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

Saturday, 02 February 2013

BBC News

• HS2: Minister defends route planTransport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin appeals for consensus as controversy mounts over planned HS2 railway routes.
• Ship refloat bid fails yet againThe latest attempt to refloat a ship carrying Airbus aircraft wings which is stuck on a sandbank in the Dee estuary has failed.
• Fuel discount 'could be raised'A discount in the price of fuel for motorists living on the Scottish islands could be increased, an MP says.
• M9 junction opened after upgradeRoadworks that form a key part of the new Forth bridge are completed two months early and under budget.
• Agency Tube staff vote for strikeUnion members who worked for an agency contracted to London Underground (LU) vote for industrial action.
• Fraudster's motor insurance scamA fraudster admits duping hundreds of drivers into taking out non-existent car insurance
• Chinese firm buys LTI for £11.4mCoventry-based black taxi manufacturer LTI is sold for £11.4m to the Chinese car maker Geely.

Financial Times

• Four-runway Hetahrow is in panel's optionsA plan to turn Heathrow into a four-runway hub by shifting its centre of gravity to the west will be examined by the independent commission investigating airport capacity, its chairman has told the Financial Times. Sir Howard Davies, chairman of the Airports Commission set up by the government, said he would consider an economist’s proposal that would increase Heathrow’s runways from two to four by moving their location to run over the M25 motorway.
• Victorian railway builders found shortcutsLong before HS2, factors that drove rapid construction included fewer homeowners, lower population densities, laxer planning controls “ and corruption
• Sheffield city centre loses out in HS2 planThe decision for trains to stop at Meadowhall instead of the centre has brought tensions to a head between the city™s leaders and the out-of-town shopping hub
• Iberia faces more cuts after talks failParent IAG set to force through more radical restructuring after unions reject proposal to reduce workforce by 16% and cut salaries

The Independent

• Is this the world™s most boring job? A day with the workers digging the tunnels for Crossrail Working inside a gargantuan underground factory driving a tunnel through the heart of London on the biggest construction project in Europe ought to be fun, but the workers digging the tunnels for Crossrail are used to jokes about their œboring job titles. Inside the deafening noise and the energy of this 24-hour operation, however, tunnel boring is anything but.Related StoriesSaboteurs may have brought down £250,000 wind turbineMissing Irish tycoon found emaciated on country roadWest Midlands Police 'tweetathon' highlights inappropriate 999 callsMissing Irish tycoon found barefoot and starvi...
• HS2: George Osborne's £32bn route to political suicide? Richard Winward inherited the tenancy of Millington Hall Farm from his father.Related StoriesMissing Irish tycoon found emaciated on country roadWest Midlands Police 'tweetathon' highlights inappropriate 999 callsMissing Irish tycoon found barefoot and starving with insult carved on foreheadBlessed Virgin is no longer flavour of the month at Pret A MangerIs this the world™s most boring job? A day with the workers digging the tunnels for Crossrail

The Scotsman

• Lower speed limits ˜will lead to more emissions™Cutting speed limits in towns would increase pollution rather than slow traffic, according to research for a Scottish carbon­reduction group.

Daily Express

• Willie Walsh to make cutsAIRLINE boss Willie Walsh yesterday pledged to press ahead with cost cuts at Spanish carrier Iberia after unions rejected management plans and threatened to go on strike.

The Mirror

• Red Arrows face axe threat: Fury at risk to iconic RAF display team in defence cutbacksSources yesterday suggested that the Red Arrows could be next in line for the chop, writes our reporter with the Prime Minister in Liberia

Bristol Live

• The Bristol Post published High bus fares 'not just First's fault'A PRESSURE group has welcomed today's demo in Bristol against high bus fares – but says bus operators are not entirely to...

Derby Telegraph

• Derby Telegraph published Pavements should be resurfaced, not the roadArticle
• Derby Telegraph commented Tory Philip Hickson blasts city council's campaign to bring HS2 ...A CAMPAIGN to have a high-speed rail station in Derby will continue – despite Tory opposition claims that the idea is...

Journal Live

• Rothbury road pothole could cost council thousandsANGRY motorists whose cars have been damaged by a “crater” in Northumberland could cost a council thousands of pounds.

