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

Tuesday, 29 April 2014

BBC News

• Glow in the dark roads not glowingGlow in the dark road markings on a stretch of road in the Netherlands have been
• Calls to halt HS2 rejected by MPsMPs reject calls for the proposed HS2 rail link between London and the West Midlands to be scrapped, despite a 35-strong Tory revolt.

Financial Times

• HS2 bill takes express route through CommonsOpposition lines up behind coalition to give bill 400-plus majority
• Heathrow warns on passenger growthThe UK’s busiest airport, which was used by more than 72m people last year, has been outpaced by Dubai airport in the number of international passengers handled
• Siemens and GE in rival push to woo ParisCharm offensive to win France’s socialist government over to competing bids for engineering group and ‘industrial jewel’ Alstom

The Guardian

• Welcome to Heathrow – a strange landscape, not just an airportPart concrete, part rural, the area of Heathrow shows how it might be possible for us to do things differently
• Heathrow chief warns strong profits will not be sustained in year aheadUK's biggest airport says landing charge cap and costs incurred from Terminal 2 opening will cause fall in revenue
• Flight from London City airport makes emergency landing after engine fireSwiss flight LX487 to Basel forced to make emergency landing at Stansted shortly after taking off on Sunday evening
• London tube strikes: first wave of industrial action begins as talks endMembers of RMT union stage strike for 48 hours over plans to close ticket officesThe first of two planned tube strikes in London over the next fortnight went ahead on Monday night after talks ended without agreement.Members of the RMT union working on the capital's underground network began a 48-hour strike at 9.30pm over plans to close ticket offices. Continue reading...
• HS2 bill clears second reading as senior minister threatens to resignDavid Lidington, Europe minister and MP for Aylesbury, among Tories who missed Commons voteConservative MPs delivered a warning shot to David Cameron over the HS2 rail link on Monday night as one senior minister threatened to resign unless changes are made and dozens refused to back the legislation.The government's bill paving the way for the contentious £50bn north-south railway easily cleared its second reading in parliament by 451 votes to 50 owing to Labour support. However, there were about 26 Tories who voted against the legislation, plus more abstentions, with many backbencher...

The Independent

• Tube strike 2014: Boris Johnson launches furious attack on 'narrow minded union barons' and brands 48-hour walkout 'mad' Boris Johnson today lashed out at “narrow minded union barons” and branded tonight’s Tube strike as “mad”.
• Donald Macintyre's Sketch: Slow-coach tactics keep HS2 a coming down the track It has been a long time  since Buckinghamshire was a hotbed of subversion – about five centuries, in fact, when the county’s great civil war hero John Hampden championed Parliament against the King. But yesterday it took up arms once again.

The Telegraph

• Spare Stonehenge from this tunnel visionHiding away one of our great monuments will further distance us from our history, says Philip Johnston
• HS2 opponents are Nimbys who only care about house prices, says Boris JohnsonThe Mayor of London says people who oppose HS2 railway are 'pretending' to have an environmental objection
• London Tube strike: how much drivers are paid and why tube workers on strike?London Underground drivers receive a generous pay package of £48,000 a year but the latest strikes are not over a pay dispute, so what is the industrial action for?
• HS2 vote: Government survives Commons rebellion as minister threatens to resign over projectHS2 Bill passed in Commons thanks to support from the Labour Party, despite opposition from dozens of Conservatives
• Park for free and use the bus lane - if you drive an electric carCouncils will be given extra funding if they grant special privileges to drivers of electric vehicles, under a £500?million scheme

Daily Express

• Tube strike is ON: How will London Underground walkout affect you?THE TUBE strike will go ahead after talks collapsed this morning.

Mail Online

• London braces itself for transport chaos as 48 hour tube strike gets underway: Union members walk out at 9pm after talks fail Many tube users were at pains to get home before the strike started, and were left planning alternative routes into work for tomorrow and Wednesday.
• HS2 critics care only about house prices, says Boris: London Mayor wades into row about £50bn project The London Mayor waded into the row over the £50 billion project, denouncing its ‘humiliated’ critics for pretending they were worried about wildlife and ancient woodlands.

