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

Wednesday, 03 September 2008

BBC News

• BBC flights spending 'frivolous'The BBC has been accused of being "frivolous" with licence fee-payers' money after it said £10.4m was spent on flights last year.
• Apology over school bus 'chaos'A council has apologised after parents did not receive their children's school transport details in time for the first day of term.
• Vandals target commuter rail lineRail commuters in North and West Yorkshire have been delayed after vandals struck close to a station.

Financial Times

• Tata acts against threat to NanoIndia's Tata group has sent its strongest signal yet that it might scrap its flagship plan to make the world's cheapest car in West Bengal state, saying thousands of protesters were
• Prices curb air and car travel on Labor DayMost Americans spurned air and road travel over the Labor Day holiday weekend but flocked on to trains as high oil prices and the economic downturn continued to hold...
• FerrovialFor several years, the Spanish company's formula delivered massive outperformance. Now it has left Ferrovial caught in the credit-crunch vice
• Hutchison chief ends battle to operate in IndiaThe world's largest container port operator is no longer seeking approval to operate in India after a series of protracted battles with the country's authorities, its chief executive has said
• Returns matter most, says chiefThere are few better places to meet John Meredith, chief executive of Hutchison Ports, than the wind-battered eastern English port of Felixstowe

The Guardian

• Successful trial for phone that buys you lunchPassengers on London Underground could be using their mobile phones to get through the ticket barriers and even pay for their lunch within the next two years, after a trial in the capital by O2 and Transport for London.

The Herald

• Hospital parking charges abolishedCar parking charges at NHS hospitals in Scotland are to be abolished, the Health Secretary announced yesterday.
• Airlines put on extra flights as Zoom collapse prompts demandTransatlantic airlines are stepping into the void left by the collapse of Zoom, with extra flights on routes between the UK and Canada.

The Scotsman

• Tube passenger burnt by 'acid seat'A Tube passenger has needed hospital treatment after sitting on a seat believed to be covered in corrosive cleaning fluid.

The Telegraph

• BBC spends £3million a year on luxury air travelThe BBC spent more than £3 million on business or first class flights last year and increase of more than a quarter on the previous year figures released today disclose.

Times Online

• Virgin leads airline plan to buy Gatwick Virgin Atlantic has held talks with financial partners over a possible bid to buy Gatwick Airport.

Daily Express

• Eurostar set for growthEUROSTAR expects passenger numbers on its train service between Britain and Europe to grow more than 10 per cent this year.
• Alitalia a ’deal too for' for BA's WalshBRITISH Airways has been tipped as a possible partner for Italy's troubled Alitalia airline, as opposition grows to BA's planned tie-up with American Airlines.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Trams shift roundaboutTHE position of London Road roundabout is to be moved as part of the ongoing tram works.
• Budget airline takes off for the FalklandsFLYGLOBESPAN, best known for budget flights from Scotland to beach resorts, is to spread its wings a little further afield – with a service to the Falkland Islands.
• MacAskill calls for 'common sense' solution to pram banJUSTICE Secretary Kenny MacAskill has called for a "common sense" solution to Lothian Buses' controversial pram ban.
• Scruffy cab drivers told to clean up their imageSCRUFFY taxi drivers in Edinburgh have been told to smarten up by council chiefs.

Liverpool Post

• Decision delayed on bridge bus tollsCOUNCILLORS have given their backing to excluding public transport from tolling on the Runcorn Bridge as part of the wider plans for a new Mersey Gateway.

London Evening Standard

• Mobile phones to be used as Oyster and credit cardsLondoners could soon be able to use their mobile phones as both Oyster and credit cards
• C-charge should end at 1pm, say businessesBusiness leaders have urged Mayor Boris Johnson to halve the operating hours of the congestion charge to rescue trade in London
• Indian tycoon defies credit crunch with five-star airline launchIndia's most flamboyant tycoon will bring his airline to Britain this week in defiance of the credit crunch

Metro

• BBC's £29m transport billThe BBC has been accused of squandering licence-fee payers money by spending nearly £30million on travel in just 12 months.

