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

Wednesday, 27 March 2013

BBC News

• What was Beeching's worst railway cut? It is 50 years since Dr Richard Beeching's report on British Railways which led to hundreds of stations and 650 miles of railway line being closed in Scotland.
• Ilkeston could get new £5m railway station A Derbyshire town could get a new railway station, following a government announcement.
• Electric bikes: The cycles for people who don't cycle? Electric bikes are a common sight in cities from Berlin to Beijing, so why have they failed to catch on in the UK?
• Rail crew shortages cancel trainsMore than 15 London Midland train services including routes to Birmingham and Liverpool are cancelled because of crew shortages.
• VIDEO: Was Dr Beeching right about railways?Railways are a
• Train franchise set for extensionFirst Great Western looks set to continue running rail services from London Paddington to South Wales for another three years.
• Bids invited to run East Coast railThe government invites private companies to bid for the East Coast rail franchise and also announces Virgin will run the West Coast Main Line until 2017.

The Guardian

• The British railways are a real social network Rail cuts in the 1960s killed communities, but this is more than a transport system – it is key to our national identity
• East coast rail privatisation ignores franchise failures, say critics After the west coast fiasco, Labour and unions say plan to return London-Edinburgh route to private sector in 2015 'defies all logic'
• Peugeot's Hybrid Air: the car of the future that runs on airIt will be cheaper than a Toyota Prius, do more than 80 miles to the gallon and could completely shake up the car industry. The Peugeot engineers behind the Hybrid Air reveal that they couldn't even tell their families about the top-secret project
• Peugeot's Hybrid Air: the car of the future that runs on airIt will be cheaper than a Toyota Prius, do more than 80 miles to the gallon and could completely shake up the car industry. The Peugeot engineers behind the Hybrid Air reveal that they couldn't even tell their families about the top-secret project

The Herald

• Motorist wins fight to have bus lane fine scrappedA MOTORIST has finally won her eight-month fight to have a £30 fine scrapped after she pulled into a bus lane to make way for two fire engines responding to an emergency call.
• Lines are open for Virgin to run routes to LondonVIRGIN Trains could be running both mainline rail routes between Scotland and London within two years after firms were invited to tender for the Government-run East Coast franchise.

The Independent

• Councils spends £2m on a bus stop: for that price I'd want Mick Jagger singing 'Gimme Shelter'Global austerity means that local councils and town mayors are having to cut their coats according to their cloth.Related StoriesBones dug up in search for remains of King AlfredEnergy firms to be forced to keep large gas reserves under new proposalsAnti-austerity march hopes to break Iraq rally recordDon't come on in... the water's terrible: major reduction in number of recommended beachesAssault victims suffer lasting fear of others

The Scotsman

• Bidding opens for East Coast main lineTHE East Coast main line is expected to be back in private hands in less than two years under rail franchise plans announced by the Government today.

The Telegraph

• Government to wait until after General Election to restart West Coast and Great Western rail franchise auctions Two major rail franchises that were plunged into chaos when auctions to run the services were controversially scrapped by the Government will not be re-let to new train operators until after the General Election.

The Mirror

• The man who tried to kill our trains: 50 years on from the Beeching ReportDr Beeching, hired by a ­Tory Transport Minister who was a road construction businessman, butchered the state-owned network

ATOC

• Train companies respond to franchising announcementResponding to today's DfT announcement on the future of rail franchising, Michael Roberts, Chief Executive of the Association of Train Operating Companies, said: “Getting franchising back on...

Network Rail

• Blythe Bridge problem crossing targeted by rail and policeMotorists and pedestrians using the level crossing on Uttoxeter Road, Blythe Bridge will be reminded of the need to do so safely by police and rail teams tomorrow (27 March).

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Cuts to bus services in rural Gwynedd slammed by usersCUTS to bus services have had a devastating effect on people in rural Gwynedd, leaving many isolated and stuck at home, campaigners say.

Derby Telegraph

• ChrisM_DT commented Ilkeston railway station a step closer after Government funding...A railway station for Ilkeston is one step closer after Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin announced it was one of three most...

Journal Live

• Treasury's man in the North East says transport isn't a problemTHE Treasury man tasked with reviving the North East has said the region’s transport links do not deserve to be a Government priority.

Liverpool Echo

• Virgin Trains to run West Coast main line until 2017VIRGIN Trains will run the West Coast main line until April 2017 the government announced today.

London Evening Standard

• East Coast rail line open for franchise bidsThe East Coast main line will be back in private hand in less than two years, according to franchise plans announced by the Government today.

