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

Monday, 28 April 2014

BBC News

• Manston Airport buyer 'may have been found'An MP has said Manston Airport may have found a buyer after fears it would have to close.
• Tube strike set to begin laterA planned 48-hour Tube strike is set to be begin at 21:00 BST as talks between London Underground and the RMT union continue.
• Fresh questions over HS2 benefitsFresh questions are raised about the economic case for the HS2 high-speed rail link as David Cameron faces a backbench rebellion in the Commons.
• Cameron faces Tory HS2 rebellionAt least 30 Tory MPs will vote against HS2 on Monday, according to BBC research, but Labour will back the government.
• Siemens joins battle for AlstomGermany's Siemens wants to talk to France's Alstom about "strategic opportunities" raising the prospect of a takeover tussle for the French firm.

Department for Transport

• Rail investment: Intercity Express ProgrammeThe East Coast Intercity Express Programme contract has been financed by Agility Trains East, bringing state-of-the-art trains into service.
• Rail franchising: Greater AngliaDetails of the new directly awarded franchise agreement with Abellio Greater Anglia and upcoming service improvements.

Financial Times

• Siemens intervenes in GE Alstom bidProposal for the creation of two new European industrial champions – one in energy under German leadership and another in transport, which French would own
• Stagecoach cuts some Wales bus servicesWales has imposed an 11 per cent cut in payments to bus companies for carrying passengers with free bus passes

The Guardian

• Delayed flights may cost airlines billions after test case rulingsLooming court of appeal decisions could mean firms having to pay billions in compensation
• HS2 backers expect MPs' resounding support as bill moves closer to go aheadOpponents hope to mitigate worst effects of new line with campaign pressing for tunnel through Chilterns prior to key vote

The Herald

• Speeding motorists caught by police gun doubleThe number of speeding tickets imposed on motorists caught by police using speed guns has almost doubled over the past three years, according to new figures.
• HS2 revolt could be bigger, says FabricantA CONSERVATIVE rebellion against a £50 billion high-speed rail link would be nearer 100 MPs if Labour opposed the project, a former Government whip claimed.

The Independent

• Tube strike 2014: London Underground to enter last-minute talks with RMT in bid to stop planned walkout Transport for London (TfL) will engage in last-minute talks with rail union bosses tomorrow morning in a bid to call off the planned 48-hour tube strike.

The Scotsman

• Brian Souter hands Christians for Independence £100kBUS tycoon Sir Brian Souter has given a £100,000 donation to help a Christian group campaign for a Yes vote in the independence referendum.

The Telegraph

• High-speed rail on track - but at a snail's paceTelegraph View: The progress of the first major, long-distance railway line to be built in this country for more than 100 years is as painfully slow as it is controversial.
• 'HS2 opponents as short-sighted as Victorian landowners'Patrick McLoughlin, the transport secretary, is expected to say that Britain 'deserves better' and say it cannot afford to 'duck' the decision on high speed rail

City AM

• Why MPs need to vote against the expensive folly that is HS2TRAIN and tube lines are vital for London. Most people commute by rail, and projects like Crossrail or the Northern Line extension will do a huge amount of good. We need even more of them – Crossrail II sounds sensible – and to make sure that...

Mail Online

• Last-ditch bid to halt Tube strikes: 48-hour strike set to start at 9pm tonight in row over ticket office closures Members of the RMT union plan to walk out for 48 hours from 9pm today and for three days from the same time next Monday in a row over ticket office closures.
• Cameron's MPs rebel in HS2 vote: Up to 40 Tories set to vote against £50bn rail link as protesters say homeowners could be jailed if they do not give up their homes Some 20 to 40 Conservatives are expected to defy party whips and vote against the north-south rail project late tonight.
• French threat to 500 UK ferry jobs after authorities consider withdrawing subsidies on cross-channel route The Newhaven to Dieppe ferry has cost French taxpayers £190million over the past ten years. But a senior official in France has warned that the route cannot continue to depend on the massive public subsidy.
• One in three councils switch off street lights to save money and energy: Half also make roads darker by dimming bulbs Two-thirds of councils have switched off street lights to slash costs, a survey by the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) reveals today.

Bristol Live

• The Bristol Post commented Reader's letter: Bristol's bus service is an embarrassmentWHAT a disgrace the bus service is in Bristol.I was with my grandson on Good Friday waiting for the two o'clock bus from the city centre to Ashton Gate. The bus arrived at 2.20pm and was completely full.I walked to the taxi rank and met a couple from Northampton who asked me if I was going to the City ground and would I share a taxi.We got to the ground at 2.40pm but I can honestly say I regretted being a Bristolian. What an embarrassment of our bus service.Bus fares may be cheap but there is no...

London Evening Standard

• Tube strike: RMT to meet with TfL ahead of planned walkoutTalks aimed at averting a new round of Tube strikes are to go ahead, it was reported today.

Northern Echo

• Time standing still - railway station reopens exactly as it had 60 years ago A VILLAGE railway station which closed to passengers in 1954 has reopened - having been returned to the way it looked 60 years ago.

Yorkshire Post

• More doubt cast on HS2’s benefitsECONOMISTS have cast fresh doubt over the benefits that the Government’s multi-billion pound high-speed rail link will bring to Yorkshire and the North.

Plymouth Herald

• Plymouth council chiefs urge residents to support call for earlier rail links with LondonSTAND up and be counted if you want earlier trains to Plymouth from London. The call has gone out by Plymouth City Council to support the need for better transportation links between Plymouth and the capital.

Other Regional Press

• Wildlife Trusts set out vision for HS2 nature restorationThe Wildlife Trusts are challenging the government to adopt an alternative vision for the planned High Speed 2 railway line, which they say will benefit wildlife as well as travellers.
• Pair seek views on 20mph in Queens Park areaLabour councillors are asking for residents’ opinions on proposed road safety measures in Queens Park.

Other News Sources

• Meeting at Winter Gardens in Margate to discuss fate of Manston Airport hears MP Sir Roger Gale claim a buyer's in the offingA public meeting held to discuss the options for Manston Airport has been told a potential new buyer has emerged.