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Wednesday, 11 September 2013

BBC News

• Queensferry Crossing estimated cost trimmed by £145m The overall cost of the Queensferry Crossing is set to be £145m lower than previous estimates, according to the Scottish finance secretary.
• Readers' big infrastructure projects Last month, the Magazine looked at 10 infrastructure ideas that could change the UK. Among the projects were a motorway for the east of England and a bridge across the Irish Sea.
• London 'to miss pollution limits'Nearly half of London's roads will still be over legal pollution limits in 2020, according to the Green Party.
• New government effort to boost HS2The government will seek to bolster the case for the HS2 rail project with new evidence about its economic benefits.

Financial Times

• HS2 fightback starts with £15bn growth pledgeKPMG analysis part of robust defence of £42.6bn scheme that transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin will mount in a speech to counter rising criticism

The Guardian

• HS2 rail project will provide £15bn boost, transport minister claimsPatrick McLoughlin to make speech in Birmingham where there has been a mixed reaction to the high-speed linkPatrick McLoughlin, the transport secretary, will on Wednesday make the economic case for the HS2 rail project by insisting that the high-speed link will give an annual £15bn boost to the economy, with the north and Midlands gaining at least double the benefit gained by the south.In a speech in Birmingham, McLoughlin is planning to depict HS2 as a

The Independent

• Exclusive: ‘Captain Invisible’ goes missing in inaction - HS2 chief takes three months off with torn calf muscle The Government’s planned high-speed rail link between London and Manchester has continued its descent into chaos as Douglas Oakervee, the veteran chairman of the £42.6bn railway project, has been forced to take three months off with a torn calf muscle.    
• Report starts Government fight-back on case for HS2 A high-speed rail link between London and Manchester could generate economic growth worth £15bn a year by freeing capacity on other railway lines and speeding up business connections between cities, an analysis for the Government suggests today.    

The Scotsman

• Edinburgh Airport travellers enjoy least delays PASSENGERS at Edinburgh airport enjoyed the least delays on record this spring, Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) figures showed today.
• Study to be carried out on A96 dualling plan A CONTRACTOR has been appointed to study the environmental impacts of upgrading 86 miles of the A96 Aberdeen to Inverness road to dual carriageway, it was announced today.
• Scottish independence: transport system promise An independent Scotland would have a more modern and joined up transport system, Nicola Sturgeon told haulage chiefs today. The Deputy First Minister said the Scottish Government is committed to the largest transport investment programme Scotland has ever seen and stepped up calls for airport taxes to be handed over the Holyrood.
• Swinney - Forth Bridge cost vindicates SNP policyTHE cost of the new Forth road bridge has fallen by a further £145 million, finance secretary John Swinney has revealed as he prepares to unveil his spending plans for the year ahead to MSPs today.

The Telegraph

• Star banker Ian Hannam backs Heathrow Hub scheme Ian Hannam, the City dealmaker who is fighting a £450,000 fine for allegedly passing on inside information, is ploughing his own money into one of the proposals to expand Heathrow.
• Hybrid performance cars displayed at FrankfurtHybrid cars were the preserve of the environmentally sensitive, vehicles that would enable drivers to flaunt their green credentials.    
• HS2 a 'heart bypass' for clogged transport network, says McLoughlinHS2 will act as a

The Mirror

• HS2: Government claims new £50billion high-speed train line will boost economy by £15billion a yearTransport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin will claim new analysis shows that the proposed north-south line will boost business outside London

Network Rail

• Easier access for passengers at Manchester Oxford RoadPassengers will soon benefit from better access at Manchester Oxford Road station thanks to a £1.8m investment to provide new lifts and reopen a subway at the station.
• Improvements at Denmark Hill station unveiled by transport ministerImprovements at a key railway interchange in south London have been formally unveiled by minister for transport, Norman Baker MP.
• Hidden tunnel beneath New Street platforms opens for first time in almost 10 yearsFor the first time in almost ten years, a network of tunnels underneath Birmingham New Street station has been opened by Network Rail to allow West Midlands Fire Service to conduct a live training exercise.

Birmingham Post

• HS2: West Midlands economy will receive £3.1bn boost, claims new studyTransport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin launches campaign to win support for the planned North-South line

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Shared cycle ways plan to make routes safer A scheme to make Shipley a safer place to be a cyclist could get the final stamp of approval tomorrow.

London Evening Standard

• Cities 'stronger' after HS2 schemeThe HS2 high-speed rail line will provide a £15 billion a year boost to the UK economy, the Government will claim as ministers attempted to bolster support for the scheme.

Sheffield Star

• Cycle routes need major upgrade, say campaignersSheffield’s cycle routes need a major upgrade – to encourage students to take to their bikes as the new academic year gets under way.

