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

Tuesday, 06 November 2012

BBC News

• Grimsby's £5m transport revamp approved A multi million-pound transport scheme in Grimsby has been approved by councillors who hope it will boost the local economy.
• Airport staff in Christmas ballotSome 250 workers at Birmingham Airport are being balloted over taking industrial action over Christmas.
• New carriages for Snowdon railwaySnowdon Mountain Railway starts taking delivery of new carriages for the first time since the current ones were introduced in the 1920s.
• Rail route reopening deal signedAn agreement is set to be signed handing responsibility to Network Rail to deliver a rail route from the Borders to Edinburgh.
• Fare rises lift Ryanair profitsRyanair reports a rise in half-year profits thanks to an increase in both passenger numbers and fares.
• Suzuki to end car sales in the USJapan's Suzuki says it will stop selling cars in the US as it continues to struggle to compete with rivals in the world's second-biggest market.

Financial Times

• Ryanair “ on the up and upIrish carrier™s record and strong balance sheet deserve a premium, but the differential is starting to look pricey
• Air‰New‰Zealand™s safety videoThe carrier has used its country™s association with Tolkien™s ˜Lord of the Rings™ to produce its own ˜Middle‰Earth™‰version, writes Rose Jacobs

The Guardian

• Scottish Borders boost as line shut in 1960s moves step closer to reopening Edinburgh-Galashiels route will rejuvenate economy, say some locals. Other say rest of region will still miss out

The Scotsman

• New Forth Bridge starts to take shape NICOLA Sturgeon was yesterday given a close up view of the new Forth Bridge taking shape as she met with workers on the biggest building project in Scotland in a generation.

The Telegraph

• Toyota starts Auris production in Derby Production of the new Toyota Auris started at its Derbyshire factory on Monday as the world's biggest car maker raised its full-year net profit forecast to £6bn.
• Ryanair targets 50pc increase in passengers over next decade Ryanair plans to poach tens of millions of customers from legacy carriers such as British Airways, Iberia and Lufthansa over the next decade to grow its traffic by more than half to 120m passengers.

Mail Online

• I want more windfarms... at sea: Cameron's call to help switch from petrol to electric carsDavid Cameron told university students in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates that we need to meet increasing electricity demands from nuclear and renewable sources.
• The £180 car toll fine: Motorists face tough penalties if they fall foul of new pay-as-you-drive schemeToll roads will be monitored by cameras that log the number plates of all passing vehicles and fixed penalty notices will be sent automatically to the homes of drivers who fail to pay in time.

Bolton News

• Transport takeover safeguards 300 jobs TRANSPORT group Stagecoach has bought the Wigan bus business and assets from First Manchester for £12m in a deal which has safeguarded 300 jobs.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Trams to run to airport this month (but you still can™t get on one)TRAMS will run on the streets of Edinburgh for the first time later this month – with safety warnings handed out to pedestrians in advance.

Journal Live

• Newcastle Airport appeals in bonus deals caseAIRPORT chiefs will bid to overturn a High Court ruling criticising them for a refinancing deal that cost the North East millions.

Manchester Evening News

• Buses powered by household waste take to streets of ManchesterA new generation of buses powered by household waste are set to start carrying passengers on the streets of Greater Manchester.

Wales Online

• Jeff Jones: The idea of Cardiff as Heathrow's sixth terminal is fantasy Before starting to write this article I had just put the finishing touches to my exciting proposal to create thousands of jobs in South Wales involving massive foreign investment from one of the world’s largest economies.
• Severn Crossing tolls cost Wales £107m a year, report findsThe Welsh economy could be boosted by an additional £107m if the Severn Tolls were scrapped, a report for the Welsh Government has found.

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• HS2 compensation blow for coupleA couple left heartbroken after learning their Staffordshire home will be knocked down for the HS2 rail line were today digesting the devastating news they may not receive a penny in compensation.
• New 240-ton bridge installed on M54 - videoA new 240-ton bridge has been installed on the M54 as part of a major operation that saw seven miles of motorway closed overnight.
• £25m West Bromwich underpass is finally openThe £25 million A41 underpass in West Bromwich opened to drivers today, ending more than two years of work.

Plymouth Herald

• Plymouth bus lane camera is making £1,000 a day in finesA SINGLE bus lane enforcement camera has caught out more than 3,500 motorists – making the council £1,000 a day.

Other Regional Press

• Bus passengers angry at loss of Havant serviceBUS passengers are angry they are completely losing a service in First’s route overhaul.

