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

Wednesday, 24 September 2008

BBC News

• BA halts flights after hotel bombBritish Airways has suspended "indefinitely" flights to and from Pakistan in the wake of a bomb attack on a hotel in the capital, Islamabad.
• Kelly to step down from CabinetTransport Secretary Ruth Kelly tells the prime minister she plans to step down from government at the next Cabinet reshuffle.
• Troubled airline Alitalia uses newspaper advertisements to attract biddersAdvertisements to buy ailing Italian airline appear in four newspapers in a bid to lure buyers for the firm.

Financial Times

• Toll road plan could pave way for private groupsThe portraits of past worthies around Pennsylvania's capitol illustrate the state legislature's reverence for tradition
• Cash-poor states sell operationsThe operation of many areas of US transport infrastructure looks set to be transformed as cash-strapped state governments offload roads, ports and airports to private sector operators

The Guardian

• Design no. 52Each and every day during term time, some 440,000 yellow buses take millions of children to and from school the length and breadth of the United States. Across the northern border, big yellow buses do the same work throughout Canada, while, through the second hand market, big yellow American school buses can be found helping out with scholastic, civic and military duties worldwide.
• Green idealists most likely to take long-haul flights, says studyThose who recycle and save energy at home are most likely to take frequent long-haul flights
• Kelly to quit transport secretary post when Brown reshuffles packSources close to Kelly fiercely deny resignation is motivated by disillusionment with the government

The Telegraph

• Labour Conference: Gordon Brown says CO2 targets must be raised to 80% by 2050Gordon Brown is ready to adopt much tougher targets for slashing the UK's greenhouse gas emissions.

Times Online

• Ruth Kelly set to quit Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly has told the Prime Minister she intends to step down to spend more time with her family, sources said today.
• Jet Republic places $1.5bn Lear jet order$ A new private jet operator has placed a $1.5 billion order for 110 Lear jets in a bid to penetrate the European market for luxury air travel.$
• Time is running out for ailing Alitalia With time running out to save Alitalia from liquidation, Augusto Fantozzi, the special commissioner in charge of the stricken carrier, has told The Times that he is counting on Italian “flexibility” to help him to pull off a last-minute rescue. “This is a delicate moment for the country,” he said. “Alitalia is a national symbol.”

Mail Online

• Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly resigns from Cabinet after telling friends she was 'disgusted' by Brown's speechRuth Kelly blew a hole in Gordon Brown's conference celebration by revealing that she is quitting the Cabinet.

ATOC

• Transport for London awarded highest equality ratingMore accessible transport services and better employment practices recognised by award of Local Government Equality Standard Level 5 rating.

Network Rail

• ROCK CUTTING WORK BEGINS ON HIGHLAND RAIL LINES
• NORTH BERWICK LINE TO BENEFIT FROM £3M TRACK RENEWALS PROJECT¢ Works vital to continued operation of reliable services on the route ¢ First ScotRail to provide replacement bus services to minimise disruption
• NETWORK RAIL AWARDS £60M AIRDRIE-BATHGATE RAIL LINK CONTRACT
• INTERACTIVE ROAD SIGNS TO PROTECT ˜BASHED™ BRIDGE

Transport Briefing

• More trains and extra rail services for Scotttish routesTrain services delivering an extra 1,200 seats and cutting journey times between Edinburgh, Fife and Aberdeen have been announced by Scotland’s Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Passengers warned of further bus cutsBUS passengers are facing another round of cuts to services across the Capital as Lothian Buses' financial difficulties continue.
• Smartcard system is just the ticket for bus operatorFIRST Bus is rolling out new ticketing technology on its Lothians fleet over the coming weeks.

London Evening Standard

• Lorry drivers 'need educating about cyclists'Lorry drivers should be made to watch footage of fatal bicycle accidents in a bid to reduce the number of riders killed on the roads

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Parents threaten school-bus boycott as safety fears growThe grieving family of a boy knocked down and killed on his way home have been contacted by other parents who say they no longer want their children to use school buses.
• Rail regulator to probe level-crossing lightsSAFETY concerns over a Highland level crossing are to be investigated by a rail regulator, it emerged yesterday.
• ScotRail™s new Saltire look flags up better servicesA NEW-LOOK Saltire design for ScotRail trains and stations was unveiled yesterday as Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson announced major improvements for some services.
• The yellow routeAlmost a decade ago, Tina Hunnam™s 14-year-old daughter was struck by a van and killed as she tried to cross the road, moments after stepping off her school bus.

Wales Online

• Safety group wants DVLA number plate auctions stoppedONE of Britain’s leading road safety groups is calling for a three-day auction of number plates by the Swansea-based DVLA this week to be scrapped. . . and for the agency to be investigated.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Leeds traffic cams live onlineWant to know how busy the M621 going into Leeds is tomorrow morning? Worried you might get caught in a jam on the M62 on your way home?

Peterborough Telegraph

• Record fall in region's road casualtiesThe number of people seriously injured in accidents on Essex's roads has dropped by 24% - the biggest ever one-year fall, it has been revealed.

Reading Evening Post

• ’Drive to educate commuters’Reading took part in its second In Town Without My Car day yesterday – and the message seems to be slowly trickling through to commuters.

