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

Thursday, 25 September 2008

BBC News

• Cash for east-west rail link planPlans for a railway line linking Oxford and Cambridge have moved a step closer after £2m of government funding was allocated to the project.
• Trains disrupted by gun incidentTrain services are suspended on a busy rail route as police investigate a firearms incident at Rugby.
• Kelly attacks Thames airport planBoris Johnson's idea of building a new airport on the Thames estuary is
• Flying high?New airline aims to beat aviation sector woes
• Daimler seeks Chrysler stake saleDaimler says it is in talks with private equity group Cerberus to sell its remaining 19.9% in struggling US carmaker Chrysler.

Department for Transport

• £25m to kick-start better busesRuth Kelly, Transport Secretary, today announced £25 million to provide new and improved bus services across England. This will better connect local communities with vital services - like hospitals, business centres and colleges - and help tackle congestion and rural accessibility by giving people more alternatives to their car.

Financial Times

• Lack of 'plan B' lifts hope for Alitalia takeoverPassengers are deserting Alitalia in fear of its imminent bankruptcy, but the absence of a
• Jet Republic launch obtains backingInvestors from Mexico and Austria are backing the launch of Jet Republic, a start-up business jet venture aimed at taking advantage of the rapid expansion in demand for private jet travel in Europe
• Black cab group faces claims over firesManganese Bronze, London's black cab maker, could face hundreds of liability claims after a series of engine fires

The Guardian

• Industry praises Ruth Kelly as she sets satnav for backbenchesA straw poll of senior transport industry figures this morning suggests that Ruth Kelly, who has now set her satnav for the backbenches, did a good job in her 15 months as transport secretary.
• Big decisions await Ruth Kelly's successorThe controversial question of whether Heathrow should be expanded will be the first big challenge facing Ruth Kelly's successor as transport secretary.
• New airline takes off with largest order for LearjetsA 36-year old former RAF pilot and his financial backers have placed the biggest ever order for Learjets - worth $1.5bn (£815m) - in the belief that the global credit crunch will not affect high net worth individuals and their need to travel around the world on private aircraft.
• Kelly's exit reignites Labour's civil warLeaked news of transport minister's resignation overshadows final day of conference

The Telegraph

• Rugby shooting Police search for gunman after shots are fired near busy train linePolice are searching for a gunman who fired shots at train carriages on one of the country's busiest rail links forcing the suspension of all services.

Times Online

• New cars to have daytime lights The Scandinavian practice of driving a car with the lights on during the day should be common in Britain within three years. Under new European laws, all new models of cars and small delivery vans will, from 2011 onwards, need to be fitted with automatic daytime running lights to make them more visible. The EU believes that the lights could reduce death and injury on the roads by 3 to 5 per cent, but the Tory MEP Timothy Kirkhope said: “There is a concern that drivers start looking out for lights rather than pedestrians and cyclists.”

Reuters News

• UPDATE 4-Italy PM aide seeks to revive Alitalia dealROME, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's right-hand man on Wednesday held a flurry of meetings with the main players in Alitalia's faltering sale, amid speculation that a last-minute deal to save the airline could be pulled off.

Mail Online

• Darling to bow to rebels with u-turn on road tax risesBackdated road tax rises of up to £245 are being watered down to head off a damaging Labour revolt.
• Now Europe wants us to keep headlights on ALL day - inflating fuel costs by up to £160 a yearDrivers face paying up to £160 a year more for fuel because of an EU directive forcing them to keep their headlamps on all day.
• Ryanair to allow passengers to use mobile phones during flights...for £2 a minuteRyanair is to allow passengers to use their mobile phones in flight – at a cost of around £2 a minute. The budget airline's boss was quick to dismiss fears that the move might disturb other travellers.
• Will BA start charging us extra to 'upgrade' meals?British Airways is to follow the lead of low-cost airlines and start charging for 'extras' to boost income. Passengers who now take their golf clubs and skis free of charge on its flights could soon have to pay.

Network Rail

• PASSENGER REMINDER: VITAL IMPROVEMENT WORKS IN EDINBURGH AREA¢ Edinburgh services to/from Bathgate and Glasgow to be affected this weekend “ September 27/28 “ with replacement bus services in operation.
• THOUSANDS SHARE THE VISION FOR READING RAILWAYMore than a thousand people saw the future of the railway at Reading as they joined Network Rail at its roadshow, which unveiled plans to provide a better station and more trains for passengers.
• RAILWAY LINE WORST HIT BY FLOOD REOPENSThe line between Caerphilly and Ystrad Mynach, closed owing to flooding, has now reopened to passengers following the completion of repairs.

Transport Briefing

• Balfour Beatty bags £60m Airdrie-Bathgate rail dealNetwork Rail has awarded a £60m contract for the Airdrie to Bathgate rail link to Balfour Beatty Rail Projects.

