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

Thursday, 02 October 2008

BBC News

• Fewer London pupils travel by carMore pupils in London are walking, cycling or using public transport to get to school, a report says.
• Bus relay to mark centenary [video]A relay of historic buses has marked the 100-year anniversary of one of the East Midlands' oldest transport companies.
• Villagers find sat-nav solution [video]Residents of a Somerset village have pinpointed trouble spots so truck drivers can update their sat-nav systems and avoid problems.
• Space academy ready for blast offA space academy opens with a mission to inspire young people to look skywards for a career.
• Railway's axemanIan Hislop on Britain's most hated civil servant
• BA criticises Tory Heathrow planTory plans to scrap a third runway at Heathrow and build a high-speed rail line instead 'beggars belief', says BA's boss.

Financial Times

• Ex-BA chief faces jail over price-fixingThe US justice department says that Keith Packer will serve eight months in prison and pay a $20,000 fine after pleading guilty to his role in a conspiracy to fix prices for air cargo shipments
• Eurostar back on track after fireThe high-speed rail operator is restoring services almost to levels before last month's fire as work begins to clear debris from the blaze that wrecked a lorry shuttle train

The Guardian

• Response: Even with high-speed rail, we'll still need a third runway at HeathrowThe choice between air and rail investment is a false one: the country needs both
• Tory aviation policy 'all over the place', declares BA chiefBritish Airways chief executive Willie Walsh has slammed Tory plans to build a high-speed rail network instead of a third runway at Heathrow airport and described the party's aviation policy as "all over the place".
• Big rise in piracy could close Suez canal tradeIncreased cost of shipping jeopardises aid delivery after more than 60 attacks off Somali coast this year

The Herald

• Cost of running a car has risen by one-fifth in past year, says RACMotorists now pay an average of 19% more to keep their cars on the road than in 2007, according to an RAC cost index out today.

The Scotsman

• Dear city, sorry we made you grind to halt at rush-hour. Yours truly, trams chiefTRANSPORT chiefs in Edinburgh were forced to issue a humiliating apology last night after a disastrous start to the first major tram works on Princes Street.

The Telegraph

• Motoring costs soar by almost one fifthThe cost of motoring has increased by nearly a fifth with the owner of a family car now paying more than £100 a week to keep it on the road new figures have disclosed.
• Fire damaged part of Eurotunnel train removedA section of the freight train which was damaged in a Channel Tunnel fire last month has been removed from the line.
• Ryanair sued by passengers over cancelled flightsRyanair is being sued by 40 passengers whose flights have been cancelled in test cases which could trigger an avalanche of claims against the airline industry as a whole.

Times Online

• Former BA executive Keith Packer to be jailed in US A former executive in British Airways’ cargo business has agreed to plead guilty to price-fixing in the US and will serve eight months in jail and pay a fine of $20,000, the US government said on Tuesday night.$

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'.

Network Rail

• EQUIPPING FOR THE FUTURE - NETWORK RAIL SIGNS SKILLS PLEDGE
• RMT HAS NO EXCUSE FOR CYNICAL STRIKE

Transport Briefing

• Eurostar ups train departures to 93% of old timetableEurostar has unveiled a new, amended timetable that makes best use of the available capacity through the Channel Tunnel following the restrictions imposed after the recent fire.
• National Express bus boost for Dudley public transportBus priority measures, new bus shelters and new and upgraded buses will be introduced in Dudley under a public-private sector deal announced this week.
• Crossrail Ebbsfleet extension consultation beginsThe government has begun a consultation on proposals to safeguard the alignment of an extension to the London Crossrail route from Abbey Wood to Ebbsfleet.
• Forth bridge links Clackmannanshire to trunk networkScotland's Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson announced this week that the new multi-million pound crossing over the upper Forth near Kincardine will open on 19 November as the Clackmannanshire Bridge.
• Tram network selects ticketing supplier for expansionTicketing specialist Scheidt and Bachmann has won a £5.4m contract to design, build and install a new generation of ticket machines for the future Metrolink tram network.

Birmingham Post

• New Street station evacuated after escalator overheatsDozens of rail commuters were evacuated from the Midland’s busiest railway station after an escalator overheated setting off alarms.
• Ryanair sorry as 25 flights from Birmingham are cancelledRyanair has apologised to customers after cancelling 25 flights to and from Birmingham due to strike action at airplane-maker Boeing.

