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

Tuesday, 06 May 2014

BBC News

• Labour should reform the railways, prospective MPs sayLabour should renationalise the rail industry if it wins the next election, a group of 31 prospective MPs has said.
• Steam rail line extension bidPassenger trains could return to a Gwynedd town almost 50 years after the last departed.
• Brown quizzed on Haudagain blackspotTransport minister Keith Brown faces questions from councillors about the traffic blackspot at Aberdeen's Haudagain roundabout.
• Nokia launches $100m smart car fundNokia launches a $100m (£59m) fund to invest in firms specialising in connected and smart vehicles.
• Three-day Tube strike suspendedA three-day strike by London Underground workers due to start on Monday evening is suspended, the RMT union says.

Financial Times

• Railway operators slam Labour plansParty leader Ed Miliband says that taxpayers are paying for a franchising system that is not working well
• Battle looms over plans for driverless Tube trainsTfL’s recent announcement that it wanted to order Tube trains capable of being operated without a driver was met with a promise of war from unions
• Channel tunnel’s legacy of lessonsProject cost twice original budget, lost £925m in first year and never reached forecast passenger levels – but hailed as ‘a true feat of engineering’
• Italy set to launch privatisation driveState-owned shipbuilder Fincantieri is poised to apply to list in Milan in a privatisation that could also include a €600m capital increase
• Fridman-backed Pamplona buys Beacon RailSecond recent private equity investment in European railways sector as investors seek to benefit from liberalisation of traffic

The Guardian

• Labour warned to tread carefully on price freeze pledgesCaroline Flint warns party that popular one-size-fits-all pledges to cut bills are impractical for sectors such as water or rail
• Labour reluctant to set rail nationalisation back on track [Letter - Martin Griffiths]Those who make the case for creating a public-sector bidder for rail franchises by comparing the finances of publicly run East Coast with private sector franchisees should think again
• There's no evidence that privatisation works, but it marches onFrom the Land Registry to East Coast rail, valuable public assets are being frittered away despite the many cautionary tales

The Herald

• Just the ticket! UK's cheapest fare is in PerthshireTHE cheapest single bus fare in Britain has been found on a route in Perthshire.
• Gloag's airport says no to American offerA CLOSURE-threatened airport owned by one of Scotland's richest women has rejected an offer from an American firm to buy it.

The Independent

• Tube strike 2014: RMT calls off three-day Tube strike following talks with London Underground The RMT trade union has called off a three-day tube strike it had planned to commence on Bank Holiday Monday, following last-ditch negotiations with London Underground officials this morning. 

The Telegraph

• London Tube strike is called offMembers of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union were due to walk out from 9pm tonight, but a breakthrough emerges at a meeting with London Underground
• HS2 to clone threatened 250-year-old pear tree from cuttingsBosses of High Speed 2 railway to replant cuttings from 250-year-old pear tree, one of the largest in Britain

Mail Online

• Three-day Tube strike called OFF at 11th hour by union A planned three-day strike by London Underground workers due to start tonight, has been suspended, the RMT union said today.

London Evening Standard

• Tube strike: union calls off three-day walkout for London Underground workers after talksA planned three-day strike on the Tube by London Underground (LU) workers has been suspended, the RMT union said today.

Nottingham Evening Post

• Nottingham Post commented Renationalising railways would improve service, claims campaignerRENATIONALISING the railway industry would improve the service for passengers, a Nottinghamshire campaigner claims. Labour leader Ed Miliband has revealed that his party would be willing to look into returning railways back into public ownership if it won next year's General Election. He told a TV programme that Labour would not return to the old days of British Rail but the current system was flawed. David Thornhill, of the Nottinghamshire Campaign for Better Transport, said he would be fully...

The York Press

• Train dangers spelled out to children Children as young as five have been caught playing on railway tracks in North Yorkshire according to rail bosses launching a safety campaign in York schools.

Wales Online

• Plan to rebuild road bridges ahead of rail electrification sparks traffic concernsNetwork Rail moves to allay fears despite problems with similar schemes over the border

Other Regional Press

• Formal bid to buy threatened Manston Airport rejected after offer revealed by North Thanet MP Sir Roger GaleAn offer to buy threatened Manston airport has been rejected - throwing its future into further doubt.
• Cycle project moving wheely well TWO more sections of a shared cycleway and footpath project in Purbeck should be completed by June, says Dorset County Council.

Other News Sources

• Road safety expert backs A9 cameras as MP calls for public debateRow over average speed cameras along Highlands artery continues to gather steam.
• Gatwick Airport expansion threatens historic buildingsCouncillors, Charlwood History Group and the Woodland Trust all oppose Gatwick Airport's proposals to build a second runway