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

Thursday, 02 February 2012

BBC News

• Science centre opens at airportA learning centre opens at Birmingham Airport to give children hands-on experience of science and technology.
• HS2's £1,000 survey access offerThe National Farmers' Union and the Country Land and Business Association negotiate a £1,000 payment to landowners for initial survey work on the HS2 high-speed rail route.
• Fuel firm 'not abusing' islandersThe firm supplying fuel to the Western Isles and Northern Isles says it is not responsible for high costs on the islands.
• Forth crossing road speed warningMore than 100 motorists are caught in two weeks speeding on an access road being built for the new Forth road bridge.
• Airport introduces trolley feesManchester Airport says passengers will have to pay to use luggage trolleys from April.
• London 'shared-space' road opensAfter three years of construction work, one of west London's most famous streets is officially re-opened.
• Train indecent behaviour appealBritish Transport Police release CCTV images of a man they want to trace in connection with alleged indecent behaviour on board a train.
• BAA loses Stansted sale appealAirport operator BAA loses its latest challenge against a competition ruling that it must sell Stansted airport.
• Japan carmakers see US sales jumpJapanese carmakers report a jump in their US sales in January boosted by new models and the restoration of supply chains.
• American Airlines cut 13,000 jobsThe loss-making parent company of American Airlines says it will shed 13,000 jobs - around 15% of its workforce.

Department for Transport

• Better service for motorist at garagesMotorists are set for improvements in customer service from garages under a package of transparency and value-for-money measures unveiled today by Transport Secretary Justine Greening.

Financial Times

• BAA loses fight against Stansted rulingTribunal dismisses challenge to Competition Commission™s decision to order the sale of the airport
• American seeks to cut jobs, pay and pensionsThe airline™s parent company will seek to shed about 13,000 positions amid efforts to emerge from bankruptcy and reduce costs by $2bn
• Lufthansa reaches deal to dispose of BMIbabyGerman carrier in non-binding agreement with unnamed UK company to dispose of the low-cost carrier that has been dragging on BMI™s earnings

The Herald

• MPs refer BMI sale to watchdogA COMPETITION watchdog has been asked to examine the take-over of ailing airline BMI amid pricing concerns for Scottish passengers.
• Now strip convicted Lords of their titlesALEX Salmond yesterday suggested peers with serious criminal convictions and other failed bankers should be stripped of their titles as business leaders led a backlash against the removal of Fred Goodwin's knighthood.
• Loganair chairman looks to the future as airline celebrates 50th anniversaryTHE head of Loganair has claimed the airline is well placed to benefit from continuing problems in the aviation sector by taking over routes abandoned by rivals.
• Campaigners press case for new stationsCAMPAIGNERS are urging ministers to add 12 new stations to Scotland's rail network as the Government puts the finishing touches to a £1 billion investment programme in the central belt.

The Scotsman

• Many happy return flights: 50th birthday for Scotland™s AirlineIT IS famous for running the world’s shortest scheduled flight between two of the Orkney islands as well as the only scheduled flight in the world to land on a beach.
• U-turn over plans for fewer MOT tests after faults missedPLANS for less frequent MOT tests have been abandoned by the UK government in favour of improved annual checks after ministers found that faults were missed in one in four cars.

The Telegraph

• Plans to cut MoT frequency ditched in Government U-turnPlans to cut the frequency of the MoT test have been ditched after the Government bowed to pressure from road safety and motoring groups.
• Landowners to get £1,000 each to allow high speed rail contractors onto propertyLandowners and farmers are to be paid £1,000 each to allow contractors involved in the high speed rail project onto their property.

Daily Express

• BAA's Stansted blowAIRPORTS group BAA must sell Stansted after losing an appeal against a ruling by the competition watchdog.

Daily Record

• Anger as Network Rail boss requests bumper bonus just 48 hours after apologising for teenagers' deathsTHE boss of shambolic Network Rail has asked for a £336,000 bonus – days after apologising for the deaths of two teenagers at a level crossing.

Mail Online

• Toyota Corolla overtakes Ford's F-trucks to become the best-selling car of all timeThe ultra-reliable, if perhaps rather dull, Japanese runaround has clocked up global sales of around 37.5 million since it was first rolled out in 1966.
• Britain's longest clutter-free street is unveiled to make things SAFERIndeed, the newly revamped Exhibition Road in the heart of London’s museum quarter in Kensington, visited by millions of people from around Britain and the world, doesn’t even have kerbs or pavements.

The Mirror

• BAA loses legal battle to keep StanstedBAA has lost its appeal against a ruling forcing it to sell Stansted.

