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

Tuesday, 09 September 2008

BBC News

• Will the airport restrictions now continue?The fear of a bomb being disguised in a soft drinks bottle has led to huge restrictions on passengers carrying liquids on board aircraft.
• New £2.8m bus centre investmentA new £2.8m bus station has been opened in Lisburn by the Transport Minister Conor Murphy.
• Class 'disrupted' by plane noiseA survey of schools in the flight path of George Best Belfast City Airport reports disruption of classes and outdoor play time.
• Road tolls find business supportCongestion charging in Northern Ireland's towns and cities would be welcomed by many business leaders, a survey has found.
• City bypass probe gets under waySupporters and objectors are to state their case at the start of the Aberdeen bypass public inquiry.
• Airline cuts back winter flightsA budget airline has suspended flights from Cardiff to Murcia in Spain after
• Opik and peers take to road in Segway protestA ban on using two-wheeler Segways on UK roads will be deliberately flouted later by an MP, in protest at the law.
• Flybe profits despite fuel costsThe regional UK airline Flybe has defied the steep rise in the cost of aviation fuel and posted a 14% rise in profits for the first quarter.
• Boeing supplier cuts productionAerospace firms brace themselves for potential disruption as one of Boeing's largest suppliers cuts production.
• 'Slim chance' of Zoom being savedAdministrators appointed by collapsed airline Zoom admit there is little chance of the business being resurrected.

Financial Times

• Shortfall impedes Network Rail budget dealThe UK railway owner and its regulator have less than two months to agree a five-year budget, but are still separated by a £1.8bn discrepancy despite a concession by the company
• Bluebell Railway builds head of steamAfter a year-long inquiry, the FSA has finally given the not-for-profit vintage train operator the green light to raise capital to extend its line to East Grinstead
• United shares plunge on old news storyUnited Airlines plunged after a false report that the US carrier had returned to bankruptcy court surfaced on the internet
• Flybe bucks trend with 14% profits riseFlybe, one of Europe's leading regional airlines, increased pre-tax profits 14 per cent during its first quarter from April to June in contrast to the declines reported by many carriers around the world
• Alitalia unions reject new contractsFive of nine unions representing workers at Alitalia rejected new productivity-linked contracts offered by a consortium of Italian investors seeking to rescue the loss-making flag carrier
• Regulators launch probe into Martinair bidEuropean antitrust regulators have opened a full probe into the proposed acquisition of Holland's Martinair by the Air France-KLM group

The Guardian

• Relax liquids ban, airlines and BAA urge ministersAirlines and Britain's largest airport owner urged the government to review its airport security regime yesterday after the jury in the liquid bomb trial failed to reach verdicts on the conspiracy to attack aircraft.
• Liquid bomb plot: three guilty of murder conspiracyCell made al-Qaida style suicide videos but jury fails to reach verdict on airline charge

The Independent

• Queues, searches and fresh security checksThe scenario was terrifying, a series of airliners, packed with passengers, being blasted out of the sky.

The Telegraph

• Airliner bomb trial Three Muslim extremists face lengthy jail terms over plotThree Islamic extremists are facing lengthy prison sentences after being found guilty of conspiring to kill hundreds of people in a terrorist bombing campaign.

Times Online

• How carbon capture and storage (CCS) could make coal the fuel of the future It has been condemned as one of the main causes of global warming but is coal about to enjoy an extraordinary rebirth as the fuel of the future?
• Dubai plans $200bn canal to bypass Strait of Hormuz$ Dubai is studying plans to build a $200 billion ($£114 billion) mega-canal that would allow oil tankers to bypass the Strait of Hormuz. The Gulf emirate is understood to be considering the idea as a means of reducing Iran’s influence on the flow of oil from the region.

Reuters News

• Liquid restrictions to remain at airportsLONDON (Reuters) - Restrictions on carrying liquids onboard flights will remain in place, the government said on Monday, despite a jury in a major terrorism trial failing to find any conspiracy to target transatlantic aircraft.

Network Rail

• BIGGEST EVER STATION ADVERT SIGNALS SUPPORT FOR CHARITY
• END IN SIGHT FOR WEST COAST PROJECT AS MAJOR WORK COMPLETED
• NETWORK RAIL PUBLISHES FORMAL RESPONSE TO ORR DRAFT DETERMINATION

Transport Briefing

• 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).
• Network Rail submits plea to ORR for extra billionNetwork Rail has called on the Office of Rail Regulation to allow it to spend an additional £1bn as the ORR prepares to publish final spending plans for the infraco's Control Period 4.
• High speed rail to be examined by Scottish ParliamentPlans for a high speed rail link between Scotland and the rest of the UK are to be considered by a public inquiry being held by the Scottish Parliament.

Belfast Telegraph

• Catherine’s picture for successSix months on from taking over at Translink, group chief executive Catherine Mason gives Robin Morton the inside track on the challenges which are facing public transport in Northern Ireland

Edinburgh Evening News

• City plans rescue package to save threatened bus routesAROUND half of the city's under-threat bus services would win a temporary reprieve under a rescue package being considered by council chiefs.

Journal Live

• Bus routes ’too popular’CONCERNS were raised yesterday over the funding of a scheme to provide free bus travel to over-60s after incidents of overcrowding on popular North routes.

Manchester Evening News

• City centre tramline closureDRIVERS and commuters face months of city centre chaos as work starts to replace sections of worn out tram tracks in Manchester.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Public urged to give views on Deveron bridges planResidents in twin north-east towns will have an opportunity this week to have a say about proposed new bridges over a major river.

The York Press

• Firms quizzed on transport BUSINESSES in York are being urged to take part in a survey giving them the chance to have their say on how transport links should be improved.

