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

Tuesday, 12 August 2008

BBC News

• £52m road for accident blackspotA £52m dual carriageway is to improve the safety of a road in North Antrim which has been the scene of several fatal road accidents.
• Eco petrolheadLove cars, hate fuel prices. Can 'eco-driving' tips help?
• Evacuation halts Heathrow flightsFlights are cancelled and delayed at Heathrow Airport when the air traffic control tower is evacuated and airspace closed temporarily.

Financial Times

• BAA airport monopoly at riskBAA's airport monopoly in south-east England and Scotland is harming passenger interests, the UK Competition Commission has concluded, increasing the likelihood that the Spanish-owned company will be forced to sell some operations
• US airlines sue over slot auctionsThe suit escalates carriers' battle to block the Federal Aviation Administration's plan to auction take-off and landing slots at New York's regional airports

The Guardian

• Supermarkets cut fuel prices as food bills riseBritain's biggest supermarkets yesterday lowered the price of petrol for the third time in as many weeks. But as the pressure eased at the pump, it continued to escalate at the checkout, with a survey suggesting that a basket of staple foods such as bread, rice and eggs had risen by 27% in the past 12 months.

The Herald

• Parsons wins £1.5m Babcock contractParsons Peebles Generation has won a £1.5m order from Babcock Marine at Rosyth, linked to Babcock's major aircraft carrier contract.

The Telegraph

• Passengers up in arms over rail ticket office cutsPassengers face paying inflated prices to travel by train because of plans to cut opening hours at ticket offices on one of the country's busiest lines.

Times Online

• Signal cable thefts delay trains Retford British Transport Police and Network Rail have stepped up security after two thefts of rail signal-controlling cable in quick succession caused widespread disruption to train services.
• Boeing in talks on renewed $40bn tanker bid$ Boeing will meet the United States Department of Defence (DoD) today to discuss rebidding for a $40 billion ($£21 billion) contract to supply airborne refuelling tankers.

Mail Online

• Morrisons fuels new round of the supermarket petrol war with 2p a litre price cutSupermarkets yesterday slashed 2p off the price of petrol as oil giants were criticised for failing to pass on the benefits of tumbling crude and wholesale fuel costs.

The Mirror

• City: Fuel bills wrecking HGV drivers' businessesTruckers are being driven off the road by spiralling costs.

ATOC

• Simpler rail fares for all journeysPassengers will soon be able to enjoy simpler train fares for walk up rail journeys when the second stage of fares simplification takes effect on 7th September.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• A55 widening to cause chaosROADWORKS to widen a stretch of the A55 between Abergwyngregyn and Bangor are set to cause chaos for motorists.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Queensferry Road bus lane: Ill-conceived idea will punish more than it will helpWHILE Greenways have undoubtedly brought benefits to bus commuters in Edinburgh by speeding up journey times, they have also deliberately made car journeys on main routes much more difficult. With reduced space for other road users it is inevitable that queues, particularly at peak travel times, will be greater and journeys will take longer.
• Bus lane on busy route bids to beat bottleneckBus lane on busy route bids to beat bottleneck

Liverpool Echo

• Airport may have to foot bill for cost of securityLIVERPOOL John Lennon airport faces a multi-million pound bill for its growing security costs.

London Evening Standard

• Comment: Park and rideThe number of cycle journeys in London has almost doubled to half a million a day since 2000. Yet our survey today suggests there are only 25,000 official cycle spaces in the centre of the capital. The London Cycling Campaign says the city needs 100,000 more bike spaces; the Mayor, Boris Johnson, has asked Transport for London to provide 13,000.
• Your first job is to keep London moving, BorisLast week's report on the congestion charge highlighted some of the problems - and the way that transport policy does not fit easily into any Left-Right divide.
• TfL faces big fight to keep Oyster nameTube bosses face a fierce battle to keep the Oyster card name in a legal dispute which could cost millions of pounds.
• Transport boss: Why we have to prosecute over evasionTransport boss: Why we have to prosecute over evasion
• 100,000 new bike spaces needed to cope with cycle boomCentral London needs 100,000 extra cycle parking spaces to keep pace with soaring bike use, campaigners say

Manchester Evening News

• Council's`£1m-a-year taxi bill'MANCHESTER councillors and town hall staff have spent nearly £4m of taxpayers' cash on cabs in the past four years.
• Slowest traffic outside LondonGREATER Manchester has the slowest peak-hour traffic of any English city outside London.

