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

Tuesday, 15 July 2008

BBC News

• Station to mark 160th anniversaryAn exhibition and talks are planned to mark the 160th anniversary of a Shropshire railway station.
• Bus routes axed over fuel costsMore bus routes have been axed in East Yorkshire because of soaring fuel costs. Stagecoach announced it was dropping the number 9 and 49 bus services in Hull. The company is also altering 17 other routes around the city.
• Extra staff tackle Oyster failureExtra London Underground staff were drafted in after a breakdown in the Oyster card system left thousands of people needing replacement cards. About 65,000 cards were corrupted and stopped working when they were swiped during technical problems on Saturday.
• Assembly rejects 'eco-town' plansPlans for nearly 50,000 new homes in "eco-towns" in the east of England have been rejected as "unacceptable". The East of England Regional Assembly (EERA) said plans in Norfolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire are not linked to jobs or public transport.
• Train firm to start airport linkA new rail link is to provide passengers in mid Wales with a direct link to Birmingham airport later this year.
• Council to try 20mph lorry limitPeople living in a Leicestershire village have welcomed plans for a 20mph (32km) speed limit on lorries. Villagers at Sharnford near Hinckley have complained that too many heavy-goods vehicles use the main road as a shortcut.
• Heathrow 'could get third runway'A minister indicates the government could go ahead with controversial plans to expand Heathrow Airport.
• Top shareholder exits Virgin BlueThe biggest shareholder in Australia's second-largest airline is to offload its stake in the carrier to reduce exposure to the ailing industry.
• Boeing receives Gulf state ordersBoeing receives orders of almost 100 planes from Gulf states keen to capitalise on oil revenues.

Financial Times

• Airlines under pressure to turn skies greenThe European Parliament last week approved a measure that will be the biggest environmental constraint yet placed on airlines anywhere in the world.
• London parking fees top global price listLondon is the most expensive place in the world to park a car, according to a report analysing costs across every large city.

The Guardian

• Town may cut camera fundingA town is threatening to stop funding speed cameras because of concerns that the government is using them primarily to raise money, it emerged yesterday.
• Johnson's deputy hints at transport fare increases and job cutsBoris Johnson's most powerful deputy has declined to rule out public transport fare increases or job cuts in his drive to increase efficiency in the Greater London authority and its main functional bodies, Transport for London and the London Development Agency.

The Herald

• Ferrovial refinance plans take offFerrovial, the Spanish owner of the UK's major airports including Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen, has finally been given the green light for a refinancing which ought to pave the way for reinvestment.

The Scotsman

• BA chiefs face quiz over T5 openingShareholders will have the chance to question British Airways chiefs about the Heathrow Terminal 5 (T5) opening fiasco at the airline's annual meeting in London.
• Commuters lobbied on office cutsUnion officials are to urge rail commuters to join a campaign against plans to cut the opening hours of ticket offices.

The Telegraph

• Tower Bridge receives a £4m makeover funded by monksOne of London's most prized landmarks, Tower Bridge, is to undergo a £4m four-year facelift funded by a group of forward-thinking monks.
• Los Angeles cyclists demand new road rightsLos Angeles officials are being urged to adopt a cyclists' 'bill of rights' in the wake of an alleged road rage attack that hospitalised two cyclists.

Reuters News

• Chrysler aims to have electric cars in three to five yearsDETROIT (Reuters) - Chrysler LLC is planning to launch all-electric vehicles in the next three to five years, the latest automaker to join the race to produce cars with fuel-saving technologies.
• Fuel challenge brings Airbus and Boeing closerFARNBOROUGH (Reuters) - It would be hard to find two fiercer rivals than U.S. planemaker Boeing and Europe's Airbus as they battle it out over orders, government subsidies and a $35 billion (17.5 billion pounds) aerial tanker deal.
• Airbus sees more show orders, lessor dealFARNBOROUGH (Reuters) - Airbus pledged to notch up over 200 plane orders this week and is chasing a major order from an aircraft leasing company, the European planemaker's sales chief said at the Farnborough Airshow.

