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

Monday, 18 August 2008

BBC News

• Bikers urged to tag their cyclesCyclists are being urged to keep their bikes safe by fitting them with a security tag.
• Eurostar cleaners set to strikeWorkers who clean Eurostar vote to strike on Bank Holiday Monday in a dispute over pay.

Financial Times

• BAA set to face bids for airportsRival groups and infrastructure funds are preparing bid approaches for UK airports owned by BAA as it completes a complex £13bn refinancing package
• BAA set to secure £13bn buy-out debt dealThe UK airport operator is expected to complete a £13bn ($24bn) refinancing of the debt put in place to back its buy-out by a Ferrovial-led consortium, after a two-year effort
• Atlantia to shift focus after failed mergerItaly's largest toll road operator will make no effort to find a European merger partner after the collapse of its deal with Spain's Abertis, according to its chief executive
• China South Loco steams to debutShares in China South Locomotive & Rolling Stock are expected to make a strong debut when they start trading this week in Shanghai and Hong Kong in spite of sharp falls in both stock markets this year

The Guardian

• Heathrow expansion: Third runway will breach pollution limit, EU warnsThe European Union has waded into the debate over expanding Heathrow airport by warning that plans for a third runway will "significantly" breach air pollution guidelines.

The Herald

• ON THE AGENDAWHOOPS! AUDIT Scotland caused a sensation with its letter to pro-Forth tunnel campaigner John Carson stating that the body agreed with him that the Forth Bridge authority Feta (Forth Estuary Transport Authority) acted outwith its remit when it produced its 2005 study into the need for a new Forth bridge.
• Airlines face up to the plane truthAnalysis: For many airlines, the golden years of the travel boom that brought a steady stream of passengers and fat profits are fading fast. Talk of recession, or something very like it, is swirling around the boardrooms of some of the world’s biggest carriers.

The Telegraph

• 'Spyinthesky' paves way for road pricingMotorists are being warned they may face

Times Online

• Low-cost? Not with these extras..... View the graphic of what airlines charge for
• Gatwick attracts bidders as BAA awaits Competition Commission's call for disposal BAA, the airports operator, will complete a near£13 billion refinancing this week as it prepares for the biggest shake-up to its business for more than 40 years.

Reuters News

• Drivers could be jailed for sending a textLONDON (Reuters) - Drivers who kill while eating, sending a text message or putting on make-up could be jailed under new careless driving laws which come into force on Monday.
• Bidders seen lining up to buy Gatwick airportLONDON (Reuters) - International infrastructure groups have approached British Airports Authority (BAA) with offers to buy London's Gatwick airport for up to 3 billion pounds, the Sunday Times reported without citing sources.

Transport Briefing

• Drive-in premier showcases Ebbsfleet station starEbbsfleet station is to become a drive-in cinema for the August bank holiday weekend under plans by high speed train operator Eurostar to raise the international station's profile.
• TfL board shake-up gives new role to ex-GNER chiefFormer GNER chief executive Christopher Garnett has been made deputy chairman of the Transport for London board.
• Orbital bus rapid transit link planned for EdinburghEdinburgh's new tram network could be supplemented by a £54m bus rapid transit system under proposals published by the South East of Scotland Transport Partnership.
• Olympic indecisionPlans for a major upgrade of the North London Line to improve access to the 2012 Olympic venues have yet to be approved, despite the Games being less than four years away.
• West Coast squeezeNetwork Rail's project to upgrade the West Coast Main Line is now running £100m over budget as a result of the high profile engineering overruns at the start of this year.
• East London Line GE19 bridge slip findings revealedA wrongly positioned Teflon plate has been identified as the cause of the near catastrophic bridge slip which saw debris fall on to the live railway outside Liverpool Street station during engineering work on the East London Line extension. Transport for London's report into the incident on 28 May (Transport Briefing 29/05/08) involving the recently installed GE19 bridge found that at 1915, the bridge dropped 200mm after sub-contractors, using temporary supports, made final adjustments before placing it on its permanent fixtures.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Ditching airport rail link will 'keep Euro HQs out of city'THE decision not to go ahead with the Edinburgh Airport Rail Link will stop the Capital attracting the big names of the business world, property experts said today.
• BusTracker rolled out across LothiansELECTRONIC timetable signs are to be installed across East and Midlothian for the first time in a bid to boost passenger numbers on less-frequent bus services.

