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

Friday, 16 November 2012

BBC News

• £3.3m revamp at Peterborough railway station A new-look railway station in Cambridgeshire has been unveiled after a £3.3m revamp.
• First bus staff reject pay offerStaff at Aberdeen bus operator First have voted to reject a revised offer in a long-running dispute over pay.
• 'Rural rush hour' crash warningScottish motorists are warned of the dangers of
• Train services hit by cable theftRail services between parts of the West Midlands and London are disrupted after a signal cable theft.

Financial Times

• Qantas unveils A$100m share buybackSettlement with Boeing over late Dreamliners to help Australian carrier fund unexpected move to buy back shares and repay A$650m in debt
• Rail contract delays hit Invensys salesShares rise despite the UK-based engineering group missing interim revenue forecasts, blaming slow rail orders and pressure on margins

The Herald

• M90 bus lane to go liveSCOTLAND'S first motorway bus lane will go live next month in a bid to ease congestion on the M90 approach to the Forth Road Bridge in Fife.
• English councils back high speed rail extensionPLANS to extend a high- speed rail network to Scotland have won the strong support of councils, businesses and transport authorities in the north of England.
• Drivers continue to be short-changed on fuelPetrol prices have fallen but drivers are still being short-changed.

The Telegraph

• Squeezed motorists being ripped-off, the AA warnsHard-pressed motorists are being ripped off by petrol retailers as the falling cost of fuel on the wholesale markets is not being reflected on forecourts, the AA has warned.

Mail Online

• It sounds daft but roads would be miles safer if we tore down the traffic lightsAlong with signs, barriers and other examples of street furniture, traffic lights have multiplied in places where they are simply not necessary, making our journeys a nightmare.

Network Rail

• Network Rail CIO takes top IT awardSusan Cooklin, Network Rail™s chief information officer has won ˜CIO of the Year™ at the UK IT Industry Awards 2012.

Journal Live

• Hopes high for better Chester-le-Street rail serviceAN MP has welcomed plans by councillors to lobby the Government to provide an improved service to his local train station.

London Evening Standard

• EXCLUSIVE: Mayor plans central London cycle 'super corridor'Boris Johnson plans to create a cycle œsuper-corridor across central London as he asks the Government for an urgent law change to improve road safety in the capital and save riders™ lives.
• First look at new Thames footbridge which would link Chelsea Harbour and Battersea Proposals for a new foot and cycle bridge across the Thames ” the first in more than a decade” have been submitted for planning approval.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Safety-lapse bus firm loses school contract A BUS company tasked with taking children to a north-east school has lost its contract “ after a driver strapped two siblings into one seatbelt.

Yorkshire Post

• Fuel prices fall but drivers still ˜short-changed™YORKSHIRE’S fuel costs are the cheapest in the country, according to a report by the AA that claims drivers are still being short-changed despite a fall in prices at the pump.

East Anglian Daily Times

• Harwich: Stena powers through downturn as ferry passengers numbers continue to riseA NORTH Sea ferry operator is celebrating a summer upsurge with car numbers on its Harwich to Hook of Holland route up by 7%.

Reading Evening Post

• Heathrow rail link moves a step closer Plans for a direct rail link to Heathrow are surging forward following a meeting between some of the main players.

Other Regional Press

• Sort out railwaysIn response to Martin Turner I am aware of Adbla, and although it may be a step in the right direction for HGVs, the problem remains they are still dependent on the finite resource of oil for their fuel. To my mind, a motorway between Bristol and Southampton is pointless while the GWR already connects the two and is barely used at all these days for freight.
• Decision due on plans to scrap free school busesA DECISION surrounding controversial plans to scrap free buses to and from faith schools is set to be made by senior councillors.
• Airline offers new flight from AberdeenA NEW weekend flight from Aberdeen is on offer to business and holiday travellers.
• Bus firm loses school run contract over seatbelt incidentA BUS company has had its school run contract terminated “ after the driver strapped two children into the same seatbelt.
• Work to patch up Weymouth's Relief Road sound proofing begins SEVERAL substandard sound barriers on the Weymouth Relief Road in the Littlemoor area are being replaced.
• Council goes green with electric car charging pointsThe council is getting all charged up with the installation of a new electric car post.

