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

Friday, 24 January 2014

BBC News

• New Inverness cycleway funding in placeFunding is in place to construct a new £638,000 cycleway in Inverness.
• Possibly the loneliest bus stop in the UKCould a slate-roofed shelter in rural Cumbria be the UK's least-used bus stop, asks Duncan Walker.
• Oxford road projects awarded Department for Transport fundingThree transport projects in Oxfordshire have been awarded nearly £11m in government funding.
• Stoke-on-Trent proposes HS2 city centre railway stationStoke-on-Trent is to bid for an HS2 railway station in its city centre if a council proposal gains support.
• Airline 'cause of bumpy landings'An airport boss says Irish airline Ryanair may be more to blame for bumpy landings than the runway.
• Tube 'ambassadors' to help in strikeHundreds of Tube "ambassadors" are set to help people travel around London if two planned 48-hour strikes go ahead. Transport for London (TfL) said the staff would help "beat totally unnecessary industrial action". The strikes are due to take place from midday on 4 and 11 February.
• Tube reopens after concrete floodA section of the Victoria Line through central London which was shut after wet concrete flooded into a control room reopens.
• VIDEO: Excavating a 200-year-old canal lockCanal college is bringing a new lease of life to a 200-year-old disused canal lock and giving young people improved job prospects.
• New areas may get rural fuel schemeThe UK government has asked the European Commission to approve an expansion in the fuel duty discount scheme for rural drivers.
• Crossrail 'on course' for valueThe UK's £15bn Crossrail project is

ITV News

• Government to address doubts about HS 2 rail linkThe Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin is expected in Manchester to address people's concerns over the HS2 high-speed rail link.

Financial Times

• FirstGroup sets out break-up defenceMore detail on profitability drive – spearheaded by yeild management system – is released after Sandell Asset Management urged spinning off US units
• Union Pacific results beat expectationsBiggest US rail freight network announces far stronger than expected full-year results as strong agricultural and automotive demand

The Guardian

• CCTV cameras on Britain's roads capture 26 million images every dayPrivacy activists concerned about numberplate recognition cameras, which police say are vital to fight crimeThe number of police CCTV cameras trained on Britain's roads has almost doubled over the last three years, giving police forces and the intelligence agencies access to up to 26 million images a day, the Guardian can reveal.There are now more than 8,000 cameras in the network, with senior officers hopeful of extending it further because they regard it as a key tool that helps to cut crime and save lives.However, the scale of the system is causing privacy campaigners grave concern and seni...

The Herald

• Drivers in six more rural areas to get cheaper fuelDRIVERS in another six rural areas in Scotland could benefit from lower fuel prices under plans to be unveiled today.
• Bus firm wins legal appeal to continueA 20-YEAR-OLD bus firm will stay on the road after winning an appeal against a ruling that it should be stripped of its licence amid questions over its financial standing.

The Independent

• Search for cyclist after alleged attack on London road caught on YouTube video A cyclist is searching for a man on a bike who was allegedly assaulted by a driver in Farringdon, London.     
• Leaves on the line? London Underground goes one better with quick-drying cement in the signals Forget leaves on the line, London Underground has a far better excuse for disruptions – quick-drying cement in the signals.    

The Telegraph

• London Underground's Victoria Line back up and running after cement damageTransport for London said a

The Mirror

• London Underground: Transport for London reopens Victoria line after concrete blunder Engineers worked through the night to clear quick-drying cement which was accidentally poured into a control room

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Ffestiniog Railway: No plans to extend link from Caernarfon to Bangor The railway would support any plans to improve links between the two, but it won't be spearheading such a scheme itself

London Evening Standard

• Olympic ambassadors brought in to beat Tube strikesHundreds of “travel ambassadors”, who were hailed a success during the Olympics, are to be brought back to help beat the planned Tube strikes.
• Cement leak halts Underground lineA London Underground line ground to a halt today after a cement leak damaged a signal control room.
• Airport customs 'failings' revealedIllegal drugs, endangered species and black market cigarettes could be entering the country undetected due to a "almost total absence" of customs staff at the UK's fourth busiest airport, border inspectors have warned.

Manchester Evening News

• Travel company set to reach £35m turnover target Diversity Travel was also named the UK’s best Travel Management Company at this week’s Business Travel Awards in London.

Northern Echo

• Heavy duties for rail chief James A TRANSPORT body has appointed its first head of heavy rail.

Nottingham Evening Post

• Nottingham Post commented Could Nottingham trams run on train tracks?TRAMS could run on existing railway tracks if Nottingham's light rapid transit network is to be expanded.Greater Nottingham's tram system was launched almost ten years ago with a line connecting the city and Hucknall, with a spur to Phoenix Park business centre.Lines two and three – to Clifton and Chilwell – are due for completion this December. There are no current plans for further lines – although there is the intention in principle to develop more.The document, Building a...

