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

Friday, 08 March 2013

BBC News

• Baby born on packed commuter train at West Malling A baby has been born on a packed rush hour commuter train travelling from central London to Kent.
• Trip to mark tram section handoverThe first completed section of the tram route is to be handed over from the contractor to Edinburgh City Council later.
• Backing for wi-fi on ferries callA community partnership is backing a youth council's call for wi-fi to be made available on ferries serving the Western Isles.
• 'Crossrail for bikes' set for LondonLondon is set to get a
• Is bike plan 'bonkers' or brilliant?Will the mayor's cycling scheme work?
• Fire alert at airport arrivals hallPassengers are moved from Glasgow Airport's arrivals hall as the emergency services tackle a fire in the main terminal.
• Train firms start legal actionFour rail firms start legal proceedings after the government cancelled the Great Western rail franchise contest and then refused to pay compensation.

Financial Times

• Spanish political worries circle IberiaIAG™s plans for the airline pose a problem to ministers. The government™s mistake is to confuse the country™s strategic interests with that of Iberia™s
• Johnson launches ˜Crossrail for bikes™London mayor launches ambitious £913m plan for a new network of cycle lanes across the city, centred on a 15-mile east-west route
• Elliott to sell half National Express stakeActivist hedge fund to diversify portfolio but says it is a ˜strong believer™ in transport group™s management despite failed bid to overthrow board

The Guardian

• Boris Johnson's bold thinking could change the future of London cycling Mayor's new plans for cycling in the capital could re-shape the way Londoners transport themselves for decades to come
• London to get network of bike routes as part of £913m plan for safer cycling Boris Johnson unveils plans for east-west 'Crossrail for bike' and segregated lanes in capital
• Baby born on London commuter train A girl was born on a train packed full of commuters on Thursday night. The Southeastern 18:18 service from London Victoria to Maidstone East was delayed at West Malling in Kent while the baby was delivered on board.

The Telegraph

• Boris Johnson plans to give police electric bikes that 'can climb stairs' Boris Johnson is planning to give London's Met Police electric mountain bikes that can climb stairs and help them catch criminals.
• Motorists extra 240 miles a year dodging roadworks An average motorist will drive an extra 240 miles a year - roughly the distance between London and Lancaster - because of roadworks, a study has found.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Bradford Bike Hub to let students rent a bicycle for £1 Cyclists at Bradford College and the University of Bradford can rent a bike for £1 from the Bradford Bike Hub next week.

Journal Live

• North East should make own transport decisions says shadow transport secretary Read more: Journal Live http://www.journallive.co.uk/north-east-news/todays-news/2013/03/08/north-east-should-make-own-transport-decisions-says-shadow-transport-secretary-616SHADOW transport secretary Maria Eagle has called for the North East to be given more say in how cash for major projects is spent.

London Evening Standard

• Truly a cycling revolution: Boris Johnson reveals his 15 mile segregated bike lanes from east to west across the heart of LondonBoris Johnson is to turn two miles of the A40 Westway into a cycle lane as part of a 15-mile segregated œCrossrail for cyclists linking west and east London.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Drivers from LA Taxis fined over using new North Tyneside bus laneTAXI drivers have hit out after being slapped with fines for using bus lanes.

Sheffield Star

• Doncaster Robin Hood Airport stages ˜disaster™ as training exerciseAn emergency exercise is being staged at Robin Hood Airport to test its emergency plans.

Bucks Free Press

• Council chief: We'll take HS2 fight to Europe COUNTY council leader Martin Tett said this week he's prepared to take the fight against HS2 all the way to the European Court.

Other Regional Press

• County leaders hold transport summit with transport boss A SUMMIT between Government ministers and council leaders was held to discuss how investment in transport can stimulate economic growth.