Sheffield Telegraph

• High-speed rail bid stepped upTRANSPORT bosses are ready to step up their efforts to persuade Government to bring high-speed rail travel to South Yorkshire.
• Rail passengers face disruption from MondayRAIL bosses have revealed further details of multi-million pound improvement works to be carried out on a South Yorkshire railway tunnel.
• Bus and tram fares set to riseBUS fares are set to rise in South Yorkshire next week - with transport bosses blaming higher interest rates and fuel prices.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• School bus safety campaigner renews calls for actionNEW moves to have seatbelts installed on school buses in Aberdeenshire have prompted a campaigner for pupil safety to renew his pleas for action.
• Pledge on A82 from transport ministerTurning the A9 into a dual carriageway between Inverness and Perth will not be at the expense of upgrading the A82, Scotland™s transport minister promised yesterday.

The York Press

• Decision due on cycle city plans MULTI-MILLION-POUND plans to improve York™s cycling facilities will go before city leaders next week.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Leeds landmark viaduct gets a nameA LANDMARK viaduct that completes the final section of the Leeds inner ring road has been officially named in honour of a great engineer.

Chester Standard

• Smartcards to replace Cheshire bus passesTIME is running out for the owners of old-style blue cardboard concessionary bus passes to apply for Cheshire County Council's new plastic smartcards.

Peterborough Telegraph

• Plans to axe bus route will hit students and commutersCOMMUTERS and students travelling from Huntingdon to Cambridge could be hit by plans to axe a popular bus service.
• Work begins at deepwater port terminalWork has started on a new £250m deepwater container terminal at Felixstowe, which will create about 1,500 jobs.
• Steam train derailment blamed on vandalsVandals have been blamed after a miniature steam locomotive pulling carriages full of passengers was derailed in Norfolk.

Sunderland Echo

• Bid to bring back Wear ferryHUNDREDS of years of history could come to life after transport bosses agreed to look into bringing a ferry service back to the Wear.

Forbes

• BP's Ballooning Gas Assets The London-based energy holding company builds its North American assets with another joint venture.

International Herald Tribune

• Businesses resist price rollbacks, despite oil's fallNow that oil costs are plunging, airline surcharges and other related prices are not following them lower - not yet, anyway.

Washington Post

• EPA: Transportation Dept off base on fuel estimate WASHINGTON -- The Environmental Protection Agency says another arm of the Bush administration may be low-balling the economic benefits of increasing fuel economy standards for cars and trucks.
• The Road to a Bailout They Don't Deserve It's desperation time for the Big Three automakers. They are awash in gas-guzzling vehicles nobody wants to buy, bleeding red ink and running out of cash.

Railnews

• News: Planning an easy-ride route to everywhere With passenger growth building at a phenomenal rate since the opening of St Pancras International, Eurostar is now looking at ways of developing European rail ’hubs’ to enable people to reach new and wider destinations.
• News: Rail Forum picks innovation as theme for 2008 THE ANNUAL conference of the Derby and Derbyshire Rail Forum, with Railnews as official media partner, is to be held at the Derby Conference Centre on 6 November, with a pre-conference dinner the evening before.
• News: Liverpool Street chaos was due to ’human error’ A 1,100-tonne bridge over the Great Eastern main line into London slipped off temporary support plates, causing concrete decking to fall on to the line in front of a train, says an official report into the incident.
• News: WCML: 4,000 engineers brought in to work around the clock IN a major push to complete key aspects of the £8.8 billion modernisation of the West Coast main line, more than 4,000 engineers worked around-the-clock at seven key sites during and after the August bank holiday.
• News: Unreliable equipment could delay new West Coast timetable ALTHOUGH Network Rail’s £8.6 billion upgrade of the West Coast Main Line — Europe’s busiest mixed-traffic rail route — is now expected to be completed by the end of this year, there are growing doubts that the new infrastructure will be sufficiently reliable to enable an enhanced range of passenger train services to be fully implemented in December.
• News: Time to let go of ’grown up’ rail industry HIGH-SPEED lines, longer franchises and an end to the Whitehall ’fat controller’ are all key to the Conservatives’ rail policy, Theresa Villiers has told Railnews.
• News: Review of 30 years ago is ’still valid’ THE man who led the British Rail side of a joint review 30 years ago of the case for mainline electrification has come out of a long retirement to say the results “are still valid”.

