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

Monday, 08 September 2008

BBC News

• St Pancras hosts photo exhibitionPhotographs which span 100 years have gone on display at London's St Pancras Station.
• Union warns over Games Tube planA union has said "huge difficulties" and safety issues need to be addressed to make 24-hour Tube services possible during the 2012 Olympics in London.
• Rail passengers face major delaysRail passengers travelling between Sheffield and Chesterfield will face major delays from Monday when multi-million pound improvement works begin.

Financial Times

• Opec ponders when to cut outputAs high oil prices have chipped away at demand, concern has spread among the cartel's 13 members that the party is about to come to a sobering halt
• Ferrovial agrees to sell Belfast City AirportFerrovial of Spain on Saturday agreed to sell Belfast City Airport to an ABN Amro fund, in the latest of a series of divestments aimed at cutting net debt and focusing on UK airports operator BAA

The Guardian

• Why Walsh waded into Atlantic rowBusiness & money: Riled by rival airline's jibe over T5, BA chief loses patience with man he thinks is the source - Branson

The Telegraph

• Environmental rules 'could cause plane crashes'Environmental rules demanding planes burn less fuel could cause pipes to freeze increasing the risk of a devastating crash, it has been warned
• Cross River Tram tops agenda at City Hall debateThe future of London’s Cross River Tram project will become clearer this week as Mayor Boris Johnson sets out his current thinking on the scheme and supporters and opponents attend a key debate about the tram proposals at City Hall on Tuesday (9 September).
• Segway scooters 'should be allowed on British roads'The segway the upright scooter with impressive green credentials should be made legal on British roads according to a group of MPs and peers.

Times Online

• All aboard in 30 seconds, orders thrifty rail company Rail passengers might be advised to think twice about dawdling the next time they board a carriage, after a move by a train company to close doors more quickly in an effort to save money.
• Ford Edge You get into the Edge, turn the ignition key and wait for the fuel cell to burst into life. Under the floor is a reservoir of high-pressure hydrogen — the same stuff that powers the sun. It’s like being at the helm of a starship. Unfortunately, before you can say “Take us out of orbit, Mr Sulu,” you’re met by . . . silence.
• Ferrovial cashes in on its Belfast asset as George Best is sold Ferrovial has sold Belfast City airport for four times the purchase price in a move that bodes well for the Spanish infrastructure company's likely sale of Gatwick and Stansted next year.

Transport Briefing

• Stagecoach hails initial success of Torbay ferryMore than 5,000 passengers have used Stagecoach’s new fast ferry service in Torbay, Devon, during the first week of the trial.
• Reinstate Reading and Bristol rail plans ORR toldCrucial rail enhancement schemes have been omitted from Network Rail’s business plan for 2009 to 2014 according to the South West Regional Assembly and South West Regional Development Agency.
• National Rail completes shake-up of train ticketsTrain operating companies across Britain have renamed tickets in an attempt to make it easier for passengers to choose the best fare for their journey and simplify the existing ticketing system, renowned for its byzantine complexity. According to TOCs fares are unchanged under the new system.
• London transport faces cash gap as Mayor hikes faresPublic transport fares across London will go up by an average of 6% under a fares package announced by Mayor Boris Johnson.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Rail thieves' lives on the lineTHIEVES are risking their lives to steal metal and cable from the Lothians' railway network.
• Mums 'force disabled off buses'LOTHIAN Buses has hit back at a campaign to allow prams on buses by claiming half of mothers refuse to leave to make room for a wheelchair.
• Leith misses out on transport cashLEITH has missed out on up to £3 million of Scottish Government funding for sustainable transport projects.

London Evening Standard

• It’s time to turn your attention to TfL, BorisHow magnificently brazen it was to see Ken Livingstone attacking Boris's TfL fares increase last week.

Manchester Evening News

• Peel supremo seeks planning revolutionPEEL Holdings boss John Whittaker has called for the North West Regional Development Agency (NWDA) to be given special planning power over his £50bn Ocean Gateway project to transform the Manchester Ship Canal.

Metro

• Rail travel is easier but still too priceyBuying a train ticket should be simpler after the second phase of a new naming system on Sunday.