Campaign for Better Transport

• Opening salvo in battle over mega trucks14 November 2012: Fresh from apparently winning Government support for an increase in speed limits for larger HGVs, the road haulage industry is at it again. read more

Global Rail News

• Third rail coach factory opened in Uttar Pradesh stateA third railway coach factory has been opened in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh following an investment of $400 million. The new rail coach factory will manufacture and roll out 1,000 state-of-the-art railway stainless steel coaches every year – a number which is expected to increase to 2,500 coaches in the next few years. [...]
• Steam Returns to London UndergroundNext year marks the 150th anniversary of the London Underground and steam trips are planned to celebrate the anniversary. The first journey took place between Paddington and Farringdon on the Metropolitan Railway. This will be recreated on Sunday 13 January 2013, with a series of specially restored trains including the Metropolitan Steam Locomotive No.1 and [...]
• Bond Street back drop for SkyfallNothing identifies a London scene like an Underground station and the new James Bond movie, Skyfall, makes full use of the capital™s 150 year old rail network. Says Kate Reston, Head of London Underground Film Office, ˜Skyfall was one of the biggest productions that I™ve had the pleasure to be involved in. Though filming took [...]
• Elizabeth goes undergroundEngineers at Crossrail lowered a 550 tonne tunnelling machine into a 40 metre deep shaft in east London on 25th October. The TBM, called Elizabeth, will be tunnelling under the River Lea towards Canary Wharf this winter. The team at Limmo Peninsula, adjacent to Canning Town station, will repeat the operation with sister machine, Victoria. [...]
• Green Light for new Oxford “ Marylebone RouteA new rail route between Oxford and London Marylebone via Bicester has finally been given the go ahead. The Secretary of State for Transport under the Transport and Works Act granted permission for Chiltern Railways to start work on the line; the first new rail link between London and a major British city for 100 [...]
• Starters Orders for BordersThe Scottish Government has signed an agreement with Network Rail for the building of a new Borders Railway connecting Edinburgh and Tweedbank. The new rail link will be 30 miles long with seven stations and will be completed by 2015. Says Transport Minister Keith Brown, ˜The official handover of the Borders project to Network Rail [...]
• Alstom to supply 14 new Paris Metro trainsThe transport authority for France’s ÃŽle-de-France region has ordered 14 additional trains from Alstom for the Paris Metro. The 127 million euro extension is part of an original contract signed in 2005 between Paris Metro operator RATP and Alstom for 49 trains. Of the initial order, 42 trains have been delivered so far. The new [...]
• Nuneaton chord officially openedThe £28.3 million Nuneaton north chord was officially opened yesterday (November 14) by transport minister Simon Burns. Linking the important Felixstowe to Nuneaton freight route with the West Coast Main Line, without having to zig-zag across the throat of Nuneaton station means that not only are passenger services not disrupted, but that freight services can [...]
• £25,000 reward offered for Angus derailment leadsA £25,000 reward is being offered to anyone with information leading to an arrest of those responsible for a train derailment in Angus. The front section of the 8.04am passenger service between Edinburgh and Aberdeen came off the tracks at Iverkeilor in Angus on November 4. British Transport Police (BTP) officers believe the derailment was [...]
• Atkins™ rail division records solid first half to the yearInternational engineering consultancy Atkins has said it is on track to meet its financial targets despite a ‘challenging’ first half of the year in North America and the Middle East. The company, which saw revenue fall by 3.2 per cent in the first half of the year, said that procurement delays and ‘a more piecemeal [...]

London TravelWatch

• Passenger watchdog welcomes DfT decision to review the railway closures process but Ealing Broadway decision adds to the confusionLondon TravelWatch has expressed surprise at the Department for Transport™s (DfT™s) decision* to terminate scheduled passenger services between Wandsworth Road, Kensington Olympia and Ealing Broadway but to continue to allow trains to run over part of the route out of service ˜to maintain driver route knowledge™. However, the independent passenger watchdog has welcomed the DfT™s decision to consider the more general points made in our consultation response about the closures process separately.
• Event gives the people of Harrow the chance to hop on board the Mayor™s new bus to discuss local transport issuesLondon TravelWatch, the watchdog for transport users in London, held a successful transport users™ engagement event in Harrow town centre on Saturday 10 November following similar events in Tooting, Stratford, Croydon and Romford held over the last few years. The event provided an opportunity for local people to see the Mayor™s ˜New bus for London™ for themselves and a chance to discuss transport issues in Harrow.

Aviation Industry

• Ryanair to give up routes in battle for Aer LingusMore than 40 Irish routes will go to other carriers if takeover attempt is given green light

Other News Sources

• MPs tell Transport Secretary: lives at risk in new rescue helicopter scheme The chair of a House of Commons select committee has told a Government minister there are worries the closure of two search and rescue helicopter bases might lead to more deaths.
• City council extends community transport service WINCHESTER City Council has backed a community transport service for at least another four years.