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

Thursday, 30 January 2014

BBC News

• Thousands sign bus service petitionMore than 56,000 people sign a petition to save a minibus service which helps people with mobility problems in the West Midlands.
• Peers back child car smoking banThe House of Lords backs a Labour plan to ban smoking in cars carrying children, despite opposition from the government.
• Lorries must be safer, says JohnsonBoris Johnson urges the government to reverse its position and back calls for improved lorry safety, in an effort to cut the number of cyclist deaths.
• Commuter concern over service cutCommuter groups call for a rethink about three-year engineering works which will see a 50% reduction on some Thameslink rail services.
• Tube plan for click and collectThree retailers are set to provide click and collect services at a number of Tube stations across London.
• Flexible fares for part-time workersFlexible tickets and travel cards aimed at helping part-time workers in London will be launched in January 2015.
• Work to start on motorway upgradesThe preferred bidder is announced for a £415m project to upgrade the motorway network in central Scotland.

Financial Times

• Boeing to raise passenger jet deliveriesTarget highlights how Boeing is benefiting from demand for more fuel-efficient jets, as it also grapples with challenges in its defence business

The Herald

• Work to begin on £310m upgrade of motorwaysA MOTORWAY improvement scheme that could shave almost 20 minutes off journey times between Scotland's largest cities is finally ready to begin, more than three years after the project was given the go-ahead.

The Telegraph

• Trains could be monitored from space to improve serviceDavid Willetts, the science minister, believes trains services in Britain could be improved if signalling was monitored from space, but claims EU regulations are getting in the way of innovation.    
• Tax-free bus vouchers 'could ease commuter costs'Tax-free bus vouchers could boost access to jobs and make travel more affordable, report claims    

Network Rail

• Bridge over Lincoln High Street level crossing approvedResidents, visitors and businesses in Lincoln are set to benefit after Network Rail was granted permission to build a new bridge over High Street level crossing. The plans, which involve re-modelling the property at 179 High Street, will allow pedestrians and cyclists free-flowing access along the street 24-hours-a-day.It follows permission granted last year for a free-standing structure on Brayford Wharf East.

London Evening Standard

• Boris Island plan 'delays upgade of Heathrow tube' Boris Johnson has been accused of deliberately dragging his feet over the Piccadilly Line upgrade because of his own “grandiose” proposals for a Thames Estuary airport. Work to improve the Tube line out to Heathrow by providing new trains and a better signalling system was originally due to be completed this year, but was delayed by spending cuts.
• Big stores sign up for Tube shopping bonanza Tube chiefs signed up some of the high street’s biggest names today to start a retail revolution on the Underground.
• Flexible travel cards to go on sale next year, says Boris JohnsonMillions of part-time workers could save hundreds of pounds after Boris Johnson today promised to bring in flexible travel cards from January next year.
• Child car smoking ban moves closerA ban on smoking in cars with children present has moved a step closer after peers inflicted a defeat on the Government in the House of Lords.

Northern Echo

• North-East MP "absolutely delighted" as peers back smoking ban in cars carrying children A NORTH-EAST MP has expressed his delight that a ban on smoking in cars carrying children has moved a step closer after after peers defeated the Government on the issue by 222 votes to 197.

Sheffield Star

• Trains on track from South Yorkshire for scenic routePassengers can sit back and enjoy the view when two special trains depart South Yorkshire for one of Britain’s most scenic routes.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Holyrood to probe claims on A9 speed cameras AN INFLUENTIAL group of MSPs has launched an inquiry into controversial plans to instal average-speed cameras on Scotland’s most notorious road.

The York Press

• HS2 rail upgrade ‘vital for North Yorkshire’, says MP FAILING to upgrade a rail line near York as part of the HS2 scheme will see “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” being missed, a city MP has warned.

This Is Local London Network

• Enfield MPs Nick de Bois and David Burrowes lead Parliament debate about the failings of First Capital Connect's train serviceEnfield MPs Nick de Bois and David Burrowes lead a debate in parliament about the train service which runs through the borough.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Calls for new Leeds airportA NEW airport to serve Leeds could be needed to make sure the city thrives in the coming years, according to council leader Keith Wakefield.

Yorkshire Post

• Calls for new airport in Yorkshire to help grow region's economyCALLS for a new airport for the region have emerged as a Yorkshire council urged the scrapping of HS2 in favour of a wider package of transport improvements.

