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

Tuesday, 28 January 2014

BBC News

• ReadyBike hire scheme unveiled in ReadingPlans for a bicycle hire scheme in Reading have been unveiled.
• Mail Rail: What is it like on the 'secret' Tube?Deep under the streets of the capital, a disused railway tunnel stretches for six miles. After being shut for a decade, there are now plans to reopen the London Post Office Railway - known to many as Mail Rail - as a tourist ride.
• Cars banned from roads near schoolsVehicles are banned from three roads leading to primary schools in an East Lothian town at drop-off and pick-up times.
• New cycle traffic lights go liveThe first low-level traffic lights for cyclists have been activated at Bow Roundabout in east London.
• Second union to join Tube strikesMembers of the Transport Salaried Staffs Association vote to join two 48-hour Tube strikes in protest at the closure of ticket offices.
• Inquiry into Mayor's gay bus ad banLondon Mayor Boris Johnson's ban of a bus advert that suggested people could
• Road reopens after rock fall on A82A section of the A82 is closed at Loch Lomond for more than four hours after a rock fall at Pulpit Rock.
• Rail improvement costs 'up by £90m'The cost of improvements to the Glasgow to Edinburgh rail line rises by more than £90m, the transport minister announces.

The Herald

• Second Gatwick runway better for Scots travellers says airport chiefSCOTS travellers would be able to access more low-cost international routes if Gatwick Airport was given the go-ahead to build a second runway, its chief executive has said.
• Cost of Glasgow to Edinburgh rail upgrade soarsTHE cost of improving rail travel between Glasgow and Edinburgh has risen by more than £90 million due largely to an expanded ­redevelopment of Queen Street Station.

The Independent

• Boris Johnson 'gay cure' bus advert ban to be investigated by High Court The banning of an advert from London which suggests it is possible to “move out of homosexuality” should be investigated, the appeal court has ruled.    

The Scotsman

• Edinburgh-Glasgow rail upgrade cost rises by £90mThe cost of improving rail ­travel between Glasgow and ­Edinburgh has risen by more than £90 million due largely to an expanded redevelopment of Queen Street Station, the ­transport minister announced yesterday.

The Telegraph

• Is London's secret railway about to get back on track?Funds permitting, the Post Office Underground Railway may soon be providing rides for the public, reports Joe Shute    

Network Rail

• Alliancing contract signals new phase in Edinburgh-Glasgow Improvement ProgrammeNetwork Rail has today announced the awarding of alliancing contracts with Costain and Morgan Sindall to develop the detailed scope, programme and target price for the £650m Edinburgh-Glasgow Improvement Programme (EGIP).
• Network Rail on course to bring storm-hit railway back into full serviceWork is well underway to repair a stretch of Surrey railway damaged by a landslip in the Christmas storms.
• Network Rail opens its Swindon depot doors to aspiring apprentices

Bristol Live

• Top transport boss visits Bristol AirportBristol Airport sees plenty of high profile travellers passing through but the arrival of the former Estonian Prime Minister caused a bit of a stir. Siim Kallas' current job was the reason, as Vice President of the European Commission he's responsible for transport policy. He was flying in on a visit to the South West with Sir Graham Watson MEP to meet major employers and transport groups. After arriving on the Brussels Airlines service from the Belgian capital and home to the European...

Derby Telegraph

• School parking spy cameras catch 65 Derby drivers in a monthMORE than 60 motorists have been handed fines for flouting parking rules outside schools – after being caught on camera by a special CCTV car. In the first four weeks of the crackdown, 65 people were captured parking in the

London Evening Standard

• Tube bosses face grilling from MPs over £100m lost on bungled contractLondon Underground chiefs are expected to be hauled in front of MPs to explain the collapse of a major signalling contract.
• UK's worst parking street revealed: motorists hit with £1.7m fines in east LondonMotorists have been hit by £1.7 million in parking fines in just one London street.
• 'Low level' traffic lights for cyclists go live at Bow roundabout in bid to improve safetyA cycling blackspot in east London has seen the capital's first 'low level traffic signals' installed to try to improve road safety.
• Major Tube strike comes a step closer after second union votes for walkoutThe prospect of a major Tube strike next week has increased after a second union today voted in favour of a walkout.

