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

Tuesday, 17 December 2013

BBC News

• VIDEO: Firm wins order for new microcarsA Nottinghamshire company takes on new staff after winning an order to make what is thought to be the smallest production car in the world.
• The bike test that shows what we're really likeWhy cycling shows what we're like at work
• Tube medic team to be halvedA team of medics used on the London Underground to help speed up the response when passengers fall ill, is to be cut by more than a half.
• Plans for 20mph zones on trunk roadsSpeed limits of just 20mph could be introduced on five sections of Scotland's trunk road network, as consultation on the plan begins.
• Car tax application 'now simpler'Motorists no longer need to find their motor insurance certificate when taxing their vehicle, under changes that come into force on Monday.
• Boeing in record $10bn share buybackBoeing authorises a $10bn (£6.1bn) buyback of its own shares, the largest in the company's history, in addition to raising its quarterly dividend.
• Airport expansion options set outThe Airports Commission is due to publish its interim report setting out the options for expanding UK aviation capacity.

Financial Times

• Boeing boosts dividend and buybacksShare repurchases exceed expectations for 2013, four years after Boeing suspended buybacks because of overruns with the 787 Dreamliner programme
• Asia’s budget airlines seek collaborationThe moves are a sign that the region’s low-cost carriers are feeling the strain of excess capacity and fierce competition on the same routes
• Heathrow on list for runway expansionGatwick and Thames Estuary also included in Airports Commission report on flight capacity, but Stansted left off

The Guardian

• Heathrow expansion - Airports Commission publishes interim report: Politics live blogRolling coverage of the publication of the Airports Commission's interim report, Sir Howard Davies's press conference and interviews, and reaction to the recommendationsAndrew Sparrow

The Independent

• Heathrow may need two more runways, says MP Louise Ellman Heathrow needs a third runway and possibly a fourth, the head of the Commons Transport Committee has said.    

Reuters News

• Eurocopter issues safety alert over EC135 fuel gauge errorLONDON (Reuters) - Eurocopter issued a safety alert to operators of its EC135 helicopters on Monday after aircraft from the same fleet as one that crashed into a Scottish pub last month killing 10 people and some in Europe were found with a fuel gauge defect.

City AM

• Business groups speak out for extra runwaysBUSINESS groups have urged the government to press ahead with airport expansion no matter what the Davies Commission recommends today. Sir Howard Davies’ panel is this morning due to set out a handful of shortlisted options for adding...

Mail Online

• Rail firm East Coast freezes 43% of its fares for 2014Government-run East Coast, which runs to the North East and Edinburgh, will also freeze fares on tickets booked in advance for 64 per cent of all journeys.
• MPs backing for Heathrow expansion 'is a stitch up': Campaign group say rAirports tsar Sir Howard Davies is expected to recommend at least one extra runway at the West London site in his report on expanding capacity options to be published today.

Network Rail

• Network Rail awards £1.2bn infrastructure dealsNetwork Rail has nominated its four preferred suppliers for framework agreements worth a total of £1.2bn covering enhancements, buildings and civils work on its Anglia, Kent, Sussex and Wessex routes over the next five years.

Birmingham Post

• Electric cars and floods - a shocking problem? Do electric cars and water mix? Are anxiety levels increased in stop/start traffic when there isn't the reassuring rumbling of a petrol engine at idle?

Liverpool Echo

• Delight as supercar plant opens in cityBriggs Automotive Company currently working on only roadworthy single-seater sports car in production today

London Evening Standard

• Lorries to trial top-down CCTV system to cut London bike deathsLorries are to be fitted with CCTV cameras that give the driver a bird’s-eye view of the vehicle in a pilot scheme to boost cycle safety in London, it was announced today.
• Mayor launches 11th-hour bid to keep Boris Island airport scheme afloatBoris Johnson today launched an 11th-hour bid to keep alive his vision for a four-runway superhub airport in the Thames Estuary.

Sheffield Star

• East Coast announces fares price freezeEast Coast will freeze more than half of its fares for journeys to and from London from Thursday 2 January.
• Trains on track for an upgradeRail services in South Yorkshire could be in line for a major upgrade to lines.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• New bus service set to link north-east towns next yearA new bus service linking two north-east regeneration towns will launch next year after Aberdeenshire Council agreed to fund the plans.

This Is Local London Network

• Trio take Boris bike up French mountain and back to London in 24 hours Three men – 700 miles – 24 hours – one Boris bike. Could you do it? Cycle buddies Ian Laurie, Matthew Winstone, and Robert Holden did – and scaled Ventoux, the scariest peak on the Tour de France into the bargain.

Wales Online

• Honour your pledge on Welsh rail franchise future, Labour is toldArriva Trains Wales was awarded a 15-year franchise by the UK Government in 2003 under the system set up when British Rail was privatised

Yorkshire Post

• Gridlock costing country billionsGRIDLOCK in urban areas is 
costing car-commuting households £4.4bn a year, according to a report which analysed traffic 
jams in Yorkshire’s four biggest cities.

