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

Wednesday, 14 May 2014

BBC News

• Edinburgh trams: Ticket prices confirmedTicket prices for Edinburgh's new tram service have been confirmed.
• £15.4m boost for transport schemesPublic transport, roads, walking and cycling routes around Wales are to benefit from over £15m worth of improvements.
• Google Maps get GB transit dataGoogle Maps now offers coast-to-coast public transport data across Great Britain, including ferries, buses and trams.
• Work begins on £68m bus lane schemeWork begins to create an improved bus route in Greater Manchester.
• Car tech driving a greener futureCan technology make us more sustainable drivers?
• Airbus orders slump but profit risesEurope's largest aerospace group Airbus says orders for its jets dropped sharply in the first quarter of the year, but profits nearly doubled.

Financial Times

• EasyJet first-half loss narrows to £53mLow-cost airline attracts more business passengers and benefits from measures such as allocated seating as well as revamping its website

The Guardian

• Heathrow bids to tunnel M25 under third runwayThe £15.6bn plan digs 600-metre-long, 14-lane motorway under proposed new runway
• Google Maps adds public transport data across UKPartnerships with National Express, Traveline and local tram and ferry firms have provided 17,000 routes across the country through Google's popular mapping tool

The Herald

• Strike vow from Scot on track to be rail union bossAlan Pottage says he would not hesitate to bring Scotland's rail network to a standstill and talks of using civil disobedience to support a future strike.

The Scotsman

• Ticket prices rise before Edinburgh trams even runTRAM fares in the Scottish capital have been increased – before the first fee-paying passenger has even set foot on board.

The Mirror

• Missing Malaysia Airlines flight live: Malaysian Government accused of hiding information on vanished jetOpposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, 66, said it was impossible that the Boeing 777 would not have been tracked by Malaysia’s radar system after it changed course

Network Rail

• Network Rail £7m upgrade at Colchester to give passengers more reliable journeys on Great Eastern Main LineRail passengers travelling on the busy Great Eastern Main Line can look forward to more reliable journeys as a major programme to renew ageing infrastructure starts this May.

Birmingham Post

• Record month for Birmingham Airport Strong performance 'perfect start to summer' as transport hub welcomes record passenger numbers
• Midland firm chosen to make UK first driverless cars Coventry-based RDM Group will work alongside Oxford University experts to create three test vehicles to carry two passengers unmanned at speeds of up to 7mph

Edinburgh Evening News

• Richard Branson won’t rule out Edinburgh trams [video]Sir Richard Branson will not rule out running the long-awaited Edinburgh trams as one of his next projects, saying he would be enthusiastic about the idea of taking it on.

London Evening Standard

• Commentary: How will roads cope with bigger Heathrow?What has caught the imagination most in the latest version of Heathrow’s expansion ambitions is highways not runways.
• Heathrow airport third runway: M25 would be 16 lanes wide under new planHeathrow bosses today unveiled plans to convert the M25 into a 16-lane motorway to make way for a third runway.

Newcastle Journal

• Richard Branson reveals East Coast high speed rail hopesSir Richard Branson has told of his desire to bring high speed Virgin Trains to the East Coast Main Line

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• Record April for Birmingham AirportPassenger numbers have soared at Birmingham Airport as it recorded the busiest April in its history, with more than 750,000 passengers passing through the terminal.

Yorkshire Post

• Visitor village celebrates first generation of tramway travelIT WAS the last one standing when Sheffield closed its first generation tramway more than five decades ago, and now the number 510 is set for a return.

Blackpool Gazette

• Transport chief calls for crossing rethinkBlackpool’s transport chief today slammed a controversial new road crossing which blind people say is dangerous to use, and admitted they need to go back to the drawing board.

Bucks Free Press

• Acting star joins protesters on HS2 campaign walk ACTOR Robert Lindsay was among the campaigners who turned out for an anti HS2 walk in Bucks on Sunday.

Other Regional Press

• Manston airport: Unite says another offer by RiverOak Investment Corp is expected as it launches grievances against managementThe US group that had a £5m bid for Manston airport rejected is expected to make another attempt ahead of its planned closure, say unions.
• The future arrives! Coventry firm wins contract to build 'driverless public transport pods'RDM Group will create electric powered pods designed to carry up to two passengers along pavements

C.N.N.

• Is Asia's signature mode of transport set for an electric revolution?

Global Rail News

• Recycling railwaysWith space at a premium, the need to redevelop disused and unloved corners of our towns and cities is great. The challenge for urban regenerators is that it’s usually much[...]
• Light-weight high-speed train concept developedA team of researchers in Germany has come up with a new manufacturing technique for high-speed train components that could lead to significant weight and cost savings. The concept, which[...]

Railnews

• National Express reveals rise in rail earnings National Express Group has reported a 4 per cent rise in its earnings from the rail sector since the start of the year. NXG is pursuing several more franchises after a period of retreat which followed its early exit from Intercity East Coast in 2009. It has also recently won a German rail operating contract and is bidding for a second.

Aviation Industry

• Heathrow submits new scheme for a third runwayHeathrow Airport has submitted its updated scheme proposal to the Airports Commission and despite including suggestions such as a congestion charge and a more generous noise compensation scheme, the environmental issues still remain.
• Heathrow and Gatwick submit revised expansion plansDecision by Airports Commission to be made in 2015

Other News Sources

• All-electric tube-bending machineSL Engineering, the Lincolnshire-based manufacturer of aerospace tubular parts, has bought a second all-electric CNC tube-bending machine — a Breeze 80 — from Unison (www.unisonltd.com). This extends the size of tubing that can be bent to diameters of 80mm.
• World’s first satellite-based railway management systemThe world’s first railway management system communicating with satellites has been tested in Italy.
• Sunday buses return after 40-year gap A SUNDAY bus service across Hampshire countryside is returning after a break of 40 years.
• Heathrow plans good news for freight - echoing FTA report“Good news for freight” is the response from the Freight Transport Association to the news that the capacity at Heathrow’s cargo area is to be ...
• Winners of FTA everywoman in Transport & Logistics Awards announcedThe winners of the FTA everywoman in Transport & Logistics Awards for 2014 have been announced at a ceremony at The Savoy Hotel in London today ...
• Richard Burden MP: 'Rushed and Risky reforms' to the Taxi and Private Hire tradeShadow Roads Minister Richard Burden says the Government is wrong to deregulate this trade and that Labour will oppose these measures in the Deregulation Bill