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

Friday, 18 July 2008

BBC News

• Funding secured for A14 wideningThe government has pledged funds for the widening of one of Cambridgeshire's busiest roads.
• Plans for city's 20mph road zonesPlans for a 20mph speed limit on most of Oxford's roads are being put out to public consultation.
• Rail users given tickets to ridA ticket machine for passengers travelling from Alloa's new train station is now operational, First ScotRail has said.
• Road state 'not as bad as feared'The transport minister has been told damage caused by a landslide on a major route through southern Scotland is not as bad as initially feared.
• MOTs data viewed by India workersIT workers in India were given access to a database of all vehicles subject to an MOT in Britain, the Department for Transport has confirmed. The data included details of 65,000 MOT testers and 16,500 people authorised to examine vehicles for MOTs, but no information on vehicle owners.
• VW gets approval for Scania dealGerman carmaker Volkswagen says it has received regulatory approval for its proposed takeover of Swedish truck and bus manufacturer Scania.
• Reverse parking 'saves money' [video]Tim Shallcross from the Institute of Advanced Motorists drivers who want to save petrol and money should reverse into parking spots.

Department for Transport

• Free bus passes for injured armed forces personnelFree England-wide bus passes will be offered to seriously injured Service personnel and Veterans, under new plans to recognise the valuable contribution made by the Armed Forces, Transport Minister Rosie Winterton announced today.

Financial Times

• Qantas cuts 1,500 jobs as fuel price bitesQantas Airways said it would cut 1,500 jobs and effectively scrap its growth plan for the coming year, saying soaring fuel prices were posing a severe challenge
• Ryanair shows way to stricken winter skiesThe winter capacity cuts by Ryanair are a foretaste of the tough actions that many airlines around the world can be expected to take as demand slides from the peak summer months
• Eurotunnel posts first interim net profit The company that runs the Channel Tunnel announced the latest in a series of strong revenue increases as the undersea link enjoys growing competitive advantages over ferries and airlines suffering from the rising price of fuel
• Fuel costs drag Continental into $3m lossContinental Airlines swung to a loss, as mounting jet fuel costs offset gains in revenue from passengers and cargo. The US carrier called the current economic climate the worst since the September 11 2001 terrorist attacks
• Ryanair cuts flights and lays blame on BAARyanair is to ground more than a third of its Stansted-based fleet and close seven of its European destinations temporarily as it braces for a bleak winter threatened by record oil prices and weak consumer demand

The Guardian

• $10m prize to develop jet fuel alternativeThe X Prize Foundation, which awards prizes encouraging innovation in everything from spaceflight to genome sequencing, is moving into green aviation with $10m on offer for the developer of an environmentally sustainable replacement for jet fuel.

The Independent

• Exclusive: Pilots ignore alerts over faulty planesAirlines across Europe are flying planes with known defects because pilots routinely fail to report faults when they find them, an investigation has revealed.

The Scotsman

• Hard-up drivers running out of fuelCost-cutting car owners are regularly running out of fuel as they try to economise during this period of record-high petrol prices, it was revealed.

The Telegraph

• T5 left off Stirling Prize shortlistBeleaguered airport operator BAA has received another snub after Heathrow's Terminal 5 was left off the shortlist for Britain's top architectural prize.

Times Online

• Michael O’Leary of Ryanair on the offensive againFor Michael O’Leary, Ryanair’s chief executive, even bad news is an opportunity to go on the offensive.

Mail Online

• Ryanair axes thousands of flights from Stansted over soaring fuel costs and airport feesBudget airline Ryanair is to axe one in seven of its flights from a major UK holiday airport following a row over cash with controversial 'monopoly' airport operator BAA.

Transport Briefing

• Council marks exit with £2m Ludlow interchange planSouth Shropshire District Council’s executive committee has backed a £2m project to create a transport hub in Ludlow following the recommendations of a feasibility study.

Bristol Live

• Shouldering the trafficThe hard shoulder on the region's motorways is set to be opened up to drivers to help ease congestion at rush hour.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• North Wales welcomes fuel tax scrappingBUSINESS groups in North Wales have welcomed Alistair Darling’s move to head off growing anger from motorists by confirming that this autumn’s 2p rise in fuel duty will be scrapped.

London Evening Standard

• Tube lift faces axe as cost hits £100mPlans for a lift at the newly developed Shepherd's Bush Central line station could be scrapped over fears of escalating costs.

