Breaking News
Ministers under fire on ferries
Labour last night claimed the Scottish Government is "hell-bent on destroying" Caledonian MacBrayne's reputation for delivering lifeline ferry services and is packaging it up for a future sell-off.
MP Bridget Phillipson weighs in over bus routes row
A BID to seize back control of bus routes has being backed amid growing anger at “taxpayer funded profits.”
Friday, 03 August 2012
BBC News
- Railway book shop at Minehead shop raises £150,000 A second-hand book store opened in 1998 to help raise cash for Minehead station on the West Somerset Railway has brought in £150,000.
- Telford promoted as 'ideal location' for car industry A campaign to promote Telford as a base for the car parts industry has been launched by Telford & Wrekin Council.
- Airline's Cardiff expansion planA low-cost airline which launched from Cardiff Airport says it is looking at introducing more routes next year but has some concern for its Barcelona flights.
- Extra rail seats for Olympic gameRail passengers are promised extra seats for Team GB's next Olympics game in Cardiff as train companies apologise for long queues.
- Clean-up starts at landslip roadWork is underway to clear a landslip-hit road in Argyll and Bute after about 1,000 tonnes of debris fell on the carriageway.
Financial Times
- Siemens sets out €3bn share buybackIntention to reduce capital stock, to issue shares to employees and executives, as well as for convertible bonds and warrants
- JAL to raise $8.5bn in Tokyo relistingJapan Airlines is to relist on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in the largest initial public offering in Asia this year, raising an estimated Y663bn ($8.5bn) less than three years after filing for bankruptcy
- Lufthansa flags ˜unpleasant steps™ aheadGerman airline makes €20m first-half operating loss as it carries out restructuring that it hopes will improve earnings by €1.5bn by 2014
- Virgin battles for west coast franchiseThe rail operator is fighting to retain its only hold on the UK market amid signs that the government is favouring a rival bid from FirstGroup
The Guardian
- Transport authorities insist London faces travel pressure as athletics begins London's transport bosses dismiss claims of a deserted capital as they prepare for the biggest Olympics challenge to date
The Herald
- Ministers under fire on ferriesLabour last night claimed the Scottish Government is "hell-bent on destroying" Caledonian MacBrayne's reputation for delivering lifeline ferry services and is packaging it up for a future sell-off.
The Independent
- DVLA and Transport Department workers to strike tomorrow over cutsThousands of workers at the DVLA and Transport Department will go on strike tomorrow in the latest phase of a long-running dispute over jobs, office closures, pay and privatisation.Related StoriesLondon Olympics 2012: Troops make up 50% of park securityLeading musicians including Jarvis Cocker and Pete Townshend protest over arrest of punk band Pussy RiotOlympics organisers backtrack on plans to make babies have own Games ticketsSyndicate of 69 Swansea ambulance workers shares £1m lottery jackpotE-fit bid to identify body washed up on Devon beach
The Telegraph
- MPs propose compensation for those living under Heathrow's potential third runway Those who live under the flightpath of Heathrow airport could be offered thousands of pounds in compensation if plans for a third runway go ahead, according to proposals.
- Transport network bracing itself for Olympic spectators to doubleLondon's transport network is facing its biggest challenge of the Olympics so far today with the start of the athletics competition.
- Train late again? It's the weatherFloods and torrential rain have been blamed by two of the country's main rail operators for disappointing punctuality figures.
- Cycle safety: time for talking has stoppedIt is rather depressing that it takes a celebrity cyclist to push safety up the agenda. Nationally, while the number of motorists, pedestrians and passengers being killed is generally declining, this has not been the case with cyclists, with the death rate remaining obstinately high.
- The 'hate stare' and other ways we avoid sitting next to someone on the busCommuters use a range of sophisticated tactics to prevent a stranger sitting next to them on public transport, a study by a Yale University sociologist found.
ATOC
- Olympic National Rail travel bulletin: Thursday 2 AugustHundreds of thousands of spectators will attend Olympic events today as the railway continues to run extra and longer trains. • Train companies are providing 565,276 additional seats today,...
Journal Live
- MP Bridget Phillipson weighs in over bus routes rowA BID to seize back control of bus routes has being backed amid growing anger at “taxpayer funded profits.”
London Evening Standard
- London 2012 Olympics: London's transport network expecting busiest day of Games so farLondon's transport network will feel the strain today as the start of the athletics prompts the busiest day of the Olympics so far.
Nottingham Evening Post
- Nottingham Post commented More than 70 jobs advertised for new tram line workMORE than 70 jobs are now being advertised for construction work as part of the planned tram extension.
Sheffield Star
- Get cycling for a healthy heartCYCLISTS in South Yorkshire are being urged to get on their bikes by the British Heart Foundation.
Wales Online
- Team GB fans vent fury at Cardiff queues but train firms defend serviceOlympic football spectators have vented their fury after being stuck in lengthy queues at Cardiff Central station following last night’s Team GB match.
- Cardiff news: Olympics 2012: Rail bosses vow to put on more trains after travel chaosRail firm bosses have promised to put on extra trains for tthe Olympic football quarter final to avoid a repeat of the huge delays following Team GB’s victory on Wednesday night.
Yorkshire Evening Post
- Record-breaking loco gets stylish makeoverThe world-record breaking Mallard has been given a makeover.
Other Regional Press
- Lords and MPs visit Cleethorpes to promote UK's historic railwaysLORDS and MPs pulled in to one of Cleethorpes' biggest tourist attractions as part of a tour to promote the country's heritage railways. The All Party Parliamentary Group for Heritage Rail, which was formed a year ago, is visiting historic railways all over the UK.
- Caldedale Council looking at ways to raise £1m more in parking charges - including £25 to park outside your own houseMOTORISTS may be hit in the pocket as changes to car parking are debated.