Crewe Chronicle

• South Cheshire Chamber welcome HS2-Crewe Hub Station plan Chairman John Dunning says other infrastructure projects must also take priority
• Council leader answers YOUR question about HS2 and the proposed Crewe hub stationCheshire East Council Leader Michael Jones responds to questions posed by Chronicle readers

Sleaford Standard

• Parents battle for a safer school bus stopChanges to transport arrangements mean a 12-year-old girl has to walk an unlit lane and wade through mud to catch her school bus.    

Other Regional Press

• Gosport to Fareham road improvement work gets under wayA £6.5M plan to improve access to the Gosport peninsula has got under way.
• Thug David Hussain-Porter punched and bit ticket collector on high-speed Southeastern train from St Pancras near Ashford International stationA man attacked a ticket collector, punching him in the head and biting him, after passengers reported him for fare-dodging.
• Nissan's plans to make London black cab in Coventry hailed by business leadersCoventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce welcomes news of £6m investment in ADV Manufacturing

Global Rail News

• DB strengthens relationship with German rail industryDeutsche Bahn (DB) and the German Railway Industry Association (VDB) have agreed to work more closely together to encourage greater collaboration with the domestic supply chain. The partnership will strengthen[...]
• First look at new Thameslink trainsUK Rail Minister Stephen Hammond has unveiled a full-scale mockup of one of the new fleet of Thameslink trains. Stakeholders and members of the press were given a first look[...]
• Munich to double transport spend in 2014Munich’s public transport authority (MVG) is to invest more than twice as much in improving public transport in the city in 2014. MVG announced that €335 million would be spent[...]
• Breakthrough in São Paulo subway constructionMegatatuzão, one of the 1,500-tonne TBMs constructing São Paulo’s Line 5 extension, has broken through into the Moema station box. The breakthrough marks the end of the first 483-metre drive[...]
• Topping out milestone reached on €625m Arnheim station redevelopmentContractors delivering the renewed Arnhem passenger rail terminal in the Netherlands have held a topping out ceremony to mark another significant milestone in the project. Described as one of the[...]

Railnews

• New Thameslink train goes on show The first full-size example of the trains which are being built by Siemens for Thameslink goes on show in London's Docklands today, where two Class 700 vehicles have been unveiled at the ExCel exhibition centre. The designers of the train were faced with the need to provide a compromise, because the Thameslink sets will provide a high frequency Metro service but must also cater for longer-distance passengers.

Aviation Industry

• American Airlines executives confident about merger integrationAmerican Airlines Group CEO Doug Parker expressed optimism that the integration of American Airlines and US Airways, which closed their mega-merger in December, will move forward smoothly as the carriers explore numerous opportunities for revenue, cost and operational synergies. read more
• Boeing 2013 net profit up 18% to $4.59 billionBoeing posted a net profit of $4.59 billion for 2013, up 18% over net income of $3.9 billion in 2012, on a 6% rise in revenue to $86.62 billion. read more
• Air traffic control strike hits travellersBA, Ryanair and Easyjet all forced to cancel flights
• Government urged to adopt ‘integrated approach’ to HS2 and HeathrowFull connectivity between the UK and continent is 'vital', report finds

Green Miscellany

• The yellow school bus that's a bicycleAn ambitious plan by Boris Johnson to spend £100m on transforming a handful of outer-London boroughs into ˜mini Hollands" could result in an influx of Dutch-style bikes.

Other News Sources

• Wakefield Council opposes HS2 rail linkWakefield Council has voted to oppose the government’s plans for a controversial high speed rail link.
• Swansea High Street station a beacon for accessibility standardsAccessibility improvements, including use of lighting and colour, at Swansea High Street rail station have been held up as best practice for other refurbishment projects in a new report.
• New train design has Siemens reaching for the starsSiemens has unveiled a futuristic new train that will help increase peak capacity on one of Europe’s busiest stretches of railway by 80 per cent.
• New process points to cheaper way to clean up car exhaustCatalytic converters could become smaller, cheaper and more fuel-efficient thanks to a new manufacturing process developed at Imperial College London.
• Road safety campaigners call for tougher measures for young driversThe UK government is stalling over young driver safety policy, despite evidence it could prevent casualties and save money, a group of health and road safety experts warn.
• Giant kissing couple model new Eurostar uniformsEurostar has launched new uniform designs for all of its station and on-board train staff.The uniforms were unveiled on the nine metre tall ‘kissing couple’ statue in St. Pancras International station.
• UK’s station-based parcel shop trial progressing “really well”Network Rail has been “pleasantly surprised” by the positive take-up of its trial station-based parcel shop project over the winter season.