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Friday, 25 October 2013

BBC News

• High Speed 2 extra funding for Wales, Treasury concedes Wales will receive tens of millions of pounds in extra funding as a result of the High Speed 2 rail link, the Treasury has conceded.
• First Great Western cleaners stage second walkout Cleaners for train operator First Great Western (FGW) have started their second 24-hour walkout in a dispute over a 2% pay offer and zero-hour contracts.
• Trams option proposed for AberdeenTrams could return to the streets of Aberdeen under proposals revealed by the city council.
• Airport car park plan given approvalFields near homes will be turned into a 9,000 space car park after councillors approve Manchester Airport's plans.
• HS2 tunnel confirmed for west LondonA section of the HS2 high speed rail link in west London will run in a tunnel, the government confirms.
• Electric cycle hire for HaringeyElectric bikes could soon be available for hire in a north London borough as part of the cycle-hire scheme.

Financial Times

• Tesla admits $22bn market cap is ‘high’The electric car manufacturer, which expects to sell just 21,000 cars this year, is worth about $22bn, roughly half the value of Ford
• Stobart wheels out biomass strategyIain Ferguson, the group’s new chairman, has announced a focus on businesses that are capable of delivering significant growth
• Labour to consider rail nationalisationMary Creagh, the shadow transport secretary, plans to launch a review of her party’s policy on the industry within a year, with nothing ruled out

The Herald

• Details of East Coast rail service outlinedDetails of the kind of service passengers can expect when the government owned East Coast line returns to the private sector are being laid out today.
• Mandelson criticises 'trophy' HS2 projectFORMER business secretary Lord Mandelson has branded plans for a high speed train line between London and the north a

The Telegraph

• Lord Mandelson: HS2 will 'suck the life' out of the country's rail networkThe HS2 project will
• Stobart paid chairwoman £1.2m for 71 days' workHaulage firm gave former executive chairman £1.13m payoff plus
• First class seats could be ditched to tackle overcrowdingPassengers could see number of standard seats increased at expense of scarcely-used first class, The Telegraph can disclose    

Birmingham Mail

• Rail users braced for chaos during £81m West Coast Main Line upgrade Huge operation set to close nine miles of track at Watford next year
• Huge £11m revamp of Birmingham's Chester Road gets go-ahead Decision hailed as Government gives thumbs-up to improvement works beginning next Spring

Birmingham Post

• Lord Mandelson: Labour only backed high speed rail to "trump" the Tories Labour backed high speed rail to

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Rail partners to meet Minister Two members of the Leeds, Lancaster and Morecambe Community Rail Partnership are to meet Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin.
• Leeds-Bradford named best airport by UK airlines Leeds-Bradford Airport has been named best airport with up to six million passengers at the annual Airport Operators Association (AOA) awards ceremony.

London Evening Standard

• Buy a car as you shop at WestfieldShoppers heading for the giant Westfield mall in Shepherds Bush can today add “new car” to their shopping list of food and clothes.
• Boris bikes to go electric next year as part of major expansion of London cycle schemeBoris Johnson is to spark an electric bike revolution by introducing a new rental scheme on the streets of London next year.
• East Coast franchise plans outlinedDetails of the kind of service passengers can expect when a publicly run key rail line returns to the private sector are being laid out today by the Government.

Manchester Evening News

• Airport car park given go-ahead, despite safety fears from residents Manchester council agreed the proposals at its latest planning meeting, prompting shock from local residents.
• Woman's anger at rail bosses as she's told she must get off her mobility scooter to get on trainsJackie Whitehead, 49, normally drives straight onto trains via a ramp – but has been told to get off, fold it up and climb on with First TransPennine Express services

Sheffield Star

• Dark nights safety offer for South YorkshirePedestrians and cyclists in South Yorkshire are being urged to make themselves visible to other road users as the nights draw in.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Leeds urged to prepare for HS2WEST Yorkshire must start developing better transport links and improve skills now if the area is to reap the maximum rewards from the arrival of high speed rail, according to a new report.
• Leeds bus lane fines hit drivers for £1.2mLeeds City Council raked in £1.2m from bus lane fines last year, the Yorkshire Evening Post can reveal.

