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

Wednesday, 07 November 2012

BBC News

• Keith Brown: Rail deal 'good for Borders' [audio]A deal has been signed setting a contractual date of summer 2015 for reopening a rail route from Edinburgh to the Borders.
• Borders to Edinburgh railway: Deal reaction rolls in Transport Secretary Keith Brown has signed a deal with Network Rail to deliver a rail link between the Borders and Edinburgh.
• Stansted Airport introduces terminal drop-off charges Stansted Airport is to introduce a £2 charge for dropping off or collecting passengers at the terminal doors.
• Rail route reopening deal signedAn agreement is signed handing responsibility to Network Rail to deliver a rail route from the Borders to Edinburgh.
• Derailment could be 'deliberate'British Transport Police say they have uncovered evidence that a train that came off the track in Angus may have been deliberately derailed.
• Nissan cuts profit forecast 20%Nissan slashes its full-year profit forecast by 20% after car sales slumped in China amid anti-Japanese protests.
• New car sales rise 12% in OctoberUK new car registrations rise 12.1% to 151,252 units in October and could top more than two million in 2012, says the SMMT, defying gloom across the rest of Europe.
• Bus maker announces new ordersAlexander Dennis, the Falkirk-based bus and coach building firm, announces new orders which are worth £220m.

Department for Transport

• Double boost for carbon cutting busesAn extra £20 million is being made available for the government™s Green Bus Fund Transport.

Financial Times

• Transport department cut ˜too fast™The West Coast rail line fiasco will come under fresh scrutiny on Wednesday after some Department for Transport staff told an inquiry into Whitehall cuts that the DfT had cut “too deep and too fast” in its search for savings. The Institute for Government, a respected think-tank, examines how 17 departments dealt with the deficit-driven imperative to cut 50,000 staff from the civil service
• London™s new airport held to ransom by follyTravellers will continue to be inconvenienced as business flights from newly emerging economies land at Paris and Frankfurt, writes John Kay

The Guardian

• Ministers warned over plans to exclude transport emissions Tim Yeo attacks plans by senior ministers to ensure that shipping and aviation are left out of UK carbon budgets

The Herald

• Derailment blamed on vandalismA DELIBERATE act of vandalism has been blamed for the partial derailment of a train at the weekend which caused disruption for passengers travelling between Aberdeen and the central belt.
• Green light for £348m rail project as new deal signedA DEAL to revive rail travel between Edinburgh and the Borders for the first time in more than 40 years has been signed, as it emerged the Scottish Government's bill to build the route was in danger of running over by more than £100 million.

The Telegraph

• Motorists face £180 fine for failing to pay Dartford tollDrivers face fines of up to £180 if they fail to pay to use the Dartford Crossing in what is being seen as a dry run for a more extensive road pricing scheme.

Daily Express

• Ryanair predict passenger figures will soarBUDGET airline Ryanair predicted passenger numbers would soar by 50 per cent over the next decade as it announced rain and austerity had sent profits flying.

ATOC

• Buy your rail ticket on the move with National Rail EnquiriesIt is now even easier for passengers to buy train tickets on the move using their smartphone, thanks to National Rail Enquiries (NRE) updates and improvements to its mobile website and smartphone app....

Network Rail

• Network Rail to complete the sale of heavy plant businessNetwork Rail Infrastructure Ltd intends this week to complete the sale of Network Rail (NDS-Plant) Ltd, a market leader in the provision of specialist heavy plant and equipment to Britain™s rail market, to TXM Plant.
• BORDERS RAILWAY DELIVERY PLAN FINALISED

London Evening Standard

• £46,000-a-year Tube drivers threaten third Boxing Day strike in a rowA Tube union today threatened strike action on Boxing Day.
• Heathrow plea over four runway super-hubHeathrow bosses today called on a major inquiry into airport capacity to examine plans for not only a third runway but a fourth as well.

Northern Echo

• North-East transport links must improve, says AdonisSECOND-RATE road, rail and air links are stifling North-East business growth, reckons a former Transport Minister who is set to produce a bold new economic blueprint for the region.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Work set to start at last on traffic-busting roadLONG-AWAITED work on a major new road through Inverness could start within weeks after a company was appointed to for the project.

Wales Online

• Cardiff news: Olympics exhibition costing £115,000 to open at Cardif bus stationAn exhibition costing £115,000 to celebrate Wales’ Olympic and Paralympic heroes is being created at Cardiff bus station.

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• Car-free plan to make Wolverhampton city centre more appealingA new vision for the future of Wolverhampton city centre was today unveiled “ complete with car-free zones and new one-way systems to improve its appeal to shoppers and visitors.

Yorkshire Post

• Waterways engineers attempt to unlock secrets of one of Yorkshire™s grand canalsWORK began yesterday on an ambitious engineering project to reveal the hidden history of one of Yorkshire’s canals.

Bucks Free Press

• Compromise reached in HS2 data row A COMPROMISE has been reached after HS2 campaigners demanded the release of key information into the project's business case.

