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

Friday, 22 August 2008

BBC News

• Bus group to increase fare costsBus operator First has announced fare increases in and around Bristol.
• Concerns over rail franchise planFears over cuts to train services between Kent and Surrey have led a council to oppose a new rail franchise.
• Minister visits A9 road projectThe Scottish transport minister has viewed a completed project to improve a section of the A9 road in Sutherland.

Department for Transport

• Improving accessibility on the railwaysRail Minister Tom Harris MP visits Glasgow's Mount Florida station today (Thursday 21 August) to announce five more stations in Scotland are set to benefit from the Government's £370m Access for All scheme.

Financial Times

• £600m contract puts bus and rail in spotlightThe hotly contested battle to win the lucrative South Central rail franchise has put the spotlight on Britain's leading bus and railway groups
• Qantas warns profit levels are unsustainableAustralia's largest airline reported a 46 per cent jump in profit but cautioned that high fuel costs and tough conditions meant the current level of profitability is not sustainable
• Macquarie fund to sell airport stakesMacquarie Airports announced an overhaul of its balance sheet that will see the Australian fund selling A$1.5bn of European airport assets to help fund a A$1bn share buy-back and deleverage the company
• Spanair crash deepens airline's woesThe Madrid crash where 153 were killed could have serious repercussions for Spanair, whose future was being questioned well before the disaster

The Guardian

• For once, good news for HeathrowWe need a top-class airport serving the south-east and the UK as a whole. Heathrow has become a national embarrassment.
• Learn to leave the car at homeParents are keen for children to adopt healthier habits - such as walking to school - but safety concerns often clash with best intentions
• New catalyst boosts hydrogen as transport fuelScientists have developed a cheaper way to make hydrogen from biofuel that could be a solution to previous difficulties with storage and transport of the gas

The Herald

• Menzies interims fall 22%John Menzies has said its airline customers face
• Government ramps up funding to improve disabled accessFive railway stations in Scotland are to receive a multi-million pound cash injection to improve access for disabled people. Tom Harris, UK rail minister, announced the funding yesterday from the government's £370m Access For All fund.
• Councils keen to take share in bid for Glasgow AirportCouncils in the west of Scotland are looking at teaming up with a major operator to buy Glasgow Airport.

The Telegraph

• Standing room only misery for rail passengersBank holiday rail passengers will be forced to stand on scores of trains because of a shortage of seats this weekend, despite paying for the most expensive tickets.
• That floating sensationThe answer to our transport problems lies somewhere above us. That's right, the airship deserves another chance

Times Online

• The rise and rise of Manchester AirportWhen Jacqui Smith wanted to unveil the latest face scanner technology earlier this week, there was little surprise that she chose Manchester Airport for the launch.
• Tempus analysis: Stansted airport is no stranger to strikesThe ongoing strike threat at Stansted is the latest in a long history of turbulence at the Essex airport. Stansted is no stranger to strikes: “Deadlock over Stansted Bank Holiday strikes”, and “Unions call off Stansted strike after BAA meeting”, are just two headline stories from 2006 and 2007.

Mail Online

• Every petrol pump 'will be prepay by 2011'Every petrol pump in Britain will be prepay by 2011 because of the rise in fuel theft, say industry bosses.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Transport chief to take NY tripTHE city's transport leader is heading to New York on behalf of the council to attend a transport conference.
• Plea for help to cash in on transport shiftREGIONAL transport body Sestran has called on the Government to use the current trend of rising fuel bills to encourage people on to public transport.
• Transport chiefs back plan for orbital bus routeA DEDICATED bus service around the south of the city has moved a step closer after winning the backing of transport chiefs.
• 60 cars a week towed away in DVLA road tax crackdownALMOST 60 cars a week are being towed away or clamped in Edinburgh as part of a crackdown on untaxed vehicles.
• Airport 'could benefit from BAA break-upEDINBURGH could benefit from more long-haul flights under a break-up of BAA's domination of Scottish airports, aviation experts said today.