Transport Briefing

• £200m train order prepares for rail line openingsTrain operator First ScotRail has ordered a fleet of new Siemens trains that will increase passenger capacity and provide sufficient rolling stock to support the opening of the Airdrie-Bathgate and Glasgow Airport rail links.

Birmingham Post

• Call to nationalise M6 TollThe National Alliance Against Tolls has renewed its calls for the M6 Toll to be taken over by the Highways Agency.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Airbus hopes to win back £18bn orderAIRBUS chiefs said they were hopeful of winning back an a £18bn deal to supply refuelling tanker aircraft to the US Air Force, despite a controversial decision by the US government to re-open bidding.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Rat-runners leave bus passengers strandedBUS users have hit out at a series of road closures brought in to prevent 'rat-running' around a revamp at one of the city's busiest roundabouts.

Journal Live

• United front in bid for better transportTRANSPORT bosses will be forced to consult with Northern city leaders in a deal which will see improvements to the Western bypass and routes around the Tyne Tunnel.

London Evening Standard

• Commuters lobbied on office cutsUnion officials are to urge rail commuters to join a campaign against plans to cut the opening hours of ticket offices.
• How the East End is in the shadow of the Zeppelin again (but this time it's for fun)I joined a band of pioneering passengers yesterday to sample the Stella Artois 'Star Over London' airship's maiden voyage. The one-hour flight over the capital began at the eastern outskirts of London
• Hutton signals go-ahead for Heathrow expansion before consultation endsA Cabinet minister has given a strong indication that the Government will give the go-ahead for plans to expand Heathrow Airport

Manchester Evening News

• Poor show for c-charge meetingTHE first of the public consultations on the proposed congestion charges attracted just 44 people.

Metro

• London commuters get free travelTens of thousands of London commuters travelled for free today after a technical glitch with the Oyster card system.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Newcastle Airport expansion offers new jobs hopeMULTI-million- pound plans to expand the region’s biggest airport are today revealed.

This Is Local London Network

• Johnson calls for ’common sense’ to improve quality of life for LondonersMayor of London Boris Johnson has challenged London's transport firms to make public transport a more enjoyable experience for commuters.
• TfL hand out replacement Oyster cards after faultThousands of commuters will need new Oyster cards after a fault on the network at the weekend.

Wales Online

• Cash card scam warningTHOUSANDS of commuters and rail travellers who use Cardiff Central station are being warned about a cash card scam.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Leeds airport terminal project will go ahead despite economyTHE boss of Leeds Bradford Airport says he is confident that a multi-million pound terminal redevelopment will go ahead as planned.

Forbes

• World's 10 Best Airports These airports are the most popular with millions of travelers.

Transport for London

• Transport for London begins improvement of Croydon TramlinkIn the first of a series of improvements to the Croydon Tramlink, from 20 July TfL will increase the tram service on the Beckenham Junction and Elmers End routes so that trams run every 15 minutes during evenings and Sundays.
• The Hoard and the Grapevine at Stratford Tube stationCommissions by two artists will be installed in Stratford Tube station this July, both of which make the local people the focus of their work.

Aviation Industry

• Pledge to get young people on public transportTransport bosses in Greater Manchester have promised to do more to encourage children and teenagers to use public transport.
• Future transport communications study completedA Plextek led consortium has completed a groundbreaking year long study for communications industry regulator Ofcom on the future of communications in the transport industry over the next 20 years.
• UK Government rejects ’super-lorry’ proposalsSuper lorries had been billed as a key weapon in the fight against climate change, yet the government has rejected their introduction in the UK.
• £1.5m deal to boost bus safetyPOULTON-based camera specialists Look CCTV have signed a lucrative deal with one of the UK's biggest bus companies.
• Boston turn to bus travel5,444 people travelled on Boston’s new Into Town bus service in its first week – compared with 1,889 passengers using the previous public transport the week before.
• Manning levels to be slashed at railway stationsLocal Liberal Democrats have bitterly attacked South West trains over plans to slash manning levels at Axminster, Honiton and Feniton railway stations.

Other Subscription Services

• Shipping takes the lead at Mediterranean summitTHE Union for the Mediterranean is to consider levying ships entering the region, introduce 'sea motorways' and tackle pollution.