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

Wednesday, 26 March 2014

BBC News

• Call for young driver restrictionsScotland's transport minister hits out at the UK government over a
• Edinburgh-Ayr rail service announcedScotRail is to launch a new direct

Financial Times

• EasyJet shares rise on improved outlookBudget airline says first-half losses would fall to between £55m to £65m after mild weather helped to cut costs
• Gatwick steps up fight for expansionExpanding Gatwick would regenerate a swath of the South East from London to the coast and create thousands of jobs, the airport argued
• Hopes fade for rapid start to Crossrail 2HS2 chairman tells MPs that completion of the project was at least 16 years away as it competes with the rest of the UK for funding

The Guardian

• MH370: search fleet grows as 'everything thrown at this riddle'Effort to find Malaysia Airlines plane will not be lightly abandoned, says Australian prime minister, as South Koreans send planesTania Branigan

The Telegraph

• Britain's forgotten railway stationsWho hasn’t felt an agreeable sense of power when holding out a hand to stop a bus? Imagine then how much more pleasing it is to put your hand out and have a whole train stop for you. If you think Britain affords no opportunity for such exploits then think again – the nation sports around 150 railway request stops dotted about from Cornwall to the far north of Scotland. Little used and often shorn of their original purpose by the onward rush of the years, these stations are typically havens of tranquillity where visitors can do a little casual time-travelling to a Britain all but forgotten.
• HS2 boss: rail links in north 'unacceptable'Commuters in the south would

Parliament

• HS2 and the environmentHOC ENVIRONMENTAL AUDIT COMMITTEE Wednesday 26 March 2014

Mail Online

• MH370 pilot upset over wife moving out and in 'no state of mind to be flying' says friendThe pilot of doomed flight MH370 was devastated over his wife’s decision to move out of their family home, and could have taken the doomed plane for a ‘last joyride’ before it crashed into the southern Indian Ocean killing all 239 people on board.

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
• Do you know your road signs? Take our quiz on the 80th anniversary of the driving testNo waiting or no stopping? Left turn only or no left turn? Whether you're a learner driver or a driving veteran, prove how good your road sign knowledge really is

Network Rail

• First new platforms to open at London Bridge as Thameslink programme gathers paceThe first phase of the dramatic rebuild of London Bridge railway station is set to finish on schedule next Monday (31 March) when the first two new platforms will be brought into use and the next two are closed for redevelopment.

London Evening Standard

• East London boom 'depends on new bridge'East London is at risk of losing the economic legacy of the Olympics unless a £600 million river crossing is built, it was claimed today.
• 'Turbo-charged Gatwick airport would bring Olympic-style boost to south London'Expansion at Gatwick would create an economic boost to rival the Olympic-inspired regeneration of London’s East End, the airport said today.

Manchester Evening News

• Complaints about Metrolink TREBLE in one yearCustomer complaints about transport in the region have shot up by 25 per cent in a year - with Metrolink moans TREBLING in that time.
• Complaints about First double those of StagecoachFirst blame Metrolink disruption for figures, but overall bus gripes are down on last year

Sheffield Star

• MP calls for block on Network Rail bonusesCalling for a block on cash bonuses for Network Rail executives is MP John Mann.
• Sheffield tram fares frozen as rail works beginSupertram fares have been frozen to reflect the next phase of rail replacement works due to take place in Sheffield.

The York Press

• Plans for city-centre street's £310,000 new look to be debated A £310,000 new look for a York street, including widening pavements and cutting space for cars, will be discussed next week.
• Reckless parking in Clifton leads to campaign PARKED cars left recklessly blocking residential streets have prompted a group of residents in York to plead with the council to take action.

Wales Online

• 'Ieuan Air' Cardiff-Anglesey link passenger numbers plunged by 35% since it was introduced, Assembly committee hearsWelsh Government say passenger numbers fell due to economic downturn and decline of Cardiff Airport

Yorkshire Post

• Peter Shipp: Why a fare deal is needed on bus passeTHE NORTH Yorkshire MP, Anne McIntosh, recently called for a change in the law to allow pensioners to contribute to their bus travel. She feared that ongoing cuts in reimbursement to bus operators for accepting passes, coupled with big cuts in many councils’ support for rural bus services, will lead to many pensioners having passes but no bus to use them on, especially in rural areas.
• HS2 boss demands overhaul of Pennine rail routesTHE head of HS2 has thrown down the gauntlet to Northern leaders to be more ambitious with their plans to improve the “unacceptable” rail services across the Pennines.