Other Regional Press

• Teesside cyclists and walkers face £1,000 fine if they use Morton Grange crossing near NunthorpeCrossing on the Middlesbrough to Whitby rail line is now padlocked with prominent warnings against any member of the public trespassing onto it

Bus and Coach.com

• Reassuring back-up wins KB businessKB Coaches of Stonehouse, Gloucestershire, has purchased a new 10m Volvo B7R with 41-seat Sunsundegui body.
• New coach network comingDeutsche Post and automobile club ADAC are launching a network of coach routes on 1 November under the ADAC Postbus brand.
• Hybrid expansion at NettbussNettbuss has added 17 Volvo 7900 hybrids to its fleet in Oslo.
• Deveron fleet reducedDeveron Coaches has had its O licence authorisation reduced from 58 to 42 vehicles, a 28 per cent cut, after Scottish traffic commissioner Joan Aitken told the company’s directors that they had let her down “in a very bad way” after appearing at a third public inquiry.
• New Citaros for WashingtonGo North East has a new name and new buses for its service connecting Houghton-le-Spring, Washington, Concord and Heworth.
• Stagecoach Sheffield biomethane planThe buses in Sheffield which are to be converted to run on biomethane using money from this month’s Clean Bus Technology Fund awards will be five Stagecoach Optare Solos.
• Minister questions Dublin Bus futureWith no scope for further negotiation on pay and conditions at Dublin Bus, Irish transport minister Leo Varadkar warns that the company faces a “very stark” outlook if workers continue to reject current cost-saving proposals.
• Punctuality and seats mark good valueGetting a seat on punctual, frequent and reliable buses are factors which most influence passengers’ views on value for money.
• Bus lane mayor challenges ArrivaAll of Liverpool’s bus lanes were suspended this week in a nine-month trial promoted by mayor Joe Anderson.
• First to appeal disability rulingFirst is seeking leave to appeal against last month’s court ruling that its policy towards disabled passengers is in breach of the Equality Act 2010.

Global Rail News

• Timeline set for Bordeaux-Toulouse/Dax TGVFrench Transport Minister Frederic Cuvillier has outlined the proposed route and construction schedule of a new high-speed TGV line between Bordeaux and Toulouse. Dubbed the ’Grand Railway Project’, the line[...]
• Trains return to Waterloo International for first time in 6 yearsWaterloo International has partially reopened to passenger traffic for the first time in six years. Under an agreement with the Department for Transport (DfT), South West Trains can now use[...]
• DB Regio to take over operation of Bavaria routeDB Regio has been awarded a 12-year contract to operate trains in Germany’s Kahlgrund region. DB will take over from Hessesche Landesbahn, which has run services between Schöllkrippen-Hanau for the[...]
• Queensland Rail to introduce raft of new services in 2014Queensland Rail has announced a considerable ’overhaul’ of its timetable which will add more than 200 extra daily services from 2014. More trains will mean extra peak Gold Coast services,[...]
• Video: New York subway engineers still repairing Sandy damage a year onNew York’s subway operator MTA has released a video showing the ongoing repair work being carried out on the Hurricane Sandy-damaged Montague Tubes tunnels. “The scope of work for the[...]
• Tenders to be issued in December for world’s longest immersed rail/road tunnelThe organisation leading the construction of the world’s longest immersed rail and road tunnel between Germany and Denmark have confirmed plans to launch two major tenders by the end of[...]
• Serco handed five-year extension to operate Dubai MetroSerco is to continue to operate the Dubai Metro until 2019 after being awarded a contract extension worth around £355 million. The agreement, which was signed today (October 24) between[...]
• RailStaff Award winners: Part IVJosie Borg wins Rail Manager of the Year London Underground’s Josie Borg has won this year’s Rail Manager of the Year Award at the rail industry’s national RailStaff Awards 2013.[...]

