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

Wednesday, 26 February 2014

BBC News

• Welsh bus app wins praise at Mobile World CongressAn app which can tell you if your bus is delayed by road-works has been shortlisted for a top award.
• Dawlish railway reopening could beat targetNetwork Rail has told the government it hopes to reopen the railway line destroyed by storms at Dawlish before its target of mid-April.
• Bus fire blamed on electrical faultAn electrical fault is blamed for a fire which seriously damaged a bus.
• VIDEO: Minister visits rail landslip siteOf all the damage caused by this winter's weather, some of the most disruptive has been near Botley, an isolated spot in rural Hampshire.
• Airline warning over phishing emailBritish Airways has issued a warning about a fake 'phishing' email purporting to come from the airline.
• Google removes Congestion Charge adsTransport for London teams up with Google to protect customers from using unofficial Congestion Charge payment sites.

Department for Transport

• Organisation review of rail: final reportThis report details the recommendations following an organisational review of rail in terms of the best future location and structure of government rail functions. It focuses on areas including: structures governance pay and reward

Financial Times

• Network Rail boss puts storms cost at £170mMark Carne said work was progressing well on repairing the part of the Great Western line washed away by the sea at Dawlish this month

The Herald

• Tram line testers requiredVolunteers are being offered an early chance to ride on the new Edinburgh trams by posing as rugby fans or concert-goers.
• New plans revealed for £120m revamp of stationREVISED plans for the revamp of one of Scotland's busiest railway stations have been unveiled.
• Bus company is stripped of licence after fake journeys scamA BUS company has lost its licence after one of its drivers was caught using his own pass to fake journeys worth more £17,000.

The Independent

• Man found cycling on M25 motorway was 'sent there by phone app' A man found cycling along the M25 motorway had been mistakenly directed there by a phone app, Surrey police have said.     

The Scotsman

• Business Interview: Tim O’Toole, FirstGroupThere are some businesses that cannot avoid rubbing up the public the wrong way, no matter how well they perform. Power company bosses and bankers are never going to win popularity medals. The same may be said of those who run the nation’s transport network.
• Delays as Queen St station shut for four monthsCOMMUTERS using Scotland’s third-busiest railway station face major disruption because it will have to be closed for up to four months for track repairs, The Scotsman has learned.

The Telegraph

• Green Belt 'at risk from' roads policyGreen Belt will lose protection under road and rail building plan, campaigners warn    
• Satnav sends cyclist onto M25 motorwayA man looking for a short cut home from work, causes motorway chaos as his a phone app mistakenly sent him cycling several miles down the M25    

Mail Online

• High speed, higher prices: Survey reveals passenger anger at the cost of airport trains It is one of the great travel frustrations – booking a cheap holiday at a bargain rate, only to find that the cost of your journey to the airport has added a heavy sum to your outlay.
• Minister urged to 'knock some heads together' and get vital funding for West Country railways devastated by floodsTransport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin denied charges of 'negligence' when he was accused of not providing a £31million investment for the region fast enough.

This is Money

• Ellesmere Port car factory was 'driven to the brink', admits departing Vauxhall boss Duncan AldredAldred confessed at a farewell dinner that the plant came within a hair’s breadth of closure. ‘Quite frankly, it was probably going to go,’ he revealed.

Network Rail

• Pytchley Road bridge work due to complete on timeRoad users will be able to use Pychley Road bridge in Northampton from 1 March after Network Rail engineers announced they are on course to complete the re-build of the structure on 28 February, as planned.
• Public consultation begins on £104m Queen Street redevelopmentNetwork Rail has today (Tuesday, February 25) launched a public consultation to hear passengers’ views on the proposed £104m transformation of Glasgow Queen Street station.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Wrexham bus blaze: Vehicle destroyed after engine fireDriver escapes unharmed from GHA Coaches' 146 service  

Manchester Evening News

• Plans to close off stretch of canal through city centre move step closer  

The York Press

• Green Marks & Spencer store will have 'living walls' MARKS & Spencer’s new store on York’s outskirts will be one of the company’s greenest in Britain, with ‘living’ walls, electric car charging points and 600 solar panels.

