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

Saturday, 15 February 2014

BBC News

• Landslip closes major rail lineA landslip closes the rail line between Birmingham and London Marylebone, causing widespread disruption.
• Ring and Ride bus service 'saved'The West Midlands Ring and Ride service is
• Steam rail group building new bridgeRailway enthusiasts are to use a powerful crane to lift the lower sections of a bridge into place across a river in the Highlands.
• Cyclists attacked near city centreA cyclist taking part in a weekly bike ride into Belfast city centre with friends tells of his shock after the group was attacked.
• US car workers vote no to union planIn a surprise move, US workers vote against union representation at a Volkswagen car plant in the southern state of Tennessee,.

Financial Times

• No answer to London airport questionThe UK capital does not need to consolidate capacity in a single megahub in the hope of attracting more transfer passengers
• Iberia strikes deal with pilots’ unionSpanish flag carrier agrees pay and productivity agreement with Sepla that looks set to help airline chart path back to productivity

Mail Online

• China unveils plans to build 77-mile, £22billion tunnel that will be the longest in the worldAt 77 miles, the Dalian-Yantai tunnel on the country’s eastern coast will save travellers an eight-hour ferry ride or 900-mile road trip.

The Mirror

• A dozen Tories who voted against smoking in cars bill have tobacco industry links The Royal College of Physicians said it was an important measure and 160,000 children are affected every year by passive smoking - costing the NHS about £23m

Birmingham Mail

• Calls for bus lane fines amnesty over missing warning signs Coun Rob Pocock: 'They should just stop the enforcement, get the signs right and start again'

Birmingham Post

• David Cameron hails Jaguar Land Rover as a 'great British success story' Prime Minister visits new JLR engine plant near Wolverhampton, which will create 1,500 new jobs

London Evening Standard

• London bids farewell to the historic Routemaster Historic Routemaster buses may soon be lost to London for ever after plans were announced to axe one of the last two surviving routes.
• Landslip blocks railway line from London to RedhillA busy commuter line through Surrey has been severely disrupted as a result of a landslip, caused by the storms.

Manchester Evening News

• Car airbags the target in latest crimewave of parts 'stolen to order' Police say criminals can strip cars of the life-saving devices in just six minutes, with one being stolen every four days in Greater Manchester.
• Feeling sky high on love at Manchester Airport Not only were there heart-shaped chocolates in all terminals, but in Terminal 1 there was a ‘Love photobooth’ full of props for passengers to get a free photo as a special memento.

Nottingham Evening Post

• Nottingham Post commented City buses 14 and 37 are to be axedArticle

Other Regional Press

• MP ‘deeply concerned’ over lack of link road consultationANGRY residents campaigning against a new multi-million pound link road have secured the backing of Wigan’s MP in their call for a public meeting.
• Rail disruption expected to continue into weekend after landslip north of Banbury A LANDSLIP has blocked railway tracks between Leamington Spa and Banbury.
• Durham Tees Valley Airport: Passenger flight numbers down by almost 4% Figures show 345 passenger planes took off in November - down from 359 over the same period a year earlier
• Mum blasts Stagecoach for allowing driver in unmarked car to pick up Hartlepool schoolgirl from bus stopA FURIOUS mum has blasted a bus company for allowing a driver in an unmarked car to pick her schoolgirl daughter up from a bus stop when the timetabled service failed to turn up.
• £7m transport cuts will see Coventry Ring and Ride fares increaseBut free bus travel for OAPs and subsidised children's fares have been protected

Bus and Coach.com

• Newport Bus supports Orange WalletNewport Bus has joined the Welsh government’s Orange Wallet scheme, intended to help people to cope more easily with public transport.
• Contract costs falling according to ATCOCosts of replacing local bus contracts have fallen for the fifth consecutive year according to a survey by the Association of Transport Co-ordinating Officers.
• GMB links pay claim to quality contractsMembers of the GMB union are calling a ballot over a pay dispute with Stagecoach in Sunderland, saying that the company’s offer of a 2.
• Malta seeks Arriva successorTransport Malta has published an Expression of Interest for the provision of bus services on Malta and Gozo, following the departure of Arriva at the start of this year.
• Newport Bus supports Orange WalletNewport Bus has joined the Welsh government’s Orange Wallet scheme, intended to help people to cope more easily with public transport.

Campaign for Better Transport

• Standing up for buses in Lancashire14 February 2014:  Recently we heard the great news that Lancashire County Council had u-turned on a decision to cut £3.8m from its bus funding over two years. read more

Global Rail News

• Stoke looks to wrestle HS2 link from CreweStoke-on-Trent and Crewe are to battle it out for inclusion on the HS2 route map, as Stoke city council submits a new report promoting the benefits of building a line[...]
• Operators sought for Rhine-Ruhr Express routesTransport authority Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr (VRR) have launched a tender to find operators for regional train services on Rhine-Ruhr Express (RRX) routes. The competition follows the launch of a tender in[...]
• PESA delivers first DMU to BelarusPolish train builder PESA has delivered the first diesel-multiple unit (DMU) to Belarus Railways (BC). The first of three DP3 DMUs will now undergo testing and certification before entering service.[...]

Railnews

• £360m electrification and plant frameworks agreed Network Rail has awarded five framework agreements worth a total of £360 million for electrical renewals and upgrades on the Kent, Sussex and Wessex routes over the next five years. The agreements, awarded by the company™s Infrastructure Projects Southern division, cover the bulk of the Region™s electrification renewal and enhancement work-bank in CP5, which runs from 2014 to 2019.
• Bad weather prompts early start for Mark Carne New Network Rail chief executive Mark Carne will take over from David Higgins on 24 February, the company has announced. His earlier start is being attributed in part to the continuing bad weather, and the disruption it is causing. Network Rail's chairman Richard Parry-Jones said it was thought best to 'get his feet under the table sooner rather than later'.

Aviation Industry

• China approves aviation biofuel for commercial use The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has granted Sinopec, China’s top oil refiner, a license allowing commercial use of its aviation biofuel in an effort to cut carbon emissions. read more