Transport for London

• Special Needs Cycling Exhibition and SeminarTransport for London (TfL), through the London Cycling Campaign (LCC) has funded the WiZZBiKE foundation to set up a cycling centre in West London to make cycling in the Capital more accessible and enjoyable for people with special needs.
• Docklands Light Railway regenerates North WoolwichThe Docklands Light Railway (DLR) is proving to be a key factor in making life better for North Woolwich residents according to a new report.

Aviation Industry

• Airships float back to the futureSlow journey times mean airships are highly unlikely to replace passenger jets, but, as Danny Bradbury discovers, a flotilla of new companies are convinced that low-fuel costs mean the old-fashioned aircraft could have huge appeal to freight operators
• Massive revenue increase for DLRThe Docklands Light Railway, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Transport for London (it has it's very own special blue and green Roundel) has recorded 66.6 million passenger journeys and a staggering 29% increase in revenue for the year ending 31 March 2008.
• The Legacy Airlines' Problem: Staying in BusinessU.S. 'legacy' airlines can't afford to cut service standards if they want to keep high-fare business passengers.
• United Drops Europe Meal Charge PlanAfter receiving negative feedback from business travelers, United has dropped plans to charge for meals in economy class on Europe flights.
• Highly-sought Frontier Airlines contract stalls
• Cash No Longer Accepted On Southwest FlightsSep 2, 2008 3:58 pm US/Central DALLAS At one time or another you may have heard someone say,
• Virgin Atlantic drops flightsCuts on routes from London Heathrow to Washington Dulles, Mumbai, New York JFK and the Caribbean.
• Emirates New York daily delayedAirbus A380 handover problems will hinder airlines schedule step-up

Green Miscellany

• Mayor of London committed to reducing emissionsThe Mayor of London, Boris Johnson has been clear in his commitment to the environment and reducing carbon emissions in his latest statements. We are really pleased to hear that he is putting the health and welfare of Londoners on the agenda, and taking into account the effect of pollution on a wider scale
• UK biofuel symposium gathersSome of the world’s leading authorities on biofuels have attended a symposium at the University of Glasgow to mark the opening of its new research centre.

Other News Sources

• Bosses urge road improvementSome of Norfolk's leading business figures have urged the Government to complete the dualling of the A11.
• Disused railway station delightHOPES of bringing Doncaster's disused railway stations back into use have been raised after plans to put a freeze on development on their sites were revealed.
• Euro MPs to vote on new GDS rulesEuropean MPs will vote tomorrow on new rules governing the behaviour of airlines and global distribution systems.
• Next, a Gulf-Europe rail routeIf a proposal from Bahrain's king turns into reality, people can well travel from the Gulf all the way to Europe by train.
• 'Harrods' in the sky lands at HeathrowIndian tycoon Vijay Mallya defies the credit crunch by launching a five-star airline
• Shock tacticsTechnology that improves cars™ road grip may soon be available outside of the highly secretive world of F1 racing. Siobhan Wagner reports
• HGVs will have to pay Manchester congestion chargeThe organisers of the Manchester congestion charge have insisted all trucks will be charged to travel in the city during peak times.
• RMT accept Tube Lines dealMembers of the Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport workers (RMT) have voted to accept Tube Lines' proposed pay settlement, made prior to a 72-hour strike due to have started two weeks ago.
• BA extends contract with Saints TransportSaints Transport has renewed its contract with British Airways for another five-year term.
• Boeing faces potential delay in assembly completion of first 787With just over twenty-four hours to go before the contracts of 26,800 machinists expire, Boeing is quickly running out of margin to achieve first flight...
• Ports targeted in UK rates reviewCOMPANIES based in 55 statutory ports in the UK are subject to a business rate review that is likely to result in significant rises in their costs.
• Carbon's the key on ship pollutionA CARBON levy and an emissions trading scheme would be the most effective approaches for curbing shipping pollution, the Singapore Shipping Association has been told.
• MEPs side with carmakers on CO2 cutsCarmakers should have an extra three years' breathing space to implement carbon dioxide emission reductions, according to a report adopted by MEPs last night (1 September), to the outrage of green campaigners.
• BA announces further cut to fuel surchargeBritish Airways has announced that it is reducing its cargo fuel surcharge once again to 72p per kilo.
• New government courier service launchedOffice of Government Commerce has unveiled a new series of courier services that are designed to "cover all the bases".
• National Express East Coast to launch loyalty schemeFirst Class travellers to be rewarded.

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