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

Tuesday, 11 February 2014

BBC News

• Jaguar Land Rover profits doubleBritish luxury car maker Jaguar Land Rover sees quarterly profits more than double to £842m, up from £404m in the same period last year.
• Ministers 'will ban car smoking'The UK government will make it a criminal offence to smoke in cars in England when children are passengers, a Downing Street source says.
• Talks to avert Tube strike adjournedTalks aimed at averting another strike by London Underground workers are adjourned and will resume Tuesday.
• Can UK's transport cope with floods?Allan Urry investigates how findings from the rail industry regulator showed maintenance delays, making the transport system vulnerable to bad weather.

Financial Times

• Branson closes in on Virgin America IPOLow-cost airline is understood to have appointed Barclays and Deutsche Bank after recording its first profits since it was founded 10 years ago

The Guardian

• MPs overwhelmingly back ban on smoking in cars carrying childrenShadow public health minister hails great victory for child health after vote which divided Conservative backbenchersSmoking in cars carrying children is set to be banned after MPs overwhelmingly backed the plan in a free vote.The House of Commons supported the plan, first put forward by Labour, despite the misgivings of some cabinet members, including Nick Clegg, over whether it will be too difficult to police.Under the proposal the government will now have powers to introduce a new offence of exposing children to smoke in vehicles, with breaches of the law likely to incur a small fine.David ...

The Independent

• MPs vote to ban smoking in cars when children are present A ban on smoking in cars in England when children are passengers was overwhelmingly supported on Monday night by MPs of all parties.    

Daily Express

• MPs vote to ban smoking in cars carrying children in England and WalesSMOKING in cars while children are present is to be outlawed after MPs last night overwhelmingly backed a ban.

Mail Online

• Beep beep! Wile E. Coyote takes the train to finally catch up with The Road Runner as talented artist transforms commuters into cartoon characters with the aid of a well-placed piece of paperThe How To Pass Time On A Train series has now found global internet fame after it was created by October Jones, aka talented animator Joe Butcher.
• Banned! Smoking in cars carrying children to be a criminal offence within a year after MPs overwhelmingly back new lawMPs have backed a bill which will make smoking in cars containing children illegal. The law, which will see offenders fined £60, will come into force next year.

Network Rail

• Network Rail agrees to funding settlement to enable a better railway for a better BritainNetwork Rail today announced that it was accepting the Office of Rail Regulation’s conclusion for funding to maintain and improve Britain’s railway over the next five years
• Safety event targets misused level crossing at Bulwell ForestLevel crossing users at Bulwell Forest are being reminded of the importance of rail safety at an awareness event on Wednesday 12 FebruaryThe Network Rail safety team is being joined by representatives from East Midlands Trains, Nottinghamshire Police and British Transport Police (BTP) to talk to users between 7.30am and midday.
• Media Update: Engineers on site across South to keep trains moving - where possibleWater levels bring disruption to Thames Valley Lines to Exeter reopenFurther landslips strike Sussex

Belfast Telegraph

• Fears over future of Belfast International Airport as long-haul plans to Toronto and Abu Dhabi stallPlanned new long-haul routes from Northern Ireland to Toronto and Abu Dhabi will not be introduced this year, raising fears that our main airport is being allowed to stagnate

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Hopes for rail line electrification despite setback Network Rail says the Caldervale Line, which links Bradford with Manchester and the North-West, could be electrified in the future.
• Have your say on £29m CityConnect cycle route linking Bradford with Leeds People are being urged to have their say about a new £29 million cycling ‘superhighway’ coming through their neighbourhoods.

London Evening Standard

• Boris Johnson accused of 'ridiculous willy-waving' for refusing to meet RMT leader Bob Crow as second Tube strike loomsBoris Johnson was accused of “macho nonsense” and "ridiculous willy-waving" over his refusal to meet union boss Bob Crow as talks over the second round of 48-hour Tube strikes, due to take place this week, remain finely balanced.
• London Tube strike talks resume Talks aimed at averting another strike by London Underground workers will resume today, just hours before the latest walkout is due to start.
• Delight as MPs back car smoking ban Campaigners have welcomed plans backed by MPs which could save h undreds of thousands of children from being exposed to second-hand smoke in cars.

