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

Saturday, 10 May 2014

BBC News

• VIDEO: New traffic lights to help elderlyPedestrians could be given more time to cross the road as part of an overhaul of crossings aimed at improving safety.
• Opening stage of Giro d'Italia endsThe opening stage of the Giro d'Italia, the world's second-largest bike race, ends in Belfast.

Department for Transport

• Consultation on future Great Western franchiseSeeks views on proposed approach for securing Great Western franchised rail services when the current franchise award ends in 2015

Financial Times

• How to invest in infrastructureRetail investors can choose from equities, funds and debt to gain access to infrastructure assets, which can deliver low-risk inflation-linked returns
• Heathrow stands firm on third-runway planThe airport has rejected an alternative idea for an extension and is to issue its own revised proposal which includes a traffic congestion charge

The Guardian

• Laura Trott: how to cycle London's Olympic velodrome videoNicole Jackson meets double Olympic champion Laura Trott at the Olympic VeloPark in Stratford, east London, which is now open to the public. She tests out the indoor track on which Trott's medals were won. How exactly do you get around a 42-degree incline on a bike with no brakes? Nicole met Laura Trott for the Do Something A-Z of cycling Continue reading...
• The Rules: 95 pedantic shortcuts to cycling enlightenmentNo cycling caps off the bike! Black shorts only! Why? Because the Velominati says soAs regular readers of this blog will have realised, those who cycle are rarely short of strong opinions. And opinions dont come much stronger, and certainly not more definitive, than The Rules.Many of you might already know the venerable website, now collated into a book with more thorough explanations for each mandate, hence this post. For those who dont, its a collection of diktats on two-wheeled matters ranging from etiquette to cycle fashion, issued by a shadowy and self-appointed collective known as the Ve...

The Herald

• Level-crossing with worst track record A SUBURB of Dundee is home to the most dangerous level-crossing in Scotland, according to new figures from police.

The Independent

• Ed Balls to face prosecution and points on his licence after hitting parked car Ed Balls faces the embarrassment of being prosecuted – and having points added to his driving licence – after failing to report hitting another car.

Mail Online

• Car firm Kia recalls 7,000 of its UK models over fears their seatbelts don't work properly The recall affects 5,787 Sportage models and 1,432 Soul vehicles made in 2011 and 2012 in Kia's factories in Slovakia and Korea.

Network Rail

• Line closure to allow essential drainage improvement work to take placeThe line between Crewe and Chester will be closed next week to allow Network Rail to carry out essential drainage improvement work.

Birmingham Mail

• Drunk Brum motorist driving wrong way crashed outside police station Part-time chef jailed for eight months for dangerous driving and banned from the roads for 18 months

Birmingham Post

• Birmingham, Coventry and Wolverhampton battle to host high speed rail college Midland cities Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Coventry are competing to build a £20 million rail engineering college.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Taxis shake-up is a danger, say MPs Council chiefs in Bradford say they have been left in the dark about a looming ‘bonfire’ of taxi regulations branded dangerous by some MPs.

London Evening Standard

• Lucy Tobin: I’m all for black cabs but Londoners want choice There I was chomping duck and pancakes at the Chinese restaurant in the middle of the Shard, looking down on the sprawling, buzzing City of London, only it looked a lot quieter than usual. Ant-like people were still treading the pavement but the roads were stationary; double-decker buses and vans as unmovingly blotting the tarmac as if Kim Jong-un had screamed out “time for musical statues.”
• British Airways boss Willie Walsh calls on MPs to be more assertive in EuropeBritish Airways supremo Willie Walsh today claimed UK politicians could “do a lot more to influence politics in Europe” and make deal-making in the union smoother ahead of this month’s European elections.
• Road test: Jaguar F-type R CoupéWhen Jaguar unveiled the F-type convertible a year ago, it received a rapturous welcome. Now the hard-top coupé has arrived, and not only is it as good, it’s even better looking and some models are also £7,000 cheaper.

Northern Echo

• £2m to repair city's crumbling roads COUNCIL bosses have set aside £2m for repairs to crumbling roads and footpaths in the tourist capital of the north.

The York Press

• Fundraiser set to cycle entire Tour de France route for charity Gripped by Tour de France fever, scores of cyclists are saddling up to take on the Yorkshire part of the route this summer.

Wales Online

• HMS Dragon given freedom of the city of CardiffThe Type 45 destroyer will arrive in the capital on Wednesday for five days as the 152m ship looks to build on the already strong bond with Cardiff

Yorkshire Post

• Anger as Northern Rail accused of disregard for safetyA ROW has broken out between Northern Rail and rail union RMT after the union claimed the contents of a leaked email suggested the company had a “cavalier and dangerous disregard for safety”.

East Anglian Daily Times

• Gallery: Thousands line roads to watch cyclists on The Women’s Tour battle it outRace organisers say they were “extremely heartened” by the crowds of cheering spectators who turned out in support today of the Women’s Tour third stage.

Reading Evening Post

• Watch: Aviation industry experts outline challenges to the growth of air travel at global summit During the centenary year of the first commercial flight, leaders of the global aviation industry meet in Geneva for the Global Aviation Summit to discuss the challenges the next century will bring

Sunderland Echo

• Transport Secretary agrees to discuss extending Metro to WashingtonTRANSPORT Secretary Patrick McLoughlin has agreed to explore plans to expand the Metro system into Washington.

Other Regional Press

• Eyes on the prize as Sir Ben’s base bid is submittedTHE much-anticipated proposals for Sir Ben Ainslie’s America’s Cup headquarters have been submitted to Portsmouth City Council’s planning department.
• George Street closure to affect the buses A ROAD in central Oxford will shut for about a month from tomorrow with about four weeks of disruption to follow.
• Campaign seeks to give Ampthill Railway Station new lifeRAILWAY enthusiasts are trying to drum up support for their campaign to bring a disused train station back to life.
• New cycle shelters to give boost to ride to school campaign PUPILS are being encouraged to pedal to school with the opening of a new cycle storage facility.

Campaign for Better Transport

• RDG: Train travel costs the same as it did 20 years ago9 May 2014: Yesterday the Rail Delivery Group (RDG), the newish incarnation of the Association of Train Operating Companies, read more

Global Rail News

• ORR approves reduction in HS1 access chargesThe Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) has approved a five-year plan for HS1 which included proposals to reduce track access charges by at least 12 per cent between 2015-20. Based[...]
• Sydney to spend $2.8 billion on new intercity trainsThe New South Wales Government hopes to introduce a new fleet of intercity trains onto the rail network around Sydney by 2019, Minister for Transport Gladys Berejiklian has announced. A $2.8[...]

Aviation Industry

• BA Owner IAG Stems First Quarter LossThe owner of British Airways and Iberia said it has reduced first quarter losses through improved performance and cost-cutting.

Other News Sources

• Extra £23m to repair Surrey's flood damaged roadsSurrey County Council plans to fix more than 160 kilometres of road and an extra 20,000 potholes caused by flooding in 2014
• Easyjet looks to burn less fuel with 'paperless' planes EasyJet is set to fly its first 'paperless' plane later this month, a move which could ultimately save the budget airline around half a million dollars in fuel costs alone.
• Singapore seafaring union opens training centreThe Singapore Maritime Officers Union (SMOU) opened a training centre today, taking another step towards promoting seafaring as a career in the city-state.