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

Tuesday, 24 June 2014

BBC News

• Queen opens Heathrow Terminal 2The Queen officially opens the new £2.5bn Terminal 2 building at Heathrow Airport in west London.
• Heathrow jet smash film wins prizeAn animated video showing a jumbo set smashing into a street of houses has won a prize in an anti-Heathrow film competition.
• Glasgow cycle hire scheme launchedA £600,000 initiative to offer 400 bikes for hire at 31 locations across Glasgow is due to be launched.
• France claims victory in Alstom dealThe boss of rail and energy group Alstom says the $17bn deal to sell most of its power business to General Electric will protect France's interests and save jobs.
• Glasgow unveils bike hire scheme at 31 city locationsA £600,000 initiative to offer 400 bikes for hire at 31 locations across Glasgow is due to be launched.

Financial Times

• Montezemolo backs Etihad to save AlitaliaFerrari chairman is pulling his international strings to champion a deal where Etihad will rescue Alitalia from a second bankruptcy
• Emirates to reconsider Airbus A350 orderAirbus is to get a second chance to sell its new A350 aircraft to Emirates but the fast-growing Gulf carrier will also look at Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner
• BA hopes slow TV can make air time fly byFootage of a seven-hour train journey from Bergen to Oslo became a surprise phenomenon in Norway and will now lull air passengers to sleep
• Osborne HS3 idea yet to reach drawing boardThe chancellor, speaking in Manchester, said that he had no specific plan but rather wanted to ‘start a conversation’ about what has been dubbed HS3
• Northern cities jostle for seat on HS3Sheffield, Liverpool and northeast call for larger effort to link regional cities
• Better ways to link up northern citiesPrioritise connectivity to enhance prosperity. The region does not need a lavish solution in search of a problem

The Guardian

• The north needs more than a high-speed train line, GeorgeThe UK's north-south divide can't be fixed by the chancellor's railway proposal, which is likely to entrench London's position
• Forget HS3 – we need to fix the north of England's wretched rail service nowGeorge Osborne is busy making grand plans for the future, but he should sweat the small stuff

The Herald

• Anger at lack of high speed rail link to ScotlandA £7billion high-speed rail link between Manchester and Leeds - HS3 - would help create a
• Expanding Gatwick 'better for Scotland'PASSENGERS flying from Scotland could benefit from as many as 20 more flights to London each day if Gatwick Airport was expanded instead of a third runway being built at Heathrow, according to a new report.

The Independent

• London buses to tell you how many people are sat upstairs TfL is to introduce screens on London's double decker red buses that tell you how many free seats there are upstairs and where they're located, catering to that peculiarly British need to be very aware of your personal space and whether you'll have to actually sit next to another human being.

The Telegraph

• Boris Johnson: Thames Estuary airport 'best for whole of UK'New report claims a new four-runway hub airport in the Thames Estuary would provide more connections to the UK's regions than an expanded Heathrow
• British Airways launches in-flight 'slow TV', with seven hour film of train journeyBritish Airways will screen a seven-hour-long train journey on board its flights, as stressed passengers warm to
• HS3 alone will not get our big northern cities on trackA new rail link will help to regenerate the North, but political reform is the real key to success, says Philip Johnston

City AM

• Osborne criticised over high speed vanity projectCHANCELLOR George Osborne’s plan for a High Speed 3 rail link between Manchester and Leeds in the north of the country has been dubbed a “costly vanity project” by a leading economic think tank. The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA)...

Mail Online

• BA's new film offering is a silent seven-hour train ride to Oslo: Airline to screen 'Slow TV' movie as calming influence for passengers BA bosses reckon many passengers will de-stress on a to 'Slow TV' - the on-screen equivalent of watching paint dry.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Safety fears over "free-for-all" private hire changes FEARS that the relaxation of private hire rules could lead to a dangerous free-for-all and attacks by sham drivers has led to police chiefs lobbying the government.

London Evening Standard

• The plane truth: Malaysia Airlines boss on what really happened the night flight MH370 went missing It was four in the morning and Hugh Dunleavy was heading to Kuala Lumpur airport to fly to a conference in Borneo when his phone flashed with an emergency text. Malaysia Airlines’ commercial boss never made it to that conference. Instead he spent the next 72 hours working non-stop to find out why flight MH370 had gone missing and trying to explain his lack of an answer to hundreds of distraught relatives in a grief limbo.
• Flights from London airports 'to be delayed' due to French air traffic controller strike Flights from some London airports will be subject to delays and cancellations tomorrow due to a strike by air traffic controllers in France.

