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

Friday, 24 October 2008

BBC News

• BAA in Heathrow rail link callThe British Airports Authority (BAA) is calling for a high-speed rail link to Heathrow to complement a third runway at the west London airport.
• House of Commons: BBC videoTransport Questions
• Hope raised for school bus safetyFamilies of schoolchildren killed or injured in school bus accidents in the north east of Scotland hope for progress after meeting their local MSP.
• TfL takes back Metronet workersThousands of workers from the failed Tube maintenance firm Metronet will be brought back by Transport for London by the end of the year, it was announced.
• Chrysler cuts jobs as sales slowChrysler is to cut 1,825 jobs in the US as the global slowdown takes its toll on the car industry.
• Airlines hit fresh turbulenceMajor airlines US Airways and Air France-KLM have reported severe losses as a result of the current economic crisis.
• Opec to discuss oil output cutsThe oil producers' cartel Opec meets in Vienna to discuss possible production cuts as it tries to shore up falling prices.
• Virgin probes jet-safety postingsAirline Virgin Atlantic launches an inquiry into claims some of its own staff criticised safety standards on a website.

Department for Transport

• Written Ministerial statement - publication of Rail Accident Investigation Branch reporthe Secretary of State for Transport (Mr. Geoff Hoon): I would like to inform the House that the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) has today published its final report on the rail accident which occurred near Grayrigg in Cumbria on 23 February 2007

Financial Times

• Oil markets bet against Opec output cutInvestors are betting against Opec successfully cutting enough oil production to counteract the global economic slowdown as the cartel appears deeply divided about how to respond to tumbling prices
• Check missed on rail crash pointsA missed safety inspection could have picked up the deteriorating condition of points that caused a fatal rail accident last year and Network Rail needs to do more to...
• Strong demand drives Go-AheadGo-Ahead, the public transport group, said bus and rail passenger numbers were still increasing in spite of the impending recession. The only softening it had seen in...
• Stobart sees opportunitiesThe group expects to hit its target for full-year profits, with its chief executive believing it can now pick up business from new and existing customers

The Guardian

• Tories under fire over plans for 'unnecessary' high-speed rail routeTory plans to replace a third runway at Heathrow airport with a high-speed rail line were dealt a blow yesterday after a government adviser said passenger demand for 180mph train journeys might be too low.
• Climate change targets deal could include aviation and shipping emissionsEd Miliband, the climate change secretary, is close to reaching an agreement on toughening his legally binding climate change targets by promising to take into account emissions from shipping and aviation. He is also expected to include a commitment that by 2012 businesses will be required to report annually on their carbon emissions. Business is responsible for 30% of total emissions. Miliband was praised by environmentalists last week when he increased the UK legal target to cut the greenhouse gas emissions target from 60% to 80% by 2050. Miliband said he was responding to evidence that the ...
• Big Chinese companies join climate groupOne of China's biggest companies will today become the first state-controlled business in the country to join an international agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions.The powerful Climate Group will announce three Chinese members, including the majority state-owned China Mobile, which has 420 million customers and is one of the country's 10 biggest companies. It is the world's biggest mobile phone operator.The other two companies are Suntech, the world's third largest solar energy supplier, which is listed on the New York stock exchange, and privately owned Broad Air Conditioning, the leadin...

The Independent

• BA boss digs in for long haulFew businessmen are as exposed to collapsing demand and high energy prices as Willie Walsh, chief executive of British Airways. Yet Jeremy Warner finds him in resilient mood, determined to take the opportunities for consolidation he thinks the economic downturn is certain to bring
• Network Rail safety errors exposed A catalogue of Network Rail (NR) safety management shortcomings were exposed today in a final report into last year's Cumbria rail crash.
• Network Rail criticised over fatal train crashThe failure of Network Rail, owner of the UK's rail infrastructure, to properly construct a section of track and to carry out safety checks as scheduled caused a train derailmentin Cumbria last year in which one passenger died and dozens wereseriously injured, the Rail Accident Investigation Board (RAIB) has found.
• Rebels to force climate change Bill concessionsMinisters are preparing concessions to head off a Labour rebellion over plans to exclude aviation and shipping from new targets to cut Britain's carbon emissions.

The Scotsman

• Airline probe over net claimsAn airline has launched disciplinary action amid claims flight crew criticised its safety standards on a social networking website.

The Telegraph

• Stobart says trucking volumes holding upStobart, the trucking company that has spawned a fan club, said it was seeing no signs of any fall in volumes in the current downturn as it delivered a maiden first-half profit of £11m pre-tax.
• Canal 'traffic jam' as 100 narrowboats left stranded by trailer falling off bridgeBritain's strangest traffic jam left more than 100 narrowboats on a canal trapped bow to stern after a trailer toppled off a nearby bridge.
• Police numbers fall as cameras kicked outThe growing use of speed cameras to replace traffic police should be reversed the AA said in a call to
• Drivers face rise in price of petrolMotorists have been warned that the price of petrol could rise by up to 5 pence a litre after members of the OPEC oil cartel threatened to cut production.

