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

Wednesday, 28 October 2015

BBC News

• Experts assess Stonehenge tunnel planExperts from international heritage bodies begin a fact-finding visit to Stonehenge to explore plans to build a tunnel for a nearby road.
• Minister to get CSeries aircraft updateEconomy minister Jonathan Bell will get an update on Bombardier's struggling CSeries aircraft programme during a trade mission to Canada this week.
• Kintyre ferry discussions 'positive'Campaigners who want a ferry link between Kintyre and Ayrshire to continue say a meeting with the transport secretary was

ITV News

• Eurostar reports increase in passenger numbers despite Channel Tunnel security breachesEurostar has reported an increase in passenger numbers for the third quarter of this year, despite recent security breaches of the Channel Tunnel.

Financial Times

• Hapag-Lloyd: boxed inScaling back of IPO and extension of offer period shows how challenged the sector is
• London’s £27bn Crossrail 2 plans advanceCapital’s transport group launches another consultation on the project

The Guardian

• Should cyclists be allowed to run red lights?Cyclists in Paris are now allowed to ride through red lights, and San Francisco is mulling a similar move. With the four main candidates for mayor considering just such a radical rewriting of the rulebook, could London be next?

The Scotsman

• VIRGIN TRAINS CREATES ‘HOPTIMIST’ GLASS TO CELEBRATE THE LAUNCH OF NEW ‘HOP ON BOARD’ ALEVirgin Trains has created a brand new ale christened ‘Hop on Board’, available to those on east coast routes.
• Transport Scotland drafted in to help save steelTransport Scotland is reviewing its projects to see if there are any that would benefit from a Scottish steel supplier as part of attempts to save the industry.

Times Online

• Whitehall knew about diesel emissions scam six years ago [subscription]The government was warned in 2009 that diesel cars were hugely exceeding harmful emissions targets but went on to give £1.7 billion in tax breaks to encourage consumers to buy millions of extra vehicles, an investigation by The Times can reveal.
• Crossrail 2 will need £13bn from Treasury [subscription]A detailed blueprint for the Crossrail 2 line through London was unveiled yesterday as it emerged that the Treasury will be asked to spend as much as £13.5 billion on the route.

City AM

• Heathrow expansion: Failure to act will kill the government’s Chinese trade ambitions deadDURING Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to the UK last week, our government made a flurry of announcements about Chinese investment in infrastructure. From HS2 to nuclear power stations, the Chinese would help modernise the backbone of our economy.

Network Rail

• Network Rail supports this year's Poppy AppealStations and volunteers are getting ready for the Poppy Appeal, with Poppy Days taking place in London and across the country over the next few weeks to help raise funds for the Royal British Legion in support of Britain’s Armed Forces community.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Airbus lodges patent for folding wings on its planes The aerospace giant files the invention for foldable wings that would most likely be made at its plant in Broughton

Sheffield Telegraph

• Campaign to help keep South Yorkshire cyclists safe on roadsPedestrians and cyclists are being urged not to cause a fright to other road users this Halloween and make sure they are clearly visible when out on the roads at night.

Wales Online

• Weekend rail passengers could face disruption when travelling between Cardiff and Bristol Improvement work is being carried out in the Severn Tunnel over the next few months

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Virgin Trains helps Leeds pupils keep on track for an even better educationA free breakfast club launched by Virgin Trains and Greggs Foundation is helping pupils improve their attendance, it has been revealed.

Bucks Free Press

• New parking payment system to go live in council car parks next month A new parking payment system is to go live across council-run car parks in Beaconsfield and Gerrards Cross next month.

Doncaster Free Press

• Campaign for railway station at Doncaster townIsolated residents in a Doncaster town have submitted a 2,000 signature petition as part of a campaign to get a life line rail station reinstated.

Peterborough Telegraph

• More road works on Bourges Boulevard in Peterborough city centreMotorists are being warned of roadworks due to take place on Bourges Boulevard in Peterborough city centre.