Manchester Evening News

• Virgin Rail given extension to run West Coast main lineVirgin Rail Group has been handed a three year extension to its franchise to run the West Coast main line which will see it operate rail services on the route until April, 2017.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• North transport links ’don’t deserve to be a priority’ Ed Twiddy, of the Goverment-backed partnership seeking to create jobs in the North East, has said the journey-to-work time in the North East was “just fine”

Northern Echo

• British Transport Police launch investigation after brick thrown at train window in Newton Aycliffe TRAGEDY was narrowly avoided at a County Durham railway station this month when a brick was thrown through a train window.
• 'Railway Children' locomotive on track for busy summer in North Yorkshire VOLUNTEERS have been sprucing up a piece of the region’s railway heritage, as it prepares for a busy summer season hauling passengers.

Nottingham Evening Post

• Nottingham Post commented Airport probe after luggage is left outside in snowAN investigation is being launched into why passengers' luggage was left out in the snow after a flight was cancelled.

Sheffield Star

• Doncaster’s rail link to be privately run within two yearsDONCASTER’S main railway link to London will be back in private hands within two years, under plans announced by the Government.

The York Press

• York roads are ‘best in Yorkshire’ COUNCIL bosses say new Government figures have shown York’s roads are in better condition than anywhere else in Yorkshire.
• East Coast mainline set to be back in private ownership by 2015 THE YORK-BASED East Coast main line is expected to be back in private hands in less than two years after the Government announced the start of a bidding competition for the franchise.
• Cheap transport bid to help young jobseekers TRANSPORT bosses in York could be asked to look at ways of funding travel for young jobseekers, as new figures showed the city’s youth unemployment has spiralled.

Wales Online

• Timetable gives First Group three more years at Great Western FIRST Group looks set to operate the Great Western franchise for the next three years under a new franchising timetable unveiled today.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• East Coast main line may be in private hands by 2015The East Coast main line, which links Leeds with London and Edinburgh, is expected to be back in private hands in less than two years under rail franchise plans announced by the Government.

Blackpool Gazette

• The lost transport links “The ghost of a steam train echoes down my track”, so sang Paul Weller in The Jam’s 1981 homage to mundane suburban life – Town Called Malice.

East Anglian Daily Times

• East Anglia: Greater Anglia rail franchise to be extended until 2016THE Greater Anglia rail franchise covering most passenger train services in East Anglia is to be extended by more than two years, the Government confirmed today.

Peterborough Telegraph

• East Coast rail franchise to be privatisedTuesday, 1.15pm: The East Coast rail franchise is expected to be back in private hands in less than two years under plans announced by the Government today (26 March).

Other Regional Press

• BREAKING NEWS: Franchise extension granted for First Capital ConnectTHE Department for Transport (DfT) has announced that First Capital Connect’s franchise will be extended by 12 months to September 2014.
• Rail passengers warned ‘check before you travel’ as engineering work set to take place over EasterFIRST Capital Connect (FCC) is urging customers to check before they travel this Easter weekend because Network Rail is carrying out essential engineering work.

Airportwatch

• Virgin may bid for East Coast rail franchise Sir Richard Branson's Virgin group could get a fresh chance to control another major British rail route as the East Coast main line is privatised again.

Campaign for Better Transport

• Rail franchising still isn't working26 March 2013: The Government today announced a new timetable for rail franchising. There's some welcome changes but we still need more radical change. read more

Railnews

• Major franchise changes unveiled The Department for Transport has almost completely rewritten the franchising programme in response to last year's collapse of the West Coast competition and the following Brown Review. Virgin's interim contract on the West Coast is one of twelve contracts to be extended to allow the DfT time to get back on course.

The Business Desk

• Micro-logistics firm set to cut carbon with aim to revolutionise courier industry A NEW eco-courier service, that uses energy efficient Smart cars, has been launched with vital funding from the Resource Efficiency Yorkshire (REY) programme.
• Stoke to carry on campaigning for HS2 in North Staffordshire STOKE-on-Trent City Council has pledged to continue campaigning for the second phase of the Government’s High Speed Rail line to stop in North Staffordshire.
• National Express celebrates Luton Airport and US contract wins BIRMINGHAM-based transport group National Express has announced business wins in the UK and the US.
• Train operator labelled shambolic wins franchise extension TRAIN operators London Midland and Virgin Rail have received rail route franchise extensions from the Government.

Aviation Industry

• Singapore clears Virgin Australia’s Skywest acquisitionSingapore’s High Court has given the go-ahead for Virgin Australia to acquire Perth-based regional carrier Skywest Airlines, marking one of the final hurdles for the deal.read more

Other News Sources

• UK Railway Stations to Get Free WiFi UK public WiFi provider The Cloud is to offer unlimited free WiFi access at numerous UK rail stations as part of a new collaboration with Microsoft. T