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

Tuesday, 14 October 2008

BBC News

• Rail overcrowding 'getting worse'Overcrowding is getting worse on the UK's rail network and fares are rising, a report from a public services' watchdog has warned.
• Calls to name station after ScottAn MSP has called for a railway station which will form part of the Borders rail link to be renamed in recognition of the area's link to Sir Walter Scott.
• Poor transport 'threatens growth'An underfunded transport network is threatening Wales' ability to sustain economic growth, a report says.
• Mixed use for air transport linksHardly any air passengers used public transport to get to some regional airports, a survey from the Civil Aviation Authority shows.
• Tories warn firms off HeathrowThe Conservative Party has warned firms not to get involved in any plans for a third runway at Heathrow Airport.
• Island review of public transportA review into the Isle of Man's bus service could result in major changes to the timetable and routes - and reduce the number of cars on the road.

Financial Times

• Hapag-Lloyd could seek strategic alliancesGerman group may seek mergers on some routes as it seeks to consolidate its position in the container shipping market, says largest individual shareholder in its new owners
• Choppy waters for container shipping linesDrewry Shipping Consultants predicts growth of only 4.1 per cent and Maersk chief Eivind Kolding says volumes are shrinking against the same months last year
• Jet and Kingfisher in alliance to cut costsIndian airlines agree to co-operate in an attempt to cut costs as passenger traffic declines and the aviation industry struggles during this turbulent period

The Guardian

• Tories warn they will not honour decisions over airport expansionThe Conservative party told BAA to abandon a £160m planning application for a second runway at Stansted airport yesterday after warning that the project would be scrapped by a Tory government.

The Telegraph

• Drink drive pilots allowed to flyAirline pilots who have been banned from the road for drink driving are allowed to carry on flying passenger jets it has been revealed.
• Fumefilled British Airways plane makes priority Heathrow landingThe pilots of a British Airways plane were forced to request a priority landing at Heathrow after fumes were detected.
• Trains delayed as autumn 'leaves on the line' timetable comes into forceRail passengers face longer journeys as train operators adjust their timetables to allow for leaves on the line.

Times Online

• Merger talk bolsters shares in GM and Ford Shares in General Motors and Ford, both of which took a severe battering last week, surged yesterday after reports that they had held merger talks with each other and with Chrysler.
• TUI Travel owners consider private ownership Shares in TUI Travel, the FTSE 100 owner of the Thomson and First Choice brands, jumped 21 per cent yesterday after TUI, the German shipping and tourism group that already has a 51 per cent stake, said that it was considering taking the company private.

Mail Online

• ROY HATTERSLEY: Ancient port whose ship is coming inThere is nowhere in England quite like Appledore. Once upon a time there were dozens of little coastal towns which lived for and on the sea. Most of them have changed almost beyond recognition.
• Car gadgets are driving 50% of motorists to distractionAlmost half of motorists admit that in-car gadgets distract them from the road.

Transport Briefing

• Manchester introduces solar bus ticket vending machinesSolar powered bus ticket machines – the first of their kind in the UK – have been installed by Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive and Stagecoach Manchester as part of a 12-month trial.
• Liverpool South Parkway raises railway patronage by 150%Liverpool South Parkway station is now being used by more than 26,000 passengers a week - more than double the patronage of Garston and Allerton - the two stations it replaced.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Bike Station pedalling against cyclical effect of credit crunchIT is the recycling initiative which has grown in tandem with the Capital's love affair with cycling.
• Lothian Buses HQ is the next stop in pram ban campaignMOTHERS were planning to protest outside Lothian Buses' headquarters today as they continue their fight to allow prams on buses.
• Consultation begins into higher parking fees for gas-guzzlersA MASSIVE consultation on controversial plans to introduce higher parking charges in the Capital for gas-guzzling cars is set to get under way.

London Evening Standard

• It's autumn and leaves on the line delay trains againHundreds of thousands of mainline rail commuters face slow journeys because of leaves on the line
• The Routemaster with a smileA radical new Routemaster-style bus for London has been revealed with a

Manchester Evening News

• CBI backs c-chargeBRITAIN'S biggest business organisation is backing congestion charging for Greater Manchester - but warned the current proposals could be better.

