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

Friday, 13 December 2013

BBC News

• M4 relief road 'would destroy' woodsA new motorway south of Newport would put hundreds of years of natural heritage at stake by wiping out woodlands, it is claimed.
• HS2 project essential to UK, say MPsThe HS2 high-speed rail project is essential for the UK's future and the potential economic gains outweigh any risks, MPs say.
• Engineering firm creates 27 new jobsA Kilrea-based engineering firm is creating 27 new jobs as part of a £3.6m investment aimed at winning new business in the aviation industry.
• VIDEO: New-tech warns drivers of cyclistsA device that attaches to buses and alerts drivers to cyclists, even in a blind spot, claims it can tell cyclists from other road users.
• VIDEO: Clapham crash victims rememberedTributes were paid to the 35 people who died in the Clapham rail crash 25 years ago at a memorial service in London.
• One Thames crossing option droppedFurther work will be carried out on two options for a new Thames crossing, the government confirms.

Financial Times

• Virgin affirms rail links but cuts stakeVirgin reaffirms commitment to joint venture on West Coast mainline, despite plans to sharply cut its stake in bid vehicle for East Coast tender
• MPs call for HS2 to be built from both endsMPs call for revision of HS2 plans so that construction can start from northern and southern ends at same time so as to bring forward 2033 completion date

The Scotsman

• Edinburgh lorry drivers to get cycling lessonsLORRY drivers in the Scottish capital are to be put through cycling lessons as part of an attempt to make them more aware of the dangers two-wheeled road users face.

The Telegraph

• Motorists warned over bad dieselProblems with diesel sold on British forecourts could cause thousands of unexpected breakdowns this year, the RAC warns    
• Cameron: HS2 opponents should see 'bigger picture'David Cameron says people who oppose the HS2 line should forget their private grievances and look at the 'bigger picture'    

Mail Online

• A little fog causes misery for millions of travellersWhen virtually every other airport in the world continues to operate in all but the most extreme weather conditions, why do the British ones go to pieces?
• Tenth person dies following Glasgow pub helicopter crashJoe Cusker, 59, of Cambuslang, South Lanarkshire (pictured) died on Thursday in Glasgow Royal Infirmary. He is the seventh person who was inside the bar to have died.

This is Money

• Iconic bike maker Triumph Motorcycles suffers a loss of £900,000 after making £15.7million last yearTurnover increased 7 per cent to £368.6million, but expensive overseas investments and unfavourable currency exchange rates wiped out this year’s profits.

Network Rail

• New campaign to bring London station escalator falls downA new CCTV and poster campaign launched today to coincide with the busy festive period aims to reduce the hundreds of incidents each year involving people slipping or falling on railway station escalators.

Birmingham Mail

• Midlands Air Ambulance grounded over Glasgow crash safety fears Bond has stopped all flights by its fleet of 22 EC135 helicopters in the UK as a precaution while the issue is examined
• Parking and traffic plan demanded for Queen Elizabeth Hospital expansion Hospital plans will only get go ahead if full transport strategy is put forward.

Bolton News

• North West Air Ambulance fleet grounded after fault discovered AIR ambulances were grounded yesterday after a fault was discovered on a North West Air Ambulance.

London Evening Standard

• Helicopters return to service Air ambulance and police helicopters are returning to service across the UK, after the model of helicopter which crashed into a pub killing ten people was suspended when a fault with the fuel gauge was detected on a flight.
• HS2 essential for UK, insist MPs It is "essential for the UK" for the HS2 high-speed rail project to go ahead, a report by MPs said today.

Manchester Evening News

• Plane landing at Manchester surges skywards after pilot mistakenly thought another plane was on runwayThe Monarch Airlines flight from Lanzarote was coming into land when the 'go-around' – a common procedure – took place.

Northern Echo

• Building of HS2 should start from the North say MPs THE North must not have to wait 20 years for high-speed rail to arrive, a committee of MPs says today.

The York Press

• Rural bus services in North Yorkshire under threat CUTS to village bus services could hit some of North Yorkshire’s most vulnerable people and increase rural isolation, campaigners have warned.

Blackpool Gazette

• Bombshell cuts to ravage bus servicesA dozen bus services across the Fylde coast could be cut back as part of plans to shed £3.8m from Lancashire County Council’s budget.
• Air ambulances grounded as ‘precaution’Three emergency response helicopters that serve the Fylde coast have been grounded.

Crewe Chronicle

• HS2 Ltd to visit Crewe for consultation on High Speed Rail Consultation on Phase Two at Crewe Alex Football Stadium

Daventry Express

• Improvements on M1 to startWork on the M1 Junction 19 Improvement Scheme near Catthorpe will start in January, Roads Minster Robert Goodwill has announced.

Peterborough Telegraph

• ‘North Bank barriers won’t bring back our Hannah but they are a start’The father of teenager Hannah Yates, killed in a crash along the North Bank, a notorious accident black spot near Peterborough, has said more needs to be done to improve safety despite barriers being installed on the road.
• Support for Bourges Boulevard redesignPublic support for a major development of Peterborough city centre looks to have secured vital backing from many residents.