The Shields Gazette

• US-style school buses win head's backingA HEADTEACHER has backed plans to bring in American-style yellow buses for primary school pupils in South Tyneside.

Western Daily Press

• 'Outstanding' Temple Meads is UK's top stationBristol's Temple Meads station has been named major station of the year at the National Rail Awards.

International Herald Tribune

• Ryanair to ground twice as many planes as usualWinter looks

Washington Post

• Congress hustling to pass rail reform after crash LOS ANGELES -- After a fatal commuter train collision, Congress is hurrying to pass new laws that would limit hours engineers work, mandate technology to stop trains on a collision course and enact the rail industry's first other major reforms in 14 years.
• Chrysler plans to sell electric car in 2010 AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Chrysler LLC charged up the electric car race Tuesday, muscling in on General Motors Corp.'s Chevrolet Volt by unveiling three electric-powered models and promising to put one of them on sale in the U.S. sometime in 2010.

Railnews

• News: NXEA scoops community partnership awards THREE awards went to National Express East Anglia and its community rail partners at the Community Rail Awards 2008 held last month in Plymouth.
• News: Birmingham New Street ’right answer for 20-30 years’ — Minister THE Minister for the West Midlands has dismissed MPs’ criticisms of plans to redevelop Birmingham New Street station, saying the existing station is “the right answer for the next two or three decades.”

Transport for London

• Transport for London awarded highest equality ratingMore accessible transport services and better employment practices recognised by award of Local Government Equality Standard Level 5 rating.
• Latest 'Safer Travel at Night' campaign to tackle illegal cabs and toutingThe proportion of women using illegal cabs is at an all time low, but some are still putting themselves at risk.

Aviation Industry

• STRiDA MAS Special Folding Bikefolding bike company STRiDA just released its fastest, most advanced cycle to date!
• Rail Industry can drive down carbon footprintEvaluation of the current and future carbon efficiency of the European rail industry
• Ryanair slams EC over emissions trading schemeRyanair has called on the European Commission to abandon its plans to include aviation in the European Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) and address the “chronically inefficient Air Traffic Control system in Europe, which accounts for 12% of aviation emissions”.
• Transport to London's Airports Gets EasierNew rail and road options have made getting to London's various airports an easier and quicker job than in the past.
• Ryanair: only five airlines will survive in EuropeRyanair today predicted that only five carriers will survive in Europe. Speaking at an airline conference in London, deputy chief executive Howard Millar, told the audience that only five European airlines are ...
• American Airlines rolls out faster lines for top customersAmerican Airlines is creating priority lanes for its best customers in an effort to get them checked in, through security and on planes faster, it says.
• Low cost carriers must adapt to marketHybrid business models can be successful

Green Miscellany

• Red light for traffic congestionAudi has developed a system that allows its cars to communicate with traffic signals and tells drivers how fast they should drive to reduce their time waiting at red lights. The “Travolution” system aims to reduce congestion and save fuel.

Other News Sources

• Posh new look for buseLEATHER seats and wood effect floors are among the luxury touches on 11 new single-decker buses joining the Transdev Yellow Buses fleet.
• Fall in freight traffic at UK portsThe Department for Transport (DfT) says the country's 52 major ports handled 582 million tonnes of freight traffic - down two million on 2006 - although there was a 5% rise in container and roll-on, roll-off (RO-RO) traffic. Dover, the leading RO-RO port, handled 2.4 million road goods vehicles and unaccompanied trailer units, a 2% rise on 2006. Felixstowe
• Council plans new bus stationA new bus terminal could be built on the edge of Leicester city centre under fresh plans to cut congestion.
• Deal reached on extensive rail safety billWASHINGTON - House and Senate negotiators reached a deal Tuesday on a major railroad safety reform bill that will require new technology to prevent crashes and limit hours engineers can work.
• Council calls for truck park to replace M20 StackThe Channel Tunnel fire has prompted Kent County Council (KCC) to renew its call for a permanent truck park to replace Operation Stack, which involves the closure of large sections of the M20.
• Glasgow rail freight terminal plans considered Plans to build a huge rail freight terminal between Cumbernauld and Glasgow, creating 1,000 jobs and removing hundreds of HGVs from the roads, is to be considered...
• Eurocargo makes a UK entranceAs the new Iveco Eurocargo hits UK roads, MT got the chance to drive the full range of British-spec vehicles.
• Thetrainline.com plans campaign starring sheepRail ticket retailer Thetrainline.com is launching a television campaign focussing on the cost savings that can be achieved by using its site.
• Wincanton wins eco-contract with Neal's YardWincanton has won a three-year contract to operate an electric delivery vehicle for organic skincare retailer Neal's Yard Remedies.
• Clean, green CNG 'save money'CNG engines will probably the next wave of the future, as it helps vessel operators save on fuel costs and is environmentally-friendly.
• NOL to bid for Hapag by FridayNEPTUNE Orient Lines will make an offer for Hapag-Lloyd by the end of the week, CEO Ron Widdows has revealed.
• Viking to unfurl its sailsTHE HIGH cost of bunkers has encouraged Viking Line, the Finnish ferry operator, to consider fitting ships with sails to cut fuel costs.