Bus and Coach.com

• East Lothian Buses adds new VolvosFive new Volvo B7RLEs have joined the fleet of East Lothian Buses, the operation set up by council-owned Lothian Buses to run one of the services abandoned by First when it cut back its operations around Edinburgh in June.
• NAO wants spending clarityThe National Audit Office has asked the DfT to explain how it will monitor transport spending as more funding is allocated locally.
• Quality agreement for SandwellImproved bus links to the Merry Hill shopping centre, hospitals and West Bromwich town centre started last week following the signing of a three-year voluntary multilateral agreement between Centro, the West Midlands PTE, Sandwell council and bus operators National Express West Midlands, Arriva Midlands, Diamond, Central Buses and West Midlands Special Needs Transport.
• Commissioners query competenceConcerns about the capabilities of transport managers “ including the impecunious and the incompetent - are raised by two traffic commissioners in this year™s annual commissioners report.
• Euro Bus Show-stoppers guaranteedEuro Bus Expo which opens tomorrow at the NEC in Birmingham is going to be a good show.

Global Rail News

• Network Rail chairman confirmed as Railtex 2013 keynote speakerNetwork Rail chairman professor Richard Parry-Jones CBE has been confirmed as a keynote speaker at Railtex 2013. Parry-Jones’ presentation, which will take place on the second day of the event at London’s Earls Court, will be a highlight of an extensive seminar programme being developed in a collaboration between show organisers Mack Brooks Exhibitions and the [...]
• Highly organised high outputOn a dark night, with rain in the air, a car turns left onto a narrow lane on the outskirts of Belper in Derbyshire. As it makes the turn, a stream of vehicles approaches from the other direction to turn right and follow it down the lane. A few cars are mixed in with an [...]
• Painting the Tay BridgeThe direct rail route between Edinburgh and Dundee required the construction of the Forth and Tay bridges – respectively the UK™s most iconic and longest. This was a massive investment and demonstrated the economic importance of rail traffic of the time. However, it didn™t start well. The first Tay Bridge, which opened in 1878, was [...]
• Heritage locomotive handover at HavenstreetTwo heritage steam locomotives have returned home following a handover ceremony on the Isle of Wight. The 1877-built London Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR) E1 class tank locomotive ˜Burgundy™ arrived at the Isle of Wight Steam Railway on November 3 on the same day that the Ivatt tender locomotive No. 46447  prepared to depart [...]
• British Prime Minister visits Dubai metroBritish Prime Minister David Cameron has visited the newly-built Dubai metro as part of a trade visit to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Cameron is in the Gulf region to promote the Typhoon jet to the countries’ leaders in order to boost the British defence industry. Number 10 tweeted an image of the [...]

Railnews

• Derailment causes Scottish disruption The derailment of a CrossCountry train in Scotland is causing disruption to rail services on the eastern side of the country. The Rail Accident Investigation branch has launched an inquiry into how the front wheels of the 08.04 from Edinburgh to Aberdeen left the rails.

Aviation Industry

• Air New Zealand to drop London-Hong Kong flights Air New Zealand (ANZ) will withdraw services between Hong Kong and Heathrow from March 4, 2013. There was speculation in January that the Kiwi carrier would drop its long-haul London services but it has confirmed there will be no changes to the daily Heathrow “ Los Angeles “ Auckland service. Rob Fyfe, chief executive officer at ANZ, says extra capacity may be freed up for the popular North American services following the decision to drop Hong Kong-London. ANZ has recently opened a new Star Alliance lounge in the Tom Bradley international terminal at LAX. Fyfe says a comprehensive review of t...

Other News Sources

• DISABLED PASSENGER BLASTS LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT ASSISTANCEAssistance services London Heathrow airport provides disabled passengers are once again under scrutiny following a series of new complaints.
• LOT Polish Airlines obtained financing for purchase of Boeing 787 DreamlinerToday (5/11) at the Polish Embassy in Washington Marcin Piroacute;g, CEO of LOT Polish Airlines, Fred Hochberg, Chairman amp; President of Export-Import Bank of the United States and Jon Byron,...
• Air Canada Reports Record October Load Factor For the month of October, Air Canada reported a record system load factor of 82.9 per cent, versus 79.4 per cent in October 2011, an increase of 3.5 percentage points.nbsp; System traffic...
• Virgin Trains to add extra Glasgow services Virgin Trains looks set to continue running West Coast services after it announced an increase in trains on some routes. The operator said that it would be adding two extra daily services from London to Glasgow from December 10 using Pendolino trains. Sir Richard Branson™s group lost the original franchise bidding process to First Group but this decision was later cancelled by the government because of œsignificant flaws in the way the bids were evaluated by the Department for Transport. The government has asked Virgin to continue running the service on an interim basis of 9-13 months while ...