Liverpool Post

• Liverpool's biggest airline Easyjet taking on 330 new pilotsBUDGET airline Easyjet is to create 330 new jobs for pilots across it UK bases – including Liverpool.

London Evening Standard

• Black cab fares to rise above fuel hikeBlack cab fares in London are to rise again ” and passengers from Heathrow will be the hardest hit.

Nottingham Evening Post

• Nottingham Post commented High-speed rail link HS2: 'Notts will benefit more than London'THE head of a tourism board says a high-speed rail link into the region will boost business and tourism.

Sheffield Star

• Yobs threatened Rotherham boy on busTWO thugs who threatened a teenager with a knife and demanded he hand over money during a bus journey in South Yorkshire are being hunted by police.

Sheffield Telegraph

• Environment fears amid high speed Sheffield rail joyCONFIRMATION this week that high speed trains are coming to Sheffield delighted civic, business and transport leaders - but prompted concerns over the environment that the line could destroy.
• The 83 bus ride to a shorter lifeA 65 MINUTE journey across Sheffield on the number 83 is used to highlight the stark differences between rich and poor neighbourhoods - and a gap of almost ten years in life expectancy.

Yorkshire Post

• Franchise contest for rail route scrappedThe Department for Transport has scrapped plans for a bidding competition for the franchise to run Great Western rail services.
• Small business ˜trepidation™ over HS2SMALL business leaders have voiced “trepidation” about high-speed rail in Yorkshire and said reopening a city airport in Sheffield would be a better solution.
• Market regulator rules out fuel price inquiryCampaigners yesterday said they were “bitterly disappointed” the competition watchdog has ruled out a full investigation into the fuel market after concluding high prices are the fault of taxes and the cost of crude oil.

Sunderland Echo

• Sunderland rail museum lands £350,000 improvements grantMUSEUM bosses are stoked after receiving a second cash windfall.

Other Regional Press

• Millions of pounds will be pumped into train changesRAIL passengers have been given a boost after a wave of improvements to the train network were announced.
• ˜NIMBYs don™t have the majority view™A business leader has launched a blistering attack on anti airport expansion campaigners.
• M45 motorway is facing almost three months of overnight roadworksPart of the M45 motorway will be closed at night for almost three months from tomorrow to allow for roadworks to take place.
• ˜More cash needed to repair our roads™ BUSY roads in central Oxford are being left to ruin because highways cash is not being dished out according to need, a county councillor has said.

International Herald Tribune

• Inquiry Into 787 Batteries Expands to Other ComponentsRegulators in Washington and Tokyo said they had no answers to explain why two batteries on Boeing™s troubled Dreamliner emitted fire or smoke.

Global Rail News

• Two more Crossrail TBMs to arrive in UKThe sixth and seventh Crossrail TBMs are on their way to the UK after undergoing factory tests in Germany. Both machines are now being dismantled at the Herrenknecht factory before they are transported to Rotterdam, where they will travel by ferry to Tilbury, Essex. Once in she arrives in London, TBM 6, Mary, will drill [...]

Railway Gazette

• Direct Rail Services reveals Class 68 designUK: Freight and charter train operator Direct Rail Services has unveiled the design of its future UKLight mixed traffic diesel-electric locomotives. Vossloh España is building 15 locomotives in Valencia under a contract announced in January 2012, with deliveries scheduled to begin towards the end of this year. To be designated Class 68, the UKLight is based on the EuroLight freight and passenger locomotive family which Vossloh unveiled at InnoTrans 2010. Intended for both freight and passenger operation, the 21·5 tonne axleload Bo-Bo will have a 2 800 kW Caterpillar C175 engine and AC tract...

Aviation Industry

• Garuda to launch Gatwick flights to JakartaCarrier unveils first non-stop route from the UK to Indonesian capital

Other News Sources

• Police hunt bike thieves after raids in Winchester over last ten days POLICE in Winchester are today advising people to review their security following the theft of six bikes across the city.
• Costain Skanska JV wins £200m Crossrail Bond Street stationCrossrail has announced the winner of its final remaining central station at Bond Street, with a Costain Skanska joint venture confirmed for the deal worth up to £200 million.