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

Wednesday, 27 February 2013

BBC News

• New London river stops earmarked in 2020 push The River Thames's public transport route could have an extra 11 riverbus stops by 2020.
• Bridgewater Place apology over HS2 warning letter Letters warning residents of a Leeds tower block they could lose their homes due to the proposed HS2 route were sent by mistake, developers have admitted.
• Sheffield to get £18m government cash for buses Sheffield is to get £18.3m from the government for its bus services over the next five years.
• School bus overturns in DownpatrickA school bus carrying 13 children to a special school overturns in Downpatrick, police say.
• Glasgow Airport in £10m upgradeThe operators of Glasgow Airport announce £10m of investment in the run-up to the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Financial Times

• Fraport eye™s Turkey™s airport hub planSix-runway airport would be the new hub for Turkish Airlines, which is seeking deeper ties with Germany™s Lufthansa and already flies to 98 countries
• Titanic plan grows from yard™s ambitionClive Palmer said the idea emerged during a discussion with CSC Jinling shipyard about how they could break into cruise ship construction

The Independent

• Minister urges smoke-free driving on 'child-welfare' groundsSmoking should be banned in cars carrying children on œchild-welfare grounds, the Public Health minister Anna Soubry has claimed.Related StoriesTony Blair admits Iraq still faces 'long, hard struggle'Minister urges smoke-free drivingCabinet ordered to 'double' efforts to kickstart growth'We were called Rennard's red hot babes'Labour to join Tories in backing a £25bn deal to renew Trident fleet

The Scotsman

• ˜Titanic II™ cruise ship plans unveiled by tycoonAN Australian billionaire has announced plans to build a replica of the Titanic.

The Telegraph

• Minister: 'ban smoking in cars carrying children'Health minister Anna Soubry says the Government should

Mail Online

• West Coast rail fiasco has landed taxpayers with a bill of £50m 'at the very least'The investigation into the bidding process found it was riddled with 'littered with basic errors' and showed a 'complete lack of common sense', a damning report by MPs revealed.
• The Titanic sails again: Australian tycoon unveils plans for perfect replica of doomed vessel that he claims will be 'the safest cruise ship in the world' (but this one's got more lifeboats)Australian billionaire Clive Palmer unveiled blueprints for the sequel to the doomed liner that nearly ran aground at a press conference on Tuesday in New York.

The Mirror

• Inside the new Titanic: Photos of the cruise liner replica expected to set sail in three years 40,000 people have reportedly expressed interest in buying tickets for the maiden voyage from Southampton to New York

ATOC

• Young women look to new ways to travel to avoid increasing car insurance prices Young women are expecting to change how they visit friends and families or get to work this year after a new EU equality law banning car insurers from taking gender into account could see female...

Network Rail

• Refurbished subway to open at Reading stationTo help deliver improvement works at Reading station the section of the passenger bridge which links the station to the multi-storey car park will close for good on Friday March 1st as the newly refurbished subway opens on the same day.
• Network Rail secures planning for Leeds office schemeGo-ahead given for redevelopment of 1 Aire Street

Belfast Telegraph

• Alstom connects German grid dealNEW jobs are set to be created in the UK after engineering giant Alstom won a huge contract to connect North Sea wind farms to the German electricity grid. The firm said dozens of new design and engineering posts will be created at its site in Stafford. The UK element of the €1bn (£0.86bn) deal will be around £125m.Related StoriesWaste incinerator firm completes £250k supply deal to AfricaCashing in by making money move freelyNegative interest rate threat to banksRetail sector sales pace slowest in five yearsHike in beer duty strongly opposed

Bolton News

• Manchester Airport looking to take over airport in Chicago Manchester Airport is bidding to take over a Chicago airport as it seeks to expand overseas.

Derby Telegraph

• Union leader says case for awarding Derby’s Bombardier £1.4 billion Thameslink contract “rock solid” A UNION leader has said that the case for awarding Derby train-maker Bombardier the £1.4 billion Thameslink contract “remains rock solid”.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Coach firm to halve fleet after wheels come offA COACH company has been ordered to halve its fleet after two wheels came off one of its vehicles as it took children on a school trip.
• West End tramworks gridlock till end of AprilWORK on the Capital’s beleaguered tram system again caused chaos for commuters, after new work to the route brought the West End to a virtual standstill.

Journal Live

• Plea to Beamish to save Hexham railway station's heritage assetsHERITAGE guardians hope two endangered examples of a town’s heritage can be saved and preserved – as museum pieces.
• Cadet from Felton forced to quit group after bus axedA TEENAGE cadet from Northumberland has been forced to quit the group she loves after a bus service was axed.