Burnley Express

• Burnley city rail link boostPLANS to create a direct rail link between Burnley and Manchester have moved a step closer.

Railnews

• News: Eurostar to tender for refurbishment EUROSTAR is set to embark on a major refurbishment of its 28 Class 273 trains, which date from 1992 and have been running services through the Channel Tunnel to France and Belgium since 1994. The six-year overhaul programme will upgrade train interiors with cutting edge design to help continue the lure of passengers away from airlines and cars.

Aviation Industry

• National Express looks to cinema for latest campaignLONDON - Train operator National Express East Anglia has launched its first cinema campaign, highlighting the company's London services.
• London Gateway berths full four years ahead of openingDP World has already signed up enough shipping line services to its 3.5 million TEU London Gateway container terminal to fill phase one of the development, according to International Freighting Weekly.
• Heathrow T5 Is No Longer Shaming BAAfter a rocky start, London Heathrow Airport's new Terminal 5 is now functioning very smoothly, says British Airways.
• UFIS Airport Innovation Wins New Project at Oslo Gardermoen Airport UFIS Airport Innovation (UFIS AI), in conjunction with main contractor Vanderlande Industries, has been awarded the contract for the complete baggage handling system for the extension of the East Terminal at Oslo Gardermoen International Airport. UFIS AI's BRAINS® product is already running in other areas of OSL Gardermoen. This extension allows UFIS AI to continue to play an integral role in the baggage handling and logistics operation at Oslo. The new system will be operational in May 2009, just in time to cope with the expected summer travel peak. The delivery incl...
• PR114 Lighting the Way at East Midlands Airport Kingfisher Lighting has supplied and installed a major high mast lighting scheme for the recently completed long-stay car park No 6 at East Midlands Airport. The construction of this new car park is one of many projects underpinning the ongoing development of East Midlands Airport. As the region's primary airport, East Midlands Airport carries approximately five million people and over 300,000t of freight every year. The high mast system incorporates five 25m winch-operated high masts designed to accommodate four radially mounted 1kW floodlights. Typically access in such active...
• Press Report on UAL Bankruptcy is UntrueUAL Corp , parent of United Airlines, said on Monday that a Chicago Tribune story, apparently published in error, claiming UAL had gone into bankruptcy was untrue.
• COMMENT: Low costs adds upThe fares may be cheap but the actual cost of air travel is a whole lot more
• Sabre launches new airline solution
• Record profits for FlybeFlybe announces pre-tax profits of £35.4m, up £20m from previous year.
• AF seeks stake in AlitaliaAir France KLM confirms plan to buy stake in Alitalia.
• Belfast City Airport soldFerrovial of Spain, the under pressure owner of BAA and its seven airports, disposes of controversial property
• Interview: Vijay Mallya, Chairman and CEO, Kingfisher AirlinesExpansion plans, thoughts on the Indian economy, why the Indian aviation scene is different from the rest of the world's and what the customer wants from an airline - and how to deliver it.

Green Miscellany

• Compost heap bacteria could provide 10 percent of UK transport fuel needsBacteria found in compost heaps able to convert waste plant fibre into ethanol could eventually provide up 10% of the UK's transport fuel needs, scientists heard today (Tuesday 9 September 2008) at the Society for General Microbiology's Autumn meeting being held this week at Trinity College, Dublin.
• “Why is Segway illegal on British roads?” ask MPsMembers of Parliament will tomorrow lead an illegal convoy of “electric personal assistive mobility devices” (EPAMD), better known as Segways, from the Houses of Parliament to the Department of Transport to demand an investigation into whether the vehicle could play a key role in easing congestion on Britain’s roads.

Other News Sources

• Gearing up for Harrogate's car-free dayWITH Harrogate Car Free Day now less than a month away, the organisers are hard at work – finalising the details and building support for the event.
• National Express look for Herne Bay ticket officeNATIONAL Express is searching for a Herne Bay business to take on its ticket booking service when the council stops providing it at the end of the year.
• Train delays on London to Norwich lineTrains have been delayed on the London to Norwich line due to a telephone system failure.
• mprovements to bus servicesBUS company Renown Cavendish has announced improvements to its services.
• Solar powered system will help reduce shipWashington, September 8 : Japan's largest shipping line are developing a system of solar panels capable of generating 40 kilowatts of electricity for use on a 60,000 ton cargo ship, thus reducing the ship's emissions.
• Danish railway orderBombardier Transportation has received an order worth approximately €82m from Danish State Railways for the delivery of 10 three-car Contessa trains, with options for 30 additional trains.
• Iveco to unveil CNG and hybrid optionsIveco will unveil a series of alternative fuel vehicles at this month's IAA show in Hannover, including both hybrid and CNG versions of the Eurocargo and the Daily.
• Network Rail: regulator's analysis 'flawed'Rail operator Network Rail has slammed the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) for a 'flawed' analysis of projected spending over CP4 (2009-2014) control period, and asked for a further £1bn to make ends meet.
• Maersk orders four VLCCs at STXMAERSK Tankers has signed a contract with STX Shipbuilding in South Korea for four VLCCs for delivery in 2011-12.
• Bury and Altrincham Metrolink stations to get upgradesFormer railway stations on the Bury and Altrincham Metrolink lines are being refurbished.
• Oldham and Rochdale politicians push TIF votingPoliticians in Oldham and Rochdale are urging local residents to vote in December’s referendum on Greater Manchester’s £2.7bn bid to the Transport Innovation Fund.
• Servisair to cut 180 jobsBaggage-handling firm Servisair has confirmed up to 180 jobs are to go at Manchester Airport.