Wales Online

• Ebbw Vale rail link is a victim of own successINVESTMENT in a flagship Welsh railway scheme was skimped after the number of people using the trains was “woefully underestimated”, an AM claimed yesterday.

Blackpool Gazette

• Ferry all set to sail into winterA CONTINUED winter ferry service between Fleetwood and Knott End is set to get the green light from Wyre Councillors.

The Shields Gazette

• Why this bus is our lifelineTWO new community buses will hit the road in South Tyneside over the next few weeks.

International Herald Tribune

• Wall Street gains as oil slipsU.S. stocks rose Monday as oil prices closed lower for a sixth day, improving prospects for consumer and business spending.

Washington Post

• Toyota sees potential for exporting U.S. trucks TRAVERSE CITY, Michigan (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) is considering exporting U.S.-made vehicles as it sees potential demand for its large pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles overseas, the automaker's U.S. manufacturing chief said on Monday.

Transport for London

• The crime-busting station on the DLRThe Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has hailed a new weapon in his fight to cut crime in the Capital - a revamped Docklands Light Railway station.

Aviation Industry

• Soaring fuel prices drive freight onto waterwaysSoaring fuel prices drive freight onto waterways
• Transport Manifesto | New TransportThere are no shortage of large-scale projects on London’s horizon. Certainly with CrossRail and the Olympics to be delivered, and a major upgrade to the Tube network to be carried out, the Mayor finds his hands full and budget stretched.
• Haverhill Bus Station Having a Spruce UpHaverhill’s bus station is to undergo an intensive summer clean up. Following a number of local complaints about the appearance of the bus station, St Edmundsbury Borough Council’s Haverhill Area Working Party has arranged for it to be cleaned.
• Fewer Flights Mean Cuts in Airport ProjectsLarge-scale service cuts by airlines are making U.S. airports rethink their expansion plans, as revenues from landing fees and concessions falter.

Green Miscellany

• UK biofuels not up to green targetJust one month into the UK Government’s initiative to introduce biofuels into the country’s transportation fuel system, less than one-fifth is meeting environmental standards.

Other News Sources

• Bus group builds £20m HQ in cityFirst Minister Alex Salmond has helped lay the foundations for a project to bring a "significant" economic boost to one of Scotland's biggest cities.
• Transport funding easier to getCHARITY Community First is making life simpler for small community-based groups in Wiltshire to apply to its community transport small grants fund.
• Pedal power is key to turn city greenPERSUADING people to abandon their cars in favour of walking and cycling is no easy matter - but one champion of greener travel practises what he preaches.
• Hands-on detectionUS rail operator Amtrak has placed an order with Smiths Detection for additional Sabre 4000 advanced explosives detection systems to expand screening capabilities of passengers, trains and stations.
• Next-gen Digifob offers extra functionalityThe Digifob portable device for reading digital tachograph driver cards has entered its second generation.
• Construction timetable set for Borders railwayThe £235M - £295M reinstatement of a railway line between Edinburgh and the Scottish Borders took a step forward last week when the preliminary timetable for the project was announced by Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson.
• Anti-litter campaign launchedRoad chiefs have launched an anti-litter campaign after collecting a tonne of rubbish from just one six-mile stretch of motorway. To be run by the Highways Agency, the summer
• National Rail plans 'could be detrimental to rail freight sector'Plans by National Rail to carry out engineering work late at night rather than at weekends could severely disrupt Britain's rail freight industry.
• AA voices support for sat nav systemsUsing satellite navigation systems (sat navs) can prove more effective than road maps because they can "practically guarantee you'll know where you are", according to the AA.
• Dip in profit announced by NOLContainer transportation specialist Neptune Orient Lines (NOL) has announced that its profits dipped by 19 per cent over the second quarter of this year.