Bus and Coach.com
- Cambridge busway ahead of targetOver two and a half million journeys have been made on the Cambridge guided busway, which marks the end of its first year of operation next week.
- Scotland starts bus fraud phone lineIn response to fraudulent claims by bus operators, Transport Scotland has launched a free telephone line on which people can report drivers who practice what the agency calls œover-staging, where concessionary bus pass holders are given a ticket for a longer journey than they actually made, and the company then claims back more cash than it is due from the Scottish government.
- Irish funding attack by independentsA decision by the Irish government to provide state transport operator CIE with additional funding of €36million (£28million) has been attacked by the country™s private sector coach operators.
Global Rail News
- Branson warns Greening not to be swayed by unrealistic bidsThe race to run the West Coast franchise is hotting up, with Sir Richard Branson writing to Transport Secretary Justine Greening, copying in David Cameron, urging the government not to be swayed by unrealistic high bids. Tensions have been raised amid reports that First Group and incumbent Virgin are in a two horse race for [...]
- C2c sets new record for trains arriving on timeC2c has set a new UK record for train punctuality in the past year, with 97.1 per cent of services arriving at stations on time. Figures released today by Network Rail showed that the National Express train operator also set a new monthly record after achieving a punctuality figure of 97.2 per cent through June [...]
- Russian railways shoot for Olympic goldClinging to a narrow strip of coastline between the Caucasus Mountains and the Black Sea, the 150 kilometre long Sochi conurbation is the world™s second-longest after Los Angeles. Its terrain is such that planes can only land at its airport from the sea. In Russia, Sochi is a popular tourist resort with long beaches, tropical [...]
- Theory into PracticeSome of the most expensive consumables on a rail vehicle are its wheelsets and axle bearings which make up a significant part of an operator™s maintenance budget. Scrutiny of railway costs, triggered by the McNulty report, means that successful railway companies must achieve exceptional wheelset operational performance and at the same time maintain very high [...]
- Regulator begins HLOS consultationThe Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) has begun consultations to look at how the rail industry will deliver government proposals to invest £4.2 billion in Britain’s rail network between 2014-19. ORR says the process, which follows the announcement last month of the biggest programme of investment in the railways for 150 years, aims to ensure [...]
- Four bridges One valleyRegular readers of the rail engineer will have read reports on many infrastructure projects carried out all around the country in a variety of terrains. They will be forgiven for thinking that, after meticulous planning, all projects go exactly to plan and are delivered œon time and under budget. Unfortunately, real life isn™t like that. [...]
- Magician brought in to entertain Olympic rail passengersMagician Danny Hall has been making Olympic travel blues disappear for London Overground passengers in Stratford. Hall will be performing on trains around the Olympic Park throughout the Games. A LOROL spokesman said: “We™ve had great feedback from the passengers who are also Tweeting about it.” LOROL has also partnered with Stage Up to organise [...]
- Invensys wins Oslo signalling contractInvensys Rail is to start work on signalling projects across the T-bane network in Oslo after being awarded contracts worth £10.6 million from Norway’s infrastructure owner KTP. The first project is for Lørenbane, a new line which will provide a tunnel link between Ringbane and Grorudbane, allowing trains to pass directly from Sinsen to Hasle, [...]
- FCC adds 29,000 seats to Olympic servicesFirst Capital Connect (FCC) is lengthening and adding more services on the Great Northern route to combat Olmpic spectators. Between Friday, August 3 and Sunday, August 12, an additional 29,000 seats will be made available on top of the 760,000 extra seats FCC has already put on for the Olympics. Six early morning and evening [...]
- Indian Government fast tracks high-speed rail planThe Indian Government is planning to introduce measures to fast track the development of a high-speed rail network in the country. The push came at a recent meeting where officials decided that development of key infrastructure projects, including high-speed rail must be pushed through and completed on time. œAt the meeting it was also decided [...]
Railnews
- Government 'warned' about high West Coast bid THE competition to win the next West Coast franchise has taken a new turn, following rumours that FirstGroup is the favourite to win the four-way competition. It's reported that Richard Branson has tried to intervene in the process by writing to transport secretary Justine Greening as well as the Prime Minister.
Aviation Industry
- American Airlines bankruptcy probably won't wrap up until next year, executive saysTom Horton, chairman and chief executive of AMR and American Airlines, acknowledged that his hope of getting out of bankruptcy by Dec.
- Lufthansa posts 2Q net income of €229 millionLufthansa Group (LH) reported a second-quarter net income of €229 million ($288 million), down 23.9% from €301 million in the year-ago quarter.
- US opposition to Europe's ETS growsSenate committee approves bill which could stop US-based airlines taking part in emissions scheme
- Lufthansa to suspend Gatwick-Frankfurt flights Airline group will suspend service from Sussex airport for the winter season
Other News Sources
- Crossrail and TfL to install first incline lifts in UK public transport Crossrail and Transport for London (TfL) awarded a major contract to Kone for around 50 lifts for the new Crossrail stations as well as five lifts for Bank, Greenford and Hammersmith Tube stations. Crossrail will pioneer the use of incline lifts to deliver step-free access at two of the major central London stations. Four innovative incline lifts will run alongside escalators at Farringdon and Liverpool Street Crossrail stations where it is not possible to install vertical lifts. London Underground will also install an incline lift at Greenford station by 2014.
- Fujitsu appointed as network integrator for Heathrow Airport terminal To support 40 airport systems, including security systems, airport operations systems and management, check-in; and baggage reconciliation system
- New railway station could ease traffic A proposal for a new railway station near Bath has been floated by politicians keen to reduce traffic congestion on the eastern side of the city.
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