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

Tuesday, 04 February 2014

BBC News

• Safety concerns remain after Lincolnshire rail deathRail staff are scared they will lose their jobs if they speak out about safety, a BBC investigation has found following the death of a worker who was hit by a train on the track.
• MSPs to examine blue badge proposalsA Holyrood committee is to examine proposals aimed at tackling the misuse of disabled parking badges.
• Port Talbot's £11.4m train station plans unveiledThe final plans for an £11.4m improvement scheme at Port Talbot Parkway rail station are being unveiled.
• More to get Gatwick Airport noise grantsOwners of more than 1,000 homes in Kent, Sussex and Surrey are eligible to claim noise insulation grants, Gatwick Airport has announced.
• Airport's importance 'overlooked'The head of Birmingham's Chamber of Commerce says the city's airport is being forgotten in the debate over airport expansion.
• Batteries on planes pose fire riskThe average passenger aircraft now carries dozens if not hundreds of electronic gadgets - the lithium batteries could pose a serious threat to safety.
• Tube strike: Walkout talks endTalks intended to avert strikes on the London Underground end with no agreement.

Department for Transport

• Yorkshire benefits from multi-million pound transport schemesTransport secretary Patrick McLoughlin officially opens Wakefield Westgate’s new £8.6 million train station during tour of region.

Financial Times

• London commuters face strike disruptionReduced services are expected to operate, depending on how many staff show up for work, but services will start later and end earlier than normal
• Ryanair: going mainstreamAfter profit warnings last autumn Europe’s largest low-cost carrier appears to be on the ascent once again, but the airflows are not exactly stable
• Ryanair enjoys lift in passenger numbersIrish carrier’s passenger numbers rise 6%, while introduction of allocated seating and measures such as priority boarding help boost ancillary revenue
• Flybe gains ground with turnround planPassenger numbers rise 9% to 1.9m and revenue per seat increases at the regional airline which estimates annual savings to reach £7m due to cost cuts

The Herald

• ScotRail lays on Six Nations trainsScotRail is laying on more than 28,000 extra seats to help rugby fans travel to and from Scotland's two Six Nations games at Murrayfield.

The Independent

• Tube strike: Union leader Crow defends decision to take Brazil holiday as days of action loom Bob Crow, the left-wing union leader whose London Underground members threaten to inflict chaos on London commuters tomorrow, has launched a spirited defence of his decision to take a break in Brazil as the strike loomed.    

The Telegraph

• Passengers face travel chaos as 48-hour tube strikes set to go ahead after talks failPassengers are facing travel chaos after last-ditch talks aimed at averting tube strikes end with agreement, meaning the 48-hour walk-out will go ahead from 9pm on Tuesday    

Mail Online

• Bob Crow sends defiant message before London Tube strikeOn the eve of a crippling London Underground strike, the tanned union leader – who was pictured baking on Rio's Copacabana beach - retorted:' What do you want me to do?

Network Rail

• Railway to close between Battle and Robertsbridge following further landslipsA further landslip on the railway between Battle and Robertsbridge means the railway will be closing for urgent repair work – starting after tomorrow morning’s rush-hour.
• Secretary of State inspects new station project in LeedsToday (Monday 3 February) Secretary of State for Transport, Rt. Hon. Patrick McLoughlin MP visited Leeds to mark the start of work on Metro and Network Rail's £17.3m project to create a new entrance to the south of Leeds Station.
• Baroness Kramer opens Gatwick Airport station’s £53m new platform and facilitiesA new platform has been opened at Gatwick Airport’s railway station, providing a better service for passengers going to the airport and unblocking a bottleneck on the Brighton main line.
• More apprentices needed to join railway revolutionNetwork Rail is on the hunt for more than 220 apprentices to join its ranks and help deliver a multi-billion pound programme of work to renew and maintain one of the most intensely used networks in Europe while boosting capacity and improving performance.

Birmingham Post

• New A38 tunnel closure plans revealedThe St Chad’s and Queensway tunnels will be completely closed to all traffic from 10pm on Friday July 18 until 6am on Monday September 1

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Bradford Bike Hub encourages more students to take up cycling A one-stop-shop designed to get more students on their bikes is celebrating a successful first year.
• Bradford Council wrong not to back HS2 says Minister on visit to Pudsey station Bradford Council is “wrong” in not supporting “vitally important” high-speed rail scheme HS2, according to Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin.