Burnley Express

• Burnley photographer praised for stunning Ribblehead Viaduct shot JUST being in the right place at the right time helped Burnley railway photographer Graham Roose to capture this stunning image of an iconic railway landmark.

Other Regional Press

• Bus firm to invest in Wigan operationWIGAN’S principal bus operators in waiting have assured staff and travellers of a successful future.
• Bike D-lock sales in Portsmouth soar after crackdown on cycle theftsPOLICE say bike D-lock sales have soared thanks to a joint campaign with The News against cycle thefts.
• Hudersfield University lecturer calls for longer lorries to ease economic and environmental issuesLONGER lorries should be allowed on Britain’s roads, says a transport expert at Huddersfield University.
• Business secretary Vince Cable dashes hopes of salvaging jobs at LTI black cab makerANY hope of salvaging jobs at troubled Coventry black cab maker LTI appeared to have been dashed by business secretary Vince Cable during a visit to Warwickshire.

Global Rail News

• Metrolink bridge lifted into placeA 580-tonne bridge has been lifted into place over the M60 in the latest stage of construction of a new link connecting Manchester International Airport with a branch of the Metrolink Manchester South line. The superstructure is one of two bridges on the new tram line currently under construction. The work, which was scheduled to [...]
• Russian Railways prepares for winter serviceThis year, around 50,000 Russian Railways employees will take spending their first winter on the network. In parts of Yakutia, north-east Russia, the mercury can fall below -65 degrees celsius and average temperatures don’t get much warmer than -20 degrees celsius in many parts of the country. To prepare for the winter chill 743 station [...]
• Network Rail looks to finalise Hydrex rail plant sale to TXMNetwork Rail is hoping to finalise a deal this week to sell off NDS-Plant to TXM – a year after rescuing equipment supplier Hydrex from administration. Network Rail (NDS-Plant) Ltd was formed as a subsidiary of Network Rail in November 2011 following the purchase of the rail division of Hydrex Equipment (UK) Ltd from its [...]
• São Paulo monorail design unveiledBombardier has unveiled the winning design for Sao Paulo™s new monorail system at the Business on Rails trade show. The rolling stock manufacturer received 2,727 entries for its social media-based design competition to select the artwork that will decorate the city’s new Innovia Monorail 300 vehicles. On the opening day of the show, Sao Paulo [...]
• Network Rail takes over Borders line constructionNetwork Rail is aiming return passenger rail services to the Borders for the first time in 40 years after taking over the railway construction project from the Scottish Government. The railway line has been given a completion date of summer 2015, but Network Rail has said it is aiming to finish the project by the [...]
• Edinburgh trams still on course for summer 2014 serviceConstruction of Edinburgh’s new tram system is on target to meet its summer 2014 deadline, the city council has announced. The City of Edinburgh Council has published a new report which states that the project is in line with a revised budget of £776 million and is on course to meet its summer 2014 deadline. [...]

Rail Technology Magazine

• First container train despatched from China to Europe Russian Railways Logistics (RZDL), together with YuXinOu (Chongqing) Logistics, has despatched its first container train from China to Europe using the CIM/SMGS Common Consignment Note.
• Invensys Rail-Signalling and Train Control Systems Invensys Rail is a world leader in advanced signalling and integrated control systems for mainline and mass transit railways.

The Business Desk

• Rail franchise award changes afoot TRANSPORT authorities in Greater Manchester and West and South Yorkshire could be given the power to award the Northern and Trans-Pennine regional rail franchises it has emerged.
• Stagecoach snaps up bus operator Bluebird TRANSPORT giant Stagecoach Group is buying North Manchester bus operator Bluebird for £2m.

Aviation Industry

• Fastjet set to announce routes and prices New no-frills African airline Fastjet is gearing up for the takeoff of its first services later this month. The project, which is being backed by Easyjet founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, is due to launch its new website next week when it will also reveal its first routes and pricing structure, with prices promised to start from $20 one-way excluding taxes and charges. The airline has received its first three Airbus A319s, which are currently being painted in Fastjet™s new livery featuring an African grey parrot. Fastjet, which is being led by former Easyjet chief operating officer Ed Winter,...

Other News Sources

• Why the train travel is booming by Norman Baker MP Rail travel is booming. We now have more passengers travelling each year than at any time since the 1920s so it is crucial that our railway infrastructure can keep pace.
• Scotland pushes for regional airport focusScottish transport minister Keith Brown has said that the south east-centric aviation policy is damaging the Scottish economy and is urging the UK government to take a more regional approach in its new aviation framework.
• New Chair of London TravelWatch appointed by Assembly 6 November 2012 The London Assembly today announced the appointment of Stephen Locke as the new Chair of London TravelWatch[1], the statutory watchdog for London transport users.Stephen Locke is a specialist consultant with a background in consumer policy and regulation. He is the current Vice-Chair of Consumer Focus and Chair of the Advertising Advisory Committee of the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice. He is also a Board member of the Payments Council and the Money Advice Service and chairs consumer forums for both of these ...
• 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 ...