London Evening Standard

• New fleet of Tube trains tested on Victoria lineA fleet of new trains is being tested on the Victoria line. They are running at night when the network is closed, and will enter passenger service next year.
• Heathrow and the key to the big airport break-upBusinessmen don't come more competitive than Sir Nigel Rudd, chairman of BAA, the airports operator. He blew the end of a finger off in a shooting accident but it didn't stop him shooting. Likewise he plays golf in a fierce, refuse-to-lie-down manner. "I don't like losing," he says.
• Green machine - the 125mph electric carIt looks just like a normal sports car, has a top speed of 125mph and acceleration of 0-60 in 3.9 seconds

The News (Portsmouth)

• BAA quick to reassure Eastleigh passengersTHE owner of the region's main airport has announced that its future is secure after the Competition Commission made recommendations that BAA be split up.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Fewer flights blamed for drop in numbers flying from InvernessThe number of passengers using Inverness Airport has dropped by more than 7,000 in the last year, it emerged yesterday.
• Aberdeen Airport bosses criticisedABERDEEN Airport bosses have been accused of lacking ambition in a report by competition chiefs into the north-east gateway™s ownership by BAA.

The York Press

• Brown ˜ignoring ring road pleas™ GORDON Brown was accused today of ignoring residents™ pleas for York™s outer ring road to be dualled after Number 10 gave its response to a Downing Street petition.

Blackpool Gazette

• £20m boost for rail usersTRAIN travel from the Fylde could be set for a boost after rail bosses announced a £20m revamp of Preston station.

Daventry Express

• Questions over car park security following theftsA SPATE of car part thefts from vehicles parked in Daventry has raised questions about the town's CCTV network.

Doncaster Free Press

• Ready and waiting . . 800 new empty spacesDONCASTER'S long-awaited park and ride scheme along the A638 Quality Bus Corridor will officially open next month.
• Eco-town 'likely' to get go-aheadCONTROVERSIAL plans for a 5,000-home eco-town look "likely" to go ahead, according to national reports.

Peterborough Telegraph

• Broads named most boring travel destinationThe Norfolk Broads have been voted Britain`s most boring holiday destination, according to a new survey.
• Plans for £1.5bn super portPlans to build a £1.5bn super port and business park in the Thames Gateway have been secured, potentially creating up to 12,000 jobs in south Essex.

The Shields Gazette

• Metro is tops at running on timeTYNE and Wear Metro was the best performing rail operator in the UK last year, new figures show.

Western Daily Press

• Hundreds back track campaignAn urgent campaign launched by council chiefs for an extra railway track to be laid on a notoriously congested West route is gathering pace after being backed by more than 500 people.

Forbes

• Teaching Cars To Sing Some people worry that electric vehicles are just too quiet for safety. So why not give them a voice?

New Scientist

• Robot aircraft will ride thermals to save fuelSoftware that allows aerial vehicles to seek out rising hot air currents like a glider does could help to keep them aloft for longer

The Economist

• Car taxes in China:China finds a way to cut car imports without offending the WTOLESS than a month after losing its first legal dispute with the World Trade Organisation (WTO), China has introduced a new tax that will achieve much of what it originally wanted, only by another route. Moreover, it is a “green” tax. Who could object to that?For the past few years China has imposed a special 25% tariff on imported car parts, rather than the usual 10%, if the parts made up more than half of the value of a vehicle. (Imported new cars are also subject to a 25% tariff.) This was to encourage foreign carmaker...
• Breaking up BAA :Dismembering BAA should make it possible to develop a second hub airport for the capital and its regionAFTER years of being shamed by ever shabbier and more overcrowded airports, Britain is at last getting around to doing the right thing. On August 20th the Competition Commission, which investigates whether markets are working properly, released the damning findings of a 17-month study into the country’s airports. The report envisages the dismembering of BAA, the country’s dominant airports operator, as well as other proposals that amount to a wholesale rewrite of the government...

