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

Friday, 12 September 2008

BBC News

• Holiday firm XL in administrationTens of thousands of Britons could find themselves stranded abroad after the country's third largest package holiday group went into administration.
• Disruption to persist after tunnel fireMisery for Eurostar passengers is set to continue throughout Friday following the fire in the Channel Tunnel
• Review backs yellow school busesThe government is being urged to introduce US-style yellow school buses for all primary schools in Britain.
• Crunch talks for ailing AlitaliaTalks are under way in Rome between unions and investors to try to save bankrupt Italian airline Alitalia from collapse.

Department for Transport

• Fitzpatrick announces £67 million to cut freight emissions, congestion and hauliers' costsTransport Minister Jim Fitzpatrick today announced a £67m boost to the Sustainable Distribution Fund that will help the freight industry reduce costs and cut emissions.

Financial Times

• Travel group XL Leisure on brink of collapseUK's third largest tour operator is expected to be placed under administration on Friday leaving tens of thousands of holiday-makers stranded abroad

The Guardian

• 'We will fight if they make us leave - we are Flemish'Eurostar staff said they would help some people find alternative accommodation, but on an ad hoc basis and out of goodwill not obligation.
• The people's busTime is running out for TfL's competition to design a new Routemaster - it closes in just over a week. But a recently republished article from the Blueprint [magazine] archive reveals that this is not the first time Londoners have been solicited for their ideas on how to build a better bus.

The Scotsman

• EU slashes target for biofuels at the pumpsFEARS over the damaging impact of biofuel production were underlined yesterday by a new European move to nearly halve targets for their use in vehicles. Euro MPs have voted to recommend that 6 per cent of road transport fuel should be crop based by 2020
• Branson campaigns against BA mergerVirgin boss Sir Richard Branson is to launch a campaign to block a proposed merger between British Airways and a major American airline.

The Telegraph

• Thousands of holidaymakers may be stranded as travel company XL 'collapses'Thousands of holidaymakers may be stranded abroad with Britain's third biggest travel company on the verge of collapse.

Mail Online

• Unwitting motorists face £1,000 fines as thousands of photocard driving licences expireThousands of motorists are at risk of being fined up to £1,000 because they are unwittingly driving without a valid licence.

ATOC

• Proving the green case for railThe 10th International Union of Railways (UIC) Environment & Sustainability two day conference organised in conjunction with the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) opens today at the Institute of Mechanical Engineers in London. Almost 200 delegates “ policy makers, environment and railway experts - from 35 countries will come together in discussions on how the railway industry can retain its lead as a green, sustainable and environmentally friendly form of transport.

Network Rail

• RAILWAY BRIDGES LOOK TEN YEARS YOUNGER (WEST COUNTRY)The South West of England have received a cash injection of more than £3.6m from Network Rail to makeover five unsightly railway bridges. These bridges, which have been blighted by graffiti, fly posters and pigeons, will be thoroughly cleaned and re-painted to bring them back to their former splendour.
• RAILWAY BRIDGES LOOK TEN YEARS YOUNGER (WALES)Wales has received a cash injection of nearly £3m from Network Rail to makeover unsightly railway bridges in the region. These railway bridges, which have been blighted by graffiti, fly posters and pigeons, will be thoroughly cleaned and re-painted to bring them back to their former splendour.

Birmingham Post

• Passenger numbers at Birmingham Airport reach new highMore than one million passengers flew out of Birmingham International Airport in August – its busiest month ever since it first opened its doors for business way back in 1939.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Tram works meetingBUSINESSES and residents in Leith have been invited to a public meeting to discuss the latest round of tram roadworks.

London Evening Standard

• Mayor backs City Airport's plan to boost flights by halfBoris Johnson has given the

Manchester Evening News

• C-charge campaign kicks offBACKERS of a Greater Manchester congestion charge today launched their `Yes' campaign ahead of a region-wide referendum.

Metro

• Terror as Ryanair plane strikes runwayTerrified passengers have spoken of their panic today after a Ryanair plane struck a runway, filling the cabin with smoke smells.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Anger as ferry returns to block views from eateriesCALMAC UNDER FIRE FOR PROBLEMS WITH WALKWAY AT £8MILLION OBAN FERRY TERMINAL
• Rail boss urged to run ˜dry™ carriagesSCOTLAND™S biggest train operator has been urged to consider introducing œdry carriages to crack down on drink-fuelled antisocial behaviour.
• Warning to speeding driversTAYSIDE Police have warned motorists they face unnecessary fines by breaking basic road safety laws as the force prepares to launch a crackdown on speeding.
• Visit A90 junction, minister urgedTransport Minister Stewart Stevenson has been invited to visit a œdangerous road junction, so he fully understands the urgency for a new flyover or underpass.

The York Press

• ˜People will avoid town like plague™, says councillor MOTORISTS in Selby are set for an autumn of misery on the roads around the town centre.
• Parking anger at ˜selfish™ parents PARENTS parking outside a York school have caused an outcry among residents, teachers and bus operators.

Carlisle News & Star

• Marina is reopened after £1.7m revampMaryport Marina was officially opening today following a £1.7 million revamp.

