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

Thursday, 04 April 2013

BBC News

• Fear for HS2 impact on communityThe fight to save a hamlet from being split in two
• Osborne backs M4 relief road planChancellor George Osborne throws his weight behind plans for an M4 relief road in south Wales.
• PSNI using electric car on patrolsThe Police Service of Northern Ireland is using an electric car on patrols for the first time.
• Hyundai and Kia in US car recallsHyundai Motor and its Kia Motors affiliate are recalling more than 1.8 million cars and sports utility vehicles in the US.

Financial Times

• British Airways to get 18 DreamlinersProposed deal – worth $4bn at catalogue prices – a boost for Boeing, which is reeling from regulators ordering the grounding of the 787 in January

The Guardian

• Second world war bomb defused near Berlin's main railway stationOperation to make 100kg Soviet bomb safe disrupts trains and flights and causes nearby buildings to be evacuatedAn operation to defuse an unexploded second world war bomb found near Berlin's main railway station has caused trains to be diverted, nearby houses evacuated and flights to the city's main airport to be briefly disrupted.The 220lb (100kg) bomb was found on Tuesday night at a building site near the Hauptbahnhof, which stands in a relatively sparsely populated area near what used to be the border between west and east Berlin.Experts decided to defuse the Soviet bomb at the site, a form...

The Herald

• 1500 rail fare anomalies ended by £2.3m grantRail fares will be reduced by up to two-fifths on some journeys (41%) to tackle a decades-old anomaly that makes it cheaper to buy two tickets than a single fare, the Transport Minister has announced.
• SNP under pressure to upgrade A1THE Scottish Government is facing fresh pressure to upgrade the A1 north of the Border after it emerged Westminster is set to remove the last remaining single carriageway sections in England.
• Petrol postcode lottery fearsSOME drivers were charged £2 a tank more for petrol than motorists in neighbouring towns over Easter, according to the AA.
• Hyundai recalls cars in safety fear

The Scotsman

• Aberdeen 'taken for ride' on bypass, say councillorsSCOTTISH Conservatives today called on the Scottish Government to place a cap on local authority contributions to the £653 million Aberdeen ...
• Independence could risk 4,000 Scots shipyard jobsUP to 4,000 jobs could be lost at Scottish shipyards as UK warships are built elsewhere after independence, the Westminster government has claimed.
• Samoan airline defends pay-as-you-weigh moveA SAMOAN airline has defended charging passengers by their weight rather than for a seat.

Liverpool Echo

• Network Rail chief intervenes in historic Aigburth station campaignCAMPAIGNERS fighting to save the historic Aigburth station have been given a boost after Network Rail bosses intervened.

The York Press

• Fires on York to Scarborough line bring rail disruption EMERGENCY crews from North Yorkshire are currently dealing with two track-side fires on the Scarborough to York railway line.

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• £7m London Midland rail compensation scheme is extendedA £7 million compensation scheme for rail passengers in the Midlands who suffered months of disruption has been extended to try and get more people to claim free travel.

Other Regional Press

• Transport expert wants to do more The transport consultant responsible for the ’b_line card’ is to give a talk in Wirksworth about the huge difference residents can make to the town.
• Transport plan gets green light THE FINAL hurdle for the Beverley Integrated Transport Plan (BITP) has been cleared after a bid for the £22 million was signed off by the Department for Transport.
• Phil Brownsord: Urgent action needed to improve transport infrastructure Phil Brownsord, Region Director of EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation, argues for urgent action to improve our transport infrastructure...
• Calderdale residents to contribute 1.5p per week to West Yorkshire £1bn transport fund for Brighouse bypass and new M62 junctionEVERY resident of West Yorkshire will contribute to a £1bn transport fund.
• Extra staff drafted in as power cut hits Leeds train stationA power cut brought problems for West Yorkshire rail passengers today.
• Second bus firm set to drop unprofitable Aberdeen routeA BUS route in Aberdeen which was given a vital lifeline by a rival firm has been axed for the second time.