Railnews

• News: Rail freight to double by 2030 — ’more capacity will be needed’ FREIGHT moving by rail is expected to double by 2030 and by then there will be a shortfall of capacity on many routes, according to new demand forecasts published by the Rail Freight Group and Freight Transport Association.

Aviation Industry

• Can we develop transport systems that are both economically and environmentally viable?Effective and efficient transport links play a vital role in supporting our economy but as demand for travel increases, we must step up efforts to reduce the impact of transport on the environment.
• Passengers on One of UK’s Busiest Rail Networks to Benefit From New Carriages, Longer And More Frequent TrainsPassengers will benefit from new carriages, longer and more frequent trains as well as a greater choice of destinations due to changes to franchise agreements agreed between the Department for Transport and the train operating companies Southeastern, First Capital Connect and Southern Railways.
• Nuclear body backs £15m Scots Highland rail linkUK Atomic Energy Authority voices support for proposed Dornoch Rail Link
• Australia's Qantas sees profit rise 44 percentQantas Airways Ltd. reported Thursday a 44 percent rise in annual net profit, but acknowledged it is beginning to feel the effect of a slowing economy and higher fuel costs.Australia's largest airline posted a net profit of 969 million Australian dollars ($847 million) for the year ended June 30, up from A$673 million ($588 million) the previous year. The result was slightly lower than market forecasts of A$1.02 billion ($891 million).Sales rose 7.5 percent to A$16.2 billion ($14.2 billion) from A$15.1 billion ($13.2 billion) a year ago.

Other News Sources

• Commuters find railway station locked upCOMMUTERS who found themselves locked out of a railway station ended up risking their lives by crossing tracks to board trains, it was claimed last night.
• Norfolk station up for national awardThe café at Wymondham railway station has been shortlisted for a national award.
• Special bus stops off at GlencairnDEAF children, parents and teachers will have the opportunity to try out the latest communication technology when the UK's only touring information centre for deaf children makes a stop in Motherwell next month.
• Travel companies report hike in bank holiday salesTravel companies have reported record sales for the bank holiday weekend. Eurostar has seen an 8% hike in year on year traveller numbers for this weekend, while Travelrepublic.co.uk and Flybe have reported unprecedent demand for last-minute holidays...
• Improvements to train stationsFive stations to benefit from share of a major GB-wide scheme to improve access to rail services.
• Lotus' high octane mixCars could run on biofuels more efficiently with a new research engine being developed by Lotus Engineering.
• Biodiesel fuel trialSouth West Trains has confirmed that one of its trains is running on fuel made from a mixture of diesel, soya beans and rapeseed oil.
• Crossrail shortlists announcedCross London Rail Links has announced the names of companies and consortia bidding to become delivery partner, programme partner, and for framework agreements for the £16bn Crossrail scheme.
• Cardiff services under threatCoastal Container Line (CCL) is considering cutting its Cardiff services as rising fuel prices and the credit crunch start to bite.
• Felixstowe's new container handlers to offer faster turnaround timesFar from just sitting in pretty patterns, Felixstowe claimed its new fleet of empty container handlers will offer faster turnaround times and greater manoeuvrability than the vehicles they replaced.
• BAA airport sale boost for freightForwarders and industry bodies have welcomed a report by the UK Competition Commission calling for BAA to sell two of its three London airports and another in Scotland.
• Fuel prices put an end to Macfarlane and InnovateHigh fuel prices and an economic downturn put an end to Macfarlane Transport and Innovate Holdings. But their fallout resulted in two very different outcomes.
• Tighter CAA oversight follows undetected failings at Emerald UK regulators have tightened their processes for detecting safety-related problems with operators, after an overrun incident involving a freight carrier...
• New guidelines show shorter A380 separation distancesAirbus appears to be moving closer to reaching its goal of establishing wake vortex separation distances for the A380 similar to the Boeing 747 based on...
• DP World signs contract to begin London Gateway projectDP World has announced that it has signed the contract for the first phase of the ambitious London Gateway project to begin.
• New First class lounge for Aberdeen StationLatest stage in station™s redevelopment program.