatest benefit to consumers'.

Network Rail

• WORK TO START ON NEW MULTI-MILLION POUND STATION IN WOKINGHAM
• Have your say on Bingham level crossing plans

Belfast Telegraph

• Aer Lingus lands top airline award Aer Lingus picked up the 'Best Airline to Europe ex. Belfast' Award again, for the third time in a row. Related StoriesOld-style haggling hits net with Newry man's brainwaveSkilled students in line for prizeConstruction sector still lags behind rest of UKFirstsource wins gong for serviceInvest NI's £5m fund to attract health research

London Evening Standard

• Petrol price wars as supermarkets slash price of litreA petrol war has broken out with two major supermarkets today announcing they were cutting the price of a litre.
• Heathrow battle: How Luton could be ˜England™s airport™Plans to turn Luton into a huge four-runway œEngland airport are unveiled today as the latest possible solution to the crisis in aviation capacity.
• Richard Branson loses another battle as Virgin Atlantic miss out on London-Moscow routeSir Richard Branson has lost out in another key transport battle.

Manchester Evening News

• Flying high: Manchester Airport is named best in UKManchester Airport is flying high after being named the UK's airport of the year at a prestigious awards ceremony. Chief operating officer Andrew Harrison picked up the Airport Operators' Association award at the Hilton Metropole Hotel in London.

Northern Echo

• Hitachi makes major changes to management team DETAILS have emerged about the new team that will help to bring train building back to the North-East.

Sheffield Star

• Bus service changes from weekendAN OVERHAUL of Sheffield’s bus network comes into force at the weekend with numerous changes to routes and service numbers.
• Derbyshire station group is on the right trackWITH its bright, blooming flower beds, green grass and tidy platforms, Dronfield railway station looks good.

The York Press

• Plea for fair rail fare BUSINESS leaders have written to the managing director of East Coast to complain about prices of train tickets to London.

Carlisle News & Star

• Train bosses ˜sorry™ after delays in Cumbria Rail bosses have apologised for a series of disruptions on the train line along the Cumbrian coast which have led to services being delayed.

East Anglian Daily Times

• Poll: Are poor rail connections and traffic-logged roads preventing investment in Essex?MPS have warned a lack of investment in transport infrastructure is holding back businesses in Essex.

Plymouth Herald

• We cannot expect letters to the PM to save the airportAS ONE of the 400 who has written an airport campaign letter to Tudor Evans for delivery to the PM by Alison Seabeck yesterday, I decided to send an independent letter of my own to the Prime Minister, and this is the response I have had back from No 10.

The Shields Gazette

• Anger over new bus routes shake-upBUS fares will rise in South Tyneside as a result of controversial plans to reform how services operate, angry transport firm bosses claimed today.

Other Regional Press

• Western Morning News published Road deaths on the rise after traffic officers were axed in...Article
• Improvements to Ridgeway cycle path announced A SECTION of cycleway on Ridgeway Hill in Weymouth is to be upgraded.
• Seasonal train bags awardThe Easter Eggspress has been recognised as the ’best community rail event’ of the year.

Bus and Coach.com

• McGill's expands with McColl's takeoverMcGill™s, Scotland™s biggest independent bus operator, has announced further expansion with agreement to acquire the bus operations of McColl's of Dumbarton.
• Roger French set to retireOne of Britain's best known bus managers is to retire.
• 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

• Hitachi announces management reshuffle ahead of IEPHitachi Rail Europe has announced a major management reshuffle, as focus shifts to delivering the Intercity Express Programme (IEP). Hitachi has said that the changes will ‘strengthen’ the company’s leadership to meet the challenges of the £4.5 billion IEP project, which was approved by the Department for Transport (DfT) in July. Alistair Dormer has taken [...]
• 600th metro car delivered to DMRCBombardier has presented the 600th Movia metro car to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC). The new cars form part of DMRC’s expansion plans, with the network’s ridership expected to soon reach four million passengers per day. Harsh Dhingra, chief country representative India, Bombardier Transportation, has handed over the metro car to Mangu Singh, managing [...]
• £1,000-a-night luxury train service launched in IndiaA new £1,000-a-night luxury train service, complete with onboard gym and spa, has been launched in Delhi. The Royal Rajasthan on Wheels (RROW) service boasts 14 coaches, ranging from £1,000 per night super deluxe saloons to cheaper deluxe suites. Each deluxe saloon has a different colour theme based on a precious stone, including ruby, pearl [...]
• First Citadis tram arrives in LyonThe first of a new fleet of 12 high-capacity Alstom trams has arrived in Lyon. The Citadis trams, which are due to enter service in November on the T3 Line between Part-Dieu and Meyzieu, will take the city’s fleet total to 86, making it the third largest network in France. At 42 metres, the new [...]
• Video: RailStaff Awards 2012 highlightsArmed gangsters and flappers in feather boas welcomed 850 guests to this year™s RailStaff Awards at the ICC in Birmingham. Fat Tony and his gang shepherded rail barons, hitmen and mobsters along a gallery and into the legendary Rail Seventeen Club. Dressed in smart suits and fedoras, hoods and molls sipped illicit Long Island Iced [...]
• Legendary steam locomotive marks 150th anniversary of Union PacificUnion Pacific (UP) steam locomotive 844 is nearing the end of a U.S. tour to mark 150 years since President Abraham Lincoln created Union Pacific by signing the Pacific Railway Act. Built in 1944, the legendary steam locomotive was the last to be delivered to Union Pacific. No. 844 will arrive at Houston’s Amtrak station [...]

Railnews

• 600th level crossing is closed after fatal collision West Lodge user-worked level crossing between Newcastle and Carlisle line has become the 600th to be closed by Network Rail since 2009. A 17-year old boy died on the crossing in January 2008 when he was struck by a freight train. The gates were then upgraded and more signs installed while Network Rail continued to seek its closure.

Other News Sources

• MP presents 38,000-name airport petitionA campaign to save Plymouth City Airport has been taken to the heart of government, writes Nick Lester.
• Assembly calls on the Mayor to take urgent action to avoid loss of south London train services 24 October 2012 The London Assembly today called for the Mayor to take urgent action to address the major loss of transport services in south London caused by the decision to close the ˜South London Line™[1]. This service, which links Victoria to London Bridge via Denmark Hill[2], will be withdrawn in December 2012. The Assembly also reiterated its support for the proposal that the Department for Transport should allow Transport for London the power to run the capital™s suburban rail networks. ...