London Evening Standard

• HK2: why Transport for London is looking to the Hong Kong Metro for inspirationThere’s a 99.9% good service on the Hong Kong Metro so no wonder TfL’s bosses are looking to the East. Andrew Neather goes underground in China to find out what makes the trains run on time
• Owners of Gatwick airport extend noise payment area in battle to build new runwayThe battle to build a new runway in the South-East intensified today as Gatwick attempted to exploit what it sees as Heathrow's weak spot — noise pollution.
• Grey 'stealth' speed cameras are just for making money, says minister who painted them yellowThe former minister who painted Britain’s speed cameras bright yellow today hit out at plans for grey “stealth” cameras on motorways.
• London Tube strikes: commuters braced for misery after talks to avert walkouts end in deadlockLondon commuters' hopes of talks averting strikes on the Underground were today dashed as they ended without agreement.
• Watch the shocking moment a man is kicked through the window of a double-decker busThis shocking footage shows the moment a man was kicked through the window of a double-decker bus in north London.

Nottingham Evening Post

• Where's the proof that tram will bring benefits? THE recent front page article regarding the 'Year of the tram' (Friday, January 31) contained a statement from the project director for Nottingham City Council that the tram system will bring huge benefits all along the route.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Government minister opens new £8m Wakefield rail stationTRANSPORT secretary Patrick McLoughlin MP officially opened the newly revamped Wakefield Westgate railway station yesterday. (Mon Feb 3)
• Transport investment in Leeds is just the ticket for a bright futureTransport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin has hailed a multi-million pound investment in Leeds’s main train station as the perfect way to keep the city’s economic growth on track.

Doncaster Free Press

• Motorway roadworks planned in South YorkshireThe southbound exit of the M1 at Catcliffe - junction 33 - is to be closed between 8pm and 6am every night this week.    

Other Regional Press

• Rail group fighting to retain servicesRAIL campaigners in Northumberland are acting early to get the best deal for the county in the new East Coast franchise.
• SLIDESHOW: Shocking pictures of Milton Keynes lorry driver racing through level crossing as barriers lower - and he escaped disqualification A lorry driver who sped over a level crossing and destroyed a descending barrier as a train approached has avoided disqualification.
• VIDEO: Transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin opens new Wakefield Westgate railway stationTransport secretary Patrick McLoughlin officially opened the newly revamped Wakefield Westgate railway station this morning (Monday).
• Residents are losing sleep over railway works at nightRESIDENTS in the East End have hit out at noisy contractors who are keeping them awake at night.
• Help with school transport will be victim of budget cutbacksFamilies of youngsters who don’t go to their nearest school face a hike in bus fares. Thousands of children in mainstream schools could be affected as Lancashire County Council bids to shave its’s £8.5m school transport bill.

Campaign for Better Transport

• New roads policy goes back to the 90s – help us take action3 February 2014: The Government has published its draft National Policy Statement (NPS) for major roads and railways. With a return to predict and provide and a 'climate gag' clause, we're calling it a national disaster. read more

Global Rail News

• Triple breakthrough for CrossrailCrossrail tunnel boring machines (TBMs) have broken through at three sites across central London in the last two weeks in an ’unprecedented’ flurry of activity on the £14.8 billion project.[...]
• Swiss train order faces two-year delaySwiss Federal Railways (SBB) has confirmed that the arrival of 59 new double-deck trains will be delayed by two years. The company made the announcement today (February 3), revising the[...]
• Eurostar launches German ticketing partnershipEurostar and Deutsche Bahn (DB) have announced a new ticketing partnership opening up some of Germany’s biggest cities to cross-channel rail users. For the first time, rail passengers will be[...]
• PORR to deliver final section of Vienna U-bahn extensionPORR has been awarded three contracts worth €68 million to complete structural works on the above-ground section of Vienna’s U1 extension. The contractor has been awarded construction lots for the[...]

Aviation Industry

• Southwest gets $2.52 million in subsidies, will add flights in fallSouthwest Airlines for the first time has tapped into the state's Affordable Airfares program to help underwrite losses on its Wichita service.
• GTMC questions Ryanair's move into business travel marketGTMC 'cautiously' welcomes airline's decision to target business travellers
• Airlines still ‘hungry’ for corporate fare dealsBuyers told they can still benefit from traditional negotiated airfares