Sheffield Star

• Roads Minister rejects safety concerns raised by South Yorkshire police chiefSouth Yorkshire’s top police officer has been accused of ’peddling nonsense’ over claims lives will be lost if the M1 hard shoulder is used as an extra lane.

Sheffield Telegraph

• Bus changes on the wayRoutes and times on some Sheffield bus services change from this weekend.
• Ban on cycles on trams stays despite London green lightTransport managers in Sheffield have rejected calls to allow cycles on trams, despite bikes will being allowed on off-peak Docklands Light Railway services in London after a successful trial.

The York Press

• HS2 rail link plan criticised by Yorkshire Wildlife Trust WILDLIFE campaigners in Yorkshire have criticised the Supreme Court’s rejection of a legal bid by opponents of the HS2 rail link to force more scrutiny of the plans.

This Is Local London Network

• State-of-the-art Thameslink train to be unveiled by First Capital ConnectA brand new Wimbledon loop train will be showcased to the public for the first time next week.

Wales Online

• School warns sixth form could be forced to close after council axes pupil transport Ysgol Gyfun Rhydywaun headteacher Hywel Price says Merthyr Council's plans to axe post-16 transport will have serious repercussions

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Hopes for derelict Leeds railway viaductResidents are “cautiously optimistic” that they can transform a redundant Leeds railway viaduct into a walkway despite its owner’s reservations.
• Bus chiefs calling for Leeds passenger feedbackA MAJOR review has been launched into bus services in two parts of Leeds.

Yorkshire Post

• Could Ripon rail link be revived? [letter]IT is bizarre that Ripon with a population of over 16,000 inhabitants is not a front runner for funds to reopen its long abandoned rail link to Harrogate and Leeds (Yorkshire Post, January 18).
• Contingency fund must cover rail shortfallTaxpayers will have to cover a £160m shortfall in private-sector funding for London’s Crossrail project after the Department for Transport (DfT) failed to secure the expected contribution from Heathrow Airport, the spending watchdog has claimed.

Other Regional Press

• Lucy Rigby: Vital to plan for better train service for Lincoln f I had £1 for every time residents or businesses told me that Lincoln’s poor rail services needed to improve, I’d already have enough to have built a new rail line myself. I understand how vital far better rail links are for our city and I’m doing everything I can to push for a fairer deal. Over the last 18 months, I’ve held a number of meetings with Network Rail, local interest groups and Shadow Transport Ministers.
• Rail booze ban hailed a success by policeA BAN on alcohol on Scotland's railway network has been hailed a success by police after it helped reduce levels of anti-social behaviour.
• Network Rail work on proposed East West Rail tracks in Milton Keynes OVER the coming months Network Rail is carrying out de vegetation clearance and topographical and winter ecology surveys on a section of track which has no running trains in preparation for work which will upgrade the railway line between Claydon Junction and Bedford.
• Private hire and hackney cabs in Northampton banned after safety checksEight taxis have been taken off the road or given a delayed prohibition after the latest round of spot safety checks in Northampton.

Global Rail News

• New look for Glasgow subway stationGraham Construction is to deliver a £5.3 million redevelopment of Glasgow Subway’s St Enoch station. The renewed city centre station, which will feature new street level glass canopies, will become[...]
• SBB implements new energy management and control systemsSwiss Federal Railways (SBB) has completed the installation of a new energy management (EMS) and traction power (FSL) systems worth in the region of CHF 37 million. SBB said the[...]
• HS2 challenge dismissed by Supreme CourtThree groups, who took their opposition to HS2 as far as the Supreme Court, have all lost their cases. HS2 Action Alliance Ltd, Heathrow Hub Ltd and Hillingdon London Borough[...]

Aviation Industry

• EasyJet anticipates 1H loss, despite encouraging 1Q performanceDespite an increase in revenue, passenger numbers and capacity, as well as a slight improvement in load factor for the first quarter of the financial year ended Dec. 30, 2013, easyJet said it still expects to record a first-half loss. read more
• Delta Air Lines is 2014 ATW Airline of the Year Air Transport World announced Thursday that Delta Air Lines is the recipient of its 2014 Airline of the Year Award—the first time the honor has gone to a US carrier in a decade. read more
• Etihad Airways to operate double-daily Dublin serviceAirline to boost number of flights a week from July
• Bmi Regional plans further growth in 2014Airline to introduce new routes in UK and Europe

Other News Sources

• Hidden in the HS2 bill: a government power grab? Campaigners trying to stop HS2 were awaiting the latest legal ruling into challenges against the scheme today, amid controversy over the wording of the legislation.
• HS2 campaigners lose legal bid to derail high-speed lineGovernment to 'press ahead' with HS2 rail link