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

Monday, 14 October 2013

BBC News

• Line works planned by Network RailNetwork Rail confirms it is to carry out a programme of works to renew and strengthen parts of the Stirling - Alloa - Kincardine line.
• China to invest in British airportChancellor George Osborne is in China to sign a £800m deal to build shops, offices and parkland at Manchester Airport.

The Guardian

• Railing against rail fares Andrew Myers challenged his train company, First Capital Connect, and highlighted the absurd rail fares we suffer

The Herald

• Glasgow Subway is to convert leaking water into heat sourceSCOTLAND'S only subway system is at the centre of a pioneering scheme to warm its stations by using the water leaking into its tunnels as a sustainable heat source.
• Strathclyde is worst area in UK for drink-driving among over-50sTHE former Strathclyde police region recorded the highest number of drink-drivers over the age of 50 anywhere in the UK during the last three years, according to new figures.
• Rail delays as line is reinforcedPASSENGERS face ­disruption because Network Rail is to carry out works to renew and strengthen parts of one of Scotland's newest rail routes.

The Independent

• It's our 'beautiful communist bicycles' that attract Chinese students to London, says Boris Johnson The Mayor of London was mobbed by Chinese students with camera phones in Beijing’s fashionable art district, on the first day of a six-day trade mission.    

Mail Online

• Umbrellas? We've had a few! Inside Transport for London's lost property office containing thousands of items from capital's tubes, trains and busesAlmost 250,000 items are handed were handed in to the Transport for London lost property offices in Baker Street last year.
• ANDREW PIERCE: My miracle, by MP who fell under a trainWorkaholic Tory MP David Ruffley has spoken for the first time about how he survived falling under the Gatwick Express train at London’s Victoria station.

London Evening Standard

• Osborne hails airport investmentChancellor George Osborne today hailed an £800 million plan for Chinese investment in Manchester Airport as evidence the Government's plan to bring in more international investment into Britain was working.
• New aviation minister ‘against third runway’The new aviation minister opposes a third runway opponent and once “twinned” his Yorkshire farm with a village near Heathrow in a tree-planting ceremony.

Manchester Evening News

• Airport City deal will pave the way for direct Manchester-China flight to be secured News of a Chinese construction giant's involvement in the £800m Airport City scheme could be followed by a flurry of job creation announcements before Christmas.

Wales Online

• Heads of Valleys Road needs safety cameras not dualling, say green campaignersWhile motoring groups are backing the dualling of the busy Heads of the Valleys Road, evidence suggests the route could be made safer with cameras

Other Regional Press

• Local worry over Network Rail plans MP Greg Barker, is backing Norman’s Bay residents in their battle with Network Rail to prevent a change to the level crossing gates creating a new “rat run.”
• New TfL scheme for cyclists to register bikes A campaign to get cyclists to register their bikes has been launched by Transport for London.
• Cornish Guardian published Work on £1.8m Newquay Strategic Route delayed after costs...WORK on the £1.8 million Newquay Strategic Route (NSR), designed as the backbone of a major housing development, has been delayed by a year after costs soared to £3.3 million.The road, which will link the A392 at Hendra Holiday Park with the A3058 and A3059 to the north-east of the town, is due to be completed by 2030 and will act as the main route through the Duchy of Cornwall's 3,750-home 'Nansledan' development.Phase one of three, aimed at connecting the A392 and the railway, was...
• The Cornishman published Oversize lorries 'killing Ludgvan Churchtown village'HEAVY trucks and lorries, in some cases weighing up to 40 tonnes, are making life a misery for some West Cornwall villagers, they say.Residents of Ludgvan Churchtown are demanding immediate action to stop the lorries that struggle to negotiate a narrow chicane by the church.Henry Mayers, who lives right next to the pinch point, said he had photographed numerous near-misses and cases where lorries had got stuck.Mr Mayers called the situation horrendous but said he didn't blame Cormac, whose...
• New rail franchise includes requirement for more night trains to serve Luton AirportBritain’s biggest ever rail franchise will include a requirement for more trains to serve Luton Airport Parkway station.
• MPs concerns over HS2 rail linkThe HS2 rail line linking London to Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds should be put on hold, a powerful Commons committee has recommended as it warned of “serious shortcomings” in the project’s research
• Kent County Council demands improvements to trouble-hit new hospital transport service run by NSL Care Services The company in charge of taking patients to hospitals around the county has admitted there are still shortcomings in the service.

Bus and Coach.com

• CPT promotes West Midlands coachingA “Get on board the coach” campaign has been launched by CPT’s West Midlands Region.
• Coach ticket sales at the Post OfficeNational Express has signed up the Post Office as an agent to sell coach tickets at over 11,000 Post Office branches nationwide.
• Fresh attack on Nexus plansStagecoach is stepping up its battle against plans for quality contracts in Tyne and Wear through the use of the internet.
• Arriva abandons AberystwythArriva is pulling out of Aberystwyth, closing its depot in the town and three outstations with the anticipated loss of 46 jobs.
• MetroCitys for EpsomOptare has secured its first order for the MetroCity, with 12 to be delivered to Quality Line, the bus division of Epsom Coaches Group, early next year.
• Arriva unleashes its Yorkshire TigerA month after taking control of the former Centrebus joint venture operation in Yorkshire, Arriva this week unveiled a new identity for the bulk of the business, Yorkshire Tiger.
• London Assembly accepts cashless busesThe London Assembly transport committee is asking Transport for London to mitigate the potentially adverse effects on bus passengers of its plan to stop accepting cash on buses.
• EYMS sells Finglands' coachesFollowing the decision to sell the Finglands bus business to First, EYMS Group is now selling the Finglands coach operation to Bullocks Coaches of Cheadle.
• Top performers named in UK Bus AwardsThe shortlist for this year's UK Bus Awards, released today, contains more than 100 people, projects and organisations.
• Kramer announces more Better Bus AreasFollowing Sheffield’s wining the first award of Better Bus Funding earlier this year, Nottingham, Merseyside, York and the West of England Partnership have now been granted the status along with £16,5m funding, on top of the £18,5million granted to Sheffield.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• HEATHROW 'IS AT FULL CAPACITY' Heathrow Airport believes it needs more room to expand, due to limited space for new flights.
• CROSSRAIL: FIRST TUNNEL CONSTRUCTED Crossrail has announced the first of its tunnels has been constructed.

Other News Sources

• MP Mary Creagh’s new role as shadow transport ministerWakefield MP Mary Creagh has been appointed shadow transport minister. It means she has immediately faced questions about controversial plans for a high-speed rail network, train fares, managed motorway schemes and crumbling roads.
• Southern Rail bosses dismiss spoof employee newsletter as "poor taste" Rail bosses have dismissed a spoof employee newsletter that mocks management, company policy and treatment of staff as poor taste.