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

Tuesday, 04 November 2014

BBC News

• Ryanair raises profit forecastRyanair raises its full-year profit forecast and reports a 32% increase in half-year profit to €795m.
• Petition calls for Armagh rail linkA petition with 10,000 signatures calling for the reopening of a branch line connecting Armagh to Portadown is submitted to Stormont
• Rail project costing 'just a guess'Translink's costing for a rail project that has doubled in price was
• Airport tram extension opens earlyA new Metrolink tram line to Manchester Airport opens more than a year ahead of schedule.
• Tube staff get new designer uniformA new uniform, designed by Red or Dead co-founder Wayne Hemingway, is unveiled for London Underground staff.
• Hyundai and Kia in $100m settlementUS regulators announce that carmakers Hyundai and Kia have agreed to a record $100m settlement for overstating the fuel economy of their cars, in violation of the Clean Air Act.

Department for Transport

• Transport Secretary launches Loughborough linkPatrick McLoughlin opens £19 million scheme in Loughborough that will reduce congestion in the town centre.
• Maritime minister sets sail for maritime skills weekJohn Hayes launches a campaign to raise the profile of the UK’s world class maritime sector.

Financial Times

• Travel industry flags up rise in family holsOperators see big future in Asia model of trips funded by the deeper pockets of grandma and grandpa
• Ryanair: flying nicelyO’Leary’s softer approach shows signs of taking off
• Virgin America pushes on with IPOUS airline aims for valuation as high as $1bn in New York listing days after Virgin Galactic crash
• Safety practices in focus in crash probeEarly findings raise fresh concerns over Virgin Galactic’s role

The Guardian

• London Underground launches new uniform from Wayne HemingwayA fresh look for Transport for Londons staff but what do they really think of the zip-up gilets and fleecingtons? Plus a look at some classic uniformsTwitter is the harshest of fashion critics, so when Transport for London launched its new staff uniforms on Monday, the response was predictably cynical. Wonderful if they wanted to look like they were selling trainers in a sports store, commented one. Can we get a tube strike to force Fred Perry to redesign those new uniforms? asked another.Designed by Wayne Hemingway, the uniforms are certainly a departure from the over-sized, red-collared, n...
• Politicians campaign for tailored HS2 rail link compensation for LondonersA collection of London MPs and council leaders have set out demands in a letter to transport secretary Patrick McLoughlinA campaign for a specially tailored compensation package for Londoners affected by the high-speed HS2 rail link has been launched by a group bringing together Tory and Labour politicians as well as three major local authorities.The alliance argues that while rural communities within 300 metres of the line will benefit from additional compensation, no such approach applies in central London, where council tenants are among those likely to suffer the most. Continue reading...
• Virgin Galactic crash investigators are a long way from finding the causeFeathering descent system was unlocked two seconds before SpaceShipTwo disintegrated, but what happened next is unclearUS crash investigators are trying to establish how a braking system that should only be used during re-entry to the Earths atmosphere was activated prematurely moments before the Virgin Galactic space plane tore apart over the Mojave desert during a test flight on Friday.The companys SpaceShipTwo disintegrated two seconds after camera footage from the cockpit showed the co-pilot, 39-year-old Michael Alsbury, who was killed in the accident, unlock the safety mechanism for the b...

The Herald

• Bid to force rethink of rail bid failsLabour yesterday failed in an attempt to get the Government to reconsider allowing a public company to bid for rail franchises.
• Branson still plans to take family on Virgin space tripSIR Richard Branson has insisted he still intends to travel to space with his family on a Virgin Galactic spaceship despite the fatal crash during a test flight.
• True gritROADS and pavements will be treated quicker than ever before when snow and ice hits, the Transport Minister has pledged.

The Scotsman

• Sir Nigel Gresley statue planned for King’s CrossPLANS have been unveiled for a statue at King’s Cross Station of renowned engineer Sir Nigel Gresley, who designed locomotives, carriages and wagons for the London & North Eastern Railway between 1923 and his death in 1941.
• Richard Branson vows to take his family into spaceSIR Richard Branson has insisted he still intends to travel to space with his family on the Virgin Galactic craft, despite the fatal crash during a test flight.

