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

Tuesday, 15 December 2015

BBC News

• Christmas rail work criticised by Tunbridge Wells MPThe timing of engineering work on a busy stretch of railway has been criticised by a local MP.
• New Stirling to London rail serviceA new direct rail service linking Stirling and London is launched by Virgin Trains.
• Backing for Ellon to Dyce rail linkThe re-opening of a railway link between Ellon in Aberdeenshire and Dyce, Aberdeen, is being recommended by the Scottish Association for Public Transport.
• Date set for Forth Bridge reopeningEngineers aim to have the Forth Road Bridge repaired and open to traffic by 4 January, bridge operator Amey confirms.
• Traffic plan hints at school hours moveSchools in Greater Manchester could vary their opening times if proposals to reduce carbon emissions are adopted.
• Ban hot food from Underground - peerPeople should not be allowed to eat hot food on the London Underground because it is

Department for Transport

• Rail franchising: pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ) passport award - Claire Perry MPTransport companies that have been successful in their pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ) passport application.
• Oral statement to Parliament Aviation capacityExplains that the government is undertaking a package of further work before making a decision about airport expansion in the south-east.

Financial Times

• Developers help shake up public transportTechnology puts the passenger at the centre of rail travel
• Uber drivers win union ‘breakthrough’Seattle move set to boost early efforts by drivers to organise in other US cities 

The Guardian

• Rolls-Royce shares fall over nationalisation contingency planInvestors react to reports that UK government could take over firm’s nuclear submarine power arm or force it to merge with BAE SystemsConcerns are growing over the future of Rolls-Royce after it emerged the government has drawn up contingency plans to nationalise part of the power systems engineering firm if the crisis facing it worsens.Shares in Rolls fell on Monday as investors digested reports that the government could nationalise the company’s nuclear submarine business or force it to merge with defence manufacturer BAE Systems. Continue reading...

The Herald

• New train service from Stirling to London will 'boost business and tourism'A new direct train service connecting Stirling and Falkirk to London will boost business and tourism, according to the Transport Minister.

The Scotsman

• Mackay pledges full disclosure on bridge repairsTransport minister Derek MacKay has agreed to release all documents about maintenance of the Forth Road Bridge after opposition parties demanded “full transparency” on when the government became aware of the need for urgent repairs.
• Forth Road Bridge set to re-open on January 4THE Forth Road Bridge is to reopen in the first week of January, one month after it was closed for urgent repairs, the operator of the crossing has confirmed.

Mail Online

• ‘Last Class’: Airlines coin new term for cheapest seats Travel experts say that some airlines are informally calling using the term to refer to the cheapest seats on an aircraft, where service, cost and flexibility is worse than that of economy.
• British Airways' Willie Walsh's Heathrow airport threat to David Cameron The boss of British Airways, wiriting in the Daily Mail, has threatened to expand the business overseas rather than in the UK if no final decision is made over a new runway at Heathrow Airport.

Belfast Telegraph

• BA boss: Stop Heathrow runway dithering or I'll take offThe boss of British Airways (BA) has warned he could seek to expand the airline overseas if the Government "twiddles its thumbs" over a third runway at Heathrow.

Birmingham Post

• New Volvo S90 will have 'large animal detection' Sweden’s finest prepares to take on the 5 Series with an all-new executive saloon

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Passengers on board with station opening PASSENGERS and councillors say a new �10 million train station will give a huge boost to Apperley Bridge.

London Evening Standard

• Jim Armitage: The Greater London Authority buys £3.5 million Heathrow bondThe folks in City Hall who really control our money are clearly more practical on airport expansion than London Mayor Boris Johnson.
• Commuter misery and delays on new 'half-sized' C2C train service into Fenchurch StCommuters faced travel misery on the way into work this morning as a new timetable of smaller trains left people standing in packed carriages or unable to board.
• NextCity: New travel app 'wakes Londoners up early if there are travel problems'The inventors of the Oyster card are developing an "intelligent travel" system that could wake London commuters early if there are travel problems.
• Publish detailed Heathrow third runway flight paths, says Sadiq KhanMinisters were today urged to publish detailed flight paths for a Heathrow third runway to show which communities would be blighted by more noise.

Manchester Evening News

• Passengers could soon travel on trains, buses and planes using same 'superticket'

Wales Online

• Reopening railway line between Aberystwyth and Carmarthen 'could cost £750m' A study commissioned by the Welsh Government has suggested the full cost of the scheme could be between £500 and £750m

Carlisle News & Star

• Specialist equipment needed for Eden Bridge survey Specialist equipment is required to carry out a thorough inspection of Eden Bridge in Carlisle.