This Is Local London Network

• Bring tram to Sutton: Businesses in letter plea to Boris Business leaders in Sutton have written an open letter to London Mayor Boris Johnson urging him to extend the London Tramlink to Sutton.

Bucks Free Press

• MPs say there's still no convincing case for HS2 AN INFLUENTIAL group of MPs have ruled the Department for Transport has

Doncaster Free Press

• Ryanair offers passengers extended parking at Doncaster airportRyanair has announced extended car parking services with Looking4Parking into Spain, offering Ryanair passengers low cost parking at Doncaster’s Robin Hood Airport.    

East Anglian Daily Times

• Felixstowe: Haulage boss claims A12 tolls could cost his buisness £200,000 a yearA haulage boss says the proposed toll on a new stretch of the A14 could cost his company £200,000 a year.

Other Regional Press

• New website helps to connect Wiltshire through sustainable transport A website dedicated to helping people travel across Wiltshire using sustainable transport is launched this month.
• Teens in bus station battlePupils from a city school have joined the campaign to spare Preston’s iconic bus station from demolition.
• Huddersfield Bus Company bought by public transport giants ArrivaHuddersfield Bus Company operates services from the town to destinations including Denby Dale, Clayton West, Grange Moor and Wakefield
• Call to get ‘on your bike’ by Colne Valley MP Jason McCartneyThe Tory MP – himself a keen cyclist – said the arrival of the Tour de France in Yorkshire next summer was a major catalyst
• Warning to Aberdeen taxi drivers over dog rulingTAXI drivers in Aberdeen could face fines of up to £1,000 if they refuse to carry guide dogs.

Global Rail News

• UK’s ‘most intensive’ train service set to beginLondon Underground is to launch the UK’s ’most intensive’ train service next week, increasing the number of trains to 34 an hour on the Central line. As well as more[...]
• King’s Cross official openingThe extensively modernised area around King’s Cross will be officially re-opened on 26th September. In August Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, laid one of the final paving stones on the new King’s Cross Square. Sir David Higgins, Network Rail’s chief executive, joined the mayor to congratulate teams hard at work on the final touches to [...]
• Gotthard Base Tunnel remains on course for 2016 openingMore than half of the railway systems in the Gotthard Base Tunnel have now been installed, according to AlpTransit Gotthard. The announcement follows the very first ride through the world’s[...]
• Final breakthrough on Hallandsås rail tunnelDrilling has been completed on a new double-track railway tunnel linking Gothenburg and Lund in Sweden. The two 8.7 km tunnels, which run through the Hallandsås horst, will replace an[...]
• Fleet reconfiguration could save Irish Rail €3.2mIrish Rail has said it expects to save more than €3 million a year by reconfiguring its fleet to better meet peak demand. The operator has announced plans to shorten[...]
• Sydney seeks wireless trams for new light rail networkSydney is pushing for a catenary-free tram system for a $1.6 billion light rail network being designed for the city. City leaders have proposed a wireless system for sections of[...]

Middle East North Africa (MENA) Rail News

• Prioritising Rail in the African RegionTanzania transport system is expected undergo up-gradation with approximately $330 million to be pumped into of its railway network. TAZARA, ZRL and SNCC, the three railways companies operating in Tanzania, Zambia and Democratic Republic Congo (DRC) respectively, jointly signed a tripartite agreement to harmonize operations in the East African Railway Sector. The contract is expected […]The post Prioritising Rail in the African Region appeared first on MENA Rail News.
• Railway Days: Wider Black Sea Area Railway Investment Summit8-9 October 2013 Bucharest, Romania Visit Website Greener and More Efficient Railways in Wider Black Sea Area The Wider Black Sea Area, a median area of the Eurasian platform, has witnessed an intense economic evolution which has to be supported and stimulated also through railway investments in order to facilitate the interconnection of regional, national […]The post Railway Days: Wider Black Sea Area Railway Investment Summit appeared first on MENA Rail News.
• The new ADCCAC Regulations: a new dawn for arbitration in Abu DhabiWritten by Richard Bell and James Fox September 2013 In a welcome move the Abu Dhabi Commercial Conciliation and Arbitration Centre (ADCCAC) recently announced its new Procedural Regulations of Arbitration (the Regulations) which take effect from 1 September 2013. Few will mourn the passing of the old regulations and the good news is that the […]The post The new ADCCAC Regulations: a new dawn for arbitration in Abu Dhabi appeared first on MENA Rail News.

Aviation Industry

• Which airlines are the most fuel-efficient?Flying is one of those things... If you look at it strictly from an environmental point of view, it's burns a lot of fossil fuels and should be avoided.

Other News Sources

• DOT Fines Virgin America for Failing to Make In-Flight Safety Videos Accessible to Passengers with Hearing ImpairmentsThe U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) today fined Virgin America $150,000 for failing to make its in-flight safety video accessible to passengers with hearing impairments. The airline also ...