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

Wednesday, 05 June 2013

BBC News

• Coventry bus route is longest in Europe at 31 miles A new bus service for Coventry will have the longest continuous urban route in Europe, operators claim.
• Thameslink deadline fears raisedDelays in selecting the trains to be used for the government's Thameslink upgrade "raise questions" about whether the project as a whole will come in on schedule, a spending watchdog says.
• Heathrow terminal to open in a yearHeathrow's new £2.5bn terminal will open in exactly one year's time, bosses at the airport announce.
• Chrysler refuses 2.7m Jeep recallChrysler is refusing to heed a US government request to recall 2.7 million Jeeps that it says are at risk of fuel tank fires in collisions.

Financial Times

• UK watchdog fears delay to rail projectA report by the National Audit Office says problems in securing a £1.6bn contract for 1,200 Thameslink trains could drag until 2018

The Guardian

• Thameslink upgrade could miss 2018 deadline, watchdog says Delays to controversial £1.4bn contract for trains risk putting entire project behind schedule, National Audit Office says
• Motorway middle-lane hoggers to face higher finesTougher punishments for inconsiderate driving and offences such as jumping red lights or using handheld mobile phonesDrivers who needlessly hog the middle lane on motorways face fines of £100 as well as three penalty points under new government measures designed to crack down on careless motoring.Fines for a number of other offences on the road – including using a handheld mobile phone while driving, or jumping traffic lights – are also expected to be increased from £60 to £100 after the unveiling of the package on Wednesday.
• Chrysler refuses Jeep recall, saying fuel tanks are safeCarmaker has been asked by US road safety authority the NHTSA to recall certain models after fires and deathsChrysler is refusing to recall 2.7m older-model Jeeps, saying that US regulators' concerns about the vehicles' fuel tanks causing fires and deaths are ill-founded.In a 3 June letter to Chrysler, US road safety authority the NHTSA said an investigation had revealed

The Scotsman

• Edinburgh-Glasgow rail faces train upgrade delay COMMUTERS on Scotland’s flagship rail line will have to wait two years longer than expected for more seats, The Scotsman has learned.
• Glasgow subway delays may continue into Wednesday PASSENGERS on the Glasgow Subway face possible disruption continuing into tomorrow after part of the system was closed for engineering work on a tunnel.
• Blacklist of roads revealed for vital repairs A BLACKLIST of the city’s worst highways has been drawn up – so council chiefs can tackle the potholed thoroughfares with a £12 million war chest.

The Telegraph

• Crossrail: A project that stands tall with Everest? Just look under your feetAt the next coronation we will be able to celebrate a great feat of British engineering - Crossrail, writes Boris Johnson    
• Travel website is misleading customers, claims easyJetEasyJet has called on regulators to stop a European travel website

Mail Online

• First glimpse inside new £2.5bn Heathrow terminal as bosses promise to learn the lessons from disastrous opening of T5Replacing the old terminal demolished in 2009, the privately-funded terminal T2 will eventually serve 20million passengers a year.
• Roadhogs to face £100 fines: Crackdown on motorway drivers who clog up middle laneIn a crackdown on anti-social motoring unveiled today, a new fixed penalty offence of careless driving will also target those who cut up other cars, tailgate or block a dual carriageway's outside lane.

The Mirror

• Thameslink rail deal delays blasted by Government's own watchdog in boost to Bombardier campaignIn a damning report, auditors even call into question the skills of Whitehall mandarins to plan for complex transport schemes

Belfast Telegraph

• Cycling may help 'reduce' sick daysCYCLING to work could halve the number of sick days people take and provide a £13.7bn annual boost to business, a transport charity claims. The average worker takes 4.5 sick days each year compared to 2.4 days by people who cycle, Sustrans said. The charity is launching its Support Cycling To Work campaign, and said that of cyclists using the National Cycle Network, 68% took no sick days last year.

Bristol Live

• Cars cannot remain chief mode of transportA CYCLE network for Bristol is long overdue. I have just returned from West Flanders and Holland where they have been developing a cycling strategy for more than 25 years. It is a joy to see it in operation and it is immediately obvious to see the massive benefits for everyone.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Number of parents on school run at record highPARENTS are fuelling a rise in congestion-causing car trips by dropping their kids off at the school gates in increasing numbers, according to worrying new figures.

London Evening Standard

• Sarah Sands: Boris must play hardball to save our transport If Cameron and Osborne have decided they no longer need to support Boris, he doesn’t have to return any favours
• DLR bicycle ban is lifted in victory for campaignersA ban on taking bikes on the Docklands Light Railway is to be lifted next month in a move that campaigners say will open up large swathes of London to cyclists.
• Heathrow is big problem, says airlines bossAs Heathrow bosses announced today that the £2.5 billion Terminal 2 will open in exactly a year’s time, the airport was attacked as “overcrowded” and “too expensive”.
• Half of drivers win appeals over private land parkingMore than half of motorists hit with charges of about £100 for parking on private land are winning appeals against the penalties under a new watchdog.
• Cycling to work 'boosts economy by £13bn'Cycling to work could halve the number of sick days people take and provide a £13.7 billion annual boost to British business, according to statistics released by a transport charity.
• Minister's warning as pub chain Wetherspoon's plans branch at M40 motorway service stationOpening pubs at motorway service areas would be of “concern”, a health minister warned today.
• Concerns over Thameslink deliveryA public spending watchdog has cast doubt on the Government's ability to deliver a major upgrade to a key rail route by the 2018 deadline.
• Road hogs facing fines and pointsDrivers who hog the middle lane or tailgate other cars face on-the-spot fines of £100 and three points on their licence under new plans.

