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

Tuesday, 30 April 2013

BBC News

• Transport is 'key to success', candidates argueTransport is key to the success of the Cambridgeshire economy, candidates in the local elections have said.
• Station 'like an airport terminal'Commuters use a new concourse for the first time, built as part of a £600m redevelopment of Birmingham New Street station.
• Delays to rail franchise changesRail minister Simon Burns explains why plans for our rail franchises have been put on hold and investment will have to wait.
• 'Dutch roundabout' tested for LondonRoundabouts like the ones used in the Netherlands, which separate cars from cyclists, could be used in London as early as next year.

The Herald

• Search for back-up ship after vital ferry is crippledAN urgent search has been launched to find a new car ferry as the lifeline service to Orkney will be crippled for a month.
• 50 years of derision but the Imp is back on road to successTHEY were hailed as Scotland's answer to the Mini, but quickly turned into a national laughing stock – famed for breaking down and seizing up.

Mail Online

• Stars lining the roof and GPS to 'read' the road ahead: Inside the new £235,000 Rolls-Royce WraithThe new sporty Rolls-Royce sportback coupe has pride of place in Harrods department store's vast window in Knightsbridge, London.
• Boeing identifies piece of 'engine' found blocks from Ground Zero as part of the wing flap from 9/11 planeBoeing confirmed that the five-foot piece of rusted plane that was found just blocks from Ground Zero has been identified as a piece of the secure wing flaps of Boeing 767 planes.

ATOC

• Airline style discounting by rail cuts aviation's market shareYoung people,...

Network Rail

• Selby swing-bridge improvements deferred following colliery landslipNetwork Rail has today announced that engineering renewal works on the Selby swing-bridge will be deferred in order to provide the best possible rail services during the repair work associated with a landslip at Hatfield colliery.
• Castle Cary rail bridge repairs to give 50-year lease of life to Ansford BridgeNetwork Rail will begin work in the summer on a long-awaited project to strengthen and repair a bridge near Castle Cary railway station, meaning the bridge won’t need any further major work for another 50 years.
• Graduates in Wales invited to join rail industry Track & Train schemeThe rail industry is seeking 50 more graduates to join its unique 18-month paid work placement scheme, Track & Train. Graduates are employed for three, six-month placements: one at Network Rail and two at either a passenger or freight operator or another company within the rail sector to gain a broad range of experience.
• Graduates in the west of England invited to join rail industry Track & Train schemeThe rail industry is seeking 50 more graduates to join its unique 18-month paid work placement scheme, Track & Train. Graduates are employed for three, six-month placements: one at Network Rail and two at either a passenger or freight operator or another company within the rail sector to gain a broad range of experience.
• Birmingham welcomes its new New Street stationMore than three years in the making, the first half of the new concourse at Birmingham New Street station has opened to passengers, marking the completion of the first phase of the project to transform the station.

Belfast Telegraph

• Ryanair supremo launches huge broadside over Stansted chargesRYANAIR boss Michael O'Leary has again lashed out at the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), claiming it's been

Edinburgh Evening News

• Trams: Cyclist accident fears at Haymarket tracksCYCLISTS fear Haymarket will become an accident blackspot unless bike lanes are moved further away from tram tracks.

Liverpool Echo

• 2,000 new jobs hope at Mersey shipyard Cammell LairdCAMMELL Laird shipyard is set to treble its workforce and raise turnover to half a billion pounds a year if it wins lucrative windfarm construction contracts this autumn.

London Evening Standard

• 'Wrong type of water' will see Jubilee line to shut for over a monthThe Jubilee line is to be shut for more than 30 days over the next two years in central London because acidic water is eating into the cast iron linings of the tunnel walls.

The York Press

• Renewed hope over upgrade of A64 HOPES of a major upgrade to North Yorkshire’s busiest road have risen after the Government said it would look “favourably” on any future funding bid for improvements – but it may be two years before any money is confirmed.

Other Regional Press

• Trains disrupted after vehicle hits Portsmouth railway bridgeTRAINS were temporarily brought to a standstill after a vehicle struck a railway bridge.

Global Rail News

• Reading Station transformedBefore Easter, Reading Station was a major building site. The travelling public could see what Network Rail was trying to do but it took a degree of imagination to appreciate what it would look like. Then came the Easter break, and the station area was totally transformed and it looks incredibly impressive. Without doubt, passengers [...]
• What to see at Railtex 2013 #7In 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. Hurst Green Plastics Stand H13 Hurst Green Plastics has worked with many of the World’s largest aerospace companies such as Airbus, BAE Systems and Lufthansa and has supplied them with their [...]

London TravelWatch

• London TravelWatch supports ‘Catch the Bus Week’London TravelWatch places very high priority on promoting the needs of the capital's bus users and is pleased to support ‘Catch the bus week’ which runs between 29 April and 5 May 2013.

Railnews

• Bigger Birmingham New Street opens its doors The first part of the enlarged station at Birmingham New Street has opened its doors to weekday commuters. An army of volunteers as well as Network Rail and Birmingham City Council staff are helping passengers find their way around a new concourse which has replaced the surface level station. This was opened at the end of the 1960s after the West Coast Main Line had been electrified, but became very overcrowded in recent years.
• Bridge work postponed as landslip repairs go on Network Rail has begun deferring engineering work planned in the south Yorkshire area this summer because of the continuing disruption caused by the colliery landslip at Hatfield, east of Doncaster. Network Rail has admitted that 'the nature of the material involved continues to challenge engineers', and some bridge renewals are now being postponed so that diversionary routes can remain in use.

Aviation Industry

• Qatar Airways to resume Dreamliner flightsServices on 787 between Doha and Heathrow to restart on May 15

Other News Sources

• County's 'appalling' potholes record slammed MORE than 700 miles of Surrey™s roads are deteriorating with cracks and potholes, despite council claims that more than 80% of its highways are in ˜decent™ condition.
• Boris backs expansion of Gatwick Mayor of London Boris Johnson has urged the government to resist calls for a third runway at Heathrow and concentrate on expanding other airports, including Gatwick
• Rail winning market share on busiest UK air routesTrain operators use flexible discounting tactics to attract more passengers