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

Thursday, 06 June 2013

Cogitamus

• ApologiesThe Cogitamus team would like to sincerely apologise for lack of updates this morning. Unfortunately, we were the victims of a cyber attack. Our techie guys have worked hard to get us back on track, though we appreciate that it was a little later than our usual early start. Normal service will be resumed in the morning, in the meantime , we hope that you enjoy reading todays updates.

BBC News

• Luton bus adverts call for action against gun crimeA fleet of buses is being used in a Bedfordshire town's fight against gangs and gun crime, police say.
• Surrey Brooklands motor museum award to be unveiledA motor and aviation museum in Surrey is to receive an award recognising it as a transport heritage site.
• TSA cancels proposal to allow knives on planesThe US transport safety authority has cancelled a plan to allow some small pocket knives aboard US flights for the first time since the 9/11 attacks.
• Keith Brown 'underlines' Inverness-Gatwick air link worriesTransport Secretary Keith Brown has "underlined" concerns about the future of air services between Inverness and Gatwick in a meeting with Easyjet.
• Jersey bus operator calls for change of legal statusJersey's bus operator claims the service needs to be classed as an "essential service" to protect the travelling public.
• Lowestoft relief road being 'rushed through' say parish councilsA new Lowestoft relief road which has received £4.7m in government funding is being "rushed through" to the detriment of residents, two councils have said.
• Prince Philip visits oldest steamshipPrince Philip visits the world's oldest steamship
• New TfL website embraces mobileNew TfL website optimised for phone users
• One circle re-opens on undergroundThe inner circle of the Glasgow Subway resumes operations as unscheduled engineering works run into a third day.
• Eurotunnel Dover ferries blockedThe UK Competition Commission rules that Eurotunnel will no longer be allowed to operate a ferry service from Dover.
• Ffestiniog Railway's 150-year-old steam loco takes ferry to DublinA historic steam railway engine is taking a ferry trip from Wales to Dublin to celebrate its 150th birthday.

Financial Times

• Eurotunnel barred from Dover ferry routeUK competition watchdog rules against controversial move by the operator of the Channel tunnel to offer services between the British port and Calais

The Herald

• Subway's third day of delays for tunnel repairPassengers on Glasgow's Subway face a third day of delays today in the worst disruption to the system in more than a decade.
• Police fines crackdown on roadhogs and tailgaters launchedThe Government has announced a crackdown on roadhogs and tailgaters as part of a shake-up of motoring offence penalties.

The Scotsman

• easyJet to ’consider’ expansion of Scottish routesEasyJet has told the Scottish Government it is committed to the Highlands and would “consider” expanding its service following fears over the future of air links.
• Transport minister visits Aberdeen bypass siteKEITH Brown, Scotland’s transport minister, visited Aberdeen today to see the preparations for construction work finally begin on the long awaited city bypass.

Mail Online

• Airbus should consider redesigning aircraft after maintenance failure led to Heathrow emergency landing, says safety chiefThe maintenance failure which caused a British Airways jet to carry out an emergency landing should force Airbus to consider redesigning its aircraft, the leading safety adviser in global aviation has warned.

Network Rail

• Rail companies and residents join forces at Totterdown nature gardenAround 60 people attended a nature garden planting day in Bristol on Saturday, 1 June.
• Network Rail full-year results 2012/13Network Rail invested more than ever before (in cash terms) – some £14m a day (£5bn for the year) – in renewing and expanding Britain’s railway in 2012/13, the company announced today in its full-year financial results.
• Railway footbridge plan for Chippenham is on trackNetwork Rail is working on a £2.98m project to improve access for passengers at Chippenham railway station.

Belfast Telegraph

• CSeries test flight nears as Bombardier hails order bookThe new Bombardier CSeries aircraft – the wings of which were invented, designed and manufactured in Belfast – is another step closer to its first test flight after emerging from the paint shop in Canada in green.Related StoriesWebsite founder's stake nets £170mChanges at the top for Co-op managersSurge in performance of services sector offers boost to economy£4.3m pay for Sainsbury's boss Justin KingMap guide company planning to expand    

Bristol Live

• Mayor should improve public transport firstOPERATING my Architectural and Engineering design practice from an office in North View, Westbury Park, and soon to become a residents' parking area I have recently sent my objection to my local business councillor with regard to the scheme and more importantly to the elected mayor and his cabinet and to date. But no reply.

Derby Telegraph

• Derby Telegraph published Thameslink deal in jeopardy?FEARS have been raised that delays in awarding the Thameslink contract – which city train-maker Bombardier missed out on – may have put the whole project in jeopardy.A £1.4 billion deal to provide the 1,200 carriages is still yet to be reached between the Department for Transport and German firm Siemens, which was chosen to deliver the order.And the National Audit Office believes the delays cast doubt on the Government's ability to deliver the upgrade of Thameslink by...

Edinburgh Evening News

• UK-first ‘bikes on trams’ policy snubs commutersBicycles will be allowed on Edinburgh’s trams in a British first – but not during rush hour, the Evening News can reveal.

London Evening Standard

• Thameslink upgrade faces a hold-up, watchdog warnsDelays in selecting the trains to be used for the Thameslink upgrade “raise questions” about whether the whole project will come in on schedule, a spending watchdog warned today.