Other Regional Press

• PRESSURE ON TRANSPORT MINISTER OVER NEW TAYSIDE RAIL SERVICESSCOTLAND’S Transport Minister is coming under pressure to back plans to enhance rail services in Tayside....
• New 'Smart' motorway comes into force on M1 near Huddersfield tomorrow Highways England say improvements will help drivers
• 'Spiralling cost of parking at Coventry Station' Car parking in city and indoor bowls hall - Coventry Telegraph letters for December 14

Bus and Coach.com

• VanHool Trambuses ordered for Belfast Rapid Transit
• New customer facility at Wrightbus’ Ballymena plant
• HCT Group raises �10million to fund growth
• New mobile-friendly website for Stagecoach
• Bluestar launches 18 brand new buses for Southampton
• CMA recommends 10-year extension for ticketing block exemption
• First Manchester unveils images of interiors for new Busway fleet
• Optare Metrodecker starts trial with Reading Buses
• New Bus Alliance established in Merseyside

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Optare Metrodecker to commence trial with Reading BusesOptare celebrated the handover of their first Metrodecker demonstrator vehicle to UK Bus Operator of the Year, Reading Buses, for the start of a 1 month trial.  Since 2003, this innovative operator has invested millions in over 100 new fully-accessible, ultra-low emission buses for their Premier Routes and subsequent evolution of its network, and welcomes the opportunity to launch the Metrodecker into service. Martijn Gilbert, Chief Executive Officer, Reading Buses, commented, “We are thrilled to be working with Optare to bring the Metrodecker into service at Reading Buses.  W...
• UK's first tram train Unveiled in SheffieldThe UK’S first Tram Train will be unveiled by Transport Minister Andrew Jones together with the Tram Train project team at an official event in Sheffield on Thursday 10 December.  Passengers in South Yorkshire will be the first in the country to benefit from the innovative Tram Trains - a new tram-type vehicle, designed to run on both the city’s tramlines and the rail network between Sheffield and Rotherham.  The Tram Trains, which will allow passengers to make a single journey between tram stops and conventional rail stations from early 2017, will undergo testing befor...
• Government confirms support for south-east airport expansionThe government has agreed with the Airports Commission to bring more runway capacity to the south-east.. With accepting the case for airport expansion the government, along with the Airports Commission, hope to have adequate runway capacity in the relevant area by 2030, according to the Department for Transport. The Airports Commission provided the government with a shortlist of options for expansion and found a way to deliver planning consents for new capacity. In the three schemes the Commission outlined a detailed analysis of air quality and greenhouse gas emissions, showing the areas that ...
• European logistics market has a positive outlookCushman and Wakefield's latest Property Times European Logistics market report has shown that take-up and investment in the European industrial and logistics property market are set to hit new records in the new year. The report by Cushman and Wakefield revealed that property take-up hit 10.8 million square metres across the first nine months of 2015. In terms of figures, the study states that this property take-up marks a year-on-year increase of 13 per cent. It seems that German lettings were responsible for over 50 per cent of the letting activity recorded in the report, but Logistics Manag...
• Government's plan for rail investment goes aheadThe transport secretary has welcomed rail investment in the form of two new train stations to the west Yorkshire economy. Patrick McLoughlin - transport secretary - confirmed the government's conviction to modernise rail transport in the north, during a visit to the region. One of the two new stations to have been funded by the government and the west Yorkshire Combined Authority was Kirkstall Forge, which is set to open in 2016. Prior to this, the funding partnership hopes to have the other station at Apperley Bridge ready for use this month. So far the government has spent �9.5 million of th...

Railnews

• National Express launches first German rail services The first rail services to be operated in another European country by National Express have been launched in Germany. Yesterday's Europe-wide timetable change saw the transfer of operations on two German routes from DB Regio to National Express, which had won the 15-year contracts to run lines in the Cologne area in February 2013. NX is also taking over some other German services, but its status as preferred bidder for S-Bahn routes in the Nuremberg region currently depends on the outcome of a legal appeal.
• New stations and routes mark timetable changes Timetable changes have been affecting weekday services around the country today. Among the alterations is a doubling of frequency of Thameslink's all-night service on the Bedford route to half-hourly, and new services from Virgin Trains to serve Hull, Stirling and Sunderland. Northern has increased capacity on its network by 10 million seats a year, while new stations have opened in Kent and Lancashire.

Aviation Industry

• Walsh sees scope for IAG-LATAM joint ventureInternational Airlines Group (IAG) CEO Willie Walsh is interested in strengthening relations with Latin America’s LATAM Airlines Group, hinting at a potential joint venture (JV) between the oneworld partners. read more
• Egypt contradicts bomb theory on Metrojet crashEgyptian investigators for the Metrojet Airbus A321 crash say it has not received “information indicating unlawful interference” or a “terrorist act” in the Oct. 31 crash, contradicting statements made by Russia’s Federal Security Police in mid-November that “a self-made explosive device equivalent of up to 1 kg of TNT” had been set off on board. read more
• Sadiq Khan: make Gatwick expansion official party policyLondon mayoral candidate urges Jeremy Corbyn to back a second runway at Gatwick
• Air Berlin launches 3G inflight wifiAir Berlin has become the first airline to operate an inflight 3G connectivity service.The Aeromobile 3G eXPhone technology has been fitted to an A330-200 aircraft with the registration D-ABXC.

Other News Sources

• Spelthorne Borough Council disappointed a decision on Heathrow's expansion has been delayedThe decision on the creation of a third runway at Heathrow has been delayed - much to the disappointment of Spelthorne Borough Council.
• Third call for low carbon project applicationsThe third call for European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) applications for low carbon projects in the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough area is now live.
• Council to try again to decide future of �15 million road project in face of hundreds of objections COUNCILLORS are being asked to rubber stamp a �15 million road for a second time just months after High Court judges ruled the authority were mistaken to green light it in the first place.
• Virgin East Coast launches Sunderland and Stirling servicesRail operator adds early morning departures after demand from business travellers