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

Friday, 03 October 2008

BBC News

• Ruth Kelly to stand down as an MPTransport Secretary Ruth Kelly, who is already leaving the cabinet, is to stand down as an MP at the next general election.

Financial Times

• Carmakers hit output brakesBritish motor manufacturing is cutting its output as the credit crunch hits sales of cars and vans.
• Europeans seek slice of $25bn US car loansEuropean carmakers are lobbying the US for wider access to $25bn in low-cost loans for the domestic automotive industry approved by Congress last week
• Noise 'puts third runway in doubt'Noise is
• Virgin America close to further fundingThe US airline founded by Sir Richard Branson is near an agreement with its investors to infuse the fledgling carrier with additional cash needed for its operations and expansion plans

The Guardian

• Ruth Kelly to stand down as MP at next general electionOutgoing transport secretary Ruth Kelly said tonight she would step down from her Bolton West constituency at the next general election.

The Telegraph

• Ruth Kelly to step down as MP at next electionOutgoing Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly will step down from her Bolton West constituency at the next general election.

Times Online

• Jaguar calls for US-style green subsidy for cars The head of Land Rover and Jaguar called on Thursday for government cash for industry as UK carmakers said that they were facing the worst market for many years.

ATOC

• ORR should continue to focus on core regulatory role says ATOCResponding to the Office of Rail Regulation™s (ORR) consultation on Regulating Britain™s Railways in 2009-14, the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) says that the ORR should remain firmly focused on its core activities of regulating the railway, which it does well.

Network Rail

• Manufacturers invited to build first tram-trains in the UK
• NETWORK RAIL WELCOMES ACAS TALKS AS HELPLINE OPENS TO SIGNALLERS

Bolton News

• Ruth Kelly to stand down as Bolton MPRUTH Kelly is standing down as Bolton West MP at the next General Election in order to spend more time with her family.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Firm rolls out its refurbished 125mph trainsTRAIN firm CrossCountry has launched its first refurbished High Speed Train (HST).
• MSP says Tory train plan to cut flights is heading for buffersLOTHIANS MSP Shirley-Anne Somerville today said Conservative plans for a high-speed rail line between London and Leeds would fail to cut short-haul flights.
• Coach firm rides to rescue on bus route facing axeAN Edinburgh coach company has stepped in to save one of the city's under-threat bus services.
• Tram work disruption: 'The chaos was the worst in the city's history'WHEN the closure of the Canongate for resurfacing work was announced last week, the Evening News said that on top of everything else that was happening on the city centre road

Liverpool Echo

• Call for task force to revive MerseytramA SPECIAL task force must be set up to ensure Merseytram is finally delivered to the region, key regional figures said last night.
• Shocking traffic accident statistics on MerseysideBOY racers and elderly motorists were today blamed for the shocking accident record on some of Merseyside’s roads.

London Evening Standard

• Rail firms say no free travel for Met policeTrain companies are blocking moves to give Metropolitan police free travel on the railways

Manchester Evening News

• Pro-charge adverts `mislead voters'A WAR of words erupted today over congestion charging in Manchester when a business pressure group `rubbished' claims by supporters of the measure who said that non-road users would be unaffected financially.
• Airport plan threatens 400-year-old cottagePLANS to bulldoze a 400-year-old cottage and build two cargo warehouses at Manchester airport have been described as `cultural barbarism'.

Metro

• Naked road will see drivers slowA city centre road has been stripped of markings and signs in an attempt to make motorists drive more carefully.
• Runner beats Tube train in raceFor the thousands of commuters who use the Underground every day, it should come as no surprise a runner has won a race with a Tube train.

The News (Portsmouth)

• City boost for cycle securityCyclists will be able to lock up their bikes without fear of theft thanks to 80 new racks across Portsmouth.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Pressure grows on First to cut city bus fares amid profits wrangleTRANSPORT giant First has come under renewed pressure from councillors in Aberdeen to reduce bus fares in the city.

The York Press

• Stolen bus seats set to be replaced SEATS stolen by metal thieves from dozens of York bus shelters are set to be replaced by the end of the month.
• Police throw ring of steel around York's roads Every day thousands and thousands of cars and vans pass through greater York.

Wales Online

• Residents oppose Cardiff airport access roadANGRY residents campaigning against plans to build an access road to Cardiff International Airport mounted a protest in Barry yesterday.

Sunderland Echo

• Roadside checks work wellAn operation to blitz rogues on our roads has been hailed a success.

The Shields Gazette

• Fight over airport boss's £6m bonusTHE former boss of Newcastle Airport is set for a High Court battle with his old employers over a multi-million-pound bonus row.

International Herald Tribune

• Lufthansa seen ahead of Air France-KLM in race for a piece of AlitaliaDespite the interest, analysts say the relaunched Italian flag carrier remains still a tough sell.

