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

Wednesday, 01 October 2008

BBC News

• Rail station opening is delayedA new railway station near East Midlands Airport will not be opening on time, Network Rail has confirmed.
• Cross-border route action pursuedA new pressure group has been set up aimed at securing major improvements on the A1 trunk road in East Lothian, the Borders and north Northumberland.
• Free school transport is extendedNew powers extending free transport to school children and promoting access to Welsh-medium schools have been passed by assembly members.

Financial Times

• Rosy UK trading updates drive shares higherFirstGroup, the UK bus and rail company, leads a pack of British companies that saw a jump in their share value after reporting better numbers on the back of strong performance and successful restructuring moves
• AIG sells stake in London City airportThe US insurance group has sold its 50% stake in London City airport as it embarks on a disposal programme to repay the $85bn US government rescue loan
• Air traffic growth at five-year lowIata, the global airline trade association, said the three-month decline in air freight was a clear indication that global trade was slowing down
• Argentina faces court battle over airlineArgentina's government could face a bitter legal battle over the renationalisation of Aerolineas Argentinas, the flag carrier
• Ports at risk, say operatorsMerseyside's maritime revival could be sunk by swingeing business rate rises, say port companies as they brace themselves for bills expected to be triple last year's levels
• Chicago Midway in $2.5bn privatisation dealChicago Midway became the first big US airline hub to be put up for privatisation in a $2.5bn deal with a consortium including Canada's Vancouver airport
• Consortium pulls out of $12.8bn turnpike dealThe consortium behind the world's biggest toll road privatisation pulled out of the deal, delivering a blow to efforts to bring further private-sector money into the US's crumbling road system

The Guardian

• BA slams Tory plans to scrap third runwayStunned airlines and British businesses rounded on the Tory party yesterday after David Cameron pledged to scrap a third runway at Heathrow in favour of a north-south high-speed rail link.
• Mayor hits out at government over £1.4bn gap on tubeBoris Johnson is embroiled in a £1.4bn funding row with the government that could leave millions of commuters facing increased delays and overcrowded stations on London's underground network.
• Stopping the slow trainThe Conservative party sweetened the gruel of its bitter economic message this week with a promise Labour should have made long ago - to build a high-speed rail network north from London. The party confirmed a second sensible decision too - to scrap plans for a third runway at Heathrow.

The Herald

• FirstGroup finds cost-conscious travellers are getting on boardFirstgroup yesterday reported revenue rises of 7.5% on buses and 9.8% on trains and said growing numbers of car drivers were reacting to the increase in petrol prices.
• Call to extend scope of bus passesA dozen charities yesterday demanded that the Scottish Government extend free bus passes to cover special transport schemes used by the elderly and disabled.

The Telegraph

• EU to introduce 'virtual strip searches' at airports by 2010Digital body scanners which leave little to imagination will be used by airport security on passengers across EU within two years.
• Financial crisis Car production slashed as economic crisis bitesMotor manufacturers in Britain have been forced to bring in three and four day weeks as they have been swept up in the financial crisis engulfing the global economy.

Times Online

• AIG flies into loss on City Airport stake AIG, the stricken American insurer, looks set to have suffered a heavy investment loss after it offloaded its stake in London's City Airport to its joint venture partner for an estimated £250 million — two-thirds of the price it paid.

Daily Record

• Scotland 'an afterthought' in Tory transport plans, business chiefs sayBUSINESS leaders last night accused the Tories of treating Scotland as an "afterthought" over transport plans.
• Scotland to be base for Virgin Galactic's space tourism flightsSPACE tourism firm Virgin Galactic yesterday confirmed they will take off from Scotland in 2013.

Mail Online

• Government accused of spin as it rejects calls to review third Heathrow runwayTransport Secretary Ruth Kelly has rejected calls for a 'review' of plans for a third runway at Heathrow amid accusations of Government 'spin'. The decision came in a report quietly slipped out on the Department for Transport website.

ATOC

• Train operations support 'Greengauge public interest group' for new rail capacityThe Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) today gave its support to an important new initiative to examine the case for new railway lines in Britain.
• Train operators welcome conservative party commitment to rail capacityThe Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) welcomed the commitment made by the Conservative Party Transport spokesman Theresa Villiers today that a Conservative government would continue to invest in improving capacity on Britain™s railways.

Transport Briefing

• Crossrail P-Rep contract to keep tabs on CLRLA project representative is being sought by the Department for Transport to help ensure the £15.9bn Crossrail scheme is delivered on time and according to plan.
• Conservatives choose high speed rail over HeathrowA Conservative government would invest in high speed rail infrastructure rather than expanding Heathrow Airport, according to shadow transport secretary Theresa Villiers.

