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

Friday, 27 September 2013

BBC News

• Apple Maps flaw causes runway alertsAn Alaskan airport says it had to place barricades across one of its taxiways after an Apple Maps flaw resulted in iPhone users driving across a runway.
• MP faces trial over airport chargesFalkirk MP Eric Joyce is to stand trial after denying using threatening or abusive behaviour at Edinburgh Airport earlier this year.
• Two rail franchisees up for tenderThe government has tendered two rail franchises, the first offered since last year's bungled West Coast contract.
• Japan car parts firms hit with fineNine Japan-based firms and two executives are fined $740m by US regulators for conspiring to fix the price of car parts.
• Toyota and Nissan in vehicle recallJapanese carmakers Toyota and Nissan issue fresh vehicle recalls to fix flaws with levers and accelerators respectively.

Financial Times

• Bids sought for London rail franchisesGo-Ahead, Firstgroup, National Express and Stagecoach are all expected to bid for at least one franchise but will face foreign competition
• Heathrow hits back over Gatwick planWest Sussex airport is trying to become the British gateway to emerging markets and has said the UK would benefit more with a second runway there
• AirAsia has clearance for Indian take-offLow-cost carrier climbs closer to flying in India after the country’s civil aviation authorities certified they had ‘no objection’ to establishment of the airline
• Maersk calls bottom of trade cycleThe world’s biggest container shipping line by market share says demand should increase 4-6% in the next two years, raising a recent forecast
• Danny Alexander hints at delay to HS2 billTreasury chief secretary casts doubt on HS2 timetable by saying the government intends to get the funding bill ‘well on its way’ before the election
• HS2 chief dismisses funding delay fearsThe head of the High Speed 2 project has dismissed fears that a delay in securing funding for the link before the election could scupper the project
• Alitalia approves €100m capital increaseAnalysts described the increase as just a breath of oxygen that would give the airline more time to work out a possible takeover by Air France-KLM

The Guardian

• Global warming likely to breach 2C threshold, climate scientists concludeBut debate over details slows progress on key IPCC report as conference deadline loomsGlobal warming is likely to surpass the previously recognised danger threshold of a 2C average increase in temperature, according to the world-leading climate scientists meeting in Sweden this week.On the eve of the 2013 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the scientists involved are understood to have reached agreement in principle on key topics as the week of negotiations draws to a close.By 2100, the average projection for how much warming will occur is expected to be slightly above th...

The Independent

• Falkirk MP Eric Joyce to face trial over ‘threatening or abusive behaviour’ at airport The outgoing Falkirk MP Eric Joyce is set to stand trial after he denied using threatening or abusive behaviour in an alleged argument over a phone lost at an airport.    
• Most pilots admit they have fallen asleep on duty More than half of pilots have fallen asleep on the flight deck, according to a survey by pilots’ union Balpa.    

The Scotsman

• ‘Glamorous’ Edinburgh trams the envy of EuropeA FORMER SNP MSP today adds his voice to calls for Edinburgh’s tram system to be extended.

The Telegraph

• Supermarkets launch new petrol price warA supermarket forecourt war has erupted with Sainsbury's cutting the cost of unleaded by six pence a litre.    
• HS2 should be finished sooner, Patrick McLoughlin suggestsPatrick McLoughlin, the Transport Secretary, indicates he wants to speed up the delivery of the HS2 project.    
• Boris Johnson: 'King's Cross restored to glory'Mayor of London Boris Johnson officially opens London's newest public space, Kings Cross Square, the final part of the £550m redevelopment of King's Cross station.    
• Commuters to get Wi-FiTens of thousands of commuters could get free Wi-Fi under proposals unveiled by the Government.    
• A lack of speed on HS2Telegraph View: The Government has allowed the project to drift rather than ensuring that Whitehall pursues it with appropriate vigour    
• HS2 needs 'cross-party support'Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin says he expects new chairman of HS2 Ltd Sir David Higgins to deliver the rail project
• Councils using CCTV cameras to fine motorists to be made illegal within monthsTown halls are out to be outlawed from using CCTV cameras and

City AM

• Heathrow hits out at Gatwick in airport tussleHEATHROW has lashed out at its smaller London rival Gatwick on the final day of submissions to the government’s airports commission. Europe’s biggest airport by passenger traffic has today told the Davies Commission that 20 airlines have...

Daily Express

• Poor English skills of foreign pilots 'can contribute to accidents or serious incidents'FOREIGN pilots with poor English could be putting passengers at risk, airline regulators have claimed.
• Pilots admit to falling asleep while in the airMORE than half of pilots have fallen asleep in the cockpit it emerged yesterday.

