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

Saturday, 13 June 2015

BBC News

• Belper's Mr Potato Head statue set for bus station returnA 7ft fibreglass statue of Mr Potato Head is set to adorn a town's bus station after a new lick of paint.
• Lanes to close for city redevelopmentA major road through Birmingham is to be reduced to one lane later this month as part of a £500m city centre redevelopment.
• Station records 800 escalator faultsMore than 800 separate faults are found with escalators at Birmingham New Street railway station in the past two years.
• Farmer may get payout after 24 yearsA Caerphilly farm owner forced to sell land to make way for a relief road may be fully compensated after a 24-year wait, court hears.
• Port in move to expand capacityWorks are under way to expand capacity at the Port of Grangemouth, Scotland's largest container port.
• Delays likely as rail work beginsWork on the main Edinburgh to Glasgow railway line gets under way this weekend with passengers expected to face significant disruption.

Financial Times

• Cheaper fuel boosts capacity and competitionRobust profits increase leasing of fuel-hungry veteran aircraft and orders for efficient new models
• Aviation industry works to improve safetyNew tracking standard planned after disappearance of MH370
• Boeing and Airbus face daunting order backlogThere are fears of a downturn, competition and supply chain hiccups
• Of airports and asthmatic parakeetsAvian intervention came close to grounding the last attempt to expand London's main airport
• Airline margins widest since mid-1960sUS carriers feel benefit of mergers and falling fuel prices but fear an onslaught of Gulf rivals
• Bombardier seeks CSeries lift at air showManufacturer needs orders to take off in Paris

The Guardian

• Uber drivers threaten rebellion against the $40bn companyThe taxi-app firm calls them the engine of the business, but drivers complain of falling pay, insecure employment and vulnerability to difficult passengersMost days at midday, Uber’s nondescript office in London’s King’s Cross opens its doors and dozens of men clutching sheaves of driving licences and insurance documents pour in. Many are first- or second-generation immigrants from places such as Afghanistan, Poland, Somalia and Nigeria eager to sign up to drive for the US tech company, whose phone-based minicab-hailing app has transformed the taxi industry in 58 countries. Related: Uber whist...

Birmingham Post

• Birmingham traffic chaos worsens with new Paradise Circus road closures A major road through Birmingham will be reduced to one lane later this month as part of the key £500 million scheme

London Evening Standard

• World Naked Bike Ride: Hordes of nude cyclists set to descend on London for protest against car culture Hundreds of cyclists in London are set to strip naked and mount their bikes for an unusual protest against car culture and oil dependency on Saturday.

Manchester Evening News

• Passengers still waiting for payout for delayed Jet2.com flight to Manchester - one year after landmark rulingRon Huzar won £294 for the 27-hour flight delay from Malaga to Manchester Airport in 2011. But his wife Anna and Megan, 16 - who were on the same flight - are still waiting.

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• HS2 bosses' £46k bill branded a disgraceA £700 office chair, 30 iPad cases at £20 each and £600 to hire a room are among the £46,000 spent by HS2 bosses in six months.

Bucks Free Press

• Residents tell HS2 committee to save the AONB 'Save the AONB' was the message from campaigners as members of the HS2 Select Committee visited the county yesterday.

Other Regional Press

• Fury as Network Rail close footpath in rail worksVILLAGERS are up in arms after a well-used pedestrian crossing has been closed.
• Number of cyclists seriously injured on Kirklees and Calderdale roads up by 50%Latest figures from Department for Transport also show big rise in injuries to middle aged men

Rail Technology Magazine

• NDT Systems & Services-Non-Destructive Testing for Railroad Equipment NDT Systems & Services is a leading supplier of non-destructive testing equipment. The range of products and services offered includes automated inspection systems as well as inspection services. The automated systems include a range of highly sophis…
• Pickersgill-Kaye-Rail Vehicle Door Locks Pickersgill-Kaye, a member of the Pickersgill-Kaye Group, is a manufacturer and supplier of door locks for rail vehicles.

Railnews

• ORR investigates Network Rail's 'slow start' The Office of Rail and Road has issued a critical assessment of Network Rail's performance in 2014-15 -- the first year of Control Period 5. The company, which became a government body last September, is committed to a £12 billion programme of network upgrades as well as improving performance, but targets are being missed. As a result, the regulator has launched an investigation into what is going wrong. Passenger and freight traffic is continuing to rise, but it has already been announced that Northern Transpennine electrification between York and Manchester has been put on hold indefinitely...
• New joint leadership for South West alliance Network Rail has reinstated the post of route director for the 'deep alliance' between the Wessex lines and South West Trains. The change means that the alliance will no longer be led solely by Tim Shoveller, who has been in charge for the past three years. The new route director has been named as John Halsall, who is currently infrastructure director. His appointment has sparked industry speculation that the alliance is starting to break apart, but Network Rail has denied this.

Aviation Industry

• America Is Finally Taking Emissions From Flying Seriously – So Let’s Not Drop the BallPast attempts to find a global way of dealing with aviation's carbon emissions have fallen short, most recently with European countries like the UK trying to impose a carbon regulation but lacking international support, particularly from across the pond. So today's announcement by the American Environmental Protection Agency that carbon dioxide emissions from aircraft are a danger to the health of the public could mark a turning point.
• There will be ’no quick decision’ by Government on a new runwayWith the Airports Commission expected to publish its final report in the coming weeks, it has been widely reported this week that the Government will not be making a swift decision on airport expansion, with any annoucement unlikely before the …
• Portugal sells controlling stake in TAPConsortium led by Jet Blue founder bid €348m for the airline
• Rome airport faces partial shutdown after T3 fireThe airport will cut capacity to 60% from Saturday

Other News Sources

• FirstGroup reveal plans for a new London-Edinburgh rail serviceTransport operator FrstGroup has unveiled plans for a new rail service between London, North East England and Edinburgh reducing the current average fare by half.
• Stansted Airport makes same contribution to passenger growth as Heathrow and Gatwick combinedStansted Airport increased passenger numbers by 16.7% to 21.3 million in the 12 months ending May, up by over three million passengers during the period and equivalent to the growth at Heathrow and Gatwick airports combined.