Manchester Evening News

• Bullocks in talks with StagecoachLONG-standing transport company R Bullock is in sale talks with national giant Stagecoach, it emerged today.
• Traffic levels NOT soaringTRAFFIC levels in Greater Manchester are not soaring - despite warnings the region's economy could be crippled without a congestion charge.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Scots scorn PM™s move on fuel tax as too littlePrime Minister Gordon Brown™s fuel tax freeze was denounced as too little too late last night across the Highlands and the north-east.
• Scottish councils unlikely to scrap speed camerasWhile Swindon councillors consider scrapping speed cameras and spending the £400,000 it costs to fund them on other road-safety measures, many Scots hope for a similar U-turn by their elected representatives.

The York Press

• New lake and bike paths bid backed PLANNERS are expected to back moves to landscape the new campus and create new cycle paths as part of the University of York™s massive expansion bid.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Minister insists region must host eco-townTHE Government has reignited the row over a Yorkshire eco-town and caused fury after warning council leaders in the region to "honour their commitment" to find a site.

Blackpool Gazette

• Booze ban for Fleetwood's Tram SundayAN on-street drinking ban will be enforced for the first time in Fleetwood this weekend.

Chester Standard

• Chester rail station opens first of renovationsA NEW ticket office and new toilets have opened at Chester railway station as part of improvements to the concourse.

Northants Evening Telegraph

• Link road inquiry given go-aheadA date has finally been set for an inquiry into plans for a new link road.

Peterborough Telegraph

• Ryanair chief predicts airport job cutsRyanair chief Michael O' Leary has predicted job losses at Stansted Airport in Essex after the budget airline announced substantial cutbacks in its number of flights from

Sunderland Echo

• Cash to ease road congestionMotorists in Wearside look set to benefit from a £470,000 Government handout to stall rising levels of congestion.
• Arriva arrives in HungaryWearside transport giant Arriva has again expanded its European operation.

Western Daily Press

• Motorway hard shoulders to open at peak timesMotorists will be able to drive along the hard shoulder of the M4 and M5 around Bristol under new plans to improve the West's road network.
• Rival plan for Bath high-speed bus route unveiledOpposition politicians in Bath have unveiled their rival plan for a controversial high-speed bus route that would link the east and west of the city.
• West truckers slam 2p fuel duty freeze as a drop in the oceanTruckers across the West warned Gordon Brown his decision to scrap the planned autumn 2p rise in fuel duty would not end their anger over soaring costs.

Aviation Industry

• Aviation industry goes 'green' at FarnboroughFARNBOROUGH: The commercial aviation industry, widely accused of not doing enough to tackle climate change, pledged at the Farnborough International Air show this week to become more 'green.'
• Shipping container giant signs up to Port of FelixstoweThe world’s largest shipping container line has signed a 10-year deal for terminal usage at the Port of Felixstowe’s Trinity Terminal.
• Europe 'holds key' to creating successful UK eco-townsNew research analysing some of today’s exemplary European eco-town projects has identified critical factors behind each development’s independent success.

Other News Sources

• New Street Redevelopment Moves A Step CloserTHE £600 million project to redevelop and transform Birmingham New Street station and the surrounding area has moved a step closer with the City Council’s drawing up of a Compulsory Purchase Order in respect of a 14-acre site which includes the Pallasades shopping centre above the station.
• Firms sign up to environmental checklistLeading food and drinks firms have signed a document that embeds environmental standards into their transport practices.
• TK Fuels develops fuel-borne catalystTK Fuels has developed a fuel-borne catalyst which, it says, can reduce NOx and hydrocarbons and improve fuel efficiency by an average of 8%.
• Investment in border truckstopsThe European Commission is to spend €3.5m on setting up secure truck stops for hauliers having to wait at the frontier between the European Union (EU) and Russia.
• EU proposes charging hauliers for ˜making noise™The European Commission has proposed charging operators for noise, congestion and air pollution caused by their lorries.
• Manchester c-charge for HGVsThe proposal to charge HGVs the same as cars to enter the Manchester congestion-charge zone has been met with derision in the industry.
• Share a Ride to Work and Help Clean Up Our CitiesSupport National Liftshare Day - 9th June 2008.
• MEPs suggest leniency on air pollution caps for trucksThe European Parliament's Environment Committee has voted in favour of slightly watering down limits on nitrogen oxide emissions from trucks and buses, saying too tough a target would simply make it harder for them to cut their CO2 emissions.
• Manchester Airport untouched by Ryanair closuresManchester Airport has escaped unscathed from the temporary closure of seven Ryanair bases across Europe, the airline announced today.