Birmingham Post

• National Express call centre in Birmingham one of UK's bestThe National Express call centre in Birmingham has been named as one of the UK’s top 50 call centres for customer service.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Parking rules set to ease way for busesNEW parking restrictions are to be introduced on two city centre streets in a bid to keep the Capital's buses on time.
• Equality Commission calls for 'common sense' in pram banPRESSURE is continuing to mount on Lothian Buses to drop its controversial pram ban after the Equality and Human Rights Commission stepped in to the row.

Journal Live

• No more 'blackmail' over transport cashTHE Conservatives yesterday pledged to end Whitehall’s “blackmail” of councils to introduce congestion charging in return for vital transport funding.

London Evening Standard

• Reduce C-charge to four hours a day, say tradersThe operating hours of the western extension zone congestion charge should be slashed to rescue trade, business leaders have demanded
• Boris in £3bn battle to rescue Tube upgradeA major cash crisis threatens the upgrade of the Tube network planned in time for the 2012 Olympics

Manchester Evening News

• Fast track to successA RAIL supremo whose company's passenger numbers have nearly doubled since 2004 has won a national customer service award.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Professional road-safety lessons for north-east pupilsPUPILS at north-east schools have been getting professional road-safety advice.
• MSP stokes up storm over cash for ferryA Highland MSP has accused the Scottish Government transport secretary of spending money set aside to start a new ferry service from Lochboisdale to Mallaig on other projects.

The York Press

• £100k York project to improve safety MAJOR work is to be carried out on one of York™s busiest junctions to improve safety and access.

Wales Online

• Time for politicians to tackle issue of motorway congestionLAST week started with an engagement at the BBC studios to debate the merits of the proposed M4 relief road with a Friends of the Earth spokesman, and finished with a quarterly meeting of the CBI Wales Council at which transport featured highly.
• Transport shake-up planned for Cardiff city centreA MASSIVE transport shake-up to ease the congestion choking Cardiff city centre is being planned, the Echo can reveal today.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• 'Wrong kind of train' upset for Leeds passengersThere have been some bizarre explanations for rail problems, like "leaves on the line" and "the wrong type of snow".

C.N.N.

• Road not taken takes on new meaning as motorists drive lessAmericans drove 3.6 percent less in July 2008 than they did during July 2007, Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters said Tuesday.

New Scientist

• Virgin Galactic craft to help monitor climateThe plane designed to carry SpaceShipTwo flies higher than most others, allowing it to study greenhouse gases throughout the atmosphere

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Lib Dems call for tighter Channel Tunnel safetyThe Liberal Democrats have issued a call for an immediate safety review and tightening of safety restrictions in the Channel Tunnel following the recent fire.According to the party's transport spokesman Norman Baker, the government has been "complacent" about safety in the tunnel and a review of safety procedures is needed in conjunction with restrictions on what can be sent through the Channel Tunnel."We cannot afford any more protracted closures of the tunnel," he stated. "Urgent action must be taken to significantly reduce the risk of any further...