Sheffield Star

• MP welcomes plan to alter route of high speed railwaySheffield Brightside and Hillsborough MP David Blunkett has welcomed a slight change in the route of the planned high speed rail line to protect Firth Rixson steelworks at Meadowhall.
• All change as bus network prepares for big shake-upBus operator Stagecoach says it is making the ’biggest changes’ to services in the Dearne Valley for almost 20 years.

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• Stourbridge Junction railway station will get extra parking bays An extra 175 parking spaces will be created at Stourbridge Junction railway station as part of a £1.3 million project to expand the park and ride service.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Leeds: Trains diverted after hand grenade found on railway lineTrains were diverted today following the discovery of what was thought to be an old hand grenade close to Leeds railway station.

Yorkshire Post

• Destination Doncaster for DreamlinerEAGER plane-spotters got an eyeful in South Yorkshire yesterday as Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner began flight-testing at Robin Hood Airport.

East Anglian Daily Times

• Felixstowe: Royal visitor set to open new rail terminal at Port of FelixstoweBritain’s biggest container port will host a royal visitor today as the Duke of York opens its new £40million rail terminal.

Other Regional Press

• Network Rail confirm design work for £50m Greater Bristol Metro project is under wayA rail upgrade vital to the success of the long-awaited Greater Bristol Metro system is almost certain to go ahead.
• Tempers high over rail disruptionTEMPERS were high at the annual Ruskington Parish Council meeting when Network Rail representatives showed up, to the surprise of councillors, to face concerned residents.
• Come fly with me: Heathrow’s 3rd runway debate shows no signs of stoppingWatching the Heathrow runway development debate unfold is like observing a high-stakes poker game.
• Councillor ridicules Heathrow 'naming and shaming'NAMING and shaming noisy airlines and plans to fine them up to £1,000 for breaches of acceptable levels have been dismissed as a "cosmetic exercise".
• Recycling costs at railway are cutThe Great Central Railway has cut its waste recycling costs by 17 per cent and halved the amount of rubbish sent to landfill after bringing in a new waste management operator.
• Station criticised for poor directions and "appalling toilets"It cost more than £18m to build and brought trains and buses together under one roof for the first time.
• Essex: Transport minister says A120 situation is putting lives at riskA treacherous junction on the A120 is “not acceptable” and is putting lives at risk, the road safety minister told parliament yesterday.
• Tottenham MP pledges support to campaign for London transport protectionTottenham MP David Lammy has pledged his support to a business group which is lobbying the government to protect transport spending in London.

Global Rail News

• The fall and rise of Britain’s railwaysThis year sees the fiftieth anniversary of Richard Beeching’s ’The Re-Shaping of British Railways’. Writes Colin Garratt 2013 also sees the thirtieth anniversary of the Serpell Report. These two events mirrored the tempestuous undertones of railway policy in the years following World War Two. In this eight part series, Colin Garratt of Milepost 921⁄2 outlines [...]
• New York subway tunnel to close for more than a yearNew York’s Montague Tube tunnel is to close for 14 months so that major repairs can be carried out to infrastructure devastated by Superstorm Sandy. The city’s transport authority, MTA,[...]
• Video: Lille Metro Line 1Alstom is supplying 27 new metro trainsets and a new automatic control system for Line 1 of the Lille Metro. A new video shows what Alstom will be delivering in[...]
• Driverless trains to run on Sydney’s North West Rail LinkThe NSW Government has confirmed that it is looking to procure driverless trains to serve its new North West Rail Link. Minister for Transport Gladys Berejiklian today revealed tender documents[...]

Other News Sources

• Network Rail overhauls IT supplier setup to streamline servicesNetwork Rail has announced a major overhaul of its IT supplier setup in an effort to cut down on the headache created by running IT services from 270 separate suppliers.

• Delays to train procurement threaten Thameslink upgradeDelays to the purchase of new trains for the Thameslink programme threaten the project’s delivery, according to the National Audit Office.
• New Images Of Heathrow Terminal 2The ceaseless chatter about Boris Island and airports in the Thames Estuary might lead one to assume that a moribund Heathrow is just waiting for the wrecker’s ball to arrive. Yet the airport is undergoing the biggest redevelopment in its history, and a year from now Terminal 2 will be welcoming its first passengers.
• Train station crime concernsFOUR train stations across South West Wales are in the top 10 for recorded crimes in Wales.
• Brighton Kemptown MP Simon Kirby queries big bonuses for railway chiefsAn MP has expressed concern about bonuses paid to rail bosses.
• WHO DESERVES A FREE BUS PASS?SOME pensioners have admitted they don’t use their bus passes and there are calls to issue them to the under-25s instead to help them search for work
• DfT pledges £5m to Clean Bus Technology FundLocal Transport Minister Norman Baker has revealed that the (DfT) Department for Transport will provide £5 million to support efforts to reduce pollution from local buses.
• Mayor announces £40m for transport projects to create jobs and economic growthThis follows a recommendation today by the London Enterprise Panel (LEP) of which projects bidding for investment are best placed to boost the city's economy.