ATOC

• Book your train tickets now for cheap Easter travelPeople looking to make seasonal savings this spring can now take advantage of cheap Advance rail fares for travel during the Easter holidays....

Birmingham Mail

• M6 Toll price hikes - to keep investors sweetTHE company behind the M6 Toll road has defended increasing prices yet again – insisting backers who stumped up to build it needed a “return on their investment”.

Bolton News

• Final look at £48m ˜green™ interchange THESE are the latest artist™s impressions of Bolton™s planned £48 million interchange.

Derby Telegraph

• Derby Telegraph commented Soapbox Steve Coltman: Questions over Thameslink decision must...Article

Edinburgh Evening News

• 7500 firms to appeal rates amid trams and recessionAn “unprecedented” number of firms in Edinburgh have demanded reduced business rates as they struggle with a weak global economy and local difficulties such as tram works.
• Bus fares forced up by fewer passengers and lower grantBUS fares in Edinburgh are expected to rise next month following a massive cut in government grants and a drop in passenger numbers due to the tram works.

Journal Live

• Hexham bus station to stay put after 1,865 sign petitionALMOST 2,000 people have signed a petition to keep a town’s bus station where it is ahead of a county council debate this afternoon.

Liverpool Echo

• Merseyside police ditch locally-made Vauxhall cars in favour of Korean-built HyundaisMERSEYSIDE police chiefs are set to ditch locally-made Vauxhall cars in favour of new cheaper Hyundais as they look to save money.

Liverpool Post

• Liverpool high speed rail link plans quietly dropped to save money PLANS for a high-speed rail link to the edge of Liverpool have been quietly dumped, apparently to save money – adding to the journey time
• Ford may leave Liverpool after Speke £30m New Mersey leisure scheme plans approved by councilCAR giant Ford may pull out of its Liverpool base after plans to build a £30m leisure park near its Speke headquarters were approved by Liverpool Council.

Manchester Evening News

• 20mph speed limit to be introduced on all non-major residential roads in ManchesterA speed limit of just 20mph is set to be introduced in all non-major residential roads in Manchester. The plan has received cross-party backing among city councillors “ and town hall bosses will now draw up detailed proposals, saying it will help cut accidents.
• Tram two-for-one offer with Metrolink's Manchester Loves February Metrolink will offer two-for-one tickets every Tuesday in February as part of a month of discounts to entice people into Manchester. Tram bosses have agreed to the deal on tickets into the city centre bought after 6pm using a special voucher.

Metro

• BAA loses appeal against ruling it must sell Stansted airportAirport operator BAA has lost its appeal against a Competition Commission ruling that it must sell Stansted airport.

Sheffield Star

• No agreement on station planPLANS to revamp a former station on an old Peak District rail line which is now a popular trail for walkers, horse riders and cyclists have gone back to the drawing board.

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• Thousands turned down for jobs as bus driversThousands of people who applied to be bus drivers in the West Midlands have been turned down, with many rejected for penalty points on their driving licences, it has emerged.

Burnley Express

• More buses offered between Burnley and BuryEXTRA buses are now being offered between Burnley and Bury as part of revisions to a public transport company™s timetables.

East Anglian Daily Times

• Essex: BAA loses appeal over sale of Stansted AirportAIRPORTS operator BAA has lost its appeal against the sale of Stansted Airport at a Competition Appeal Tribunal, the Competition Commission said today.
• Suffolk: Anglian Bus boss hits back on online claimsAN EAST Anglian bus firm has found itself at the centre of a false social media whispering campaign stating that it has gone into administration.

Peterborough Telegraph

• DfT grant to provide free bike trainingA FUNDING boost of more than £500,000 from the Government has meant that charges for Bikeability training in Cambridgeshire will be scrapped.
• New plans drawn up to strengthen bridgeA SCHEME to strengthen a viaduct that carries the A14 road over the main railway in Huntingdon has been announced by the Highways Agency.

Other Regional Press

• Rail station switch goes aheadTHE day-to-day management of Gatwick Airport railway station has transferred to Southern Railway.
• Link needed to ensure high-speed benefitsBusiness case to highlight need for HS2 Birmingham to West Yorkshire link from day one.
• Dial-a-ride service is facing cuts Oxford is set to lose one of its two over-subscribed dial-a-ride buses.
• Aberdeen City Council leader backs council-run bus plan to drive down faresTHE leader of Aberdeen City Council warned the authority could buy a bus fleet of its own to help drive down fares.
• Gritting crews out in force on roadsCrews have showed true grit to keep Beds moving this week.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Manchester commutes 'worst in the UK'Those living or working in Manchester face the worst commuting times in the UK, with an average of one hour and 55 minutes per day when conditions are busy.Each trip for such workers is an average of 25.4 miles to and from their place of employment, but heavy traffic results in speeds of 13.3 mph.This is according to a new report on congestion on UK roads, which has discovered that rush hour times for commuters across the country average just 15.2 mph.Delays and traffic building up at peak times means the Direct Line research discovered Birmingham, Bradford, London and Glasgow are also hotspot...

