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

Saturday, 07 June 2014

BBC News

• Smart loos at Heathrow Terminal 2Loos that monitor the number of people who use them to improve the efficiency of cleaning have opened in Heathrow.
• Tesla hints at technology giveawayTesla chief executive Elon Musk gives the strongest hint yet that the firm is considering giving away technology to help speed up electric car development.

Financial Times

• Hertz shares plunge on accounting probeGroup said it may have to restate financial results for the last three years and plans to spin off its equipment rental unit could be disrupted
• New UPS chief looks overseas for growthDavid Abney will succeed Scott Davis in September but pledges to continue his strategy of organic expansion or acquisitions outside the US

The Guardian

• UK flights disrupted by baggage system fault across EuropeIT problem affects British airports including Heathrow, with some passengers flying without their hold luggage

The Herald

• Funding for air links between Dundee and London secured for next two yearsAIR links between Dundee and London have been secured for the next two years following a funding agreement, the UK Government has said.
• Train cleaners in 24-hour walkoutCLEANERS on Virgin Trains are to stage a 24-hour strike in a row over a sacked colleague.

The Scotsman

• Glasgow 2014: ScotRail struggling to meet demandTHOUSANDS of commuters on the east coast will face overcrowding and slower journeys because carriages are being sent to Glasgow for the Commonwealth Games, it has emerged.

Mail Online

• Power failure at Bristol Airport grounds flights and causes 'chaos and mass delays' Passengers have taken to Twitter to voice their frustration as flights are delayed and the terminal fills with grounded passengers.
• Rip off Britain as motorists pay among highest pump prices in Europe - 43p more than Andorra and 29p a litre more than France for diesel Motoring groups say garages are ‘profiteering’ by dragging their feet and failing to pass on the benefits of falling wholesale prices of up to 6p a litre for diesel alone.

Derby Telegraph

• Derby Telegraph published Motorists admit to tailgating on 70mph roadsDRIVERS in Derbyshire are being warned about the dangers of tailgating after new research revealed 60% of motorists admit to doing it when driving on 70mph roads.The survey by road safety charity Brake also revealed that a similar proportion of drivers exceed the speed limit by at least 10mph on both of these types of road.Mike Ashworth, chairman of Derby and Derbyshire Road Safety Partnership, said: "It's alarming that so many people are ignoring the speed limit and tailgating on motorways...

London Evening Standard

• World Cup: Run late night Tube for England's opening match, MPs and firms urge Boris Johnson London businesses and MPs have backed calls for Boris Johnson to lay on extra late night travel services to get fans home after England’s opening World Cup game against Italy.
• Now Sainsbury’s launches Tube click and collect Sainsbury's today announced it is following in the footsteps of rivals Tesco and Asda by launching a click and collect service for the Tube.
• Bus passengers can make 'One More Journey' without Oyster credit from Sunday Passengers who forget to top up their Oyster cards will be allowed to make ‘One More Journey’ on a bus from this Sunday.

Manchester Evening News

• Hundreds take to Manchester streets for naked bike ride – pictures and video The crowd of bikes went for a ride around the city to wolf-whistles and the sound of car horns

Sheffield Star

• Sheffield businesses try out electric vehicles in SheffieldBusiness owners gave electric vehicles a test drive as part of a bid to reduce harmful emissions in Sheffield.

The York Press

• No extra space for bikes on train carriages during Le Tour INCREASED rail services during the Grand Depart will not include any extra provision for cyclists.
• New Park&Ride site to open with launch of fleet of electric buses YORK'S newest Park&Ride site opens this weekend with the launch of a fleet of electric buses.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Leeds drivers are stuck in the slow laneMotorists are having to endure life in the slow lane during the so-called rush-hour in Leeds, new figures revealed today.

East Anglian Daily Times

• Stansted Airport: Government to fund twice daily flight to DundeeA Government agreement has been used to protect a twice daily flight each way between Essex and Scotland.
• Travel: Highways Agency to close A11 near Thetford as part of Fiveways improvements schemeMotorists have been warned of impending road closures next week as part of continuing highways improvements.

Peterborough Telegraph

• Campaigners delight at Lincoln Road safety victoryCampaigners have welcomed the installation of a safer pedestrian crossing on a busy road in central Peterborough.
• Campaigners delight at Lincoln Road safety victoryCampaigners have welcomed the installation of a safer pedestrian crossing on a busy road in central Peterborough.