London Evening Standard

• Thames barge to make supermarket deliveriesThree of Britain's biggest supermarket chains could begin transporting goods along London's waterways.
• Third runway 'would ruin Piccadilly line'A third runway at Heathrow will turn the Piccadilly line into a tourist shuttle and inflict misery on commuters, opponents of airport expansion warned today.
• Coming soon: Pay-as-you-go road taxPay-as-you-drive road taxes moved a step closer last night after the Government confirmed it was launching the first ever trials of the scheme.
• Drivers warned road tax changes will knock up to £1,000 off the value of their carsMore than a million drivers face up to £1,000 being knocked off the value of their cars because of Labour's road tax hikes.

Wales Online

• Motorists in Wales pay £10m in driving finesMOTORISTS in Wales fork out a whopping £26,000 a day on speeding and red-light fines, Wales on Sunday can reveal.

Aviation Industry

• 'Greening' – good idea or just another excuse to tax road transport?The British Association of Removers (BAR) is concerned at the ever-increasing burdens being placed upon the road transport industry.
• Starbucks to open stores in Dutch rails stationsStarbucks Corp said it has inked a deal with concessionaire Servex to open coffee shops in Dutch rail stations, starting with Amsterdam's Centraal Station in the spring of 2009.
• Long Marston Happy to be off the beaten trackThe Long Marston rail complex is isolated.
• Lincoln Re-control / Resignalling£55 million project The main phase of Network Rail’s major project at Lincoln is about to begin, the climax to what Network Rail say will be the largest investment in the area for decades. Since the final project cost is expected to be some £55 million, the claim probably stands up.
• COMMENT “ The Competition Commission reports “ but what about Heathrow?Later this week the Competition Commission is expected to announce its ideas on a possible transformation of BAA and its seven UK airports. Where will that leave Heathrow? Will the investment dry up?
• Austrian Airlines Up for SaleBids expected despite airline™s losses
• Gatwick strikesFlights by Virgin Atlantic and Northwest are among those of 12 airlines targeted by a series of planned strikes by Gatwick ground handlers

Green Miscellany

• Scotland launches green transport schemeScotland is to launch initiatives in several of its towns and cities to encourage residents to switch their cars for more environmentally-friendly forms of transport.

Other News Sources

• Arriva bullish after fares hikeBus and rail group Arriva is likely to show the benefit of recent ticket price hikes when it reports interim figures on Friday.
• Huntingdon-Cambridge Bus Route Faces AxeCOMMUTERS and students travelling from Huntingdonshire to Cambridge could be hit by plans to axe a bus service.
• BMF: Department for Transport wins diesel spills reduction awardThe Department for Transport (DfT) is this year’s winner of the KillSpills/British Motorcyclists Federation Award 2008 for ’Achievement in Reducing Diesel Spills’. Transport Minister Jim Fitzpatrick will be presented with the award at the DfTs Great Minster House on 16th October.
• Railways could have a bright futureCivic dignitaries and rail enthusiasts will be gathering at Elgin Station tomorrow to mark the occasion and see Scottish Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson unveil a plaque for this great milestone.
• Three tonnes of steel are missing link’s final pieceSTEEL gates weighing three tonnes each were lowered into a new £20m canal network around the Three Graces yesterday.
• Faster trains cost an extra £65m on West Coast lineNetwork Rail has spent over £100 million more than expected on parts of its scheme to revamp the West Coast Main Line between London and Glasgow.
• Joseph C. Berti, Sr. Honored by Cambridge Who's Who for Excellence in the Aviation IndustryWith more than 30 years of aviation experience, Mr. Berti became involved in his profession because of his interest in flying aircraft.
• International firms target GatwickA series of international firms are reported to be targeting Gatwick Airport as owner BAA faced being broken up by competition bosses.