Doncaster Free Press

• Robin Hood Airport team fly flag for YorkshireRepresentatives from Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield are heading to France to meet delegates at Routes Europe.    
• MP calls for block on Network Rail bonusesCalling for a block on cash bonuses for Network Rail executives is MP John Mann.    
• Doncaster’s Flying Scotsman latest star of magazine collectionDoncaster built locomotive legend the Flying Scotsman has become the latest star of a new magazine collection put together in association with the National Railway Museum.    
• Work on Doncaster Airport link road to startWork will finally start next week to link the £56 million Finningley and Rossington Regeneration Route Scheme (FARRRS) to Junction 3 of the M18.    

North Wales Live

• Train drivers set to strike over Merseyrail pay deals Union 93% in favour of walk-out after company reportedly decided to make adjustments to previously-agreed pay package

Other Regional Press

• Bus and cycle lanes in Leicester to get £205,000 revamp Bumpy bus routes and cracked cycle lanes are to be repaired as part of a £205,000 package of improvements.
• Greenock bus firm's £2.5m new fleet orderThe Earnhill industrial estate company has placed an order with Mercedes-Benz for 44-seater vehicles which will run on its popular Glasgow to Largs routes, which stop off throughout Inverclyde.
• Bus passenger survey shows Milton Keynes services are improvingBus passengers in Milton Keynes have given services the thumbs up according to a new report.
• Four arrested after Newport train cable theft FOUR Newport men have been arrested on suspicion of theft after cabling was reported to have been taken from the railway line in Llanwern this morning.
• Accounting firm KPMG says HS2 high speed rail link could cut Kent out of prosperity and cost millionsFirms could quit Kent and cost the county millions if plans to cut the area out of the next high-speed rail link are approved, it's been claimed.
• Just how bad is traffic on the M62? 40% of journeys towards Leeds will be delayedTwo lengths of the busy transPennine motorway figure in the Top 20 of the most congested roads, where journeys are prone to delays

Global Rail News

• Gleeds appointed to manage Crossrail depot deliveryInternational consultancy Gleeds has been brought in by Bombardier to project manage the construction of Crossrail’s new train depot in north west London. Gleeds will project and cost manage the[...]
• Arriva UK Trains COO steps downDB Arriva has announced that its UK rail chief operating officer, Steve Murphy, is to leave the company. In a statement, Steve said: “I have had a fantastic six years working for DB Arriva, first in my role as managing director of LOROL and more recently as chief operating officer of UK Trains. “I have […]
• Spain and Russia sign training agreementSpain’s rail infrastructure manager Adif is to partner with the Moscow State University of Railway Engineering in training specialist staff for Russian Railways (RZD). The new five-year collaboration builds on[...]
• The vertical high-speed rail station of the futureA vision of vertical railway stations which stretch for hundreds of metres into the sky has been put forward as a possible solution to relieving congestion in cities around the[...]
• Withdrawn Warsaw Inspiro trains return to serviceTwo of Metro Warsaw’s Inspiro fleet have returned to service following a fire on one of its trains last year. The first five of a fleet of Inspiro metro trains[...]
• Ipswich chord to open in AprilNetwork Rail and Spencer Rail have completed a 1.2-kilometre stretch of railway near Ipswich which will remove a major bottleneck on the Great Eastern main line. Built on the former[...]

Railnews

• Bob Crow takes his last ride Hundreds of trade unionists have crowded the pavements at the entry to an east London cemetery to see the arrival of a horse-drawn hearse bearing RMT union leader Bob Crow to his final resting place. Mr Crow, who had been general secretary of the RMT for 12 years, died suddenly on 11 March after suffering a major heart attack. The funeral itself was private, but mourners from around the industries represented by the RMT lined the route of the funeral procession from Woodford.

Aviation Industry

• Former American Airlines President and CEO encourages persistence and integrityTom Horton, former president and CEO of American Airlines, spoke about his perspective on leadership Tuesday as part of the University's VIP Distinguished Speaker Series.
• Easyjet launches five new European routesAirline to fly to Brussels, Paris, Jersey, Newcastle and Strasbourg

Other News Sources

• Rural bus route gets back on the road with two new villages added to timetableA community rural bus service is reaching out to two more villages next month with a new revised route and increased number of stops.
• Floating bus stop plan for Cambridge 'absolutely ludicrous' says Stagecoach boss Andy Campbell Plans for bus stops which place a cycle lane between the shelter and the road have been branded “absolutely ludicrous” by the managing director of Stagecoach Cambridgeshire.