Global Rail News

• Scottish rail fares set to fallSome Scottish rail fares will be cut by 41 per cent next month as ministers seek to fix flaws in the ticketing system. The price of more than a quarter of a million tickets will be reduced to remove inconsistencies in the system that can often lead to massive fluctuations in ticket costs for the [...]
• DB Regio places order for 12 double-deck TwindexxGerman operator DB Regio has ordered an additional 12 Twindexx Vario trains to serve passengers in the country’s Main-Spessart region. The new vehicles are part of a framework agreement signed in December 2008 with Bombardier which has already seen DB order 290 double-deck trains from the rolling stock manufacturer. An order for 12 more units, [...]
• Leicester signalling upgrade completedRail traffic management around Leicester has been handed over to the East Midlands Control Centre. Transferring control of 90 miles of railway around Leicester to the Derby site marks the completion of the second phase of a project to modernise the systems controlling signalling around the city. The project started in 2010 and has been [...]
• New rails in the desertSaudi Arabia and the UAE. This plan is being co-ordinated by the Arab Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) whose member states are Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait and the UAE. In 2009, Federal Law No 2 provided the mandate to construct and operate a 1200 kilometre long railway network within the UAE at a cost [...]
• Sub-Surface line upgrade contract award for UK Power Networks ServicesLondon Underground has announced that UK Power Networks Services is to deliver a major upgrade on substations and cables on the Sub-Surface Railway. Known as package SSR3B, the design and build project is part of London Underground’s Sub-Surface Railway Upgrade programme, which is being carried out on the Metropolitan, Circle, Hammersmith & City and District [...]
• Video: Toronto subway sends out April Fools’ messageThe operator of Toronto’s subway used April Fools Day to send a message to inconsiderate passengers. The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) posted a video online to launch its “personal car” initiative to make customers think again about putting their feet up on the seats, eating smelly foods and playing loud music while on the train.

Aviation Industry

• Border Force set for new 24-hour strikeUnion wants border control workers to stage new walkout
• First passenger services unveiled for new Dubai airportWizz Air and Nas Air set to become first scheduled carriers in October

Other News Sources

• Cycle hub designed to boost Grimsby's green transport credentialsA new Cycle Hub set to open at Grimsby Town railway station is expected to boost the city's pursuit of a greener transport system.
• Automated face recognition speeds up plane boardingAircraft embarkation times and border security could be improved following the trial of a self-boarding system at Heathrow’s Terminal 1.

Other Subscription Services

• Slow EU reform could halt Eurostar expansion Eurostar is reconsidering plans to serve new destinations, including Amsterdam, Cologne and Geneva, in 2015 due to the likelihood of track access charges remaining costly and unpredictable.The...
• ScotRail split ticketing anomalies tackled Train fares for more than a quarter of a million journeys a year in Scotland are being reduced with the removal of split ticketing anomalies.A new pricing structure will get rid of more than 1,500...
• Heathrow hands additional baggage to Babcock Engineering support services group Babcock has been awarded preferred bidder status on contracts to provide ground fleet maintenance to British Airways and baggage handling systems operations and...
• McLoughlin approves Bexhill-Hastings link road Transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin has granted Final Approval for the controversial Bexhill-Hastings link road project.East Sussex County Council will oversee construction of a 3.5 mile (6km)...
• DfT publishes strategic roads specification Total spending on England's strategic road network will increase from £4.6bn in 2013/14 to £4.7bn in 2014/15, according to the government's newly published road network performance specification....
• Invensys completes Leicester signal switchover Resignalling works in Leicester have been completed in the latest part of an overhaul of East Midlands rail systems.The project has transferred control of around 90 miles of railway around Leicester...
• Edinburgh transport changes consultation launched City of Edinburgh Council has launched a public consultation on plans for the city centre which could see cars banned from Princes Street.A set of proposals has been developed designed to complement...