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

Monday, 30 June 2008

BBC News

• C-charge vote talks put on holdA decision on whether people in Manchester will get a public referendum on plans for a congestion charge has been put off for a month.
• Annual road deaths at record lowThe number of people killed on British roads last year fell to the lowest level since records began, transport department figures show.
• Your Fuel: Rising pricesOil prices have risen to record levels in the last six months, increasing by 40 per cent since January.
• Cameron's Britain: Transport policyMore than a decade ago, when the Conservatives were last in power, running Britain's tangled transport network was much simpler.
• World petrol congress opens in SpainOne of the most prestigious events in the international oil and gas industry, the World Petroleum Congress (WPC), is opening in Madrid.
• Bikers anger over fuel demo route - WalesAbout 80 motorbike riders who took part in a fuel protest along the M4 are angry after police stopped them from using an agreed route.

Financial Times

• National Express gains from switchRising fuel costs are driving more people on to public transport, National Express said yesterday.

The Guardian

• Road safety and two-wheel truths [letters]The record number of vehicles on our roads not only reduces average speed in urban areas, thereby improving safety, but increases a perception of road danger that increasingly keeps children indoors and contributes towards the current national decline in levels of cycling.
• Rail campaigners target Heathrow's 'absurd' domestic flightsThe campaign for a British high-speed rail network has gained further momentum after it emerged that 2.5 million transfer passengers a year fly into Heathrow airport from British destinations
• Celebrity takeoff [airport names]One of the hysterical reflexes after the death of Princess Diana was the suggestion that Heathrow should be dedicated to her memory.

The Herald

• Squinty bridge reopens after strut repairsThe landmark Clyde Arc in Glasgow has reopened, nearly six months after a broken support cable forced urgent repair work.

The Independent

• Back in the saddle: Why the Government wants more children cycling to schoolOnce it was normal for children to cycle to school - but now only a tiny minority do. Andy Sharman meets the people who're steering the Government's £55m drive to put pupils back on two wheels
• Is Britain really getting on its bike and turning into a nation of cyclists?Why are we asking this now? - Because cycling's time has come – or so it seems from a flurry of initiatives sweeping the country as politicians and planners wake up to what is increasingly seen as the transport of the future.

The Scotsman

• Glasgow's 'Squinty Bridge' reopensGLASGOW'S £20m Clyde Arc bridge has reopened, more than five months after it closed for repairs to a support cable. The cable on the "Squinty Bridge", between Finnieston and Pacific Quay, came down on 14 January.
• BA chief in U-turn over airports sell-offBRITISH Airways chief executive Willie Walsh has done a U-turn on his calls for the break-up of BAA's control of some of the UK's major airports – demanding tougher regulation instead.

The Telegraph

• Fuel costs force many to cut food budgetsCrippling petrol prices are forcing one in five Britons to cut back on food, according to a survey.
• Britain's high-risk roads [PDF]Table 2. Britain’s persistently higher-risk roads (2001-2003 & 2004-2006)
• British roads 'too dangerous'Almost a quarter of Britain's motorways and nearly a third of the country's A roads have been rated as unsafe by a leading European motoring body.

Times Online

• Delivering a ‘bigger, better railway network’ [letters]New lines are the best way to improve the rail network Sir, I think your report about potential rail expansion
• Don't run Heathrow into the ground [Branson]Almost a quarter of Britain's motorways and nearly a third of the country's A roads have been rated as unsafe by a leading European motoring body.
• Sat-navs to speak up if drivers turn on to Britain's most dangerous roadsDetails of the most dangerous roads in Britain will be programmed into satellite navigation devices to tell drivers when they stray on to them.
• MPs prepare for battle over 10p tax losers and costlier carsReforms of income tax and vehicle tax will come under further scrutiny this week, to the embarrassment of the Government, as backbenchers and opposition MPs push for significant amendments.

Mail Online

• Tourists face fuel protest chaos in FranceThousands of Britons travelling in France are likely to be caught up in traffic chaos today as lorry drivers begin a second wave of fuel protests.

Transport Briefing

• War veterans get free travel across London transportMayor of London Boris Johnson has announced that injured war veterans in London are to receive free travel on the capital's transport network, whether they are residents or visitors, in recognition of their service to the country.
• White Young Green lands Waverley refurbishment briefA new phase of upgrade works at Edinburgh Waverley station is to get underway after Network Rail appointed consultant White Young Green to conduct detailed survey and design work.
• Westminster Council abandons car clamping and towingVehicles will no longer be clamped or removed in Westminster as part of a radical shake-up of parking controls in central London, Westminster Council has announced.
• Movement activated escalators for Tower Gateway stationWork to upgrade Docklands Light Railway stations for 3-car trains is gathering pace as platform extensions get underway across the network and Tower Gateway station shuts temporarily for major works.

Airwise News

• SAS Sees 'Really Challenging' Times For IndustryThe chief executive of Scandinavian carrier SAS said the airline industry will see really challenging times this year and next due to high oil prices and overcapacity problems.

Journal Live

• Cheaper, faster journeys to lure people from cars [National Express] Coast Main Line operator National Express said it was confident of combating rocketing fuel bills with pricing promotions and cost savings as it hailed growing revenues and improved punctuality on the route.
• School transport fees are scrapped [Northumberland]THE new Liberal Democrat leaders of Northumberland have kept their promise to axe controversial transport charges for hundreds of A-level and college students in the county.

Manchester Evening News

• Metroshuttle set for expansionFREE Metroshuttle buses in Manchester city centre will be rolled out to towns across the region.

Metro

• 3,000 visit 'hate National Express' blogWhen one frustrated commuter set up a blog to document his daily delays he probably thought it would attract a handful of fellow sufferer
• Oil prices 'should not stop climate deal'Spiralling oil prices should not distract G8 leaders from efforts to draw up a global deal on climate change, a think-tank has urged.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Council's free staff parking to be scrappedNEW plans to scrap free parking for hundreds of staff and councillors at Newcastle Civic Centre were revealed today following a 10-year wrangle.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• [Doncaster] Airport rail probe after station plan approved THE owners of Doncaster's Robin Hood Airport will begin investigating the possibility of train access to the site after plans for a station were approved.

Aviation Industry

• Plea over airport rail scheme [Gatwick]ouncil leaders are urging Network Rail to ensure a planned upgrade to Gatwick Airport train services will be carried out in time for the 2012 Olympics.
• £365m rail plan 'no good'Schemes worth £365m that aim to ease congestion on the railway network have been rejected by the regulator, despite a record 1.2bn train journeys last year, writes Tom McGhie, of the Mail on Sunday.
• Other Views: C-charge is fairest way to pay for transport improvementsSince moving across the pond 18 months ago, my most common email from former colleagues in America was “have you seen Manchester United play?”
• Green Light for Robin Hood Airport Rail LinkPlans for a railway link to Robin Hood Airway have been approved by Doncaster Council, The Star reports.