Other Regional Press

• East Grinstead Courier and Observer published Christmas misery predicted on East Grinstead trainsRAIL users face "aggravation and chaos" over Christmas as the town's station becomes a temporary rail junction for thousands of passengers.Emergency bus and rail staff have had to be drafted in to cope with the predicted increase in demand for services - and one rail expert is warning people not to travel unless they have to.A combination of work on a new platform at Gatwick and improvement works on the Brighton Mainline means there will be no direct trains in either...
• Gas leak repairs cause major tailbacks for motorists MOTORISTS will face delays again today as emergency gas works block part of Botley Road in Oxford.
• Grimsby Telegraph commented Grimsby Bus Station to close in January as £6m redevelopmen...GRIMSBY Bus Station will close in the New Year as work to redevelop the Riverhead area gets underway.In a major milestone in the £6 million project to transform Grimsby town centre, the site will close from 7.30am on Monday, January 6, with all bus services operating from recently constructed temporary stops and shelters in Town Hall Street, East Street and Town Hall Square.Pedestrian routes to the temporary stops from Freshney Place shopping centre will be well signposted.And in the...
• Drink drivers targeted DRINK drivers were being targeted in a co-ordinated day of action by community speedwatch and roads policing teams across Wiltshire yesterday.
• Honda Civic unveiled A NEW car, designed and manufactured entirely in Swindon, rolled off the production line yesterday, to much fanfare.
• Lawyers warn over Newport M4 Relief Road LAWYERS have written to transport minister Edwina Hart warning her the Welsh Government is likely to face legal action over the M4 Relief Road.
• £10m loan revamp for Cardiff Airport announced IMPROVEMENTS will be made to Cardiff airport’s terminal building this winter.
• Bus users warned ‘use it or lose it’ by county council’IT REALLY is a case of use it or lose it’, is the message from the executive member for transport at Hampshire County Council.
• Bus services face £3.8m Sunday and evening cutsEvening and Sunday bus services across Lancashire could lose their subsidies in a huge cost-cutting exercise.
• New fleet of buses launched by First Dorset at Weymouth Pavilion A NEW fleet of buses has been launched following a multi-million pound investment in the region.
• Changes ahead in Weymouth road system as council chiefs bow to pressure COUNCIL chiefs are to finally act on concerns and make changes to Weymouth’s under-fire traffic system.
• Go-ahead for Kenilworth railway station after funding is approved New station will be on Priory Road and could be open by December 2016.

Airportwatch

• cameron-holds-airport-summit-as-row-looms

Bus and Coach.com

• First rejects US sale callFirstGroup has rejected a call to pull out of North America from shareholder Sandell Asset Management, describing Sandell's proposals as  “not compelling” and containing “a number of structural flaws and inaccuracies”.
• US growth boosts Stagecoach profitsRevenue at Stagecoach for the six months to 31 October was up 5 per cent on the same period last year at £1,473million (2012: £1,403million).

Global Rail News

• Mulheim places order for more Bombardier tramsMulheim transport authority MVG has placed an order with Bombardier for 10 new Flexity trams worth €27 million. The new batch of three-car, bi-directional trams will complement five vehicles already[...]

Rail Technology Magazine

• Siemens Rail Automation Supports Whitby Heritage Scheme Following the contract award in October, Siemens Rail Automation is now working in close partnership with North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR) to deliver upgrades to Whitby station.

Railnews

• Station retailing defies High Street gloom Trading figures at 520 retail units in Network Rail-managed stations have shown another spurt as Christmas approaches. New statistics from Network Rail for July to September show that there was 4.74 per cent growth in like-for-like sales compared to the same period in 2012. High street sales, as reported by the British Retail Consortium, grew by 1.5 per cent over the same period.

Aviation Industry

• American Airlines orders up to 150 Embraer E-175s and 70 Bombardier CRJ900s American Airlines Group has signed a firm purchase agreement for 60 Embraer E-175 jets with options for another 90 E-175s, as well as a firm order for 30 Bombardier CRJ900 regional jets with options for 40 more aircraft. read more
• Delta-Virgin venture poised for take-offTwo airlines will begin full transatlantic partnership on January 1
• Gatwick makes warning on new runwaysAirport may not build second runway if Heathrow is allowed to expand

Other News Sources

• HS2 'only way' to solve rail capacity issues, say MPsMPs have backed the government’s strategic case for High Speed Rail (HS2), arguing that the line’s construction is “the only way” to solve the problem of rail capacity.
• Expansion of Rail Baltica is 'top priority' of Lithuanian governmentThe expansion of railway is “the top priority” for the EU, and that is why Lithuania is involved in a €26 billion rail project which will link Finland, the Baltic States and Poland together.
• Emergency service helicopters grounded for safety checksOn the day that a tenth person dies as a result of the helicopter crash on a pub in Glasgow, the company that operated the helicopter grounds all of its fleet of 22 EC135 helicopters.
• Special report: slow down on 20mph 'victory for common sense' The brakes have been put on plans to roll out 20mph speed limits across the city.
• Cycle and bus lane deemed a success A bus and cycle lane has been deemed a success after officials claimed car use was down by more than 10%.
• Air ambulance still patrolling skies in Sussex Sussex's air ambulance is still patrolling the skies amid grounding of other models of helicopter.

Other Subscription Services

• Two options remain for Lower Thames Crossing One of three options for a new Lower Thames crossing has been rejected by government.Following a public consultation the Department for Transport says a proposal to connect the A2 Swanscombe...
• Kenilworth railway station cleared to open in 2016 Construction of a new railway station at Kenilworth in Warwickshire is set to go ahead after the government agreed to contribute 5m towards the 11.3m cost of the project.The Department...