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

Saturday, 10 August 2013

BBC News

• Bristol Henbury Loop railway line case pushed by MP Councils in the West are being urged to commit to re-opening a section of railway track in north Bristol by a local MP.
• Oxenholme to Windermere railway could be electrified Electric trains could soon be running on a route in the Lake District, the Transport Secretary has announced.
• Tube bosses agree station nameA new London Underground station serving Watford's football stadium and hospital is to be named Vicarage Road, after a campaign by the mayor.
• Passengers accuse BA on faulty planePassengers accuse British Airways of putting lives at risk after a Riyadh to London plane made two emergency landings with the same fault.

The Guardian

• Turkish Airlines pilot and co-pilot kidnapped in BeirutGunmen believed to have snatched men from van in response to capture of Lebanese pilgrims by Syrian rebels 15 months agoTwo Turkish Airlines pilots have been kidnapped in Beirut, in an ambush that Lebanese officials believe is linked to the capture of nine Lebanese Shia pilgrims in northern Syria 15 months ago.In response, Ankara called on its citizens to leave Lebanon and avoid travelling there, and launched an urgent round of contacts with Lebanese leaders who said they had no immediate leads as to who was responsible.The pilot, Murat Akpinar. and co-pilot, Murat Agca, were seized by six gun...

The Herald

• First capital flight for the new DreamlinerPassengers took to the skies on British Airways's new Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft for the first time yesterday.

The Independent

• How Crossrail dug up a London treasure trove Three weeks ago, workers tunnelling beneath London’s Soho found themselves wading through a sudden flood of water from a 300-year-old well. Unbeknown to them, the Crossrail team had breached the unmapped remains of a utility used by the capital’s 18th-century inhabitants.Related StoriesSummer of hunger: Huge rise in food bank use as demand linked to 'welfare reform'Northern Ireland: Police on alert ahead of rival paradesSummer of hunger: Huge rise in food bank use as rising demand linked to 'welfare reform'Case study: 'I'm in a lot of debt, and I've been so worried about food'Belfast unrest: ...

The Telegraph

• Row over EU plans for caravan testingCaravan enthusiasts facing threat of substantial bills because of EU plans to introduce MoT style checks.    
• 15 odd and strange items left on trains by passengers15 odd and strange items left on trains by passengers.    
• Pensioners travel length of Britain for free using bus passesAn elderly couple spent their summer holiday travelling 500 miles across the length of Britain for free - using just their bus passes.    
• Coach on fire at Gatwick airportPassengers evacuated from terminal at major UK airport after coach caught fire.    

Mail Online

• EU declares war on caravans with plan for MoT-style tests which will cost families hundreds of poundsEXCLUSIVE: Up to 200,000 families could be affected by the draconian demands which it is warned could will devastate the UK's tourism economy.

Bristol Live

• Transport authority is the solutionTHERE is no doubt that an Oyster-style smart card would make bus travel around Bristol a more attractive prospect. The Oyster card has certainly helped to revolutionise public transport in London.

London Evening Standard

• Shock for Boris Johnson as his electric cars mission slumpsBoris Johnson’s ambition to make London the electric vehicle capital of Europe has been shunned by motorists, new figures suggest.
• Bus fire forces Gatwick Airport evacuationPassengers have had to be evacuated from a terminal at a major UK airport after a coach caught fire.

The York Press

• Railway museum to consider more ‘paid-for experiences’ NEW paid-for attractions could be introduced at York’s National Railway Museum as it looks to balance its books after staving off the threat of closure, its new director has said.
• Eleven motorcyclists killed on North Yorkshire roads in 2013 NORTH Yorkshire Police are pleading with bikers to slow down on the county’s roads, as the death toll for motorcyclists reaches 11 this year, more than double that for the whole of 2012.

Wales Online

• Plan for overhaul of Welsh rail network could see dozens of new stations built Strategy would mean upgrade for lines across South East Wales with millions of pounds to be invested

Yorkshire Post

• Police eye up racing bikers as fatalities increasePOLICE are launching a crackdown on rogue bikers to combat a dramatic rise in deaths on rural roads after it emerged motorcyclists are conducting illegal road races between some of Yorkshire’s most popular countryside destinations.

East Anglian Daily Times

• Great Cornard: Gardener claims fruit trees could have been killed by Network Rail weed trainA devastated gardener claims mature trees he planted close to a railway line have been killed by chemicals from a ’weed train’.

Peterborough Telegraph

• More delays for Peterborough rail travellersFriday, 3.15pm: Travellers using the East Coast Main Line are facing delays of up to an hour following a broken down train and a bridge problem.

Other Regional Press

• OAP ‘stranded’ at Heathrow AirportA 95-year-old woman has hit out at British Airways after she was left waiting almost an hour for a wheelchair so she could get through the airport.

Global Rail News

• Toronto TBMs purchased for Omsk Metro tunnel constructionRussian construction group Mostovik has announced its intentions to buy a set of tunnel boring machines (TBM) to start construction of a new metro system for the city of Omsk.[...]

Railnews

• Virgin to lodge second bid for Blackpool, Shrewsbury Virgin Trains is making a second bid to run services to Blackpool and Shrewsbury, after being refused by Network Rail and the Office of Rail Regulation. The ORR had accepted Network Rail's contention that providing the additional paths required would pose an unnacceptable risk to performance, but ORR chief executive Richard Price had also said he wanted the question of new services to Blackpool and Shrewsbury to be 'looked at again as soon as possible' once performance improvements were made by Network Rail on the West Coast Main Line.
• Railcare payout -- but the future is still uncertain The remaining staff at Railcare in Wolverton and Springburn are being paid today, after 152 of their colleagues were made redundant as a result of the company going into administration. Although funds have been made available for some 350 workers at the rolling stock refurbishment company, some arrears of pay remain outstanding. The RMT and Unite have been urging the Government to intervene with an emergency cash injection, but so far without success. It has now emerged that an apprenticeship is also at risk.
• DfT unveils Lakes electrification plan The Department for Transport has announced that the line to Windermere in the Lake District is set to be electrified, as part of wider electrification schemes in the north west of England. The 16km branch connects at Oxenholme with the West Coast Main Line, where electrification was completed as long ago as 1974. The scheme is expected to cost £16 million, but depends on the confirmation of a satisfactory business case. The news has been welcomed by Cumbria County Council.

Other News Sources

• Heathrow Airport to upgrade signage Heathrow Airport is looking to upgrade the wayfinding and signage around its site and has issued a tender for design consultancies.
• Desperate’ plea for transport serviceA “lifeline” community transport service in Belper has launched a desperate appeal for more volunteers to help it keep running.
• Fairoaks Airport could solve aviation overloadReports state Fairoaks is 'well placed' to meet additional demand for aviation in the south east.
• Apology after train sent wrong way by signalling errorNetwork Rail said the signaller and driver would both be spoken to following the incident