Yorkshire Post

• Labour to oppose rail line plansLABOUR will today urge the Government to perform a U-turn on its plan to return the East Coast Main Line to the private sector.

Crewe Chronicle

• UK & World News: Concerns over Thameslink deliveryA public spending watchdog has cast doubt on the Government's ability to deliver a major upgrade to a key rail route by the 2018 deadline.

East Anglian Daily Times

• Kirby Cross: Station sign blown overThe main rail station sign at Kirby Cross near Frinton blew over this morning.

Other Regional Press

• Thameslink rail upgrade will not be delivered on time says watchdog A public spending watchdog has cast doubt on the Government’s ability to deliver a major upgrade to the Thameslink rail route by the 2018 deadline.
• The £4.1m cost of transporting Teesside school pupilsStatutory transport cost Teesside local authorities £21,743 per school day in the 2011/12 school year
• Newport Bridge just as important as neighbour the TransporterThe twin tower lifting Newport Bridge was equally as important as the Transporter, says Peter Cook, editor of Now&Then magazine
• Planned M1 roadworksMajor upgrade work is currently taking place between junctions 10 and 13 on the M1.
• Talks on Luton Airport takeoverAnother Spanish company could be about to take over the running of Luton Airport.
• Shoddy bus shelters put on hit list for improvementsAfter a prolonged battle, Penwortham residents have moved closer to winning their fight for better bus shelters.

Bus and Coach.com

• Second Borismaster route namedThe second London bus route to be converted to Borismaster operation will be the 11, in September.
• Damages win for Arriva bus cleanerA bus cleaner who had a leg amputated after being infected by a flesh-eating disease caused by a piece of metal on the floor of a bus depot is set to receive “substantial” damages from Arriva Southern Counties.
• Kings Ferry heads to BristolA contract to run two peak-hour commuter coach services has been awarded to Kent-based The Kings Ferry by North Somerset council.
• West Coast expands with Bowman's purchasWest Coast Motors is purchasing Bowman’s Tours, the Mull-based bus and coach operator.

Global Rail News

• National Express orders new trains for German routesNational Express has placed an order for 35 TALENT 2 EMUs from Bombardier to operate on its new German commuter services. The c2c operator won two 15-year contracts worth 1.6[...]
• Architects envisage future of New York stationA transparent domed ticket office is at the centre of one of a new series of futuristic visions for New York’s Penn Station. Designs by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP[...]
• Orchestra goes UndergroundA haunting concert has been performed in the abandoned tunnels of one of London’s ghost Tube stations. The concert is one of a three-part series of performances centered around the[...]
• Network Rail agrees major IT contractNetwork Rail has signed framework agreements with five major IT suppliers as it begins to simplify its computing relationships. With more than 270 individual IT suppliers, Network Rail manages a[...]
• EGIP: cutback or transformation?Rarely can the announcement of a £650 million rail investment package have been subject to as much criticism as July’s announcement by Scottish Transport Minister Keith Brown of the programme to transform Scotland’s flagship route between Edinburgh and Glasgow Queen Street High Level, the E&G. In doing so, Brown announced: “The Edinburgh- Glasgow Improvement Programme [...]
• Skoda signs tram license deal with ChinaÅ koda Transportation has inked a deal with CSR Sifang for the production of 400 ForCity trams. The contract, which could be worth as much as CZK5 billion, provides Skoda Transportation[...]
• 10 point planRecently there have been some pretty spectacular failures of OLE in a number of high profile locations giving rise to some pretty dreadful ’bad wire’ days. Well, there’s a lot going on behind the scenes. Network Rail has a plan. In fact it has a ten point plan. Grahame Taylor has a look at what’s [...]

Railnews

• Plan to restore crucial Midlands rail link is unveiled A plan to give millions of people in central England direct access to HS2 and Birmingham Airport by reconstructing a railway that last carried passengers 97 years ago is being unveiled today. The authors say rebuilding the old railway would be key to creating a major transportation hub alongside the M6 and M42 motorways, HS2, the nearby NEC and the present Birmingham International station, as well as Birmingham Airport itself.

Aviation Industry

• Gulf Air is customer for 10 unidentified Bombardier CS100s Bombardier has confirmed that Bahrain carrier Gulf Air is the customer for 10 CSeries 100s, with six options. read more
• United Airlines to start using biofuel on LAX flights in 2014United Airlines has agreed to annually buy five million gallons of biofuel from AltAir Fuels starting in 2014. read more
• Heathrow to open new Terminal 2 in a yearAirport will unveil £2.5 billion facility in June 2014
• American Airlines to increase Heathrow capacityCarrier plans to add extra flights from Dallas and Miami for next winter