Blackpool Gazette

• Crowded, out of date and far too expensiveThese are the complaints levelled at the trains used by hundreds of commuters each day to get to and from work or school - but at least they are punctual.

Peterborough Telegraph

• Campaigners fighting for new Tallington bypass hand over petitionCampaigners in Tallington are fighting to convince Lincolnshire County Council to set aside funds for a bypass that will enable a bridge to be built over the East Coast Main Line.

Plymouth Herald

• Rail task force demands '21st Century fix for rail link PLYMOUTH council leader Tudor Evans will join peninsula leaders today to tell MPs that the region’s railway line turning into a “Peruvian rope bridge” underlines the parlous state of transport serving the Westcountry.
• Studies spark new row over airport's futureTHERE is no chance of Plymouth’s airport ever being reopened, its former operator says.

Other Regional Press

• £80 million new electric rail depot is taking shape in Stoke GiffordA MAJOR new depot for the electric rail line between London and South Wales is on track for completion by 2016.
• SLIDESHOW: 'Floating' bus stops planned for Cambridge welcomed by city cyclists but trigger debate over pedestrian safety A new design of bus stop set to be installed on main Cambridge roads would allow cyclists to bypass stationary buses – but would force passengers to cross the bike lane.
• MPs 'hopeful' of Hull electrification announcement in Budget after meeting with Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin A delegation of MPs, city councillors and business leaders have concluded a “positive” meeting with Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin.
• Fancy a free fall from 10,000ft? Durham Tees Valley Airport could be new place to try itExpert skydiver George McGuinness set to head up operation which is set to run commercial parachuting operations in time for summer
• Remembering island's railway Author and transport expert and Looking Back regular Brian Jackson writes about Portland’s old Merchants Railway:

Airportwatch

• Transport minister visits Botley railway landslip siteOf all the damage caused by this winter's weather, some of the most disruptive has been at an isolated spot in rural Hampshire.

Railnews

• New franchising executive to be created at DfTTHE transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin is poised to reveal changes at the Department for Transport which will include the creation of a new Rail Executive to take charge of rail franchising.
• Station retailing growth outstrips high streets again Network Rail has released station retail sales results showing growth of 7.8 per cent in like-for-like sales from September to December 2013. Network Rail said it was the most successful quarter for retailers at its managed stations on record and a significant outperformance over high street sales, which rose by just 0.6 per cent in the same period.

Stagecoach Group

• INTRODUCTION OF EXTRA TRAIN CARRIAGES GETS UNDERWAY ON UK’S BUSIEST COMMUTER NETWORKSouth West Trains passengers will see the first additional train carriages being introduced onto their services next month to help provide extra capacity on the UK’s busiest commuter network.

Aviation Industry

• Qatar and Cathay Pacific sign strategic agreementUnder the new deal the airlines will each operate one daily flight from March 30

Other News Sources

• Heathrow noise research quadruples numbers affectedAs many as one million people living near Heathrow suffer from aircraft noise – almost four times official estimates, research is reported to show.
• Lincolnshire train company disputes low satisfaction figuresA survey of train passengers published this week revealed that East Midlands Trains, the rail company that operates trains throughout Lincolnshire, has passenger satisfaction rates of just 50 percent.
• Scotland’s approach to sustainable transportTransport experts will gather in Aberdeen to discuss Scotland's approach to sustainable transport and the European Union.
• European Parliament protest underway over rail privatisationUK rail unions are today protesting against the Fourth Railway Package proposal which would privatise rail services across Europe.
• MPs accused of community 'disservice' following aerodrome appeal defeatOpponents and supporters of Redhill Aerodrome's hard runway appeal give their reaction to the Planning Inspectorate's dismissal of the scheme