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

Friday, 16 August 2013

BBC News

• VIDEO: Bike brings brothers successAn electric vehicle, designed and created in Dudley, has been bringing in world-wide sales, with orders amounting to £1.5m since last year.
• 'Nuisance' vehicle action soughtA strategy is considered to try to tackle the problem of
• New body to oversee trams and busesA new organisation called Transport for Edinburgh is to be created to oversee the capital's tram and bus services.
• Warning over new car accident scamMotorists are being warned about a new car accident insurance scam called

The Guardian

• Lane-hogging: on-the-spot fines for drivers come into forceTailgating also a target, while fines for offences such as talking on a mobile while driving have increasedDrivers spotted tailgating and lane-hogging face on-the-spot fines from Friday. The new fines are part of changes giving the police powers to issue fixed-penalty notices for careless driving.The penalty will be £100 with three points on the driver's licence. More serious infringements will continue to go through court, where offenders may face higher penalties.The police will also be able to offer educational training as an alternative to endorsement. Drivers will still be able to appeal ...

The Herald

• Travellers need only one ticket for buses and tramsPASSENGERS in Edinburgh will be able to use one ticket to get on both buses and trams when the capital's new transport system launches next summer.
• Bus tycoon Easdale buys 1.2 million shares in RangersMcGill's bus tycoon Sandy Easdale has bought 1.2 million shares in Rangers Football Club in a hectic day of trading as the power struggle at Ibrox intensifies.

The Scotsman

• Ryanair safety row: Whistleblower pilot sackedRyanair has sacked one of its longest-serving pilots for revealing concerns about safety on the airline.

The Telegraph

• New on the spot fines for careless drivers come into forceMotorists who hog the middle lane, cut up other drivers or tailgate face £100 fines from today.    

Mail Online

• Millions of motorists face being fined under a range of sweeping new police powers to tackle careless driversAbout 12 million drivers are at risk of falling foul of the new legislation, admitting they regularly hog the middle lane. Many are young motorists, who incorrectly believe it to be the 'cruising lane'.

The Mirror

• Breast implants suicide bomb threat: Heathrow on high alert over “credible” intelligenceSecurity has been beefed up after intelligence al-Qaeda is plotting attacks on airlines flying out of London
• Liverpool John Lennon Airport security miss two "devices" during in-house testsThe devices and two knives were hidden and carried past staff who operate scanners to check hand luggage

London Evening Standard

• Waterloo and City line will run until midnightTube chiefs today announced a major boost to London’s night-time economy by running trains to and from the City until after midnight.
• £100 fine and three points for tailgating: new police powers to tackle careless driversDrivers spotted tailgating and lane-hogging could face on-the-spot fines from today.
• £100 fine and three points for tailgating: new police powers to tackle careless driversDrivers spotted tailgating and lane-hogging could face on-the-spot fines from today.

Manchester Evening News

• Metrolink passengers delayed after service suspensions this afternoonThe failure, at the Queen's Road Depot, meant trams were unable to to pass along the route to Rochdale and Bury, and caused delays on those lines from Victoria.

Metro

• Made in Britain, loved by motorists: Most popular cars all manufactured hereBritain may be the home of the much-maligned Morris Marina, the atrocious Austin Allegro and the routinely ridiculed Reliant Robin but it seems the best cars on the road right now are all made here.    

Sheffield Star

• Robin Hood to gain from expansion of HeathrowHeathrow Airport chiefs are predicting a boost for regional airports like Robin Hood Airport in Doncaster if they get the go-ahead to build a third runway.
• Dad jailed for having concealed stun gun at Robin Hood AirportA dad has been jailed for five years after he was caught with a stun gun disguised as a mobile phone as he tried to pass through Doncaster’s Robin Hood Airport.
• Railway art scheme in the running for awardTextile students who helped brighten up stations along a South Yorkshire railway line are on track for an award. The Stitch the Line initiative, involving the Penistone Line Partnership and Huddersfield University, invited artwork to be used to decorate stations along the route linking Sheffield and Huddersfield.

The York Press

• Bus stop initiative aims to encourage families to get closer to nature A BUS stop in York’s city centre has been covered with images of wildlife through a National Trust initiative aimed at encouraging families to get closer to nature.

Wales Online

• Tailgaters and middle lane-hoggers now face instant finesThey’re the maddening bugbears of every responsible motorist – tailgaters who resort to dangerous bullying and intimidation to save seconds on a journey. But as of today tailgaters and middle-lane hoggers face fines of £100 and three points on their licence. Darren Devine reports

Yorkshire Post

• Online campaign teaches rail travellers to spot theft tricksA CAMPAIGN to help train users keep their property safe from pickpockets and ’gadget grabbers’ has been launched by police amid fears that rates of theft are rising.
• Rail firm wins legal fight over union disputeEast Midlands Trains has won an appeal over a decision by a High Court judge not to grant the company an injunction against a rail union over industrial action.

Northants Evening Telegraph

• East Midlands Trains wins Court of Appeal battleEast Midlands Trains has won an appeal over a decision by a High Court judge not to grant the company an injunction against the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) over industrial action.

Other Regional Press

• Council slams firm plans for four-runway Luton airportArchitects who submitted proposals for a four-runway airport in Luton to the Airports Commission were criticised by Luton Borough Council who said the plans were “unrealistic”.
• Lancashire passengers to wait for faresRail passengers in Lancashire must wait until January to learn how badly they will be hit by ticket price rises announced this week.
• Artistic take on uses for Preston bus stationAn artistic collective is offering an alternative interpretation of Preston’s at-risk bus station.
• Fine warning to passengers at bus stationThe gloves are coming off at Preston Bus Station after a ’softly, softly’ campaign against jaywalkers.
• ‘Dangerous’ parked cars worry on busy main roadFears have been raised over safety on a main artery through Preston.
• Pony boards Stagecoach bus at Folkestone bus stationNormally getting the best seat's the mane attraction on a bus... not when this pony came along for the ride.