Other Regional Press

• Residents urged to record Luton Airport noise from aircraftResidents gathered last week to voice their concerns following the decision by the Government to not call in the planning application for the expansion for Luton Airport.
• RAilway users must endure six weeks of inconvenienceTrain passengers must endure cancellations and replacement bus services this summer as part of the electrification of the railway.
• UPDATED: Blackpool Airport plane evacuation dramaPassengers on a Blackpool-bound flight have been forced to evacuate in a 999 emergency.
• Emergency services respond to ‘train collision’ in training exerciseAn emergency training exercise based on a train collision is being held close to St John’s railway station in Bedford on Sunday, June 8.

Bus and Coach.com

• Route tendering launchedThe Land Transport Authority is introducing a route tendering system for Singapore’s buses ahead of the expiry in August 2016 of the existing licences held by SBS Transit and SMRT.
• Crusader brand expandsMotts Travel of Aylesbury is extending its use of the Crusader Holidays name to cover all of its holiday coach tours.
• EC seeks CO2 reductionsPlans to cut CO2 emissions from trucks, buses and coaches have been announced by the European Commission, which says that heavy-duty vehicles are responsible for around a quarter of CO2 emissions from road transport in the European Union.
• North Yorks rural bus trialNorth Yorkshire county council has reintroduced a scheduled bus service in Swaledale and Wensleydale following complaints about the demand-responsive service which replaced the regular service in April.
• Punctuality proposals under attackA proposal by senior traffic commissioner Beverley Bell to relax the guidelines on bus punctuality has been criticised by Passenger Focus and Bus Users UK.
• Lothian orders Euro 6 VolvosFollowing a two-month trial of an evaluation vehicle, Lothian Buses has ordered 25 Euro 6 Volvo B5TLs with Wrightbus Gemini 3 bodies.
• ADL pulls out of AustraliaADL has pulled out of Australia, putting its Custom Coaches business into administration.
• Talisman takes last UK SetraThe last Setra for a UK operator has been delivered by EvoBus to Talisman Coach Lines of Colchester.
• Padarn Bus closes as police investigatePadarn Bus, one of the biggest operators in North Wales, has gone in to liquidation.
• Wormwell leads Shearings buy-outBritain’s biggest coach operator, Shearings, has been bought by its management, led by chief executive Denis Wormwell.

Global Rail News

• France to upgrade to all-IP GSM-R networkRéseau Ferré de France (RFF) and Synerail have awarded Kapsch CarrierCom a contract to upgrade the GSM-R system across almost half of France’s rail network. Almost 15,000 kilometres of track[...]
• EU agrees on Fourth Railway Package Technical PillarEurope’s Transport Ministers have reached agreements on three texts of the Fourth Railway Package which are designed to remove the administrative and technical barriers that hinder the development of European rail[...]
• Senior appointments made for TSGN franchiseGo-Ahead has announced that Southeastern’s managing director Charles Horton is to head the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern (TSGN) franchise. Horton, who will become the chief executive of the UK’s[...]
• VR launches tender for double-deck carriagesFinnish rail operator VR has issued an invitation to tender for new double-deck passenger rolling stock. VR is looking to procure 46 new passenger cars, with an option for an additional[...]
• Freight trials continue at EustonFreight made a return to London’s Euston station this week as a second trial service pulled into the station. TNT Express, in partnership with Colas Rail, Intermodality, Network Rail and Transport[...]
• EIB loan to fund Polish line improvementsPoland’s infrastructure manager, PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe, is to receive a €268 million loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to improve a stretch of electrified railway between Katowice to Kraków. The 58-kilometre[...]
• DB orders SyltShuttle TRAXX locomotivesDeutsche Bahn (DB) has exercised an option with Bombardier for seven multi-engine TRAXX locomotives. The diesel locomotives will operate the SyltShuttle service from Niebüll across the Hindenburgdamm to Sylt. By the end of 2015,[...]
• Trafikverket awards main line maintenance contractsTrafikverket has given Strukton the responsibility of maintaining two major rail routes in the south of Stockholm. The five-year contract covers the Nynäs Line and the Western Main Line between Älvsjö and Gnesta[...]

Aviation Industry

• British Airways in ‘advanced’ talks for in-flight wifiHigh-speed Internet could be on short-haul services by 2016