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

Wednesday, 19 March 2014

BBC News

• #BBCtrending: Are women-only seats on public transport a good idea?Should women have designated seats on public transport? We asked you - and hundreds of you responded with your thoughts. Last week, we reported - on our radio programme and in the video above - on an image that's been widely shared on social media in India. It shows two men sitting in seats on the Delhi metro, which are clearly labelled as being "for ladies only"
• City 20mph pilot scheme approvedA pilot scheme for 20mph speed limits in Birmingham is approved.
• M4 junction to shut in traffic trialA junction of the M4 motorway in south Wales will be closed from the summer as part of a trial to ease congestion.
• Car batteries help keep data flowingBatteries that once kept electric cars moving could soon be helping manage the energy demands of Europe's data centres.
• Netting helps limit landslip debrisTransport Minister Keith Brown confirms that netting along the A83 has helped to prevent debris from landslips reaching the road.
• Owl survives 300-mile train journeyA tawny owl, named Lucky, survives a perilous journey of more than 300 miles clinging to the front of a freight train.

Financial Times

• MH370’s co-pilot made last communicationDisclosure comes as authorities also reveal that police had visited the homes of the two pilots hours after the aircraft disappeared nine days ago
• Dispute erupts over Mexico’s rail billThe two companies that own the concessions fear their rights and the rule of law risk being eroded if the legislation goes ahead and alters the terms

The Herald

• School bus seatbelt law planALL passengers on school buses in ­Scotland will have to belt up by 2018 under plans that would see control over seatbelt legislation transferred to Holyrood.

The Scotsman

• Plan to fit seat belts to every school busALL school buses in Scotland will have to be fitted with seat belts under a planned change to the law.
• Thai military had Malaysia Airlines Flight on radarMILITARY radar in Thailand detected a plane that might have been Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 just minutes before the jet’s communications went down.

Daily Express

• Missing Malaysia Airlines jet may be lost forever in a ‘radar black hole’THE missing Malaysian jet may never be found after disappearing into a radar black hole, experts admitted for the first time yesterday.

Mail Online

• MH370 pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah is RELATED to jailed Malaysian opposition leaderAfter previously denying he reconigsed his name, opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim admitted that Malaysia Airlines MH370 pilot Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah is related to his son-in-law.

The Mirror

• Live: Thai military admits radars may have seen missing Malaysia Airlines flight but didn't tell anyone for 10 days The Thai government said it saw radar blips but admitted

Network Rail

• Pupils teach classmates about the importance of staying safe on the railwayChildren from a Manchester primary school have taken part in a safety programme which allows them to share their knowledge with their classmates and friends about the importance of staying safe on the railway.

Birmingham Post

• UK offers help in search for missing Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 David Cameron phones counterpart Najib Razak but did not make specific offers of particular military or civilian assistance
• Birmingham short-changed after plans to link HS2 to Europe are scrappedPatrick McLoughlin has announced through written answers that in an effort to shave £700 million off the cost of HS2, this imminently sensible proposal has been scrapped.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Rail line could be reopened with HS2 Transport chiefs should explore reopening a rail line that gave Bradford a direct link to East Coast routes, a report said yesterday.

Manchester Evening News

• Manchester Airport relief road backed by Cheshire East councillors Stockport and Manchester councils had already approved the £290m SEMMMS road that will link the A6 with the airport  earlier this year
• Public transport fare dodgers fined £10k in one day A total of 26 people were prosecuted having been caught travelling without buying a ticket on routes through Stockport

Nottingham Evening Post

• Joint planning board to address transport woesSTEFAN Kruczkowski in his letter "Need to see big picture on transport strategy" (March 17) puts his finger on the problem when describing his commute from Heanor in Derbyshire to Nottingham. He talks of a lack of integration and little option but to take the car as far as the city boundary – Phoenix Park tram stop.