Bus and Coach.com

• First Glasgow anti-vandal campaignFirst Glasgow has launched an advertising campaign designed to deter antisocial behaviour and vandalism on its buses.
• Two-door hybrid buses likely for BristolThe buses to be ordered for Bristol's planned bus rapid transit service, MetroBus, are likely to be dual-door hybrid single-deckers, following a study of vehicle types by the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership.
• Improved legal cover for CPT membersCPT has launched an improved service for members to support legal compliance and provide emergency 24-hour cover.
• Oxford Bus goes solarThe Oxford Bus Company is the first Oxfordshire business to develop a renewables scheme designed to benefit the local community.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Another Crossrail milestone is reachedDevelopers working on the Crossrail project have confirmed the completion of the westbound cavern 40 metres below the ground in Stepney Green.This comes just three months after the eastbound tunnel was finished and it seems the network is on schedule to be up and running by 2018.The Stepney Green caverns are among the largest ever constructed in Europe using a tunneling technique known as Sprayed Concrete Lining and they are around 17 metres wide, 15 metres high and 50 metres long.It is a crucial part of the overall development as it is where the railway divides into the north-east spur and so...

Global Rail News

• Edinburgh to set up integrated transport authority to oversee tram servicesThe City of Edinburgh Council has set out plans to launch an integrated transport authority to oversee tram and bus services in the city. ’Transport for Edinburgh’ will encompass both[...]
• London Overground appoints contractor for platform lengtheningTransport for London (TfL) has named Cleshar as the contractor responsible for lengthening station platforms on the London Overground network to accommodate longer trains. The work, which will take place[...]
• Buying BritishNew train orders are like buses and Tour de France victories. Nothing for ages and then two come along at once. In the case of train orders, the two are the Thameslink order for 1,140 carriages awarded to Siemens, and a second tranche of 30 nine-car IEP electric trains (270 carriages) from Hitachi for the [...]
• Winner of Melbourne station design competition announcedThe public have spoken and voted a design by a team of Australian and Swiss architects as the winner of the Flinders Street station redevelopment competition. Hassell and Herzog &[...]
• Brazil delays bidding for high-speed rail contractsBrazil’s Transport Minister César Borges is convinced that the country’s plans for high-speed rail will go ahead despite postponing bidding for the project by a year. The deadline for phase[...]
• First new Polish Pendolino arrives in WrocÅ‚awMore than 4,000 people gathered at WrocÅ‚aw Central station to catch a glimpse of Poland’s first new EIC Premium Pendolino train. The new trains, which will begin revenue service in 2014,[...]

Middle East North Africa (MENA) Rail News

• Siemens to Supply CBTC to Algiers Metro ExtensionSiemens will supply signalling equipment for the Algiers Metro Line 1 extension. The contract, worth €20m includes provision of communications-based train control, Airlink radio transmission and Digiloc train location, in addition to staff training to operate the new systems. Algiers Metro system is only the second metro transport system in Africa. It carries around 300,000 […]The post Siemens to Supply CBTC to Algiers Metro Extension appeared first on MENA Rail News.
• Israel’s National Infrastructure Committee Approves Electrification PlansIsrael’s rail network is to be electrified following a decision by the National Infrastructure Committee on Monday, 12th August. The aim is to improve passenger comfort and significantly reduce pollution, as well as increasing train service reliability and accuracy, according to the Israeli Transportation Minister, Israel Katz, who initiated the “Nativei Yisrael” Project. Nativei Yisrael […]The post Israel’s National Infrastructure Committee Approves Electrification Plans appeared first on MENA Rail News.

Railnews

• Great Western franchise not at risk, says DfT The Department for Transport has denied claims by the RMT that train services currently operated by First Great Western could be at risk, as the deadline approaches for agreeing an emergency franchise extension. The DfT and First Great Western have eight weeks left before the present contract runs out.

Railway Gazette

• Smart Ticketing Alliance agreed EUROPE: The creation of a Smart Ticketing Alliance as ‘a platform for European and global co-operation’ has been agreed by smart ticketing specification and co-ordination bodies VDV KA of Germany,...

Aviation Industry

• IAG hedges bets with fleet orderBA, Iberia or Vueling could expand
• BA is gifted LCY-Edinburgh routeCityjet admits defeat
• BA signs JetBlue pactInterline deal covers four US hubs

Other News Sources

• Roundabout among latest Red Road safety proposalsCounty councillors in the Surrey Heath area are continuing their efforts to make the dangerous B311 route safer
• Dozens of ducks escorted along A3 by police motorbikeA local resident in the Milford area helped grab the ducks' attention with some corn and they were led into a shed
• Sussex commuters hit by un-fare rail subsidies Commuters in Sussex are paying tens of millions of pounds a year to subsidise train services in the rest of the country.
• RPG: Captain John Goss - dismissed by Ryanair Captain John Goss, former Ryanair Flight Safety Officer and a veteran of the company with a 26 year blemish free record, was dismissed from his employment yesterday. John was recently elected...
• London Heathrow Airport Supplied with New Gas-to-Liquids Aviation Fuelnbsp;Platts ndash; Passengers traveling from London's Heathrow Airport this summer could be among the first in Europe to fly on synthetic aviation fuel, after suppliers into the world's...