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

Saturday, 14 June 2014

BBC News

• Shortlist for HS2 college announcedFour towns and cities across England are shortlisted to become home to a new national college to train engineers working on the HS2 rail link.
• Bus lane cameras switched back onBus lane cameras which resulted in £60,000 worth of fines for drivers in Birmingham are to be switched back on, the council says.
• TfL reveals cycle safety measuresTransport for London aims to cut the number of lorries on London roads and introduce equipment on buses to help drivers spot cyclists and pedestrians.
• France rail strike halts many trainsA strike by train staff in France - already three days old - halts many rail services and is set to run into the weekend.
• GM recalls more cars over ignitionGeneral Motors recalls more than 500,000 Chevrolet Camaro cars, mostly in North America, after finding a fault with its ignition system.

Financial Times

• UK weighs bribery charges against AlstomThe SFO’s investigation is just one of a number of ongoing probes around the world into alleged corruption by the French conglomerate
• Protests drive growth of taxi-hailing appsProtests in several large European cities had side-effect of raising profile of the smartphone services the drivers were demonstrating against
• Spain to sell 49% of airports group AenaOperation is likely to raise up to €16bn for government and is the most significant privatisation move by Madrid for more than a decade

The Guardian

• Tesla hands over the keys to its electric car technologyElectric carmaker Tesla Motors is handing over the keys to its technology in an unusual effort to encourage other automakers to expand beyond gasoline-burning vehicles. Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, promised on Thursday to give away the company’s entire patent portfolio, as long as they promised not to engage courtroom battles over intellectual property.
• The Uber revolution is just beginning and no cabbie protest can stop itTaxi drivers went on strike for a day in several European cities on Wednesday, leading, apparently, to "traffic chaos" from London to Berlin and Paris to Madrid. Here in Barcelona, I barely noticed – largely because my hotel is a 10-minute walk from the conference where I'm speaking, and especially because the city's public mass transit system is superb. And so the mass anti-Uber protest was meaningless.
• Bloodhound SSC: cockpit of 1,000mph car unveiledDriver Andy Green says plan is to make history, push back laws of physics and inspire generation of scientists and engineersAndy Green, RAF fighter pilot, record breaker and action hero, slipped off his shoes before clambering into the cockpit of Bloodhound, the supersonic car being handcrafted in the UK to hit the 1,000mph mark. "I don't want to put my boot through any of the digital displays. That wouldn't be too clever."By next summer Bloodhound SSC will be racing along a Cornish test track and few weeks later be transported to a desert in South Africa where the plan is fo...

The Herald

• Inverness to host canals conferenceA prestigious global conference that attracts people who live, work or play on the world's canals is coming to Inverness.

The Scotsman

• Malaysia Airlines begins pay-outsMALAYSIA Airlines has begun giving out $50,000 (£31,000) in advance insurance payments to families of people aboard missing Flight 370, but many Chinese relatives have indicated they’ll reject it.

The Telegraph

• HMS Whibrel: one week to save last Battle of the Atlantic escort A group of former Naval officers is fighting a last minute battle to save an historic British warship from an Egyptian scrapyard, to try to turn her into a permanent memorial to the Battle of the Atlantic. The former HMS Whimbrel is believed to be the only surviving Royal Navy convoy escort to see action during the bitter Second World War struggle against Germany’s U-boats.
• China urges UK Government to expand HeathrowChina wants Heathrow airport to expand its capacity so Chinese airlines can introduce more flights between China and the UK, China's ambassador to Britain said, saying he had written to the government about the issue.
• 13 planes vanish from radars over EuropeAn air-safety investigation has been launched after 13 planes flying over Europe disappeared from radar screens in two "unprecedented" blackouts, leading to reports stating air traffic control systems had been hacked.

Reuters News

• China says it wants Heathrow airport to expandLONDON (Reuters) - China wants London's Heathrow airport to expand its capacity so that Chinese airlines can introduce more flights between China and Britain, China's ambassador to Britain said on Friday, saying he had written to the government about the issue.
• London's bankers favour electric rides over flash cars at MotorexpoLONDON (Reuters) - Instead of a Ferrari Testarossa, the next

Mail Online

• Malaysia Airlines to pay families of missing MH370 passengers £30,000 each and final compensation once the 'issue of tragedy' is over The final amount of compensation will only be paid to the families of those on board the flight which went missing while travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in March when a cause of the crash is found, it has been reported.