Liverpool Post

• Liverpool MP Maria Eagle calls for MPs to take blame over West Coast main line fiascoA LIVERPOOL MP has demanded politicians stop dodging the blame after a damning report laid bare the bungling behind the collapse of the West Coast Main Line franchise.

London Evening Standard

• 'Time running out' to get Crossrail station in Kensington, says CouncillorThe country™s most senior Tory councillor today warned George Osborne against œsquandering an opportunity to boost growth in London.

Sheffield Telegraph

• Sheffield council rethink on bus passesSHEFFIELD Council could be forced to make a U-turn on plans to scrap free travel for children attending Catholic schools.

Yorkshire Post

• MP puts case for fuel duty cut in YorkshireThe case for rural communities in North Yorkshire to benefit from a lower fuel duty has been raised by a Conservative MP ahead of the Budget.

Other Regional Press

• Manchester bid to take over Chicago airportManchester Airport is part of a bid to take over an airport in Chicago in an international expansion.
• Safety checks made on railway line at Lockwood after lorry gets wedged under bridgeA LORRY driver brought chaos to Lockwood – when he wedged his truck under a railway bridge.

Global Rail News

• Sorting out ShugboroughAn unexpected inclusion in Network Rail’s work programme for Christmas 2012 was the relaying of both lines through Shugborough Tunnel. The tunnel, 777 yards long and dating back to 1846, lies on the West Coast Main Line just north of Colwich Junction, south of Stafford. It is on the Shugborough estate of the Earls of [...]
• Consortium to deliver major Polish resignalling projectA consortium led by Bombardier, with Thales and Nokia Siemens Networks, has won a 112 million euro resignalling contract for the 350 km long E65 railway line linking Warsaw and Gdynia. The investment by PKP, Poland’s railway operator, will ensure the line complies with the standards of the trans-European transport network linking the north and [...]
• Financing agreed for first section of UAE rail networkEtihad Rail has secured $1.28 billion (AED 4.7 billion) for the first phase of its ambitious plans to build the UAE’s first national railway network. Stage One of the Etihad Rail network will extend 264 km from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais. Upon completion, the UAE™s national railway network will span approximately 1,200 km across [...]
• Construction of Madrid-Extremadura viaduct underwayAdif has started work on the deck of a new viaduct over the Almonte river which will form part of the Madrid-Extremadura high-speed line. The viaduct will be just short of a kilometre in length once completed and is being viewed as one of the future landmarks of Spanish high-speed rail engineering. Funding for the [...]
• ˜Pure alliance™ to deliver Stafford improvement programmeNetwork Rail has established a new partnership with Atkins, Laing O’Rourke and VolkerRail – the first of its kind in the UK – to deliver the £250 million Stafford Area Improvement Programme (SAIP). The planned series of improvements on the West Coast Main Line, which include remodelling, resignalling and the construction a new flyover at [...]
• Signalling system goes live on the Northern LineThe Northern Line’s new signalling system is now live on the West Finchley and High Barnet section. When switched on across the whole line in 2014, the signalling system will allow trains to run faster and closer together. Upgrading the signalling system will deliver a capacity increase of 20 per cent – enough to carry [...]

Railnews

• DfT lashed by MPs' West Coast report The collapse of the West Coast franchise last year was caused by a litter of 'basic errors', according to a new, sharply critical report from the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee. The Committee said the DfT 'yet again failed to learn from previous disasters, like the Metronet contract. It failed to heed advice from its lawyers. It failed to respond appropriately to early warning signs that things were going wrong.'

Aviation Industry

• Lobby group to warn on impact of American-US Airways mergerUS lawmakers to hold session on $11 billion airline deal
• BA agrees codeshare to Australia with Cathay PacificNew arrangement takes effect on same day as joint venture with Qantas ends
• Etihad and Garuda extend codeshareAirlines extend initial agreement to cover wider range of flights

Other News Sources

• More rails could be built on Brighton to London line A new footbridge over the line at Keymer Junction, Burgess Hill, has been designed with enough space to allow for the extra tracks, it has emerged

Other Subscription Services

• Glasgow Airport brings forward upgrade plans Glasgow Airport is to become the latest transport facility to get a just-in-time makeover ahead of the July 2014 Commonwealth Games.The airport, part of the London Heathrow Airports Ltd portfolio,...
• Government prepares to set out BSOG reforms Sheffield has been named as the pilot area for the government's Better Bus Area programme ahead of a more detailed announcement this Easter.In March 2010 transport minister Norman Baker promised to...
• Australian-style alliance takes Norton Bridge Atkins, Laing O'Rourke and VolkerRail are to deliver a new grade separated junction on the West Coast Main Line after forming what Network Rail calls the industry's first 'pure construction alliance'....