The York Press

• Missing plane is ‘hidden away’ suggests former pilot A FORMER Malaysian airlines pilot from York has spoken of his fears for the missing flight MH 370.
• School heads back campaign to bring HS2 rail college to York SECONDARY school heads from across York have backed The Press’s campaign to bring Britain’s proposed new High Speed Rail College to the city.
• York firm aims to run tilting trains on East Coast Mainline TILTING trains are set to be launched by a York rail firm on the East Coast Mainline from Edinburgh to London - but they won’t stop to pick up passengers from York station.

Yorkshire Post

• Yorkshire rail passengers face squeeze from subsidy cutsTHE transport Secretary is under growing pressure to promise Yorkshire rail passengers will not pay the price for cutting the cost of running train services in the region through higher fares.

Other Regional Press

• Letter: Tallington level crossing - Our MP is letting us downFurther to the article last week about our campaign to try to persuade Lincolnshire County Council to help fund building the link roads to the rail bridge that Network Rail are planning to build, so that it can close the Tallington level crossing and bring to an end its notorious delays, I can reveal what our MP has actually said about this.
• Start date revealed for demolition of Greyfriars Bus StationA timetable for the demolition of the Greyfriars building in Northampton has been announced.
• Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin scraps plans to introduce car parking charges at railway stationsBrighouse, Hebden Bridge, Sowerby Bridge and Todmorden stations were on hitlist
• Forston villagers campaign to cut speed limit on 'death trap' road A VILLAGE movement to cut the speed limit on a dangerous stretch of road is gathering pace after overwhelming support from residents.

Global Rail News

• Contractor appointed for Paris Line 14 extensionAn Eiffage Travaux Publics and Razel-Bec joint venture has been appointed to complete the civils work for the northern extension of Paris Metro’s Line 14. The contract covers the construction of[...]
• Bottle it!We do things very differently nowadays. Mechanical and technological evolution – not to mention health and safety – has completely rewritten the railway engineering text books since the Victorians first filled them with pioneering insight. Writes Graeme Bickerdike It was a primitive business back then, relying upon man’s courage and ferocity assisted by horses, explosives, […]
• US states order Siemens passenger locomotivesThe US states of Illinois, California, Michigan, Missouri and Washington have placed an order with Siemens for a new fleet dual-mode passenger locomotives. In a contract worth around $225 million[...]
• DB signs agreement for Münster redevelopmentDeutsche Bahn (DB) and the city of Münster have signed an urban development contract to begin the refurbishment of the city’s main rail station. Work is set to begin on[...]
• Revenue down for freight operator PKP CargoPKP Cargo saw its revenue slide by 900 million zÅ‚ to 4.8 billion zÅ‚ in 2013. Despite lower like-for-like revenues, the operator recorded a net profit of 65.4 million zÅ‚[...]
• Deal reached in Fyra disputeAnsaldoBreda and Dutch railway operator NS have reached an agreement over the withdrawal of the high-speed V250 train fleet. NS is to receive €125 million in compensation from the manufacturer[...]

Aviation Industry

• Vueling CEO: Carrier to develop second hub in Rome Spanish low-cost carrier Vueling is looking to develop a second hub at Rome Fiumicino Airport later this year, CEO Alex Cruz told ATW on the sidelines of the ITB tourism fair in Berlin. read more
• Gatwick airport to consult on second runwayAirport opens six-week consultation starting in April

Other News Sources

• Borders Railway receives sustainability recognitionThe Borders Railway project team is celebrating after receiving an ’excellent’ CEEQUAL award rating in recognition of its environmental design credentials.
• Transport Secretary launches Oxford-London rail routeTransport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin has officially launched the construction of a new rail route between Oxford and London, which will provide tens of thousands of passengers in Oxfordshire and the surrounding areas with a new link to the capital.
• Plan for Ombudsman to monitor aircraft noise backed by HuppertMP Julian Huppert has backed a plan to set up an Independent Aircraft Noise Ombudsman which should give extra support to people living near Cambridge and Stansted Airports
• Bendy bus gets stuck in Hove A bendy bus has got stuck at Hove's Palmeira Square, leading to traffic delays on Western Road and New Church Road.