Wales Online

• M4 traffic hit 12-year high at accident spot as calls grow for solution to motorway bottleneckSpot where bus crashed last week has seen traffic levels at highest levels since beginning of devolution, figures show

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Transport giant reveals alternative to Leeds trolleybus schemeThe biggest bus firm in Leeds has unveiled ambitious plans that it says would deliver greater benefits than the city’s controversial trolleybus scheme at a fraction of the cost.

Yorkshire Post

• Northern Rail launch online appeal to find owner of loco Leeds lapcatThomas the Tank Engine’s trademark smile has lit up children’s television for decades.

Doncaster Free Press

• VIDEO: Rail workers refurbish iconic locomotiveEast Coast’s locomotive ‘Battle of Britain Memorial Flight’ returned to the rails this weekend after a makeover and re-dedication at Doncaster’s Wabtec engineering works.    

Other Regional Press

• Connection with London airport could transform county's economic fortuneIT is the £500million railway which could transform Hampshire’s economic fortunes.
• Lord Adonis calls for new town at Ebbsfleet to kickstart regeneration in the Thames Gateway in north Kent, Essex and east LondonA think tank led by a Labour peer says north Kent should become home to the UK's first new town since the 1960s.

Global Rail News

• GBRf eyes international expansion with locomotive orderGB Railfreight (GBRf) is to purchase 29 new locomotives in a bid to double its turnover over the next three years. The freight operator has announced places to procure 13[...]
• Network Rail agrees 2014-19 fundingNetwork Rail today announced that it was accepting the Office of Rail Regulation’s conclusion for funding to maintain and improve Britain’s railway over the next five years The funding period,[...]
• Funds released for reconstruction of Bratislava’s ‘Old Bridge’Slovakia’s Transport Minister, John Počiatek, has released the funding needed to continue rebuilding a 19th century railway bridge in Bratislava. Počiatek has confirmed that an EU grant worth €68.9 million[...]
• Linz orders additional Cityrunner tramsBombardier has received an order for six additional Cityrunner trams for Linz. The new vehicles, which are based on the Flexity light rail platform, will be built in Vienna and[...]

HACAN

• What percentage of the population is deeply disturbed by aircraft noise?Frankie Goes to Hollywood had a big hit with their 1983 song Two Tribes to War. It is a bit like that with aircraft noise. Not so much war, perhaps; just mutual incomprehension. People who are deeply disturbed by aircraft noise just can’t understand why their next-door neighbour hardly hears the planes. And the neighbour dismisses the noise sufferer next door as either cranky or using the noise to cover up their real concern: the price of their house.

Railnews

• Network Rail says yes to five-year funding deal Network Rail has signalled its acceptance of the Office of Rail Regulation's determination of its budget for the next five year Control Period, which starts in April. The ORR had decided that the company, which becomes a public sector body in September, needs a total budget of almost £38.3 billion for Control Period 5 -- some £1.8 billion less than NR had said it would require in its Strategic Business Plan. The ORR conceded that Network Rail is now facing some 'tough challenges', but added that it would also be carrying out some 'exciting plans'.
• Floods crisis worsens as more lines are hit Network Rail has issued fresh warnings of disruption to train services in the south of England caused by floods, although some rail links to Exeter are being restored. There is now growing concern about the situation in the Thames Valley. Services between Oxford and Didcot are limited, and there are warnings about the situation in the Maidenhead area. However a landslide at Crewkerne has been cleared, allowing South West Trains to run services between London Waterloo and Exeter once again.

Other News Sources

• Google Glass worn by Virgin Atlantic staff to assist passengers at London’s Heathrow airportIn an effort to make its airline service more glamorous and personalized, Virgin Atlantic is equipping some of its concierge staff with Google Glass at London’s Heathrow airport.
• Goodwill says roads investment hike hinges on highways industry readinessRoads minister Robert Goodwill has called on construction industry to prepare for "the biggest investment in the road network since the 1970s".
• Network Rail 'in complete denial' over Dawlish sea wallA rail passenger body says its report called for the re-routing of the south west rail line ten years ago but Network Rail thought it could
• Heathrow Express targets Western Rail Access route to ReadingOperator's MD said the plans are "crucial" for its future success