Times Online

• Swindon branded 'reckless' for speed camera banRoad safety groups have accused Swindon council of experimenting with people’s lives today after the town became the first in the UK to abolish speed cameras.

Daily Express

• Little to hail for black-cabs makerA DROP in sales as taxi drivers suffer from fuel and mortgage costs will send

Daily Record

• Network Rail blamed for Cumbria rail crash in which Glasgow woman diedRAIL infrastructure company Network Rail (NR) incorrectly set up points that failed causing last year's Cumbria train derailment in which a Glasgow woman died, an official accident report said today.

Mail Online

• Speed cameras face the end of the road: Towns join rush to ditch money-making machines Towns all over the country are joining the rush to get rid of fixed speed cameras. Portsmouth, Walsall and Birmingham may copy Swindon in ripping out the hated cameras, and others could follow.

Network Rail

• NETWORK RAIL RESPONDS TO RAIB's GRAYRIGG ACCIDENT REPORT (NW)

Transport Briefing

• Council lobbies for light rail project reinstatementBarking and Dagenham Council says it will fight the Mayor of London's decision to hold back funding for the Docklands Light Railway extension project to Dagenham Dock.
• Grayrigg train derailment report published by RAIBThe Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) has released its final report into the Pendolino train derailment at Grayrigg, Cumbria, on 23 February 2007.

Birmingham Post

• Wolverhampton MP calls for nationalisation of railwaysThe nationalisation of the banks should be followed up by re-nationalising the railways, an MP has claimed.
• Time running out to save Walsall to Wolverhampton rail linkThe Government has been urged to intervene and save rail services between Walsall and Wolverhampton, which are set to close in December.
• Birmingham A38 Tyburn Road bus lane would cost £250,000 to removeThe cost of removing a bus lane from one of Birmingham’s busiest commuter routes which has been out of action for four years, could be more than £250,000 and force the city council to hold an expensive public inquiry, it has been claimed.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Capital rail trips are UK's bestRAIL passengers have named two train journeys which start and end in the Capital as among the UK's most scenic.

Journal Live

• Council boss's fury as airport hushes up dealNEWCASTLE MP Jim Cousins last night threatened to raise in Parliament the secret deal between Newcastle Airport and its former chief.
• Alistair Darling urged to upgrade North roadsCHANCELLOR Alistair Darling is being urged to use public spending to upgrade vital roads during the economic downturn.

Metro

• Checks failure blamed for Cumbria rail crashFailures in track maintenance by Network Rail led to last year's Cumbria train crash in which one person died and scores were hurt, an official report concluded.

Newcastle Journal

• How to get extreme milage from ordinary carsImagine a car race where the winner isn't the fastest, but the one who drives most efficiently – welcome to the world of

Sheffield Telegraph

• Faster rail links from SheffieldLIGHT is at the end of the tunnel for Sheffield rail passengers frustrated by engineering delays - with the launch of the city's fastest-ever services to London just weeks away.

The News (Portsmouth)

• We'll run our own speed cameras say city chiefsPortsmouth looks set to pull out of Hampshire's speed camera partnership “ but it won't mean the end of the fixed camera.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Scots bid to lead way over school bus safetyScotland could be used to pilot a US-style ban on drivers overtaking stationary school buses following the deaths of two young pupils, it was revealed last night.
• PUSHING FOR BAN ON OVERTAKINGOnly days ago, UK Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon rejected similar calls for an overtaking ban. He claimed it was not the best option for dealing with the problem, but it was not clear what he thought the best option was.
• Minister to meet parents of tragic bus-death pupilsTransport Minister Stewart Stevenson will meet the families of two north-east pupils killed on their way home from school to discuss the issue of school bus safety.

The York Press

• Private aviation fears in spotlight at airfield inquiry THE inquiry into the future development of Elvington Airfield has heard private aircraft would not be pushed out by commercial aviation if the scheme goes ahead.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Leeds airport boss's £6m case settled out of courtTHE chief executive of Leeds Bradford International Airport has reached an out-of-court settlement with his former employer over a £6m High Court case.
• Leeds engineers build supercarEngineers from a University of Leeds spinout company have played a major role in the next attempt to break the land speed record, it has been announced.

Northants Evening Telegraph

• Anger at setback for new stationA delay to the opening of Corby's new railway station has been met with anger by people in the town and other train users.

Peterborough Telegraph

• £1.5m bid to make rural routes safeNorfolk County Council is one of four authorities nationwide set to receive £1.5m of government funding to trial ways of making rural roads safer.
• Road plans on track for early startWork to complete the dualling of a major East Anglian road remains on course for an early start, Transport Minister Geoff Hoon has said.
• Airport aims to attract more airlinesNorwich International Airport is in talks with a number of airlines in a bid to boost the number of flights it handles.