The Telegraph

• Chris Boardman branded a 'fool' for not wearing a helmet as he cycled on TV programmeBBC Breakfast viewers accuse the Olympic medallist of setting a bad example by wearing dark clothing and no helmet for a segment on cycling safety
• Diesel cars more efficient than hybrids outside city centresHybrid cars deliver more miles per gallon on congested roads but are outperformed by standard diesel engines on motorways, study finds

Network Rail

• Property deal to boost growth of rail freight in BritainA deal to transfer ownership of many of Britain's key rail freight sites to Network Rail has been agreed with three of the country's biggest freight operating companies.
• Residents invited to drop-in event about doubling of the railway lines between Bristol stationsMembers of the public are invited to attend a drop-in event to find out more about the doubling of the railway lines between Bristol’s two main stations, and about the benefits that electrification will bring to the city.

London Evening Standard

• Eighty hit-and-runs each week on London's 'lawless' roads London's roads were condemned as “lawless” today as new figures revealed that nearly 80 people a week are killed or injured in hit-and-run collisions.
• Give London a fair deal on HS2 compensation, MPs tell Government A cross-party group of MPs and councils today called on the Government to deliver a fair deal for London on compensation for the HS2 rail line.

Sheffield Star

• North Derbyshire residents to have say over high-speed rail fearsConcerned residents living on the planned HS2 route are to meet officials from the high-speed rail project at a public meeting later this month.

Sheffield Telegraph

• North Derbyshire residents to have say over high-speed rail fearsConcerned residents living on the planned HS2 route are to meet officials from the high-speed rail project at a public meeting later this month.
• New £1.2m bus fleet to be launched in ChesterfieldA new fleet of luxury buses running in South Yorkshire and North Derbyshire are being launched later this week.

Doncaster Free Press

• South Yorkshire bus users in line for ‘smart tickets’South Yorkshire bus users are to get Oyster-style smart ticketing, starting next year.

Other Regional Press

• Conservative candidate for Feltham 'very receptive' to Heathrow expansionFeltham's Conservative parliamentary candidate has said he is 'very receptive' to the idea of a third runway at Heathrow. Simon Nayyar, who will stand in Feltham and Heston at next May's general elections, said he had encountered strong support for expansion on the area's doorsteps since being selected in September.

Bus and Coach.com

• Saint leaves Optare for green ventureGlenn Saint, Optare chief technical officer is leaving the company for a new venture developing electric vehicle technologies for the automotive industry.
• Bus groups promise smart ticketingThe major bus groups have issued a joint commitment to introduce multi-operator smart ticketing across the major metropolitan areas and other city regions outside London.
• City regions challenge ticketing planThe response from the metropolitan areas to the bus groups' promise of multi-operator smart ticketing suggests that there is little hope of hostilities ending soon.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Railway lines between Bristol stations to be doubledDemand for rail travel into and around Bristol is on the rise and it is estimated that in less than a decade, it will increase by half its current volume. In order to deal with the new demands, Network Rail has announced a project to double the railway lines between the west-coast city's two main stations - Bristol Temple Meads and Bristol Parkway. This means that there will be four lines instead of two through Stepleton Road and Lawrence Hill. This should lead to an improvement in train services and journey times for passengers, as well as an increase in freight services so businesses...

Aviation Industry

• Willie Walsh: ˜No business case' for second runway at GatwickAirports Commission preparing public consultation over where to build new runway
• Monarch chairman Hugh Morgan steps downMorgan leaves after 12 years at the group

Other News Sources

• Signalling problems causing long delays to all trains through Winchester RAIL passengers are facing long delays this morning due to problems on the network.
• Britain’s most dangerous stretch of road is in Sussex - but not where you might think A 12-mile stretch of a Sussex road is the most persistently dangerous in Britain, according to a report.
• Damage to Adur Ferry Bridge may be structural ENGINEERS are investigating whether broken glass panels on a £10 million footbridge could have been caused by a structural fault rather than vandalism.

News from Europe

• Transport sector faces €8.6 billion annual lossThe EU transport sector will lose €8.6 billion every year if it doesn't address legislative gaps and market inefficiencies in the next two decades, a new European Parliament study found.