Mail Online

• Train operators must pay passengers compensation for delays rules CourtEuropean railway operators must pay passengers compensation for delays - even if the cause is beyond the company's control, the bloc's top court decided today.
• One in six UK airline pilots has woken up in the cockpit to find their co-pilot asleepTwo pilots fell asleep on a British passenger plane last month, but the captain and co-pilot of the Virgin Atlantic Airbus A330 blamed their long shifts.

The Mirror

• Bus crash-for-cash gang staged fake accident with 26 friends on board 'writhing in agony'Twenty-six people were left ‘writing in agony’ after the bump while seven real passengers were left wondering what all the fuss was about

Network Rail

• First steps towards the Chase Line’s electric futureElectric trains on the Chase Line will move a step closer this Autumn as Network Rail starts work to electrify the railway between Walsall, Cannock and Rugeley Trent Valley.
• Waverley tours mark book launch
• Start of a new chapter for King’s Cross - London’s newest public space is declared openKing’s Cross Square is officially opened by Secretary of State for Transport, Mayor of London and Network Rail chief executiveNew 75,000 sq ft King’s Cross Square is the final part of the £550m redevelopment of King’s Cross station Redevelopment has helped to attract £2.2bn of private investment into a previously largely derelict and disused 67 acre site, including 2,000 new homes

Belfast Telegraph

• Car buyers boost consumer spendingConsumers spent an extra £661 million between April and June, lifted by purchases of cars which rose 4.5% on three months earlier.    

Birmingham Post

• Dunlop Aircraft Tyres handed £1.5m Government grant Project with Airbus to develop tougher and lighter tyres for A320 aeroplanes
• We WILL build HS2 high speed rail line, pledges David CameronPrime Minister shrugs off criticism of high speed rail, defends spending cuts and criticises Labour's fuel bill freeze in run-up to party conference.

Bristol Live

• The Bristol Post commented Legal challenge against Metro Bus is droppedArticle

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Fears that bus service cuts will see children walk three miles to school School bus routes in Gwynedd are under review as the council tries to plug a £32m funding gap

London Evening Standard

• HS2 must not become political football, says rail line’s new chief executiveThe new boss of HS2 today said his priority in turning around the project’s fortunes was to stop it being a “political football”.
• HS2 'not a political football' The High Speed 2 (HS2) railway line is vital to the future Britain's economy and cannot be used as a political football, the new boss of the project has said.

Manchester Evening News

• Gimme shelter: Tommy, 81, demands bus stop action to protect passengers from wind and rainTommy Walsh, 81, was fed up with getting a soaking as he waited for the 179 service at the bus stop in Withington.

Nottingham Evening Post

• Nottingham Post commented Watch tram bridge moving into placeMEMBERS of the public are invited to watch a giant tram bridge being moved into place outside the QMC.The 62-metre 1,000 tonne steel arched bridge will take trams from the city over the ring road and towards the University of Nottingham.Using state-of-the-art transporters, the bridge will be jacked up six feet by the end of the week and moved into position on Saturday evening.A special viewing area will be made available in the hospital's staff car park off South Road, from 8pm.Councillor Jane...

Sheffield Star

• Sheffield folk happy with bus services running on timeSheffield’s bus services are getting better and better – with more arriving on time, fewer customer complaints and rising passenger numbers.

The York Press

• Lendal Bridge closure working well, claim council chiefs CITY leaders have today claimed the controversial Lendal Bridge trial has worked well and led to less traffic on some major York roads in the month since it was introduced.

Wales Online

• David Cameron compares HS2 critics to people who opposed the building of the Severn BridgeAhead of the Conservative Party Conference, David Cameron reiterated his determination to fight for high speed rail and criticised Ed Miliband's energy policy

Yorkshire Post

• Cameron warns of HS2 ‘betrayal’ as Labour turns back the clocksDAVID Cameron has warned Labour it would be “betraying Yorkshire” and risks becoming “the party for the past” if it opposes the new high-speed rail line between London and the North.

Other Regional Press

• Council admits losing money on Olympic bus scheme DORSET County Council has admitted wasting money on a fleet of buses for the Olympics that was then removed from the county.