The Mirror

• London Underground tube strike live: Latest updates as 48-hour industrial action gets underwayThe Rail, Maritime and Transport union will stage industrial action and commuters have been warned to expect widespread disruption

Network Rail

• Local MP visits new Ingatestone underpassBrentwood MP Eric Pickles was in Ingatestone on Friday 25 March to see the newly completed underpass, which allowed Network Rail to permanently close Ingatestone Hall footpath level crossing.
• Passengers reminded to plan their journeys ahead of Watford railway upgradePassengers are being reminded to check for changes to their journey before travelling over the bank holiday weekend as Network Rail prepares for the first closure of the railway at Watford.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• 20 mph residential zones set for Calderdale Calderdale was last night set to be the first authority in West Yorkshire to approve a district-wide 20 mph zone for residential areas.

Derby Telegraph

• Derby Telegraph published Runway at East Midlands Airport closed after incidentThe runway at East Midlands Airport has been closed until further notice. It is believed a cargo plane was forced to make an emergency landing at around 2.30pm. There are reports that "part of landing gear on the left hand side of [737 cargo plane] failed after landing". Passengers are being urged to consult their airlines for further information. It is understood some passengers will be sent to other airports and that flights may be delayed until tonight. More to follow. *Have...

London Evening Standard

• Paris Metro chiefs back introduction of driverless Tube trains to LondonParis Metro bosses today backed plans to emulate the city’s use of driverless underground trains in London. RATP has advised Transport for London as it plans to convert four Tube lines to full automation, beginning with the Piccadilly line in the mid 2020s.
• Tube strike 2014: Find out which London Underground lines are runningAs London Underground workers prepare to go on strike again, here's the official Transport for London guide to what services will be running on the Tube this week.
• Canadian rail giant Bombardier 'to lose out on future deals after £350m Tube bungle'Canadian rail giant Bombardier can expect to lose out on future contracts as a result of the bungled £350 million Tube signalling project, London’s transport chief has told MPs.

Sheffield Star

• More flights announced from Robin Hood AirportFlights to two new destinations are set to take off from Doncaster’s Robin Hood Airport this summer.

The York Press

• Bus drivers spend a day in the lives of their partially sighted passengers STAFF from a York bus company have experienced blindness this weekend, to help them understand the needs of the visually impaired.

Wales Online

• High-speed rail chugs closer to reality despite rebel protestsPlaid Cymru challenges Labour to commit to give Wales propotion of total project spend.

Bucks Free Press

• Cllr: 'Traffic study before any more A40 development' A TRAFFIC study of London Road should be carried out before any further development is allowed, a councillor has said after calling in plans for a takeaway outlet.

Doncaster Free Press

• More flights announced from Robin Hood AirportFlights to two new destinations are set to take off from Doncaster’s Robin Hood Airport this summer.

Other Regional Press

• Thanet MP Sir Roger Gale calls for review of cargo traffic to divert business to Manston AirportA Kent MP is calling for an urgent government review into freight traffic in a bid to extend the life of Manston Airport.
• Residents and councillors condemn lack of action to improve access at Marsden railway station more than two years since campaign taken to LondonClrs hope that a meeting with Network Rail will put pressure on station owners Northern Rail to take action

Aviation Industry

• Virgin Atlantic renews Travelport dealDeal ensures airline's content is available to all Travelport-connected agents
• Heathrow ‘refines proposals’ on expansion bidChanges made following public consultation

Other News Sources

• Manston Airport: Transport Minister Robert Goodwill rules out government intervention on closure consultation during House of Commons debateTransport Minister Robert Goodwill says the government will not intervene directly in the consultation on Manston Airport’s closure but hopes it will stay open.
• Questions raised over HS2 benefits to the NorthThe government risks misleading the public by claiming HS2 will transform the North of England, a right-wing think tank has warned.
• GTMC urges business travellers against HS2 to ‘reconsider’Association backs controversial scheme