Network Rail

• Network Rail to begin £10m complete replacement of Tennison Road bridge, CroydonTennison Road bridge, near Norwood Junction, Croydon, will be closing from June 16 until spring 2015 to allow Network Rail to completely replace it with a bigger and better structure.

Birmingham Post

• Big bike giveaway to kickstart £24m cycling revolutionBirmingham is offering a massive 5,000 bike giveaway in a desperate bid to get people to take to pedal power.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Padarn Bus: Two more arrested over fraud claimsTwo more people have been arrested over fraud claims at a Gwynedd bus company.

London Evening Standard

• First-time car owners are ditching old bangers Remember the pride, thrill  and sheer steering wheel-thumping frustration of your first car after passing your L-test, years ago?

Sheffield Telegraph

• 11,000 sign road petitionMore than 11,000 people have signed a petition calling for better road safety at the spot in Sheffield where 14-year-old Jasmyn Chan was killed by a hit-and-run driver.

The York Press

• York loses rail college bid YORK has lost out on its bid to host the national High Speed Rail training college.

Wales Online

• Rhodri Morgan claims Welsh Government built £10m road because BBC said new HQ would be in Cardiff BayRhodri Morgan says there were two potential sites for the planned new BBC Wales HQ five years ago, one in Cardiff Bay

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Video: Tour de France stage one as the riders will see itYorkshire’s Tour de France routes have been much-travelled by generations of cyclists.

Other Regional Press

• More than 65,000 passengers use Portsmouth’s new park and ridePORTSMOUTH’S new park and ride is on the road to success as figures show it has been used by more than 65,000 passengers.
• Price hoping crossing threat will bridge gap with rail firm THE leader of Oxford City Council has threatened to scupper one of Network Rail’s schemes if it does not provide ‘disabled-friendly’ bridges in South Oxford.
• Preparations underway for ‘Boris bikes’ to arrive in NorthamptonCycle CoNNect - Northampton’s bicycle hire scheme - is set to launch later this month creating a low cost, convenient and sustainable way to travel about the town.
• Thames Hub airport on Isle of Grain: Foster and Partners submit response to Airports Commission saying relocating habitat will cost £500mRelocating wildlife disrupted by a new airport in the Thames Estuary will cost £500m, say the architects behind the £15bn project in a crunch report.

Airportwatch

• Alitalia board approved Etihad tie-up The board of struggling Italian airline Alitalia has approved a tie-up proposal with the Emirati carrier Etihad Airways. Alitalia chairman Roberto Colaninno and chief executive Gabriele Del Torchio are charged with negotiating details of the deal with the Abu Dhabi airline. Etihad has for months been negotiating to buy up to 49pc of the stricken Italian flag carrier, which is facing bankruptcy.

Railnews

• Another key Thameslink appointment Govia has announced that Network Rail manager Dyan Crowther is to be the chief operating officer of the forthcoming Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern franchise, which starts in mid-September.
• Open access plans gain Network Rail agreement Aspiring open access operator Great North Western Railway Company said it has come to agreement with Network Rail on the sale of access rights to begin the operation of two new direct services from the North of England to London on the West Coast Main Line. One would provide six daily return journeys between London and Blackpool and the other between London, Manchester Victoria, Huddersfield and Leeds. A period of industry consultation is now due to end early next month.

Aviation Industry

• Ryanair issues €850m in bonds to fund new aircraftRyanair has issued €850 million ($1.2 billion) in new bonds to fund its new aircraft acquisitions, attracting a strong take-up. read more
• Boeing $7.4 Billion Order Is Biggest Ever From Chinese AirlineBoeing Co. won its biggest order from a Chinese carrier as China Eastern Airlines Corp. agreed to buy 80 737 jets valued at $7.4 billion.

Other News Sources

• UK shipping fails to sell itselfLiverpool MEP Jacqueline Foster has described as 'outrageous' the fact that a UK maritime management degree course with a hundred places available had attracted only one student.