Bucks Free Press

• TV crew films villagers clocking speeding cars A GROUP of volunteers who have taken to the streets to try and slow down motorists were filmed by a TV crew today.

Doncaster Free Press

• Sunday roadworks in Doncaster town centre planned for next monthWork to replace the carriageway surface on Thorne Road, Hall Gate, Waterdale and Chequer Road is set to commence on Sunday, January 19 2014.     
• East Coast announces fares price freezeEast Coast will freeze more than half of its fares for journeys to and from London from Thursday 2 January.    

East Anglian Daily Times

• Suffolk: Port traffic “may not be better off” as a result of A14 upgradeTraffic travelling from the Suffolk ports “may not be better off” as a result of the A14 upgrade unless a completely new road is built, a transport academic has claimed.
• Stansted: Commission ‘to recommend that airport is not preferred site for expansion’ - reportsPlans for a second runway at Stansted Airport will not form part of the Government’s future blueprint for aviation expansion, it was reported last night.

Peterborough Telegraph

• Work to install North Bank safety barrier startsMonday 11.45am: Work to install crash barriers on the North Bank road has begun today (16 December) following a spate of accidents on the road.

Other Regional Press

• East Grinstead Courier and Observer published £50m grant for station revampTHE Government has pledged £50 million to kick-start the redevelopment of Gatwick Airport's railway station.The money has been pledged after calls to improve transport links to the airport.A large-scale redevelopment, costing up to £180 million, has been proposed to make the station more suitable for passengers with luggage. A paperless ticket system could also be introduced.Once the revamp is complete the proposal is to rename the station The Gatwick Gateway.The funding...
• Thames estuary airport in north Kent 'will not be cleared for take off' in aviation review by Sir Howard DaviesAn aviation review for the south east is published today, with speculation that controversial plans for a hub airport in north Kent will be grounded.
• Reopening of east-west railway line between Cambridge and Bedford wins Government backingTHE reopening of a railway line between Cambridge and Bedford has been backed by the Government.
• Travellers park up in Bedford's new £500k council car parkA NEW public car park, which cost the tax-payer half a million pounds, was taken over by a group of travellers at the weekend.

Global Rail News

• Ministers launch first high-speed Paris-Barcelona serviceTransport ministers from France and Spain have launched the first joint-operated high-speed train service between Paris and Barcelona. French Transport Minister Frédéric Cuvillier and Spain’s Minister of Public Works, Ana[...]
• Deutsche Bahn announces €4.6bn infrastructure investment in 2014Deutsche Bahn (DB) is to spend €4.6 billion in 2014 on upgrades to Germany’s national rail network, the company has said. Announcing the investment plan, DB said that throughout the[...]
• Bombardier workers celebrate production of 1,000th vehicleWorkers at Bombardier’s Derby plant have celebrated the production of the 1,000th Sub-Surface line carriage for London Underground. Construction of SSL stock – the first air-conditioned trains to operate on[...]

Railnews

• Protests as train runs past 'closed' station Rail users in Nuneaton are protesting after a promised late night train from London proved to be an illusion -- because it is unable to stop in their town. The problem has apparently arisen because no staff are on duty when the train arrives.

Transport for London

• Mayor confirms £148m funding a year for the next three years enabling London boroughs to deliver transport improvementsBorough funding is protected through Transport for London's savings and efficiencies programme.

Aviation Industry

• Taking into account the potential constraints on expansion: three tests for the Airports Commission’s Interim ReportIn advance of the launch of the Airports Commission's Interim Report, this briefing poses three tests to judge the report against. The tests focus on what Sir Howard Davies described in October as potential constraints on expansion - climate change and noise, as well as the economic basis of the argument for expansion.

Other News Sources

• Ringway highways deal could be worth £375mRingway has retained Worcestershire’s highways maintenance contract, worth a potential £375m.
• Darwin Airline offers New Year’s discount on flights to AmsterdamWant to start 2014 in style? Darwin Airline has just launched a special fare of £109 on return flights to Amsterdam departing from Cambridge International Airport – a saving of £60 from the £169 return flight lead-in price.
• Cycle and pedestrian crashes on the rise in new Brighton and Hove 20 mph zone The number of crashes involving pedestrians and cyclists on city centre roads has gone up since 20mph restrictions were introduced.
• Etihad Airways and VisitBritain sign £2 million deal to increase tourismEtihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, today signed a three year deal with VisitBritain to increase visitor numbers from the lucrative Asia Pacific and Middle East (APM...

EIN News Subscription

• Airbus + space shuttle = budget space flights? … to the edge of space. European consortium Swiss Space Systems (S3 … six passengers piggybacking onto an Airbus A300 launched from base in … , the company sees its unique Airbus+shuttle combo as being a … rather a high speed suborbital transport mode for everybody." Watch …
• The Davies Airport Commission … considering include developing the regional airports (possibly with a High Speed … his report. But today, the Transport Secretary said ‘we haven’t … 700,000 for other major European airports. There’s also a worry … island. Tags: Airports, Aviation, Boris Johnson, Gatwick Airport, Heathrow Airport, Howard Davies, UK …