Derby Telegraph

• Trust county to take partDERBYSHIRE could be one of the first areas to take part in a countrywide scheme recognising historic transport.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Cyclists steer demands for route redesignMORE than 100 cyclists have converged on the City Chambers to demand better cycling provision across the Capital.
• Lothian Buses chiefs told to sort out pram ban 'fiasco'LOTHIAN Buses is to be told to sort out the "fiasco" created by its contentious pram ban.

Journal Live

• Government told to back high-speed rail plansONE of the country’s top rail bosses yesterday told the Government to back a high-speed link for the North.

Liverpool Echo

• Transport secretary Ruth Kelly's resignation could revive MerseytramTHE dramatic resignation of transport secretary Ruth Kelly has thrown a shadow over plans to revive Merseytram.
• Tata reports strong start for Jaguar Land Rover at HalewoodJAGUAR Land Rover’s owner Tata Motors says the company has had a strong start to the year despite reporting a six-month loss.

London Evening Standard

• Top firms hit by £1m a year parking finesBusinesses are being hit with crippling levels of parking fines in London, figures show
• Eurostar trains stuck in tunnel for an hourEurostar services were plunged into further chaos when three highspeed trains were halted inside the Channel Tunnel

Metro

• Scanner that can read your mindA 'mind reading' airport security scanner which screens people, rather than their bags, is being tested.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Plan to build £400m of ships on site of disused Nigg oilyardPROPOSALS are being drawn up to examine the possibility of using a former oil yard in the Highlands to build a new generation of catamaran ferries, it emerged yesterday.
• Strathspey rail company on track for Grantown linkA GROUP of railway enthusiasts has toiled over the summer to achieve a major milestone in a bid to once again link two Highland towns by rail.

The York Press

• Dual ring road ˜not an option™ YORK™S ring road looks certain not to be dualled “ and smaller improvements are far from assured, leading councillors have warned.
• Police hunt vandals who left heavy objects on railway lines œSTUPID vandals who tried to block a railway line near York with wooden sleepers and concrete slabs have been condemned by police “ who say their œgame could have led to tragedy.
• Reclaim your bike or lose it BICYCLES abandoned at York Railway Station are to be given a new lease of life, refurbished and sold on to new owners “ unless their owners claim them by the end of the month.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Leeds car-share club celebrates anniversaryA LEEDS car-sharing club that helps motorists to cut fuel costs and do their bit for the environment is celebrating its fourth anniversary

Blackpool Gazette

• Rail link dream moves forwardPLANS to reopen a rail link between Fleetwood and Poulton have moved one step closer.

Carlisle News & Star

• Allerdale mayor swaps official limo for eco-friendly Toyota PriusThe Mayor Allerdale, Allan Caine, is driving a new environmentally friendly car, saving the council hundreds of pounds.

Peterborough Telegraph

• Cash boost for bus servicesBus services in Cambridge and Essex are to receive a cash injection in a bid to improve links to vital services like hospitals, business centres and colleges.

Reading Evening Post

• End of the road for RBH park and rideA Park and ride service that eases pressure on the limited car park at Royal Berkshire Hospital has been scrapped because not enough people use it.

West Sussex Gazette

• Waiting times at level crossings 'should be cut to save fuel'FINING motorists who leave their cars running at level crossings or in town centres in the Adur area has been considered by the county council, it has been revealed.

International Herald Tribune

• Airbus making headway as Boeing sits idleLabor relations at Airbus and Boeing are a study of contrasts as both companies try to remain competitive in a difficult market.
• Russian Railways seeks stake in Deutsche BahnRussian Railways, one of the largest railroad companies in the world, said Wednesday that it would submit a bid to buy up to 5 percent of Deutsche Bahn when the German state-owned railroad network is partly privatized this year.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Three firms join Pall-Ex networkA trio of businesses have now joined the Pall-Ex network, servicing the Doncaster and Sheffield area of the UK.Pall-ex has announced that Peppers Warehousing, JDF Logistics and McGregor Logistics have all signed up as new members of the network.Tony Mellor, commercial director of Pall-Ex, explained that the three companies were recruited to the network following increasing volumes of freight and potential in the Doncaster and Sheffield postcode areas."Peppers Warehousing, JDF Logistics and McGregor Logistics will all prove to be valuable members of the Pall-Ex network," he co...

Railnews

• News: Freightliner’s new loco goes on show THE first of 30 PowerHaul diesel-electric locomotives, ordered last year by Freightliner Group Ltd., has been displayed by builder GE Transportation at InnoTrans 2008 in Berlin.
• News: Kelly resignation leaves rail policy uncertainty NEWS that Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly is to resign from the government when Gordon Brown reshuffles his cabinet—expected next week—puts major transport policy issues, notably railway electrification, back in the melting pot.