Newcastle Journal

• Businesses poised to base operations in North East, but rail service is keyAround 80 companies in talks with NewcastleGateshead Initiative to invest in region and future of route from Scotland to London King's Cross could be deciding factor

Northern Echo

• Flying Scotsman: troubled restoration given the go-ahead to continue ONE of the icons of the golden years of the railways is expected to be back on the rails by the summer of next year.

Nottingham Evening Post

• Nottingham Post commented HS2: Calls to back high-speed rail in Nottinghamshire - or lose...URGENT calls have been made to back the county's plans for high-speed rail – or risk losing our station to Derby.The new £50 billion HS2 line from London to Birmingham and Leeds is due to open by 2032, with a planned station for the East Midlands at Toton.Derby City Council is calling for the line to run through the centre of Derby instead, saying it will bring jobs and prosperity to their city.But now a campaign group has held a meeting in Toton backing plans for the line, and...

Sheffield Star

• Shadow minister on track for Doncaster rail visitShadow rail minister Lillian Greenwood rolled into Doncaster to see how the electrification skills shortage is being tackled.

The York Press

• Flying Scotsman restoration can now be completed after tests reveal no major problems THE National Railway Museum says it’s now full steam ahead to complete the restoration of Flying Scotsman after tests showed it can be repaired.

This Is Local London Network

• MP calls for people to push for transport improvements in Sutton A Government minister has called on people to make sure their views are heard if they want transport improvements in Sutton.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Leeds based Jet2.com scoop awardLEEDS based Jet2.com is celebrating being crowned Best Short Haul Airline for the third year running at the Travel Weekly Globe Awards 2014.

Yorkshire Post

• Campaign group calls for HS2 ‘no’ voteA CAMPAIGN group fighting the proposed HS2 rail link is urging senior Wakefield councillors to vote against the scheme at a crunch meeting tomorrow.
• Campaign group calls for HS2 ‘no’ voteA CAMPAIGN group fighting the proposed HS2 rail link is urging senior Wakefield councillors to vote against the scheme at a crunch meeting tomorrow.

Reading Evening Post

• Reading's new cycle hire scheme named 'ReadyBike'The scheme will see 200 bikes ‘ready’ to go across 29 docking stations inside and outside Reading

Other Regional Press

• Council leader hails Leyland railway station work a ‘significant step forward’Improvement works at a Lancashire train station have been hailed as a significant step forward.
• Brighouse school seeks support for road safety campaignCarr Green School in Rastrick wants others to join them in registering for the UK’s giant safe walking event, The Giant Walking Bus, to champion safer streets for families
• Controversial plans to axe free school buses in Hartlepool approvedCONTROVERSIAL plans to axe free buses to and from two Hartlepool Catholic schools have been approved.

Global Rail News

• Authorities win battle for devolution of northern rail servicesThe devolution of rail services in the north of England has moved a step closer, with local authorities now formally involved in the renewal of the Northern and TransPennine franchises.[...]
• Saft to supply IEP battery systemsHitachi Rail Europe has awarded Saft a ’multi-million pound’ framework contract to design the battery systems that will provide backup power to the Super Express trains currently being built for[...]
• Alliancing contracts awarded for £650m EGIP programmeNetwork Rail has today announced the awarding of alliancing contracts with Costain and Morgan Sindall to develop the detailed scope, programme and target price for the £650m Edinburgh-Glasgow Improvement Programme[...]
• Spain to establish independent rail safety bodySpain’s Ministry of Development has backed the creation of an independent rail safety authority in the wake of the Santiago de Compostela crash that killed 79. The Agencia Estatal de[...]
• AB orders Tango LRVs from StadlerMountain railway operator Appenzeller Bahnen (AB) has placed an order for seven Tango light rail vehicles from Stadler. The Tango trams, which will operate on a new cross-town link between[...]

Aviation Industry

• India lifts ban on foreign airlines operating A380Announcement alerts Emirates, Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines

Other News Sources

• Crossrail on track to deliver value for moneyThe £15bn project expected to be completed in 2019