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

Wednesday, 10 April 2013

BBC News

• Manchester Airport challenges rival Manchester Airport has launched a poster campaign in Merseyside and Warrington to attract passengers away from its rival airport in Liverpool.
• Isles of Scilly transport group calls for new Land's End runway A transport group on the Isles of Scilly is calling on the government to help pay for a hard runway at Land's End Airport.
• Jet2 resumes flights at NI airportThe airline Jet2 resumes flights at Belfast International Airport, after it suspended its operations earlier this week due to safety concerns.
• Stagecoach in cycle awareness driveStagecoach is to introduce the UK's first in-house cycle awareness programme for bus drivers in London.
• FirstGroup sells off depots for £80mTransport company FirstGroup announces it has sold off eight of its London depots in deals worth a total of £80m.
• VIDEO: Port operator says strike costs mountingHong Kong International Terminals says the strike at its container port is costing more than half a million dollars a day.

Financial Times

• Turkish Airlines to buy 70 Boeing jetsTurkish Airlines’ order for the single-aisle aircraft is worth $6.9bn at list prices, includes options to buy a further 25 Boeing 737 Max 8s
• Network Rail chiefs share £600,000 bonusPayouts follow taxpayer-funded company’s decision to drop plans for new scheme that would have seen executives get more than £14m if they met targets
• FirstGroup sells eight London bus depotsAsset sales take the UK’s biggest bus and train operator by revenues close to its goal of £100m in disposals as part of a turnround strategy

The Herald

• Big bonuses for Network Rail bossesFour top Network Rail (NR) bosses have been awarded bonuses totalling more than £600,000.

The Scotsman

• Virgin Atlantic’s male cabin crew could wear kilts MALE cabin crew on Virgin Atlantic’s new Anglo-Scottish service could be kitted out in kilts after they were modelled at Monday’s launch of the new Little Red flights.

The Telegraph

• FirstGroup sells eight bus depots in £80m dealFirstGroup relies on the north of England and Scotland for 60pc of its UK bus passenger revenues. Last year it warned lower economic activity in those regions, plus reduced subsidies to cover fuel duty and concessionary fares

Network Rail

• Could your railway image win Landscape Photographer of the Year?The search is on to find the best photography of the British landscape and that of the rail network. Entries are now open for the Take a view - Landscape Photographer of the Year Awards 2013, which celebrates imagery of the best sights the country has to offer.
• Could a Yorkshire railway image win Landscape Photographer of the Year?The search is on to find the best photography of the British landscape and that of the rail network. Entries are now open for the Take a view - Landscape Photographer of the Year Awards 2013, which celebrates imagery of the best sights the country has to offer.
• Could a north east railway image win Landscape Photographer of the Year?The search is on to find the best photography of the British landscape and that of the rail network. Entries are now open for the Take a view - Landscape Photographer of the Year Awards 2013, which celebrates imagery of the best sights the country has to offer.
• Energlyn’s new station plans unveiledThe final plans to build a £5.2m new station to serve Energlyn and Churchill Park will be unveiled on Wednesday, 10 April at a public exhibition.
• Network Rail makes partial award of 2009-12 long term incentive planNetwork Rail has announced that four of its executive directors have been awarded a portion of their Long Term Incentive Plan (LTIP) payment, reflecting the performance of the company in the period 2009-12. The payment has been reduced to take account of some safety and train performance issues.
• Could an East Midlands railway image win Landscape Photographer of the Year?The search is on to find the best photography of the British landscape and that of the rail network. Entries are now open for the Take a view - Landscape Photographer of the Year Awards 2013, which celebrates imagery of the best sights the country has to offer.

Belfast Telegraph

• Cyclists fear swamping by taxis if Belfast bus lane rules eased It was thought Belfast's bus lanes were about to be flooded by 2,000 taxis – but now it looks like the figure could be as high as 4,500.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Bradford Council reveals plans to cut school transport costs Some parents could be encouraged to drive their children to school rather than use a free school bus, minibus or taxi under a cost-cutting Council plan.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• City enters golden age as bridge linked at last A landmark golden bridge was successfully installed across the A9 at Inverness last night after a 24-hour delay when problems struck the flagship project.

East Anglian Daily Times

• East Anglia: Rail bonuses defended as delays fallHUGE bonuses for four Network Rail bosses have been defended by a rail users’ group and a local MP – despite serious problems on East Anglia’s main line earlier this year.

Sleaford Standard

• Wide range of topics discussed at meetingIt was a well attended annual town meeting in The Source on Wednesday.

Other Regional Press

• c2c depot supervisor Georgi Shopov cleans up on National Express award Train cleaning supervisor Georgi Shopov has won a railway industry award for his actions after two trains had been involved in accidents where passengers were killed.
• Campaign to bring down Bath's bus faresA transport campaigner who has successfully forced First to review its bus fares in Bristol is now setting his sights on Bath.
• Transport difficulties add to loneliness crisis A charity has warned that more elderly people face increasing levels of loneliness and isolation because of a lack of suitable transport.
• Heckmondwike bus staff honoured by firm Seven staff at a Heckmondwike bus depot have clocked up 205 years of service between them.
• Police deal with abusive youths at train stationPOLICE were sent to deal with scores of abusive youths at a railway station this evening.
• Eagle flies in to put train policy on track OXFORDSHIRE rail passengers are getting a raw deal, the shadow transport secretary has said.
• Car workers unite for a trip down memory lane FORMER car workers shared memories of life on the production line to mark 100 years of the city’s Cowley works.
• All change for bus services from airport to capitalBus operator Arriva says it is “extremely disappointed” after losing the contract to run bus services from Luton Airport into London.
• Virgin Atlantic’s Little Red service takes off from AberdeenNEW domestic flights run by one of the UK’s biggest airlines took off from Aberdeen today.
• Minister for transport visits danger junction in NuneatonTRANSPORT minister Stephen Hammond has visited a Nuneaton road junction where safety concerns have been raised by local residents and

