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

Thursday, 20 March 2014

BBC News

• Manston Airport holds consultation over possible closureA Kent airport is holding a consultation over its possible closure, the BBC has learnt. The 144 staff at loss-making Manston Airport were given details about the 45-day consultation on Wednesday.
• Traders 'devastated' by M4 closureA junction of the M4 motorway in south Wales will be closed from the summer as part of a trial to ease congestion.
• Rail deal 'misunderstood', says PMDavid Cameron says the Welsh government has misunderstood a deal to upgrade south Wales railways, but First Minister Carwyn Jones denies that is the case.
• A9 dualling plans ahead of scheduleThe £3bn plan to dual the A9 trunk road is moving ahead of schedule with three sections due to be ready for dualling by 2017, a government minister confirms.
• Plan for transport hub at WatersideThe transport minister announces plans for an integrated transport hub on the site of the old Waterside station in Londonderry.
• Airport turnaround 'may take years'Scotland's infrastructure secretary tells MSPs it could take years for taxpayers to see a return on public investment in Prestwick Airport.
• Bus producer secures £100m orderBus manufacturer Alexander Dennis Limited signs a £100m deal to produce 600 vehicles for National Express over the next five years.
• Boeing 787 design is safe says FAAThe design and manufacture of Boeing's 787 Dreamliner is safe, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) says.
• Hitachi to move rail business to UKJapanese electronics firm Hitachi - the manufacturer of the first bullet trains - announces it will move its global rail business from Japan to the United Kingdom.

Financial Times

• Hitachi to make London its global rail HQPlans by Japanese group, which says it will bid for to contracts on HS2, underline its aim to expand in the UK and to make Europe its biggest market
• Labour considers rail freeze post electionJon Cruddas, MP in charge of Labour’s policy review, meets transport unions to hear views on how freeze might be structured and its impact
• Stagecoach threatens legal action in WalesCountry’s biggest bus operator warns its government to rethink a planned cut in payments for passengers with free passes or face a judicial review
• Norwegian Air’s ambitions worry rivalsNorwegian plans to offer low-cost intercontinental flights using more efficient Dreamliner aircraft and cheaper crew from outside Scandinavia

The Guardian

• Manston airport closure plans put scores of jobs at riskStaff at Kent airport told 45-day consultation period initiated following daily losses of £10,000 under new owner

The Herald

• Plans for next stage of A9 dualling ahead of scheduleNEARLY 18 miles of the notorious A9 are to be dualled a year earlier than originally scheduled.
• Sturgeon: We will not favour our own airport PRESTWICK Airport will not be given preferential treatment by the Scottish Government despite Holyrood taking ownership of it, Nicola Sturgeon has said.

The Scotsman

• Prestwick Airport ’could get Robert Burns name’NICOLA Sturgeon told MSPs today she was “not unmoved” by calls for Prestwick Airport to be renamed as Robert Burns International.

Mail Online

• £200million fund to fix potholes: Motoring groups welcome fund to fix roads that took a battering during the winterMotorists are to benefit from a fund to end the curse of potholes, which has worsened in the wake of the severe winter's torrential rain and heavy floods.
• Search area for MH370 dramatically narrowed as US officials hone in on satellite signals from engineThe floating object was among two pieces spotted on satellite imagery that could be from the Malaysian Airline plane and a total of four aircraft have been sent to investigate the sighting, some 1553 miles off the coast of Perth, Thursday.

The Mirror

• Live: Updates in the search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370Keep up to date with the search which now covers huge parts of the Indian Ocean and vast parts of Asia

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Stagecoach bus company threatens legal action over Welsh Government cutsThe £24m reduction was made to a concessionary travel scheme that provides free travel to 720,000 bus pass holders

Edinburgh Evening News

• Airport’s Scottish first for self-service dropsEDINBURGH Airport will become the first in Scotland to offer passengers the chance to check in their bags at any time before they catch their flight as part of a drive to cut waiting times.

London Evening Standard

• VIDEO: Cycle campaign film sees rider strip off to ride through London safelyThe answer to staying safe while you cycle through the streets of London could be to strip naked for your commute, if the latest road safety campaign is to be believed.

The York Press

• York's planning and transport boss quits YORK'S transport and planning boss has quit after 16 months in the role.

Wales Online

• Britain's biggest bus company warns the Welsh Government to rethink cuts to its free travel schemeStagecoach claims the cuts could land the Welsh Government with a bill for compensation

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Green light for new 20mph zone near three Leeds schoolsSPEED limits near three schools in east Leeds are set to be slashed - and other new traffic restrictions brought in - as Leeds edges closer to becoming a pedestrian-friendly city.

Crewe Chronicle

• HS2 is 'white elephant' Greens say HS2 objectors say the scheme will not improve local transport networks

Other Regional Press

• MSP calls for major investment in Fife transport infrastructureThe potential for major economic development along the so-called Fife Energy Corridor might only be achievable if there is significant investment in transport infrastructure between Methil and Longannet.
• Budget 2014: £500m grant for transport and housing in Cambridge announced by Chancellor George Osborne The transport network around Cambridge will be transformed by a Government grant of up to £500 million announced in the Budget. The cash is expected to be released over 15 to 20 years under the ’city deal’ between Cambridge and the Government, and will be topped up to £1 billion by local authorities using proceeds from growth.
• 'No agreement' that Welsh Government should fund valleys rail electrification THE row over rail electrification of the Valley lines – and whether or not the Welsh Government will need to pay for some of it – continued to rumble on in the Senedd yesterday.

Aviation Industry

• Budget APD reforms: travel industry respondstravel industry experts respond to Chancellor George Osborne's aviation tax reform

Other News Sources

• Manston airport 'closure' staff first priority says MP Sir RogerNORTH Thanet MP Sir Roger Gale was in the House of Commons for Prime Minister’s Questions and the Budget announcement when he was paged at 12.45pm on Wednesday with a message from Manston airport owner Ann Gloag.
• Costain has put in for planning permission to build a solar farm on disused land north of Heathrow.It says that the development could generate 5.5 megawatt of energy, enough to power around 1,650 homes.
• Four contractors picked for £1.5bn Heathrow workExclusive: Four firms make the cut for massive programme of works, but Laing O’Rourke, Skanska and Vinci are among those that miss out Heathrow Terminal 5 Contractors Balfour Beatty, Mace, Morgan Sindall and Ferrovial have been appointed to carry out Heathrow’s £1.5bn programme of works over the next five years, Building can reveal.