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

Saturday, 29 June 2013

BBC News

• Parliament - Week ahead - CommitteesWednesday - MPs will then debate the Transport Committee's report on "Rail 2020: a vision for the future", following on from the McNulty Report, which pointed to a yawning gap in efficiency between the UK rail network and its European equivalents.
• Call for improved transport links across Warwickshire Better roads and railways are needed across Warwickshire as well as planned improvements to the M6, according to the county's chamber of commerce.
• A14 toll road could be bad for ports, businesses say Introducing tolls on the A14 road as part of a £1.5bn upgrade could take trade from Suffolk ports, business leaders have warned.
• Caledonian sleeper train service bidders named Three firms are in the running to take over the Caledonian sleeper train service, the Scottish government has announced.
• The Spending Review in the East The Spending Review in the East A toll road and lots of money for science. Those were the Chancellor's gifts to the region in his spending review.
• Two school buses taken off the roadTwo school buses have been found with mechanical defects in a police operation.
• Translink profits rise to £9.1mTranslink profits increased last year, with the bus and rail operator also holding a £60m cash reserve, according to the company's latest accounts.
• Rainwater collected to wash trainsMillions of litres of rainwater is to be used over the next year to help wash trains at a Scotrail depot in Glasgow.
• Bus operator's licence revokedA Hamilton bus operator's licence is revoked by the Traffic Commissioner after he failed to prove his financial standing.
• Network Rail apologises for delaysNetwork Rail apologises to passengers for delays on the West Coast line from London to Scotland, saying its performance was
• East Midlands gets money for roads, schools and jobs Roads in Derbyshire and Leicestershire and an enterprise zone near Hinckley are some of the East Midlands projects that will benefit from a £100bn government investment.

Financial Times

• Heathrow finalises case for third runway Heathrow’s board has authorised its management to present the case for adding a third runway to the independent commission looking at solutions to the UK’s airport capacity crunch.

The Herald

• Network Rail sorry for 'unacceptable' delays on Scotland to London routeNetwork Rail (NR) has apologised to passengers for its

Network Rail

• Work starts to deliver faster rail journeys on the Midland Main LineTwo bridges in Leicestershire are to be rebuilt by Network Rail as part of a £70m investment to speed up journey times on the Midland Main Line, which links London with Leicester, Derby, Nottingham and Sheffield.
• National train performance for period 3 is 93.1%Punctuality on the railways reached 93.1% during Period 3, according to monthly performance data released today by Network Rail, the joint best period 3 recorded.
• Landscape Photographer of the Year exhibition comes to LondonKing’s Cross station is set to become an art gallery next week as part of a special exhibition showcasing stunning images from the Take-a-view Landscape Photographer of the Year competition, which is sponsored by Network Rail.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Funds are released to work on West Yorkshire Metro bus scheme Efforts are still being made to provide a better deal for bus passengers in West Yorkshire with the transport authority Metro and bus operators believing they are closer to ending their disagreements and signing a partnership deal.

Bristol Live

• The Bristol Post commented New rapid buses will be powered by electricMAYOR George Ferguson has promised that the new rapid buses into Bristol will be electrically powered.He decided to go ahead last night with changes to the original route from the Long Ashton park and ride site to Bristol Temple Meads.It means the MetroBus will now run along Cumberland Road and over Redcliffe Hill to Redcliffe Way, instead of in front of the M shed museum and over Prince Street Bridge.Mr Ferguson said it was imperative to preserve the heritage of the dockland area and not to run...

London Evening Standard

• Transport could easily absorb £225m cuts, says Steve NorrisFormer transport minister Steve Norris today claimed that Transport for London could easily absorb 15.5 per cent cuts — or £225 million in 2015 — in funding by running a leaner operation.

Manchester Evening News

• ‘Show us a sign’ demand passengers waiting at ‘second class’ rail station Passengers at Castleton Railway Station say they feel like “second class” travellers – after being kept in the dark over train delays.

Sheffield Star

• Man killed on Doncaster railway lineA man was killed by a freight locomotive near Doncaster early today.

The York Press

• Railway art show set to open at York gallery THESE striking images will be among the exhibits, when a new railway art show opens in York next weekend.

Other Regional Press

• Coventry MPs join forces to fight city's corner in HS2 vote Jim Cunningham and Geoffrey Robinson vote for failed Commons amendment on HS2 route and expenditure
• Plans to widen M4 between Reading and Heathrow delight MP A GOVERNMENT pledge to widen the congested M4 Motorway between Reading and Heathrow Airport was welcomed tonight.
• Clayton West man tells of charterted surveying role valuing world’s third largest airport - HeathrowA HIGH-FLYING chartered surveyor has seen his career take off since he secured a contract with one of the world’s busiest airports.

Campaign for Better Transport

• Government commit to increasing rail fares for years to come 28 June 2013: There were not many 'winners' in this week's Spending Round, but we now know that rail users and commuters are some of the biggest losers as the Government committed to more inflation busting annual fare rises. read more

Global Rail News

• Thameslink rolling stock deal finally on track
• Management board picked to deliver Stuttgart Central redevelopmentDeutsche Bahn has appointed a new management board to head its 6.5 billion euro Stuttgart 21 project. Manfred Leger has been appointed as chairman of the management board which is[...]
• Network Rail track and plant show to ‘demonstrate the best of the railway’One of the rail industry’s biggest track plant exhibitions takes place next month, with live demonstrations of new technology designed to deliver innovative, safe and efficient track renewals and enhancements[...]
• Aubagne tram design revealedAlstom has revealed the colourful design for the new fleet of Citadis trams it is delivering to Aubagne. Each of the eight vehicles destined for the town will feature the[...]

Green Miscellany

• Forget earphones for cycling – Cynaps offers the skull phoneNo one can be certain whether or not it’s dangerous to cycle while listening to music on headphones, but an alternative approach to traditional ear buds or headphones that does not drown out ambient sound is possible by using bone conduction. Cynaps is the world’s first Bluetooth, bone conduction headset incorporated into a hat. Sewn into an ordinary-looking baseball cap,…