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

Wednesday, 02 July 2008

BBC News

• Overhaul for Swansea bus stationSwansea's Quadrant bus station is to have an £11m makeover.
• Town 'must' consider road pricingReading should abandon plans to turn its ring road into a one-way system and urgently consider road pricing, a report has concluded.
• Lights may relieve A40 congestionTraffic Lights may help to alleviate delays caused by major roadworks near Gloucester, the Highways Agency said.
• Airport expansion plans unveiled - ExeterMore than 2,000 new jobs could be created under plans to expand an airport in Devon.
• MPs gear up for excise duty fightMinisters face a fresh battle with MPs over plans to raise vehicle excise duty on the most polluting cars.
• Ring road review published - videoAn independent review into Reading Council's proposal to turn its ring-road into a giant one-way system has been published.
• City congestion charges ruled out - BelfastCongestion charges will not be introduced to Belfast in the "foreseeable future", the roads minister has said.
• Minister backs rail track schemeTransport minister Tom Harris is backing plans to double a railway track between Gloucestershire and Wiltshire.

Financial Times

• Congestion extension threatenedLondon’s western extension congestion charge could be scrapped under consultation plans launched by Boris Johnson on Tuesday.
• Brussels gives shipping a steerShipping operators are being provided with guidelines by Brussels to help them navigate rules on restrictive practices, now that the exemption from competition rules...

The Guardian

• How can you fuel a car with wine?Think of hillbillies brewing up staggeringly alcoholic moonshine and you're most of the way there. The modern miracle of turning wine into automotive fuel is all down to the fine art of distillation.
• Politics environment: Tories say 2.3m motorists to lose out in backdated green car taxMore than 2 million people will be made worse off by government plans to increase the car tax on environmentally unfriendly vehicles bought over the last seven years, the Tories claimed yesterday.
• Gas guzzlers and 'ghostburbs'High oil prices are having a dramatic effect in the US, with public transport riding high and SUV production falling. Now, energy policy has moved to centre-stage in the coming presidential election. Polly Ghazi reports
• Eco SoundingsOld king coal Big hint for Gordon Brown from Labour's most trusted thinktank.
• Clean tech: Green energy is the modern gold rushAlternative power Investors are falling over themselves to put cash into the search for cleaner fuels
• Oil price: Slump in motor sales raises fears for viability of Detroit's car industryFears are mounting over the financial stability of struggling US carmakers following a dismal June in which sales plummeted.
• Transport: London mayor unveils congestion charge rethinkBoris Johnson signalled an end to the expansion of the London congestion charge zone yesterday as he unveiled a consultation exercise that could scrap the toll's western extension.

The Independent

• Millions left worse off by road tax reformTwice as many people will lose out from the Government's decision to increase road tax than from the abolition of the 10p tax rate.

The Scotsman

• Walk-on fares 'five times dearer'Some rail fares for which passengers pay on the day are five times more expensive than those booked in advance, according to a report by the Campaign for Better Transport.

The Telegraph

• Heathrow worst for delays againHeathrow is Europe's worst airport for delays and its perfomance continues to deteriorate, new figures show.

Times Online

• Car tax rules will hit more than 2m, says Conservatives Labour MPs backed down from a fresh revolt over the abolition of the 10p tax rate last night as the Conservatives claimed that more than two million people would lose in retrospective changes to road tax.

Mail Online

• Why Heathrow IS 'the worst performing airport in Europe'Almost half of flights to and from Heathrow are delayed by 15 minutes or more making it the worst performing airport in Europe, says the Association of European Airlines.

Transport Briefing

• Cameras to be fitted in all Tyne and Wear Metro trainsTyne and Wear passenger transport executive is to spend £500,000 to ensure all Metro trains have CCTV fitted.
• £98m deal gives TfL control of Tramlink farebox incomeTransport for London has formally taken possession of the south London Tramlink network following previous owner Tramtrack Croydon Ltd's decision to sell earlier this year (Transport Briefing 18/03/08).
• Railway safety improving according to ORR auditSafety on Britain's railways has improved over the past year, according to the Office of Rail Regulation's railway safety statistical report for the calendar year 2007.
• Councils call for Gatwick rail upgrade before 2012The leaders of West Sussex County and Crawley Borough councils have teamed up to call for an assurance that a planned upgrade of Gatwick airport railway station will be completed in time for the 2012 London Olympics.
• John Laing signs up to Intercity Express ProgrammeRail infrastructure firm John Laing Projects and Developments has entered the race to clinch the contract for Britain's next generation of inter-city trains.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Trees facing the chop to make way for tram lineTRANSPORT chiefs have come under fire for plans to chop down 28 mature trees in the city centre to make way for the tram line.
• Platform for South Sub backersCAMPAIGNERS fighting for the reopening of the South Sub railway service are to address the next meeting of regional transport authority Sestran.

Manchester Evening News

• Referendum: Council to decideTHE Government will leave it to Greater Manchester to decide whether to have a referendum on plans for congestion charging in return for a £3bn public transport revolution.
• Double whammy for driversIn a special Commons debate, Worsley Labour MP Barbara Keeley slammed the current proposals for a £3m consultation exercise in the area as `not up to the task'.
• Q. Is congestion charging a price worth paying for £3bn worth of public transport improvements?NO - Chris Wermann is European communications director for Kellogg’s and a member of the Greater Manchester Momentum Group, an alliance of 160 businesses challenging current congestion charging proposals.

This Is Local London Network

• WANDSWORTH: More needed to end rail miseryNetwork Rail's plans to tackle overcrowding on local rail services will do little to address chronic overcrowding on local services, Wandsworth councillors claim.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Metro boss raps bus firms over price riseA ROW has broken out over an inflation-busting rise in the cost of bus travel cards in West Yorkshire.

Other News Sources

• EU sets guidelines for shipping route competitionEU regulators on Tuesday set out guidelines for shipping companies as the autumn deadline for opening up shipping routes nears.
• Easyjet supports UK tax changeLow cost carrier Easyjet has voiced its support for the UK government’s replacement for Air Passenger Duty (APD), a tax on individual passengers and which is due to be replaced by a tax per aircraft levied on airlines.
• Fears for future as ferry route is scrapped – Sunderland EchoTalks have been held between council officials in the North East and in Norway over the decision by DFDS Seaways to scrap its ferry service between Newcastle and Bergen.
• UK can lead clean air pushCould the propeller make a dramatic comeback to the aviation mainstream? Don't bet against it.
• Airbus selects Lead Logistics and Transport ProvidersAirbus has selected Kuehne+Nagel as lead logistics provider and DHL as lead transport provider, becoming Tier 1 partners for Airbus.
• Government Transport Agency commended by international 'green' award judgesThe agency which keeps Britain's government on the road is celebrating an outstanding performance in the first European-wide Green Fleet Awards.
• Oyster-style cards for cabs - LondonA new cashless payment system for black cabs is launched in London today.
• Comment: C-charge change - London
• Tighter security at train stationsX-ray equipment to screen passengers’ bags may soon be used at Reading railway station.