Sunderland Echo

• Ferry good idea will see Sunderland Empire theatregoers board boat and Metros for freeTaking in a show is set to be a better deal after theatre and transport bosses teamed up to offer audiences free travel on the Metro and Shields Ferry.

Other Regional Press

• Switching off bus notices will be false economy, says groupYesterday Oxfordshire County Council unveiled the areas which could face cuts as the authority seeks to save up to £52.5m in the coming years. In the first of a series of articles examining some of those areas Luke Sproule spoke to those concerned about the impact of cuts to bus services
• Weekly throws weight behind campaign to revive town’s rail linkA weekly newspaper has “thrown its weight” behind a campaign to restore a rail link to a town on its patch.
• HS2 set to benefit the Staffordshire MoorlandsThe controversial HS2 railway is set to benefit the Staffordshire Moorlands thanks to an agreement forged between seven councils.
• Cashflow was the cause of bus firm’s closureHistoric bus firm Fishwick’s crashed as a result of “significant cash flow issues”, it has emerged.
• New flights to Prague announced by Birmingham Airport Czech Airlines will operate service five times a week from next April

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Phase 1 of the �100m terminal at Port of Liverpool opens for business with first biomass freight trainThe Port of Liverpool became part of the biggest carbon saving project in Europe this week. Phase 1 of the new £100m terminal began business with the first-ever shipment of sustainable biomass pellets bound for Drax Power Station, near Selby in North Yorkshire. Drax is the country’s largest single generator of renewable electricity, producing almost 2,000MW of renewable power, enough for three million homes. A freight train with 25 specially-designed wagons carrying 1,600 tonnes of pellets left the port at 3.30pm for the 99-mile journey to the power station, which last year prov...

Rail Magazine

• Green light for Ordsall ChordThe green light was given to Network Rail’s £132 million Ordsall Chord project after Mrs Justice Lang dismissed the legal challenge mounted in the High Court.

Aviation Industry

• CEO: Allegiant's unique model makes it immune to competitive pressuresLas Vegas-based low-cost carrier Allegiant Air CEO Maury Gallagher said he is not surprised legacy carriers have been more aggressive in their pricing strategies recently, but suggested his airline is immune to competitive pressures because of its unique model.
• United's acting CEO gets $100,000 monthly raiseUnited's acting CEO, Brett J. Hart, will receive a $100,000 monthly raise so long as he's occupying that position. United's acting CEO, Brett J. Hart, will receive a $100,000 monthly raise so long as he's occupying that position.
• American plans ‘no-frills’ pricing to battle low-cost carriersAirlines’ president says it must compete against Spirit and Southwest

Other News Sources

• Fifty per cent more seats from St Albans by 2018 thanks to Thameslink ProgrammeTransport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin formally opened a purpose-built train depot in Three Bridges last week as part of the Thameslink Programme, which will see 60 per cent more carriages and 50 per cent more seats running out of St Albans by 2018.
• EU will fund car, hospital and airport IT security researchSmart cars, airports and hospitals are likely to increasingly become targets for hackers -- and now the European Union's Agency for Network and Information Security (ENISA) has them in its sights too.
• New hi-tech speed cameras on the roads to catch speeding motorists HAMPSHIRE police have launched a new war on Hampshire’s speeding drivers.
• Crossrail 2 predicted to improve rush-hour rail 'struggle' for commuters The route is proposed to come into several parts of north Surrey and link up with the existing rail network
• Heathrow construction head open to Chinese contractorsThe director in charge of Heathrow Airport’s £16bn expansion has said he would be open to discussions with Chinese firms over the massive pipeline of potential work.
• Councillors labelled "Scrooge" for voting against free parking over Christmas period COUNCILLORS have labelled their political opponents “Scrooges” for voting down free Christmas parking proposals.

News from Europe

• Telefónica, Indra take online video to Spanish trains Telefónica and Indra have taken the first step in connecting Spain's train network, enabling Wi-Fi, online video and video-on-demand (VOD) services on board.