Global Rail News

• Alstom awarded LGV Est signalling contractRéseau Ferré de France (RFF) has awarded a consortium, lead by Alstom, with a signalling contract for phase 2 of the East European LGV (LGV Est) high speed rail line. Alstom Transport and Legrand SA will carry out ‘all signalling studies and installation work’ on the line in the €40 million contract. Alstom will also [...]
• Bids open for £100m rail station improvement fundThe remaining pot of a £100m fund to improve stations in England and Wales is now open for bids from Network Rail, train operating companies and local authorities. The station project was launched by the Department for Transport, the Association of Train Operating Companies and Network Rail in April last year, with over £80m since [...]
• Local transport bodies to have control of schemesTransport Secretary Justine Greening  has announced proposals to give local communities and businesses control of decisions and budgets of large transport schemes in their areas. This new system could see capital funding decisions for local schemes devolved to ‘democratically accountable local transport bodies’. Currently all schemes over £5m must be approved by central government but [...]
• Invensys Rail awarded Glasgow resignalling contractNetwork Rail has awarded Invensys Rail a £35 million contract for the Glasgow South Suburban Resignalling (GSSR) project. Invensys Rail will design, manufacture, install and test the signalling systems. The GSSR area includes the Cathcart Signal Box area, the East Kilbride branch lines and the Barrhead lines up to the limit of control from the West [...]
• Reconnecting RoystonThe Hertfordshire town of Royston has become increasingly divided by the Hitchin-Cambridge railway line that runs through its centre as the town expanded each side of the line. With only two official crossings, on the by-pass at the northern end of town and next to the railway station at Kneesworth Street, there was evidence that [...]
• For Battersea “ Five new bridges and one new superstructureOn the south bank of the Thames, opposite Victoria station, on the disused site is Battersea Power Station. Alongside the power station there is another smaller but just as well known location, the Battersea Dogs & Cats home. Between these two locations are the Up and Down Fast and Reversible lines to Chatham that pass [...]
• Alstom to install new ERTMS in DenmarkAlstom has been awarded a contract worth €300m to replace the existing signalling system in the east of Denmark. Alstom will install its Atlas ERTMS signalling solution on 12 intercity and regional lines in the Sealand and Fyn regions. The new systems will enable Banedanmark to ‘increase the traffic regularity and double the capacity of the [...]
• Turkish State Railways awards Thales signalling contractTurkish State Railways has awarded Thales a €20 million signalling contract to install the ECTS Level 2 system on the country’s first high speed rail line. The contract also consists of GSM-R communications and automatic train protection along the 250km double-track Eskisehir-Sincan section of the Ankara-Istanbul high speed line. Turkey’s first high speed line was [...]

London TravelWatch

• ˜10 policies to keep Londoners moving™: London TravelWatch publishes its transport users™ priorities for the 2012-16 Mayoral term˜10 policies to keep Londoners moving™: London TravelWatch publishes its transport users™ priorities for the 2012-16 Mayoral term

Aviation Industry

• American Airlines to slash 2,100 maintenance jobs in Tulsa as part of restructuring planTULSA, Okla. - American Airlines is expected to slash about 2,100 jobs at its maintenance facility in Tulsa under a bankruptcy reorganization plan released by its parent company, a spokesman for the airline said Wednesday.
• Malev battles for survival Hungarian carrier's bosses to draw up emergency plan by end of this week
• United finishes roll-out of Economy Plus on Continental aircraftMerged airline now features premium economy on all B757s
• BAA loses appeal over Stansted saleAirports operator's challenge to sale order has been dismissed
• MPs ask for probe on impact of Bmi saleLabour and SNP worried over impact on domestic flights
• Bmi strikes deal to sell BmibabyNo-frills carrier set to be sold to UK-based firm

Other News Sources

• Rip-off rail companies target Euro crisisRip-off rail companies, led by European rail bosses, British outfit ATOC and supported by Labour Euro MEP Brian Simpson, will be meeting in Brussels tonight to plan out a strategy for bleeding transport services across the Continent dry in the wake of the EU crisis and the central drive for austerity and privatisation.