Bus and Coach.com

• New registrations slump in first quarterNew bus and coach registrations slumped by almost 20 per cent in the first quarter of 2013 compared with the same period last year.
• UK Bus Awards opensThe 2013 UK Bus Awards contest is now open for entries, which have to be submitted by 7 June.
• Telling sees rally successWith just over a week to go, the organisers of the UK Coach Rally and Awards weekend report that just a few places remain.
• Volvo hybrids arrive in EdinburghTen Volvo 7900 hybrid single-deck buses enter service with Lothian Buses in Edinburgh next week.
• First quits London bus businessFirstBus is pulling out of London.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Rail managers to be rewarded for fatigue workUK railway industry managers will be rewarded for introducing innovative measures to reduce worker fatigue.The Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) is running its Railway Group Award 2013 for Fatigue Management for the second year and it hopes to raise awareness of how dangerous tired employees can be.New laws to restrict the number of hours people employed in the rail sector can work were introduced in the aftermath of a major train crash at Clapham Junction in 1988.The incident claimed the lives of 35 people and a further 500 were injured. A judge later discovered that worker f...

Global Rail News

• What to see at Railtex 2013 #3In the run up to Railtex, Rail.co and the rail engineer will be looking at the must-see innovations on display at this year’s event. CRC Industries UK Stand D40 CRC Industry UK’s AQUA PAINT MARKER is an innovative product development that specifically addresses the problem of solvent discharge into the environment from traditional survey/spot marking [...]
• Work starts on new Manchester Victoria station roofContractors have started work on a new £44 million station roof at Manchester Victoria. Scaffolding is being erected at the station to install a temporary roof deck while the old roof is dismantled and restoration carried out on the building’s period features. Renovating Manchester Victoria, which is expected to be complete by the end of [...]
• Phoenix opens driverless airport linkPublic officials in Phoenix have cut the ribbon on a new driverless people mover system at the city’s PHX Airport. The Bombardier-developed airport link is the first in the world to travel over an active taxiway and is high enough for a Boeing 747 to pass underneath. Bombardier was awarded the contract to design and [...]
• Nottingham tram commemorates Britain’s Armed ForcesA special military-themed livery has been unveiled on one of Nottingham trams to mark Armed Forces Day later this year. The tram has been brought into service ahead of the national celebrations this summer on June 29. The prestigious event, now in its fifth year, will welcome troops, veterans their families and visitors to the [...]
• Competition launched to find spectacular railway imagesA competition to find 2013′s best railway images has opened. Network Rail is again supporting the ‘Lines in the Landscape’ award for the best railway photos at this year’s Take a view – Landscape Photographer of the Year Award event. Amateur and professional photographers can now submit their entries for a chance to win the [...]
• Resurrecting London Underground’s ghost stationsMysteries buried deep underground in London’s labyrinth of Tube tunnels could soon be coming to the surface. Exploring London Underground’s abandoned stations, or ‘ghost’ stations, is limited to just a couple of small TfL-led tours a year. Tickets sell out quickly despite virtually no publicity, as the curious clamour to see parts of the city [...]
• RAIL.ONE sold to Indian conglomerateIndian conglomerate PCM Group of Industries has completed the acquisition of track specialists RAIL.ONE. RAIL.ONE, which installs concrete sleepers and ballastless track systems around the world, described the move as an “exceptionally positive signal”. Jochen Riepl, chief executive of RAIL.ONE, said: “We are happy that PCM Group, which has extensive experience in infrastructure, has acquired [...]

Railnews

• East Coast managers not hungry enough, says Branson Virgin founder Richard Branson has claimed that his rail team would make a much better job of running East Coast, because people employed by Government are not 'hungry' enough. However, he has warned that the premiums paid to the DfT by a Virgin East Coast could be lower, predicting that although Virgin would make 'massively' more, it would invest a greater slice of its profits in upgrading rolling stock and other assets.

Aviation Industry

• Porter Airlines expansion plan could hit hurdlesCanadian regional carrier Porter Airlines is expected to announce an order for 12 of Bombardier Inc's new CSeries jets on Wednesday, a likely challenge to restrictions at its Toronto Island airport base.
• Delta and Virgin reach 'significant milestone'Airlines apply to US government for permission to run joint venture across the Atlantic

Other News Sources

• Assay Office Heathrow marks five million articles The Goldsmiths' Company's Assay Office at Heathrow has marked nearly five million articles since its opening, a milestone reached as the sub-office celebrates its fifth anniversary.
• Drivers ignore new Brighton and Hove 20mph speed limit On the first day of Brighton and Hove City Council’s 20mph speed limits on more than 500 streets, The Argus spotted more than 100 motorists fluting the law in just one hour. GARETH DAVIES and CYRUS KAZEMZADEH report.
• Meon Valley becomes GTMC memberExpanding independent TMC joins business travel lobbying group

Other Subscription Services

• Manchester Victoria station revamp gets underway Work starts this week on a £44m upgrade of Manchester Victoria station including installation of a new roof.The long awaited upgrade to what was once identified as Britain's worst station
• First sells bus ops to Comfort DelGro and Transit First Group is to sell eight west London bus depots and their vehicles in order to raise nearly £80m.Bus depots at Alperton, Greenford, Hayes, Uxbridge and Willesden Junction, along with 494...