The News (Portsmouth)

• Council sees red over bus passesTaxpayers look set to be left picking up the tab for a government scheme which has encouraged thousands of pensioners to get on the buses.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• School bus crash dad angered by lack of action on seatbeltsABERDEENSHIRE COUNCILLORS SEEKING GOVERNMENT GUIDANCE A man whose son was injured in a bus crash has criticised a decision by Aberdeenshire Council not to take urgent action to ensure rural school buses are fitted with seatbelts.

The York Press

• Seat belt campaign in fight to save livesA MAJOR campaign has been launched to encourage drivers to belt up in North Yorkshire.
• Traffic plans for city’s £14m secondary siteHIGHWAYS chiefs in York are set to approve traffic plans around a new £14 million secondary school for west York.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Leeds bus builder Optare pledges to continue manufacturing at Cross Gates siteTHE NEW owners of Leeds bus builder Optare today pledged that manufacturing would continue at its historic Cross Gates site.

Burnley Express

• Burnley bus fares protest furyPENSIONERS gathered outside Burnley Town Hall to vent their anger over an increase in bus fares.

Peterborough Telegraph

• You can go green at sustainable transport eventTHE UK's first and only sustainable transport show and conference will take place at the East of England Showground, in Alwalton, near Peterborough, on October 22 and 23.

Western Daily Press

• Protest at plans to run Bath bus route through gardensAngry protesters stormed Bath's Guildhall to show their outrage at plans to use their gardens for a high-speed bus link.
• Time to replace the old billAirports face multi- million pound bills for their growing security costs, under Government plans to ease the burden on the police.

Washington Post

• Auto industry to press Congress for $50B in loans WASHINGTON -- Auto industry allies hope to secure up to $50 billion in government loans this month that would pay to modernize plants and help struggling car makers build more fuel-efficient vehicles.

Railnews

• News: Rail industry’s worldwide renaissance HIGH-SPEED train developments in South East Asia and rising US demand for freight locomotives are helping to create boom conditions in the railway supply industry, new European research has shown.

Aviation Industry

• Bridgestone Enters UK Bus SegmentString of four fleet deals highlights manufacturer’s intentions towards PSV market
• Transport Minister in Talks with Motorcycle Industry on Test Centre ChaosRepresentatives from the motorcycle industry met Transport Minister Jim Fitzpatrick today, to press the industry’s case for a six month delay to the introduction of new test procedures scheduled for the end of this month.
• JetBlue posts flights, vacation packages on eBayJetBlue is auctioning off more than 300 roundtrip flights and six vacation packages this week on eBay.

Green Miscellany

• New hybrid car is DIYRobert Riley’s most recent design project is a super-fuel-efficient, two-passenger plug-in hybrid car that achieves 125 mpg on diesel power alone, 225 mpg on combined diesel and electric power, and boasts performance similar to a conventional car, but if you despair at the thought of assembling flat-pack furniture from Ikea, then the XR3 is not for you – the car is delivered to your house in the form of a DVD.

Other News Sources

• Bristol train drivers urged to move to OzTrain drivers in the Bristol area are being urged to apply for jobs in Western Australia on salaries of up to £52,000 a year.
• £250M CANADIAN INVESTMENT HINGES ON CARLISLE AIRPORTA Canadian company considering a £250 million investment in Cumbria says an airport in Carlisle is crucial to its decision.
• Airport almost ready for take-offBIG things are planned for Southend Airport. Staff are still on tenterhooks, waiting to hear the result of a sealed bid auction by Regional Airports for its 99-year lease, which is expected to fetch £100million.
• Free bus passes are held responsible for service cutsBUS services are being cut because councils are not paying enough for elderly and disabled people using concessionary passes.
• Liverpool Street ticket office gets £250,000 revampLiverpool Street station’s ticket office is getting a £250,000 makeover.
• County town to attempt car-free dayMaidstone could be quieter than usual if commuters agree to leave their cars at home for one day in the name of the environment.
• Ticket war escalates at RyanairUp to 500 people a day are being turned away at airport gates as Ryanair continues to refuse tickets bought on third-party websites
• PM 'must be champion on fuel'Gordon Brown has come under fire from the joint leader of the Unite union, who accused the PM of behaving like
• HPH bids to block rival's rail subsidyOne of the world's most senior port executives has said his firm will try to block attempts to win government funding for enhanced rail connections to the northern UK port of Teesport.