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

Thursday, 12 June 2014

BBC News

• Network Rail reports £1bn profitNetwork Rail has reported a pre-tax profit of £1.035bn for the year to 31 March compared with restated profits of £747m a year earlier.
• City bypass preferred bidder namedThe preferred bidder for the controversial Aberdeen bypass is named as Connect Roads.
• Mitsubishi joins scramble for AlstomJapanese engineering giant Mitsubishi joins forces with German firm Siemens to come up with a fresh offer for France's Alstom.

Financial Times

• MPs warn over ship emissions rulesA cross-party group representing port constituencies wants tighter pollution rules amended to give the industry time to adapt amid fears for jobs

The Guardian

• The ruin-hunters who drove a car down Mexico's forgotten railwaysArtists Ivan Puig and Andres Padilla Domene purpose-built a car and set off along Mexico's abandoned railway lines, uncovering hundreds upon hundreds of modern ruins. A new exhibition of their trip shows an uncanny vision of our future Ruin Lust: our obsession with decay in picturesThe lure of ruins is complex. Ruins inspire the imagination, incite pleasantly melancholy thoughts, and humanise a landscape. Only in the wildest places can we walk without coming across some kind of ruin some human trace of enigmatic predecessors on the remote pathways. Even in the highest mountains in Snowdonia...

The Telegraph

• London taxi strike: our writers take on the cabsAs London cab drivers threaten strike action over the Uber app, our three writers - Jake Wallis Simons, Harry Wallop and Joe Shute - put the capital's taxis to the test
• Transport minister vows to restore public confidence in parking industryRobert Goodwill MP says a Government consultation will address public fear over the use of CCTV to enforce parking and the grace period when a ticket runs out

Parliament

• HOC HIGH SPEED RAIL (LONDON - WEST MIDLANDS) BILL COMMITTEEHigh Speed Rail (London-West Midlands) Bill

Reuters News

• Taxis sow traffic chaos in Europe protesting against Uber car appLONDON/PARIS (Reuters) - Taxi drivers sowed traffic chaos in Europe's top cities on Wednesday by mounting one of the biggest protests ever against Uber, a U.S. car service whose smartphone app summons rides at the touch of a button.

Mail Online

• Uber app causes Central London gridlocked by black cab drivers' protest Thousands of black cabs and licensed taxi drivers blocked roads in central London this afternoon by driving slowly through the capital in protest over a new phone app called Uber.

Birmingham Mail

• Birmingham to give away bikes to boost city's pedal power£17m scheme sees 2,000 new bikes given away free and 20 community hire hubs launched around the city

Liverpool Echo

• Watch: Angry motorists say new airport parking system is 'ridiculous' Airport has axed its free five-minute drop off point in favour of a new “express drop off and  pick up” car park which will cost £2 for 20 minutes

London Evening Standard

• World Cup results to be shown on Tube platform displays Tube passengers will be kept up to date with the World Cup via a live results service on the platform.
• Pay of Crossrail chief Andrew Wolstenholme soars to £700,000 The pay packet of Crossrail chief Andrew Wolstenholme increased by almost a quarter to £700,000 this year — making him one of Britain’s highest paid public sector bosses.
• Map your house hunting future: new homes hotspots along the London Overground route, from Surrey Quays to Willesden Junction The opening in 2012 of the East London line spur from Surrey Quays to Clapham Junction addressed a long-standing gripe about the Tube network — the dearth of stations in south London.

Nottingham Evening Post

• World's largest plane set to land at East Midlands Airport Antonov-225, the world's biggest aircraft, is due to touchdown at East Midlands airport on Thursday evening.

Wales Online

• So, can Cardiff Airport and low-cost carrier Ryanair really become the winning team once again?Aviation expert Martin Evans explores how the relationship between the two can grow wings after the Irish carrier announced its return to the airport after eight years

Yorkshire Post

• Delay-hit passenger wins court battle with Jet2.comA PASSENGER whose flight arrived 27 hours late has won a “landmark” compensation fight with an airline which said the delay was caused by “extraordinary circumstances”.

Blackpool Gazette

• Commuters facing rail disruptionThousands of commuters face disruption on rail journeys between the Fylde coast and Manchester when a six-week engineering project begins.

Carlisle News & Star

• On-street parking charges: Local committees support not needed, says Cumbria council On-street parking charges can still be brought in even without the support of the committees tasked with implementing them, Cumbria County Council has warned.

Other Regional Press

• It could be plane sailing for anti-Heathrow expansion competition winnerOne lucky anti-Heathrow expansion campaigner is about to bag £10,000 in a film competition.
• Two runway Gatwick could provide regional transport hub for area say airport bossesThe area’s road network would be left ’better than or the same’ if a second runway was built at Gatwick according to airport bosses.
• MP calls for action after six crashes in one week on A508 near NorthamptonThe Conservative MP for South Northamptonshire has requested an urgent review of the speed limit on a road near Northampton after a fatal collision.

Airportwatch

• Storm-hit Dawlish rail line: Brunel seawall row starts againPlans to raise a seawall in a Devon town, which was breached in winter storms, have been criticised by some residents worried about their privacy.

Global Rail News

• Tide Light Rail extension to Chesapeake on the agendaChesapeake, Virginia, is looking to try and finance a study into a proposed extension of the Tide Light Rail system to Greenbrier. The project is one of a several planned[...]
• Mitsubishi and Siemens considering joint Alstom bidSiemens and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) have indicated that they may make a joint bid for Alstom’s energy business. MHI has become the third company to show an interest in the[...]
• Brazil’s president opens Salvador MetroBrazil’s president, Dilma Rouseff, has visited the country’s Bahia state to officially open the Salvador’s new metro system. Operator Companhia de Concessões Rodoviárias (CCR) is running a limited service on[...]

Aviation Industry

• Heathrow posts record passenger traffic for MayA record six million passengers passed through Heathrow in May, the airport has confirmed.The figure represents a 2.2 per cent rise compared to May 2013.
• Flybe hails ‘rebirth’ as airline returns to profitCarrier records pre-tax profit of £8.1 million for 2013/14 financial year

Other News Sources

• Bristol City Council Partners with Videalert to Unveil £500,000 Journey Time Monitoring System to Tackle CongestionBristol City Council has awarded Videalert a major contract to deploy its innovative Digital Video Platform to monitor key routes and provide accurate journey time information to tackle growing congestion across the city.
• Liverpool Combined Authority looks at transport plansThe second meeting of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority is set to go ahead this Friday, with discussion focused on long-term transport plans for the region.
• Opinion: Taxi industry should embrace 'Uber' type solutionsCabfind.com MD argues it was inevitable someone was going to muscle in on the lucrative private car-hire industry
• Regus opens express lounge at Birmingham airportWorkspace provider Regus will open a new Express Lounge at Birmingham airport later this year.