Sheffield Telegraph

• City trams' facelift project lines up major awardSHEFFIELD'S colourful new-look Supertram has been named Project of the Year at the Light Rail Awards 2008 in London.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Direct air link to Germany soonNew air links between Inverness and Germany are expected to be announced at the end of this month, airport bosses have said.
• Harman pledge over school bus safetyABERDEEN South Labour MP Anne Begg has welcomed a promise from Commons Leader Harriet Harman that the deaths of two Aberdeenshire youngsters killed on their way home from school will be taken into account when she decides whether to support north-east MPs™ pleas for new safety laws.
• Lost air luggage worst for ScotsSCOTTISH air travellers appear to have the worst lost-luggage problems of any part of the UK.
• Airline tried to charge asthma sufferer an extra £6,000An Aberdeen grandfather has forced an airline into a U-turn after he accused it of discriminating against asthma sufferers.

Doncaster Free Press

• Robin Hood airport surveyROBIN hood Airport has the highest proportion of passengers travelling for leisure - and the highest proportion of women passengers, according to a new survey.

Peterborough Telegraph

• Port 'busier than ever'A Suffolk port has set a new record for the amount of rail traffic passing through it.

Sunderland Echo

• Next stop The Galleries as bus station opensAll aboard “ the long-awaited bus station has opened at The Galleries shopping centre in Washington.

Railnews

• News: Part privatisation of DB delayed AS anticipated by Railnews.co.uk on 7 October, the German government has said it is delaying indefinitely an initial public offering of 24.9 percent of Deutsche Bahn, the German state railway — which owns Britain’s EWS and Laing Rail, operator of the Chiltern franchise and which also has a joint venture with MTR to operate the London Overground concession.

Aviation Industry

• Demand for rail breaks on the riseRising costs of petrol and parking together with a growing awareness of carbon footprints is resulting in a rise in UK breaks by rail.
• Airlines Cut SurchargesNorthwest Airlines and other major airlines announced new cuts in their fuel surcharges as jet fuel prices fell this month to their lowest levels since January.
• Delta May Make Quarterly ProfitDelta Air Lines is scheduled to report its third-quarter earnings on Wednesday. The Atlanta-based carrier could eke out a small adjusted profit for the three-month period, based on analysts' projections.

Other News Sources

• Rail station work endsA £1m project which has led to the transformation of a train station in an Oxfordshire village has been completed.

• Peer requested transport moveThe architect of the Government's education reforms has insisted it was his choice to be moved from his role as schools minister.

• Airports see 5% fall in passengersBritain's leading airports handled 5% fewer passengers than a year ago in September as the financial crisis began to bite.
• Ferry industry prepares for £1 billion of investmentThe ferry industry will invest more than £1 billion in its infrastructure over the next few years.
• 85% are confident T3 opening will go smoothlyThe opening of the new Terminal 3 at Dubai International Airport, which begins in phases on Tuesday, will go smoothly, according to a large majority of
• Now, a laptop with details of 150,000 UK railway workers is stolenLondon, Oct.13 : A leading rail union called today for an urgent inquiry after a laptop containing personal details of 150,000 workers in the industry was stolen.
• Household transport in 2007A National Statistics Publication for Scotland.
• Eco-friendly designCitroën is introducing a new approach to eco-friendly design by exploring the viability of a production model based on its popular C-Cactus concept car.
• Cars get greenerThe Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has announced the largest ever reduction in the environmental impact of vehicles produced by the car manufacturing industry.
• Driver invents brake light-testing deviceA newly-designed device enables truck drivers to check their brake lights before...
• Heritage railway under threat from developerThe Sittingbourne and Kemsley light railway is due to close on 26 December, and an early pre-stressed concrete viaduct destroyed, unless parts of the land can be protected from redevelopment into a shopping centre.
• Europe set to take a tougher line on aviation emissionsThe European Parliament could take a harder line on aviation emissions under a wholesale overhaul of the European Union emissions trading scheme. The...
• Carnival curbs fuel chargesCARNIVAL Corporation will pull back on fuel surcharges as oil prices fall.
• Freight association: TIF bid would hurt logistics industryThe Freight Transport Association has claimed the region’s £2.7bn Transport Innovation Fund bid could “damage the economic future of Greater Manchester.”