Railnews

• Freight trains could share tracks with tramsA JOINT study by West Midlands Passenger Transport Authority, Centro and Network Rail into sharing the planned extension of the Midlands Metro tram system with freight trains is showing positive results.
• UK ’left behind’ in high speed rail future, warns Euro-MPTHE vision that created Britain’s railways is now desperately needed to build new high speed rail lines, a meeting at the Liberal Democrat conference heard.
• News: Cost-cutting targets ’unrealistic’ says infrastructure giant NETWORK Rail has told the Office of Rail Regulation that the ’very aggressive’ efficiency targets it has placed on the company are currently unrealistic.
• News: New brand unveiled to celebrate 25th birthday A DIESEL train featuring a brand new livery was unveiled to mark 25 years since the launch of the ScotRail brand, created by British Rail.
• News: Time for reflection at New Street THE design of a £406m makeover for Birmingham New Street station has finally been settled – with the new structure clad in a reflective surface that will change as the day goes by. Already some Brummies have dubbed it ’the silver armadillo’.
• News: Three department chiefs given full board status THREE senior Network Rail departmental heads have been elevated to full board status as executive directors in a move by the company to strengthen its top level team.
• News: Second facelift for Euston, 40 years on FORTY years ago, on October 14, 1968, the Queen arrived by Royal Train to open the new, £15 million Euston station in London.
• News: Fatality Hotline could help speed up restored services A Fatality Hotline has been set up on which train drivers involved in non-suspicious fatality incidents can make a direct report, with a view to restoring rail services more quickly – the current average is 74 minutes.
• News: Commendations for ’decent people doing a decent job’ BTP officers, police community support officers and police staff from the South West, East and West Midlands and Wales have received special commendations at an official ceremony held in Birmingham.
• News: Gate plan row puts damper on heritage success AS controversy continues over East Midlands Trains’ plan to install auto-gates at Sheffield, the station has won a prestigious Railway Heritage Trust award for its improvement and restoration.
• News: Eddie expands supermarket services DRS and its partner Eddie Stobart, the Carlisle-based logistics group, have extended their five-days-a-week freight service operated on behalf of supermarket Tesco.
• Opinion: Making good and making history AFTER two and a half hectic years merging two very different routes into one railway company, Elaine Holt is facing the most exciting time of her career. The First Capital Connect MD talked to Paul Whiting about the vital part FCC will play in the £5.5 billion Thameslink Programme.
• News: Chinook takes to the air to celebrate loco naming THE dramatic arrival of an RAF Chinook helicopter at First GBRf’s Wellingborough freight depot in Northamptonshire signalled the naming of a Class 66 locomotive.
• Opinion: ’Wait and see’ policy could spell disaster THE recent turbulence in the financial markets and the onset of recessionary fears have caused oil prices to fall from the highs of the summer. Many would argue that, like past volatility in oil prices, the July price of $147 a barrel was a temporary peak and that the market has now corrected itself.
• Opinion: Rescue for Reading – or Birmingham’s ’pretty tent’? DURING the past month I attended two major presentations laid on by Network Rail – one about plans to revamp Reading station and its surrounding track layouts, and the other to witness the unveiling of the final design for reconstructing Birmingham New Street station.
• Opinion: Plug the gaps THE chorus of calls urging the Government to look at a wide-ranging electrification programme for the UK’s rail network is becoming more strident.

Aviation Industry

• Confusion over status of fuel surchargesBuyers and agents challenge airlines.

Other News Sources

• MP's transport scheme fearsThe MP for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey has called for clarity over two Highland transport projects.
• East Anglia: National Expressating on a train! You must be joking. Times have changed and this really is turning into a moveable feast. DEREK JAMES reports from Norwich, Diss, Stowmarket, Ipswich, Colchester, Chelmsford and Liverpool Street. Not forgetting Manningtree and Shenfield.
• City business boosted by rail lineMore than 700,000 passenger journeys are made between Norwich and Cambridge each year, creating benefits for businesses in the city.
• Rail giant signals plans for new lineANOTHER rail line could be built across northern Lincolnshire to cope with ever-increasing traffic.
• Reading congestion charge proposedTransport chiefs in Reading are hoping to reduce the amount of traffic with new congestion measures.
• Alitalia poised for relaunch following dealAlitalia is set to be relaunched within a month following union agreement to a rescue deal that will see the injection of Euro2 billion of government cash, a slashing of its network and loss of one-in-three jobs.
• Planes fly in circles as air traffic controller sleepsTwo planes were forced to fly in circles over the Greek island of Lesbos awaiting landing clearance for about 40 minutes as the air traffic controller was fast asleep, the Daily Telegraph reported Tuesday.
• Backdated rates bills could bankrupt smaller UK portsThe UK ports industry is facing a crisis after tax authorities sent out backdated rates bills totalling tens of millions of pounds. Many smaller operators are facing the prospect of bankruptcy if they are unable to pay.
• Tories back down over TIFAny Transport Innovation Fund (TIF) contracts signed prior to the election of a Conservative government would be respected, not dismantled, it was revealed this week.
• Eurostar set to lose top marketerGreg Nugent, Eurostar head of marketing UK, is stepping down after five years in the role follwong a restructure.
• Virgin Atlantic renews James Bond partnershipVirgin Atlantic is launching a campaign on the back of the airline™s involvement with the forthcoming James Bond film Quantum of Solace.
• Human scarecrow chases off monkeys The authorities at an Indian railway station have taken drastic action to scare off monkeys.
• Port workers support organising in global network terminalsUnions representing workers at the world’s largest port terminal operators took firm steps forward recently as they planned future strategies and vowed to increase workers’ organisation along major transport chains.
• New business 'on the rise' for WincantonLogistics giant Wincanton is confident about winning new business despite the current tough trading conditions.
• Jail for former BA exec charged in price-fixing probeBritish Airways (BA) executive Keith Packer has become the first foreign national - and third individual - charged as part of the US Department of Justice's...
• EU-India Summit signs civil aviation agreementAt today's EU-India Summit in Marseille, a Horizontal Aviation Agreement was signed which will restore legal certainty to the bilateral air services agreements between India and EU Member States and reinforce EU-India aviation relations.