New Scientist

• Europe backs downs on biofuels from cropsEU lawmakers have voted to lower a target for using biofuels from crops in fuels – a move aimed to curb rising food prices and deforestation

The Economist

• Boeing and Airbus: Striking differencesBoth have big order books and similar strategies, but only Boeing is on strikeMANY manufacturers would love to be where Boeing and Airbus are: both have orders stretching years into the future, with exciting new products in demand and vigorous customers in Asia to take up the slack in Europe and America. Both aircraft-makers have been changing their business models to cut costs with much more outsourcing, bring in new risk-sharing partners and get closer to growing markets such as China. But here their fortunes diverge: this time Boeing is going down, while Airbus is bouncing back from a prolo...
• London’s transport mess: Holes undergroundExpensive Tube upgrades could mean sacrifices elsewhereFITTINGLY for a city that earns its living from the brain-melting complexities of international finance, London is home to one of the most baroque public-infrastructure deals in the world. And like the financial products offered by the City—blamed for contributing to the current global financial crisis—the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) contracts to upgrade the capital’s creaking Underground network now look like complicated, costly mistakes.Chris Bolt, the PPP Arbiter and philosopher-king, has the unenviable task of re...

Washington Post

• Hurricane Ike bears down on busy Houston port DALLAS -- Hurricane Ike threatened to wreak havoc with international commerce along the Gulf Coast, as the port of Houston _ the nation's second busiest _ prepared Thursday to shut down cargo operations through the weekend, and airlines canceled flights to the region.
• Ailing Auto Industry Sends in Its Pitchman General Motors chief executive G. Richard Wagoner Jr. has been selling cars for a long time, but his pitch today in Washington will be one of his most urgent. He will try to convince lawmakers that the country's homegrown automakers deserve help from the government as they prepare to build more hybrids and other fuel-efficient cars for a radically different market.

Transport for London

• All aboard London River Services to the Thames FestivalThis weekend, Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 September 2008, London's river services will be providing a frequent service between Westminster and London Bridge to help move visitors to the annual Mayor's Thames Festival on London's Southbank.

Aviation Industry

• Better access for disabled passengers at Prestwick AirportLife was made easier for wheelchair users at Prestwick Airport after the hub recently took a significant step in adhering to EU guidelines concerning the passage of disabled passengers through European airports.
• Airline expands at Leeds/Bradford AirportBudget airline Jet2 has announced it will expand its network from Leeds/Bradford Airport with two more routes to Europe, it has been reported.
• UK airports need more runway slotsMore runway slots are needed at hubs such as Heathrow Airport to combat the rise in fuel prices, claims Mott MacDonald.
• Wind farm winds up shipping interestsIt has been a mixed week for offshore wind farm developments, with the UK's Chamber of Shipping expressing disappointment that the government's Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform (BERR) has given consent to the development of the West of Duddon Sands Wind Farm site in Morecambe Bay.
• Small Changes To Transport Systems Could Mean Big Benefits For Older People A new study has pinpointed how simple, low-cost measures could revolutionise older people's ability to use transport systems effectively, safely and with confidence. Researchers at the University of Leeds and Leeds Metropolitan University believe the measures they have identified could eliminate many of the day-to-day problems that currently deter older people from using public transport and the pavements and roads in their locality.
• Kathryn Findlay: Forth rail bridge, EdinburghThese days we seem to be a nation of the safe and the romantic, but Scots should recognise that our country has historically played a global role in the great debates of the day.A structure that epitomises this is the Forth Rail Bridge. When it was completed in 1890 it was the largest spanning bridge in the world and incorporated the world’s largest cantilever.

Other News Sources

• BP admits problems with LPG deliveriesFuel giant BP has admitted that there have been delays in getting LPG supplies to farmers for grain dryers and has pledged to sort the situation out. Farmers are reporting that deliveries – this year being handled by haulage firm Wincanton - are taking at least three days and in some cases over a week to arrive.
• Road pricing schemes – FTA guideThe Freight Transport Association has published a complete guide to the eleven potential road pricing schemes which have been promoted by the Department for Transport and financed by the Transport Innovation Fund (TIF).
• Super steam power at Bure Valley RailwayFed up with delays on the line, tired of train cancellations? It's time to remind yourself of the romance and power of the railway this weekend.
• Industry split on EU plans to trial absent driversBritish truck drivers who fall foul of the laws across the European Union could be tried in their absence in other EU countries and extradited if they are found guilty.
• ECT outlines growth plansECT has opened two new terminals in Rotterdam and outlined a three-pronged growth strategy.
• London Assembly demands Cross River TramThe London Assembly has demanded funds to build a tram network to cross the Thames linking Waterloo with Euston, with branches to Camden Town and King's Cross in the north, and Brixton and Peckham in the south.
• Crossrail recruits for top jobThe race to become Crossrail chief executive has begun, with head-hunters contacting prospective candidates to lead the £16bn scheme, NCE can reveal this week.
• Branson campaigns against BA mergerVirgin boss Sir Richard Branson is to launch a campaign to block a proposed merger between British Airways and a major American airline. Sir Richard has been vocal in his opposition to the union between BA and American Airlines (AA), branding it a
• XL Airways grounded as parent files for administrationTour operator XL Leisure Group, the parent of in-house carrier XL Airways, has gone into administration and all flights are being cancelled with immediate...
• Climate change: Strong public support for EU targets on climate changeEuropeans are highly concerned about climate change and clearly willing to take action against it. A majority of Europeans believes that the European Union's targets for reducing emissions of greenhouse gases and increasing the share of renewable energy by 2020 are about right or even too modest. However, a significant proportion of people feel poorly informed about climate change and ways to help fight it. These are the main conclusions of a special Eurobarometer survey of public attitudes about climate change commissioned by the European Parliament and the European Commission which was ...
• Seguro Travel goes into administrationMacclesfield-based Seguro Travel Ltd and its subsidiary Seguro Aviation Ltd have gone into administration, citing the earlier collapse of Spanish airline Futura.
• Metro 'not being privatised'Trade Unions have been protesting this week against what they claim are plans to