Aviation Industry

• InnoTrans 2008: Trends & NewsFrom 23 to 26 September InnoTrans 2008 offers a representative overview of both new and latest versions of vehicles, systems and components, and of rail transport system services. The Innotrans Innovation Report presents selected exhibits, in alphabetical order.
• Bombardier FLEXX Bogies are Driving You into the FutureToday at InnoTrans, Bombardier Transportation launched its comprehensive, new bogie brand, BOMBARDIER FLEXX.
• World Premiere at the Start of InnoTrans: Bombardier Presents the TALENT 2 for Deutsche BahnModular Train Concept Sets the Tone for the Local and Regional Transport of the Future
• Bombardier Transportation Launches Innovative ECO4 Technologies for Total Train Performance at InnoTrans 2008Global Rail Industry Leader Presents Breakthrough EcoActive Technologies Delivering up to 50 Per Cent Energy Savings to Maximize Energy, Efficiency, Economy, and Ecology for Rail Operators
• BAA Youth Adventure Challenge takes offHundreds of youngsters from around Braintree descended upon Great Notley Country Park on Friday (September 19) to battle it out at the inaugural BAA Youth Adventure Challenge...
• The Rise and Rise of Obstruction Lighting When most people think of airfield ground lighting, it is rare that anyone™s first thought will be obstruction lighting. However, the importance of obstruction lighting to aircrafts in the skies cannot be stressed enough. atg airports are continuing to adapt existing technologies in order to aid airport development in as many ways as possible, including that of obstruction lighting. Since the inclusion of the ZA743L low intensity LED obstruction light, atg airports have continued to develop the technology and have now introduced ZA773L to the current range. The ZA773L is a low ...
• FAA Suspends Sleeping Hawaiian Airline PilotsTwo pilots for Hawaii's Go airlines who slept through their flight's landing procedure were suspended for the careless and reckless operation of an aircraft, the Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday.
• œGood progress on BA-Iberia talksAim for deal by March

Green Miscellany

• Shell and Manchester University to develop biofuelsThe University of Manchester has announced it will work with oil company Shell to develop biofuels.

Other News Sources

• Cash boost for bus servicesBus services in Kent are to receive a cash injection of £447,000 in a bid to boost links to hospitals and colleges.
• Bus services' cash boostBus services in Tyne and Wear are to receive a cash injection in a bid to improve links to vital services such as hospitals and colleges.
• Bosses help staff to hop on a busMore than 100 Bradford office workers are being offered subsidised bus travel by their bosses in a bid to create a greener workforce.
• National Express to optimise rail revenueThe transport operator has signed two multi-million pound deals to maximise the revenue per seat on its East England rail franchises.
• Tentative steps towards the private sector [Germany]PRIVATISATION: After much debate and two false starts, the partial flotation of DB is now moving ahead.
• How the FAA Is Bringing Its Air Traffic Systems into the 21st CenturyEXCLUSIVE: The embattled FAA, which has suffered a number of embarrassing flight-plan system crashes this year, has upgraded its legacy internal business systems to a new open-systems server and stora...
• Darling to back down over road tax risesAlistair Darling will have to water down his plans to raise road tax for millions of motorists or face a backbench rebellion
• Contractors attack Kelly's tenure as transport secretaryOutgoing transport secretary Ruth Kelly was today criticised by the Civil Engineering Contractors' Association (CECA) for failing to listen to the construction industry during her period in the role.
• “Just in time” production is putting transport workers under intolerable pressure, says ITFTransport workers are facing increasing pressures as a result of attempts to speed up the movement of goods, ITF General Secretary David Cockroft told delegates at a United Nations conference in Greece last week.
• Lufthansa switching to all-Airbus mainline fleet at MunichLufthansa is switching to an all-Airbus mainline fleet at Munich to cut maintenance and crewing costs, as it meanwhile prepares to phase out the remaining...
• Qantas reveals connectivity plans for A380s, A330s and 767sA clearer picture of what in-flight connectivity services will be offered to Qantas passengers emerged this week with the revelation that the carrier's Airbus...
• Stena warns of tough times on North SeaCONDITIONS on the North Sea will be difficult for the next year or 18 months, warns Stena Line director Pim de Lange.
• US shortsea needs new class of shipA NEW class of vessels will be needed if a US shortsea system is to be feasible, the American Association of Port Authorities was told yesterday.
• Wall Street instability hits US portsTHE WALL Street instability that led to failures at Lehman Brothers and AIG is now being felt at America™s ports where there are few takers for bond issues.
• Going green comes at a priceMEETING future environmental challenges will provide opportunities for shipbuilders but will come at a cost, warned government ministers from Germany and the Netherlands at a seminar during the SMM exhibition in Hamburg.
• New cars to have day-time lightsEU executive expects to win backing for plan for automatic lights.
• Transport secretary: TIF referendum not ’final say’The December referendum on Greater Manchester’s Transport Innovation Fund bid may have no impact on whether the £2.7bn package is introduced, according to Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly.
• GMPTA and Cheshire get £1m for bus servicesGreater Manchester and Cheshire has been given more than £1m as part of a government scheme to improve bus services across England.