Sheffield Telegraph

• Tram works to hit Sheffield city centreMotorists and commuters face two months of disruption in Sheffield city centre as the next phase of tram rail replacement work takes place.

Wales Online

• Rupert Hall: Why runway expansion at Heathrow is the best airport hub option for WalesWalesOnline's business correspondent gives his view as the debate continues into how to increase air travel capacity in the South East

Yorkshire Post

• Camron promises transpennine rail ‘will be in Tory manifestoCOALTION divisions over the future of transport in Yorkshire were exposed yesterday as David Cameron promised a commitment to a transpennine high speed rail line will be included in next year’s Conservative manifesto.

Bucks Free Press

• HS3 announcement perfect time to reconsider HS2, says Bucks MP A SOUTH Bucks MP has said today's announcement by the Chancellor about plans for a third high speed rail link gives a chance of a rethink on HS2.

Doncaster Free Press

• Airport loses a third of its passengersRobin Hood Airport lost more than a third of its annual passenger numbers between 2008 and 2013, a new report has revealed.

Peterborough Telegraph

• Battling Thurlby villagers told to wait for new A15 crossingVillagers living near the busy A15 north of Peterborough will have to wait for a pedestrian crossing after a council decided it could not afford to build one.

Other Regional Press

• Northern high-speed rail is needed say MPs say after chancellor George Osborne reveals Manchester to Leeds ideaQuicker connection between Manchester and Leeds mooted
• New mayors and rail links to create northern ‘powerhouse’ – but will North East be left behind?Northern cities could be offered “serious devolution of powers and budgets” in return for adopting elected mayors with powers similar to those enjoyed by Boris Johnson in London, Chancellor George Osborne has announced.

Global Rail News

• Chancellor calls for high-speed rail between Manchester and LeedsChancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne believes the UK needs to build a new high-speed railway line between Manchester and Hull to create a ’Northern Powerhouse’ to rival London. Speaking[...]
• Bukit Panjang LRT takes delivery of first new trainSingapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) has taken delivery of the first of 13 new light rail vehicles for the Bukit Panjang LRT System (BPLRT). The new vehicles, which will be operated[...]
• Gotthard tunnel testing completeTesting has come to an end along a section of the Gotthard Base Tunnel after 78 days and 650 trial runs. A series of 220 km/h runs have now been completed[...]
• Alstom accepts GE bidAlstom has accepted a bid from GE for its power and grid businesses. The French conglomerate’s board of directors has preferred the American suitor over Siemens and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI)[...]
• Study to decide whether Denmark sticks by the IC4DSB has commissioned a new study to find out if it is financially feasible to invest more money into its ill-fated IC4/2 train fleet. Originally due to be delivered from[...]

Middle East North Africa (MENA) Rail News

• Oman To Go Diesel?The Oman Railway Company is rumoured to be considering running diesel trains on it new railway network. Though the government will not confirm or deny this, it is believed that Oman may use diesel locomotives because the other 5 nations participating in the GCC Railway Network are considering the same for the regional network. Oman […] The post Oman To Go Diesel? appeared first on MENA Rail News.

Aviation Industry

• British Airways unveils revamped short-haul fleetBritish Airways (BA) has unveiled new seats and cabin interiors for its short-haul fleet, which operate domestic and European services from London Heathrow and Gatwick airports. read more
• Ryanair mulls AENA stakeIrish low-cost carrier (LCC) Ryanair is considering participating in an initial public offering (IPO) by Spanish national airport and air navigation services provider AENA. read more
• Virgin Atlantic firms another 787 option; nears A380 decision pointUK carrier Virgin Atlantic has firmed up one of its five Boeing 787-9 options and will decide this year whether to cancel or further defer its Airbus A380 order. read more
• BA mixed fleet crew prepared to strike over pay claimAround 95% of airline's mixed fleet cabin crew would take industrial action
• Air France to run key business routes during six-day strikeAirline 'expects' to run all long-haul and 90% of short and medium-haul flights
• Queen officially opens £2.5bn Heathrow Terminal 2Monarch opens building 60 years after opening original terminal

Other News Sources

• Heathrow crash film in 'appalling taste' says pro-expansion groupRow over runner-up in short film contest, which shows an animated plane obliterating a row of houses. MP Zac Goldsmith says the video is an 'obvious' metaphor
• The Queen opens new Terminal 2 at Heathrow AirportThe royal visit came almost 60 years after The Queen opened the original Terminal 2 in 1955
• Osborne proposes Manchester to Leeds HS3 rail linkChancellor wants to create 'northern powerhouse' to rebalance UK economy