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

Tuesday, 18 February 2014

BBC News

• UK storms: Race to repair damaged Devon tramwayThe Environment Agency has said there could be more flooding along the River Thames in Berkshire and Surrey in the next few days, even though the situation there is generally improving.
• The beauty of the UK's loneliest bus stopsThe Magazine recently visited an isolated, slate-roofed shelter in rural Cumbria - asking whether it was the UK's loneliest bus stop. A number of readers suggested otherwise.
• 'Four bus drivers a day' attackedAn average of four bus drivers a day were attacked or verbally abused in London over the past three years, figures show.

Financial Times

• Ferrovial offers to buy UK regional airportsSpanish group’s proposal to buy Aberdeen, Glasgow and Southampton airports from Heathrow Airports Holding shows determination to expand in the UK
• Ryanair and easyJet fined over insuranceThe Italian antitrust watchdog said customers were not given enough information when buying insurance and excess charges were disproportionately high

The Guardian

• Which country has the best trains?A survey released today by consumer magazine Which? reveals Brits aren’t completely thrilled with the majority of train operators. But how does British rail compare to train services elsewhere in the world? Share your thoughts here
• UK storms and flooding set back rail repairsWeekend bad weather hits London to Brighton line and west coast briefly disrupted but most Great Western services restored

The Herald

• Fife firm plans to double turnover after Scotrail winA FIFE company plans to double its annual turnover from £3.6 million to more than £7m after winning contract work to provide electrical and maintenance services at ScotRail train stations.

The Independent

• Half of rail passengers dissatisfied with train companies Fewer than half of train customers are satisfied with train companies, a report has revealed.    

The Telegraph

• Cities in motion: how slime mould can redraw our rail and road mapsResearchers use organism's search for food to work out efficient transport routes, divert around floods and even imitate rush hour
• Passengers attack train standardsLow satisfaction levels among passengers travelling on more than half of Britain's train companies, survey finds    

City AM

• New Chunnel routes to lift passenger numbersEUROTUNNEL said more than 14m passengers a year could be using the rail link to the Continent by 2020, as demand is lifted by new, faster routes into Europe -

Mail Online

• Pictures show easyJet plane forced to abandon landing after being hit by windThe aircraft was in the final moments of its approach into Luton Airport when it was forced to abandon its landing, despite the wings being only 'four or five feet' above the ground.

The Mirror

• Dodgy driver spy cameras 'a cash grab' Anyone who does a U-turn, goes in a bus lane or sits in a box junction can be identified by the unmanned system – the first of its kind

Birmingham Mail

• Recruitment drive under way for 1,700 new Jaguar Land Rover jobsThe new roles will support a £1.5 billion investment in manufacturing, which will see the production of a new Jaguar mid-sized saloon

London Evening Standard

• New Tube showdown looms as Bob Crow says no to driverless trainsThe stage was today set for a fresh bust-up between unions and Tube bosses after RMT leader Bob Crow said driverless trains would not come to the London Underground.
• Pregnant commuter's fury at being forced to sit on carriage floor instead of in first classA pregnant commuter has hit out at train bosses for their seating policy after she was forced to sit on a carriage floor when she nearly collapsed.
• 'Four bus drivers a day' face abuse in London, new figures showFour bus drivers a day were abused on average on London's buses over a period of three years, figures show.

Newcastle Journal

• Funds needed to boost North East HS2 benefitA major programme of investment in the North East is needed to ensure the region receives economic benefits from the planned high speed rail line

Nottingham Evening Post

• Nottingham Post commented East Midlands Trains: Only half of passengers satisfied with...CUSTOMERS have spoken out to defend Nottingham's main train operator after a survey showed just half of its passengers were satisfied with its service. In the questionnaire compiled by consumer magazine Which?, East Midlands Trains got a 50 per cent passenger satisfaction rating – the ninth best of 19 train companies asked. But commuters and transport campaigners told The Post they think the operator is doing a good job and train companies are often unfairly judged. Mercedes Nikou, 20, of...

Sheffield Star

• Hillside slip to disrupt Sheffield and Chesterfield rail servicesRail passengers on routes in Sheffield and Chesterfield face longer journeys and some cancellations from tomorrow following a landslip on the train tracks.