Reading Evening Post

• Bus passengers travelling across town face changeBus passengers wanting to travel direct across town from Tilehurst to Lower Earley could be forced to change in Reading town centre under new timetable proposals.

The Shields Gazette

• Council quiet over airport pay dealSOUTH Tyneside Council today remained tight-lipped over a secret deal between Newcastle International Airport and its former chief.

Railnews

• News: First contract for £425 million Reading project WESTINGHOUSE Rail Systems, part of Invensys Rail Group, has won a contract that will kick start Network Rail’s ambitious £425 million plan to modernise and remodel the Reading station area.
• News: Recycling award for Tube Lines TUBE Lines has won the Waste Management Initiative in the Commercial and Public Sector award in recognition of its commitment to reduce material consumption and landfill waste disposal.
• News: Grayrigg crash points were left in ’unsafe’ condition, says official report A FAILURE to properly maintain and check a set of faulty points led to the derailment of a Pendolino train travelling at 95mph on the West Coast route in Cumbria, a full report into the crash confirms.

Aviation Industry

• Public transport review 'needed'A "radical review" of bus links has been called for in a British town, according to a source.
• BAA Heathrow™s bloomin™ marvellous awardsBAA has been given two coveted London in Bloom awards for its landscaping work at Heathrow Airport. The award was judged by a regional panel who looked at the approach roads to the airport in particular...

Other News Sources

• Allowing Commuters to Offset Their Emissions [USA]Drivers who commute by car between New York and New Jersey can assuage their guilt by buying credits from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to offset their vehicles’ carbon emissions.
• Council says car ban needed to unclog cityA PERMANENT ban on cars crossing Dublin city centre may have to be introduced to avoid the city grinding to a halt, a new report from Dublin City Council has warned.
• ’AIRPORT PLAN JUST AN INDUSTRIAL ESTATE’OPPONENTS of a £25 million plan to redevelop Carlisle Airport say the proposals could create an “industrial estate” in open countryside.
• Trend towards rental in van fleet sectorVan fleet operators are increasingly turning to long-term rental deals to get assets off their balance sheet and into cash reserves as the credit crunch takes hold, according to TLS Vehicle Rental.
• EU states discuss cross-border enforcementNew transport secretary Geoff Hoon has told the European Commission that a directive covering cross-border enforcement of road safety laws must not mean the UK surrenders its data protection rules.
• Call for lorry overtaking ban on A14Cambridgeshire Chamber of Commerce wants a ban on trucks overtaking above 45mph on certain stretches of the A14 in the county in order to ease congestion.
• Cotswolds lorry ban gets the go-aheadLorries above 7.5 tonnes will be banned from parts of the Cotswolds from next year in a trial designed to reduce congestion in an area of outstanding natural beauty.
• North Carolina Rental Car Offers Help with Economic CrisisRecognizing the tight budgets customers face this holiday season Triangle Rent A Car offers car rental as an alternative to the airlines.
• Climate change gets gender perspectiveWomen transport workers this week put a gender slant on the issue of climate change.
• Stobart makes £11m profit in six monthsStobart Group has posted pre-tax profits of £11m for the six months to August on revenues of £199.2m. Rodney Baker-Bates, Stobart Group chairman, says that the current economic climate is not affecting the company's volumes.
• Purchase of ELI may cost Wincanton up to €15mWincanton has acquired German warehousing and transport specialist business ELI.
• Wincanton to provide construction consolidationWincanton is offering to set up consolidation centres across the UK for construction companies.
• Pirate raids gain in cheekPIRATES have shifted to broad-daylight attacks from night assaults, according the Piracy Reporting Centre of the IMB.
• Transatlantic lifts its profitsSTRONG performances in both business segments lifted net profits for shipowner Transatlantic, the Swedish offshore and industrial shipping group, by 23% to 203M kroner.
• Body scans criticised as degradingEuropean Parliament voices concerns about privacy and the health risks posed by a new, proposed airport-security measure.
• EU clinches deal on promoting clean road transportThe European Parliament has endorsed a Commission proposal to make public authorities use 'green' criteria, including energy consumption and CO2 and pollutant emissions, when procuring vehicles for public transport fleets.
• Lorries ban to end road chaosLorries ban to end road chaos

EIN News Subscription

• £300 million train project shunts scenic cycle path asideA POPULAR cycle path along a disused railway line has closed as part of the £300 million Bathgate to Edinburgh railway project.

Other Subscription Services

• Brown comes under fire for UK ports tax 'blunder'UK PRIME Minister Gordon Brown came under attack from the Conservatives today for “blundering” into a £33m tax hike on British ports.
• Diminishing credit leads to shrinking ship sizesBANKS, unwilling to provide letters of credit, have forced shipowners to ditch expectations of fixing larger vessels.
• Masters told to re-route to avoid pirate attacksSHIP operators ask masters to keep away from Suez Canal to evade risk of piracy in Somali waters.