The Economist

• Face value: Virgin rebirthTwo books give very different views of Sir Richard Branson, Britaina€™s best-known businessmanHE HAS just said that he would like to buy Londona€™s Gatwick Airport when it comes on the market next year, and by the end of October he aims to break the transatlantic monohull sailing record. There is no escaping Sir Richard Branson, the chairman of Virgin Group, who goes to extraordinary lengths to put himself on the front pages. Not even a near-disastrous abseil down a building in Las Vegas last year could deter him. His brand is not just Virgina€”it is also Branson....
• America's car industry: A bail-out that passedIn the slipstream of Wall Streeta€™s woes, the Big Three land a huge subsidyDETROIT seems to be where Wall Street meets Main Street. Tight credit is reckoned to have cost the American carmakers 40,000 sales in August, worth about $1 billion in revenue. The impact has been felt most by Americaa€™s Big Threea€”General Motors, Ford and Chryslera€”which have suffered this year as consumers shunned gas-guzzlers in favour of the smaller cars mostly made by Japanese firms in American factories. Overall light-vehicle sales hit a 15-year low in September, with a ...
• High-speed rail: Fast trains to take the strainThe Tories come out for superfast trains and against expanding Heathrowa€œTHERE is no more money,a€ intoned George Osborne, the Conservative shadow chancellor, to the ranks of the faithful at the Conservative Party conference on September 29th, castigating the government for profligacy during the good times. But Mr Osbornea€™s fit of the dismals did not stop Theresa Villiers, the partya€™s transport secretary, from promising on the same day that a Tory government would scrap proposals for a third runway at Londona€™s Heathrow airport and spend...

Washington Post

• Execs at Paris auto show brace for industry storm PARIS -- Auto executives agree: their industry is headed into a giant storm.

Railnews

• News: Second title for service star Daniel STATION master Daniel Opoku’s welcoming smile for his passengers has widened even more.
• News: Open-sided shuttles ’too big a risk’ in Chunnel THE Rail Freight Group has called for a thorough investigation of Channel Tunnel lorry safety, which it believes could lead to trucks being banned from open-sided rail wagons.
• News: West Coast eases pressure with short-term winter timetable NETWORK Rail and train companies are to introduce a ’lighter’ West Coast winter timetable lasting six weeks from 14 December to allow for the huge upgrade to bed down.
• News: Policy boost for rail future as Kelly quits THE surprise news that Ruth Kelly is resigning as Transport Secretary has overshadowed a marked government policy move towards high speed rail and electrification.

Aviation Industry

• Bike training success for London boroughPeople who took part in cycling courses in the London Borough of Lambeth, UK, are using their bikes more than before, with one adult participant in five claiming they now cycle five or more days a week.
• Parking Garages To Become a BrandWith the help of designers & interior specialists Apcoa developed a concept last year for a clearer & friendlier layout of its parking areas.

Other News Sources

• Plea over free bus passesTwelve charities are demanding MSPs extend free bus passes to cover special transport schemes used by the elderly and disabled.
• Bay ferry service idea is 'not new'TORBAY Council bid for £3million Government funding for a new ferry service across the Bay two years ago, it has been revealed.
• Council to solve bus problemThe council is working with partner agencies to resolve problems after complaints about an overcrowded bus service in Dumfries.
• Bus station named on award shortlistRETFORD Bus Station has been shortlisted for a national award which recognises its design to make passengers' lives better as they wait for their buses.
• Planning reform may mean more truckstopsThe Department for Transport (DfT) is trying to introduce lorry parking provisions into its national policy framework to speed up the development of new truck parks across the country.
• London 2012™s vision for cycle safetyA new campaign in London focussing on lorries travelling to and from the Olympic Park has been launched to help improve safety for cyclists.
• 40 MAN trucks for Royal MailRoyal Mail has added 40 MAN TGS tractor units to its fleet.
• Get set for the north's top logistics showLogistics Link North opens its doors at Doncaster Racecourse on 14th “ 15th October with leading names in logistics and materials handling on show
• Tesco drivers transferred to Stobart agree dealDrivers who transferred to Stobart Group from Tesco are deciding on their futures after union leaders agreed new terms as well as redundancy packages.
• Shooting pirates is OK - ex-judgeSHOOTING is an acceptable response to pirates, Thomas Mensah, former presiding judge at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, has declared.
• Carbon trading begins in USA Carbon has officially became a tradable commodity in the USA, with New York Governor David Paterson presiding over the launch of the nation's first ever auction of CO2 allowances.

Other Subscription Services

• EU set to send naval force to SomaliaMOMENTUM building towards creation of a European Union navy task force to combat piracy off the Somali coast.
• Crisis talks for Norwegian ferry firmNORWEGIAN ferry operator Nye Kystlink held a crisis board meeting today to discuss its future.
• Only political stability in Somalia will end piracyUK think tank says best solution to sea terror lies on land by re-establishing government rule of law.
• Box lines head for new showdown with BrusselsEUROPEAN Commission has shocked lines with proposed changes to existing consortia regulations.