London Evening Standard

• 'Ghost bikes' in London'Ghost bikes' are appearing across the capital in memory of cyclists killed on the road
• 'Forensic audit' on Thames GatewayA Conservative government would halt all new Thames Gateway regeneration projects while a

Manchester Evening News

• Go green with RRGWITH vehicle emissions contributing year on year to the increasing gases which lead to climate change, many people are looking to reduce their carbon footprint by re-assessing the car they drive.
• Optare `is driving forward to profit'THE boss of Lancashire bus and coach group Optare said the group is well on the road to making a profit by the end of the year.

The News (Portsmouth)

• First the roads hell, then came the road smellWHEN a new set of traffic lights was put up in Horndean, residents thought they would help ease congestion.
• Buses' ticket to faster city routesIt's only 20 minutes before work begins and the bus is inching its way forward. With a clear run it might get there on time, but up ahead yet another snake of traffic awai

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Ecology team ˜should have done more™Ecologists working for Transport Scotland have undervalued the importance of habitats and species in their analysis of the proposed Aberdeen bypass route, it was claimed yesterday.

The York Press

• Village bypass hope TRANSPORT bosses are to take a fresh look at whether a Bishopthorpe bypass can be built.

Wales Online

• 'Cut car numbers by 28% to hit carbon target'THERE must be 28% fewer cars on the road in parts of Wales if the Government’s carbon reduction targets are to be achieved, a new report claims.

Doncaster Free Press

• Passenger numbers at Robin Hood riseDoncaster Sheffield Airport has chalked up another impressive passenger milestone, bucking the trend of doom and gloom in the aviation industry.

Northants Evening Telegraph

• No cash left for Corby link roadDoubts have been raised about the future of two major new routes including the Corby Link Road which has trebled in cost.

Wall Street Journal

• Congress Passes Amtrak Funding BillThe Senate approved a $13 billion bill to boost funds for Amtrak and expand passenger rail service.

Rail Technology Magazine

• TagMaster Launch New CableTag at InnoTrans Stockholm, Sweden - TagMaster, the leading producer of advanced RFID solutions for rail applications, launched the new S1470 CableTag at InnoTrans. CableTag is the latest addition to TagMaster's heavy-duty family of RFID tags and is designed to suit a range of applications within metro, light-rail and mainline transportation systems. InnoTrans is the world's leading trade fair for rail transport technology and TagMaster launched the CableTag on their exhibition stand. The CableTag provides demanding transportation applications with a reliable means of transferring variable data f...

Transport for London

• Putting the brakes on the school runThere are 3.3 million fewer school run car journeys now being made in the Capital every year.

Other News Sources

• Infotech announces extension of long term contract with Bombardier TransportationBerlin/Hyderabad, Oct 1 : Infotech Enterprises Limited signed with Bombardier Transportation a new long term contract to continue to provide engineering, electronic design, technical publications and IT-related services to Bombardier Transportation divisions worldwide.
• Tories would freeze Thames Gateway spendingA new Conservative administration would hold spending on the Thames Gateway regeneration project a senior shadow minister said this week.
• Making the Missing LinkThe Cumberland Gap is a 9km break in the motorway north of Carlisle. Once plugged, it will allow drivers to use a continuous 640km of motorway, from Scotland to Dover. Ed Owen reports.
• Channel tunnel fire: French investigators give go-ahead for train moveFrench rail investigation body BEA-TT today sanctioned the removal of the train burnt during a serious fire in the north channel tunnel in September.
• DHL reviews Same Day operationsAs MT went to press, it emerged that DHL is
• Clipper Logistics unveils new imageFlush with success from a London consolidation scheme win, the haulier reveals its new look.
• France pushes for leniency on car CO2 capsThe French Presidency is upping the pressure on EU governments to water down controversial proposals requiring car manufacturers to curb the CO2 emissions of new vehicles by 18% by 2012, according to a document seen by EurActiv.
• Aircraft shortage delays start of Manchester-Dusseldorf routeThe launch of Ryanair’s new route between Manchester and Düsseldorf has been delayed because of aircraft shortages, the airline announced today.

Other Subscription Services

• New Aberdeen yard facility will cater for paper boomABERDEEN has opened up a new yard facility in the port to increase inter modal transport levels in response to growing demand from the paper industry.
• Save our SeafarersLLOYD'S List demands international action against piracy.