Global Rail News

• Balfour Beatty confirms sale of European rail businessBalfour Beatty has said it plans to sell off its rail business in Mainland Europe on the same day it announced a seven per cent fall in underlying profit. Publishing the company’s 2012 figures, Balfour Beatty showed just a one per cent slide in revenue at £10.9 billion and healthy underlying profit of £309 million. [...]
• Politicians meet with engineers to discuss Rio™s rail upgrade plansRio de Janeiro’s state government has presented plans to modernize rolling stock and infrastructure across the Olympic host city’s rail network. Officials met with engineering experts to discuss Rio’s transport investment plans for the next 10 years. Proposals include overhauling the trains and stations which serve the MetrôRio underground network and SuperVia commuter services. SuperVia’s [...]
• Video: Denver™s FasTracks progress in 2013A look at what’s happening on Denver’s FasTracks projects in 2013.
• Federal money found to fund Sandy repairsNew York’s rail authority MTA has been given almost $200 million of federal funding to cover the cost of repairing the network following Superstorm Sandy. As well as reimbursing MTA for some of the rebuild, money will also be put toward the preparation costs incurred by New York City Transit, Long Island Rail Road and [...]
• Seltrack goes EvergreenThe SkyTrain light rapid transit system in Vancouver, Canada, comprises 68.7km (42.7 miles) of track and 47 stations over three lines. The first of these, the Expo line, was opened in 1985 for Expo 86 and was built as a fully-automated system, mostly on elevated structures – hence the name “SkyTrain”. Automation is achieved using [...]

Railnews

• Grant decision is boost for new station plan Plans to build a new station at Ilkeston in Derbyshire have moved a step closer to reality, following a decision by the County Council to contribute £754,000 towards the £6.5 million project. Ilkeston is one of three proposals for new stations which may share a £20 million DfT budget.
• New challenge for DfT as TOCs prepare to sue The Department for Transport is facing a new legal challenge, with four train operators reported to be claiming a total of some £40 million after the Great Western franchise competition was cancelled at the end of January.

National Express

• Activist US hedge fund halves National Express stake Elliott Advisors, the activist American hedge fund that had a strategic bust-up with National Express in 2011, last night sold half its near-20pc stake in the transport group for around £110m.

Aviation Industry

• UK condemned for having world's second highest air taxes Airlines use World Economic Forum report to attack Osborne over Air Passenger Duty
• ITB Berlin: Qatar boss stands by DreamlinerAl Baker says the B787 is a "very safe aircraft" despite current grounding
• LATAM to become Oneworld memberMerged South American carrier chooses to join British Airways' alliance
• Finnair to join British Airways™ transatlantic businessNordic carrier will join BA, American Airlines and Iberia in joint venture

Other News Sources

• œCrossrail for the bike in Mayor™s £913m cycling plan The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, will create a œCrossrail for the bike as part of his plans for a nearly £1 billion investment in London cycling. The route will run for more than 15 miles, very substantially segregated, from the western suburbs through the heart of London to Canary Wharf and Barking. It will use new Dutch-style segregated cycle tracks along, among other places, the Victoria Embankment and the Westway flyover. It is believed to be the longest substantially-segregated cycle route of any city in Europe. ...
• News from Darren Johnson AM: Mayor™s cycling vision lacks coherence and adequate funding Boris Johnson today outlined his vision for cycling in the capital. The Mayor repeated TfL™s previous commitment to spend £931m over the next decade and gave details of new initiatives to transform three outer London urban centres into cycling and sustainable travel demonstration towns. In response to the news Darren Johnson, Assembly Member said: œThe schemes the Mayor has outlined will only become reality with adequate funding. He should be increasing the cycling budget but instead has started with an inadequate budget whi...
• Mayor™s vision for cycling falls short on funding Positive improvements for cyclists “ such as segregated bike lanes, a network of borough 'quietways' and existing cycle superhighways improvements “ were today welcomed by the London Assembly. However, the Transport Committee™s previous work warned that without adequate funding Mayor Boris Johnson could fail to meet his targets for safer cycling and increasing journeys taken by bike[1]. ...