The York Press

• Rail passengers surveyed on journey satisfaction PASSENGERS on East Coast rail services have rated their satisfaction with the service at 59 percent.
• State of North Yorkshire's roads "rapidly becoming a crisis", says council boss THE state of North Yorkshire’s roads is “rapidly becoming a crisis”, according to a council leader who has appealed to the Government for millions of pounds for repairs.

This Is Local London Network

• Thameslink and Southern train services need 'urgent improvement', says MP An MP has demanded two south London train operators improve their

Bucks Free Press

• Fears over future of railway station if housing approved THE COMPANY responsible for the railway line in Marlow has raised further doubts over plans for a housing development at the station.

Doncaster Free Press

• Witness apopeal over Doncaster railman’s deathDetectives from British Transport Police are appealing for help to trace a man who was captured on CCTV near to where a Doncaster rail worker was hit by a train last month.    

East Anglian Daily Times

• East Anglia: Rail company left puzzled by service satisfaction surveyA new survey of passengers of all Britain’s rail companies has shown only 40% of Greater Anglia travellers are satisfied with their service – the joint lowest in the country.

Peterborough Telegraph

• Commuter rail franchise extendedA commuter rail company is to carry on running its trains between London, Bedford, Brighton and King's Lynn for an extra six months to bridge the gap between the end of its current contract and the start of a new to-be-bid-for mega-franchise carrying more than 280 million passengers a year.

Other Regional Press

• New platform for growth of Fife rail services firm North South CommunicationA Fife railways maintenance firm has moved to larger headquarters after almost doubling its workforce.
• Kent rail operator Southeastern ranked one of Britain's worst train companies by passengers in Which? surveyAlmost two-thirds of Southeastern passengers are unhappy with the rail service because of delays and cramped conditions, a survey reveals today.
• Liberal Democrats submit bid to invest £8million in 'crucial' highways improvements in the Colne Valley and GolcarCouncillors seek funding for more highways work in Colne Valley
• 'Steam trains offered better service to Coventry than HS2 will,' protest group saysHS2 Action Alliance claims current rail services will be lost in the city if massive project is given the go-ahead

Airportwatch

• Siemens and Trafford College launch skills partnershipSiemens and Trafford College will collaborate to tackle the North West's engineering skills shortage. Under the scheme students from the region will train at the brand new Centre for Science and Technology, equipped with a Siemens lab containing cutting-edge technology and ’programmable logic controllers’ which are designed to help young people learn about factory automation

Global Rail News

• DLR sets record performanceThe Docklands Light Railway (DLR) has recorded its best-ever punctuality and performance scores. Between January and February, the DLR achieved a 99.67 per cent punctuality and ran 99.77 per cent[...]
• Olsztyn awards tram depot contractFerrovial’s Polish subsidiary Budimex is to work alongside KZN Rail to build a tram depot to service and maintain a new tram fleet being built for the city of Olsztyn.[...]
• Potential operator found for Cairngorm funicular railwayThe owner of a funicular railway which serves skiers and snowboarders on Scotland’s Cairn Gorm mountain has said it has found a possible operator to run the service. Highlands and[...]
• EU to fund Brussels rail tunnel linkThe European Union (EU) has awarded a  €34 million grant to support construction works on a rail link in Brussels as part of a wider investment plan for a high-speed[...]
• SNCF results ‘resilient’ in face of TGV declineSNCF saw its turnover rise to €32.2 billion and operating margin increase slightly to €2.8 billion despite a worrying decline in TGV profitability. A 1.4 per cent fall in high-speed[...]

Middle East North Africa (MENA) Rail News

• GCC Rail Project Unlikely to Meet Target for CompletionAs countries take the step from agreeing in principle to build the network, to going through the process of tendering, design and construction, so delays are emerging that will almost certainly knock the completion date of the GCC Railway Network back by a few years. The ambitious plan to link six countries by rail, in […]The post GCC Rail Project Unlikely to Meet Target for Completion appeared first on MENA Rail News.

Other News Sources

• Mechan wins Thameslink workSheffield manufacturer Mechan has secured work worth more than £1m on the massive Thameslink rail project.
• Temporary road built in Winchester to combat flood problems GROUND-BREAKING works have been carried out on one of Winchester’s busiest roads to alleviate flooding.
• Deal to provide Ipass subscribers with Wi-Fi on Lufthansa flightsHotspots added in more than 100 planes
• East Coast Trains joins GTMCBusiness travel to be a "key focus" for operator in 2014