Bus and Coach.com

• Leeds trolleybus moves forwardPlans for the £250million Leeds trolleybus route – labelled New Generation Transport by its promoters -  reached a key stage last week with the submission of the application for a Transport and Works Act Order.
• Construction starts on Leigh buswayConstruction work has started on Greater Manchester’s guided busway.
• Matthews for First West of EnglandPAUL MATTHEWS, who has been interim managing director of First West of England since June, has now been confirmed as managing director of the business.
• Biofuel Enviro400s in CanterburyStagecoach has introduced six new ADL Enviro400s running on 100 per cent biofuel to its fleet in Canterbury.
• Cornwall operators to cut servicesThe two main bus operators in Cornwall, Western Greyhound and First, are cutting services.
• Preston bus station reprieveAfter a long battle by its supporters, Preston bus station has finally become a listed building.
• Disabled passenger wins bus court caseIn a decision with potentially serious implications for bus and coach operators, a judge at Leeds County Court has ruled that First was in breach of the Equality Act 2010 in its policy of “first come, first served” in relation to wheelchair users trying to get on its buses.
• Liverpool plans to remove bus lanesLiverpool city council will this week vote on a proposal by mayor Joe Anderson to suspend operation of all 24 of the city’s bus lanes for nine months from 21 October.
• Luton Dunstable Busway begins operationServices on the £91million Luton Dunstable Busway starts this week after the route was opened by transport minister Norman Baker.

Campaign for Better Transport

• Ed Balls and the politics of infrastructure26 September 2013: This week Ed Balls appeared to backtrack on Labour’s support for HS2. The politics of the next election were probably uppermost in his mind despite his backing for calls to get politicians out of infrastructure planning. read more

Global Rail News

• SSL awarded Great Western Main Line resignalling contractSignalling Solutions Limited (SSL), the Alstom/Balfour Beatty Rail joint venture company, has been awarded three contracts by Network Rail totalling around £140m to renew the signalling system controlling major areas[...]
• New ruling will force EU train operators to refund delayed passengersThe European Court of Justice has made a decisive ruling which will require train operators to refund delayed passengers even if the cause of the delay is out of its[...]
• Bombardier reveals new double-deck train for French regionsBombardier’s new double-deck EMU, the Regio 2N, carried its very first passengers during a trial run to mark a year since the start of dynamic testing. Officials and members of[...]
• Opening of square marks end of King’s Cross redevelopmentA £550 million redevelopment of King’s Cross has reached the end of the line with today’s official opening of the station’s new public square. King’s Cross Square is the next[...]
• New Class 377 enters service at London BridgeA new 10-car Bombardier Electrostar trainset has begun operating between London Bridge and West Croydon as the first of a new fleet of 26 trains ordered by operator Southern. The[...]

Middle East North Africa (MENA) Rail News

• $3.75bn Loan from China Helps Kenya Build RailwayThe Mombasa to Nairobi railway has had a cash injection of $3.75bn in a loan from China and should be complete by 2018. The standard gauge railway will cut journey times and increase capacity for intermodal trade via Mombasa. The railway is initially built between Kenya’s major port and capital city but is planned to […]The post $3.75bn Loan from China Helps Kenya Build Railway appeared first on MENA Rail News.
• GCC Gears Up For Regional Rail Network As Domestic Routes Forge Ahead$18 billion rail scheme closer than ever to getting on track Dubai, United Arab Emirates; 25 September 2013 – The recently awarded multi-billion dollar contracts for two of the Gulf’s biggest rail schemes signals a turn of fortune for the planned GCC rail network that hopes to address mounting urban mobility issues confronting the region. […]The post GCC Gears Up For Regional Rail Network As Domestic Routes Forge Ahead appeared first on MENA Rail News.

Aviation Industry

• Walsh calls for Heathrow bosses to be replacedIAG chief hits out at airport over higher charges to airlines
• Easyjet expands operations in GermanyAirline will open base at Hamburg and expand at Berlin
• Fastjet postpones first international serviceLaunch of South African route has to be put back due to red tape

Other News Sources

• HS2 fails to address rail capacity and must be abandoned, says TPADespite the costs, High Speed Rail 2 (HS2) will not address the most pressing capacity issues on the UK rail network, a new study by the TaxPayer's Alliance suggests.
• Energy and transport form bulk of infra workA new map of infrastructure projects in development or pre procurement stages shows that most are in energy and transport.
• WIZZ AIR CONFIRMS THAT LOW-COST AIR TRAFFIC IS GOOD FOR LITHUANIAWizz Air, the largest low-cost airline group in Central and Eastern Europe*, today reacted to media reports that cited claims made by the General Manager of Vilnius International Airport, that...