Middle East North Africa (MENA) Rail News

• 58th International Building Construction Exhibition24-26 June 2014 Abuja, Nigeria Visit Website The Exhibition Where the Leading Brands of Construction Industry Meet With over 57 years of construction experiance in Nigeria, Federation of Construction Industry (FOCI) has become a reference point for sustained excellence in the construction industry http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPsRf0__tLM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJfEaggaU4c For more information, please contact: Aytug Demir International Sales Representative […]The post 58th International Building Construction Exhibition appeared first on MENA Rail News.
• Rolling Stock Fleet Maintenance Cost Reduction 201422-23 January 2014 ILEC Conference Centre, London, UK Visit Website As we continue to grapple with the challenge of improving fleet reliability and availability with reduced maintenance budgets and an increasing demand for traffic, there has never been a greater need for TOCs and ROSCOs to drive efficiencies in rolling stock fleet maintenance. The next […]The post Rolling Stock Fleet Maintenance Cost Reduction 2014 appeared first on MENA Rail News.
• Sheikh Selects “Vaulted Spaces” Design for Metro StationsHH Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani Visits Qatar Rail and Selects “Vaulted Spaces” Design for Metro Stations Eng. Abdulla Abdul Aziz Al-Subai: We are proud of HH visit to Qatar Rail, as we consider it as an encouragement to us all Al Muhannadi : works have started in 20 out of the 25 station […]The post Sheikh Selects “Vaulted Spaces” Design for Metro Stations appeared first on MENA Rail News.
• GCC Network to Consider Intelligent RailwaysAhead of the MEED railway conference in Abu Dhabi, there is talk of using intelligent railway systems to improve efficiency, safety and comfort of passengers. Intelligent railway networks involve a range of integrated systems. Signalling and Automatic Train Protection are mature technologies widely used in Western Europe and the Americas. These ensure that trains stop […]The post GCC Network to Consider Intelligent Railways appeared first on MENA Rail News.
• Clyde & Co strengthens MENA corporate team with partner hire09 October 2013 International law firm Clyde & Co is pleased to announce the appointment of Imran Sami as a corporate partner in its MENA corporate group, bringing regional corporate partner numbers to 14 and total regional partner numbers to 36. Imran will be based in Clyde & Co’s Dubai office. Imran brings 18 years’ […]The post Clyde & Co strengthens MENA corporate team with partner hire appeared first on MENA Rail News.
• The Saudi railways expansion programme: contracts gather momentumMENA Legal Update, October 2013 Written by Ben Cowling & Henry Clarke The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is arguably the world’s most active rail market, with significant heavy rail and metro developments. This update surveys the current state of various railway expansion projects in Saudi Arabia in light of many recently passed and imminent bid […]The post The Saudi railways expansion programme: contracts gather momentum appeared first on MENA Rail News.

Railnews

• New back seat role for train operators' association The Association of Train Operating Companies has ceased to be one of the public voices of the railway. It has been announced that its role in representing a substantial part of the industry passed to the Rail Delivery Group today. ATOC chief executive Michael Roberts has been named as the new director-general of the RDG, succeeding Graham Smith.

Other News Sources

• Funding to improve road safety and congestion in Birmingham unveiled£8 million of funding will be available to improve Birmingham's A452 layout in a bid to tackle congestion, the Department of Transport has announced.

Other Subscription Services

• Slimmed down ATOC transfers resources to RDG A beefed up Rail Delivery Group is to assume responsibility for policy formulation and communications on behalf of Britain's railway industry.Staff in the Association of Train Operating Companies'...
• Trans Wilts rail link set for December launch A new Trans Wilts rail service linking Westbury to Swindon and calling at Trowbridge, Melksham and Chippenham looks set to start in December after Wiltshire County Council agreed to pay a two year...
• HS2 tunnels confirmed for Northolt and Bromford Additional High Speed 2 tunnels in north London and outside Birmingham have been formally agreed, transport minister Robert Goodwill announced on Thursday (24 October).In May 2013 transport...
• DfT signs off Birmingham and Leeds road projects Final Approval has been granted for road schemes in Birmingham and Leeds.Work can now start on improvements to the road layout of the A452 Chester Road in Birmingham after transport minister Susan...
• HS2 Midlands Local Connectivity Package agreed West Midlands transport authority Centro has promised to deliver a 2bn package of transport improvements to complement High Speed 2 and says it has so far lined up 320m of the funding...