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

Monday, 10 November 2008

BBC News

• Why container ships may downsizeThe Box is a year-long project for BBC News to tell the story of international trade and globalisation by tracking a standard shipping container as it travels the world.
• Rail work during festive periodSignalling work will result in no train services from Glasgow Central high level between 26 and 30 December, Network Rail has said.
• Rail delays during track upgradeTrain passengers on a stretch of the East Coast Mainline in the East Midlands are being advised to allow extra time for their journeys.
• Free travel for war veterans [video]Mayor Boris Johnson has honoured his pledge to allow war veterans free travel on public transport in London.
• Hoon backs speed camera overhaulTransport secretary Geoff Hoon says traditional speed cameras could be replaced with

Financial Times

• Price comparison shows how the air taxis fareAir taxi operators, whether in business already or about to be, push the idea that using their services can permit greater efficiency by allowing more meetings to be squeezed into one day, especially in places ill-served by the airlines. Saving time by avoiding long check-in and security queues when using smaller airports is another bonus.
• Shipowners cut their losses by scrapping deals for new vesselsShipowners are forfeiting tens of millions of dollars to cancel contracts to buy vessels rendered uneconomic by one of the industry's sharpest ever downturns.
• Default threat puts skids under transport authorities [USA]Public transport agencies in big US cities are seeking help from the government to avoid default and billions of dollars of payments on leasing contracts that have soured amid problems at AIG and monoline bond insurers, Nicole Bullock writes from New York .

The Guardian

• Boris Johnson: Diplomats deserve asbo for London congestion charge snubBoris Johnson has criticised the US ambassador to Britain for failing to pay any congestion charges in London for the last three years and said he would "slap an asbo" on him if it wasn't for the Geneva convention.
• Critics of third Heathrow runway say passenger data backs their caseOpponents of the proposed third runway at Heathrow have pounced on transfer passenger data claiming it undermines the case for expanding Britain's largest airport. The figures show a rise in the proportion of foreign transfers, which do not directly benefit the UK economy.
• Shipshape, green and Bristol-fashionBristol is today crowned as the UK's most sustainable city, knocking Brighton and Hove off the top spot. It heads a table of 20 British cities drawn up by experts who looked at indicators such as environmental performance, quality of life and readiness for challenges ahead. Brighton is second, followed by Plymouth, Newcastle and Cardiff. Hull props up the table while Liverpool, Birmingham, Glasgow and Wolverhampton are also in the bottom five. The table and report are compiled by the sustainable development group Forum for the Future and are designed to help city leaders and citizens assess ho...

The Independent

• Connections 'fuelling Heathrow growth' The growth in passenger numbers at Heathrow Airport is fuelled by international connections and not visitors to the UK, the Tories claimed today.

The Telegraph

• Averagespeed cameras could replace 'spot' cameras on Britain's roadsAveragespeed cameras could replace the 'spot' cameras which are more common on Britain's roads the transport secretary has suggested.

Times Online

• The flying car To Timbuktu by flying car: it sounds the most unlikely journey on earth; a sci-fi voyage from the pages of Jules Verne. But this is no fantasy. The car really flies. And the journey will become reality early in the new year when two explorers set off from London in a propeller-powered dune buggy heading for the Sahara.

Transport Briefing

• Manchester Airport station third platform passes testThe first train has arrived at Manchester Airport station's new third platform, a month ahead of its official opening.
• Nexus to submit bid to itself to run Metro networkNexus, the passenger transport executive which owns the Tyne and Wear Metro, has invited bids for a contract to run the Metro network on its behalf.

Airwise News

• Towns up for £11.6m transport aidTransport schemes in Kent and Sussex will benefit from £11.6m of government cash if a bid by the South East England Regional Transport Board is successful.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Travellers urged to lighten load on airport staffPASSENGERS at Edinburgh Airport are being urged to pack lighter luggage.
• Most mums won't fold buggies to let my son on the busA MOTHER of a disabled child says she is often left standing at bus stops because parents refuse to fold their prams or buggies.
• 392 works on the road to nowhereTHE true scale of the congestion misery in the Capital is today revealed by figures showing that there are almost 400 sets of roadworks currently under way in the city.

London Evening Standard

• 100 jobs to go as TfL axes red route patrol contractTRANSPORT for London is to axe more than 100 workers days before Christmas, the Standard can reveal.
• BA hoisting fares 10% despite steep plunge in profitsA 10% increase in fares at British Airways sent shares in the flag carrier flying to the top of the FTSE 100 leaderboard today despite a staggering 91% slump in half-year pre-tax profits.
• Oyster cards on all rail lines in a year, vows BorisBORIS JOHNSON today announced plans to introduce the Oyster card onto the whole of London's rail network by the end of next year.

Manchester Evening News

• Station stops for congestion charge videoPICCADILLY station came to a standstill as 100 actors held freeze-frame for a 'vote yes to the congestion charge' video.
• Students to study tram timetable A-LEVEL English students have a new text to study alongside the classic works by literary greats - Manchester's tram timetable.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Plans for extra English rail services would have impact north of borderPlans which would extend train journey times from Aberdeen and Inverness to London have been branded “extremely alarming” by regional transport chiefs.
• Bus giant quizzed over double deckers on Inverness routeBus giant Stagecoach was challenged by local residents last night over their decision to use double deckers on an Inverness bus route.
• Alarm at shake-up of train servicesPlans which would extend train journey times from Aberdeen and Inverness to London have been branded œextremely alarming by regional transport chiefs.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Hilary Benn: 'I won't quit over plans for third runway'HILARY Benn will not quit Gordon Brown's cabinet if the Government approves a third runway at Heathrow.

Peterborough Telegraph

• British jobs 'at risk' after car giant's alarm callThousands of jobs at two UK car plants, including one at Luton, could be at risk following a warning from General Motors that it is running on empty.

International Herald Tribune

• Bicycle-sharing mania takes hold in EuropeIn increasingly green-conscious Europe, there are said to be only two kinds of mayors: those who have a bicycle-sharing program and those who want one.

Wall Street Journal

• Auto Makers Force Bailout IssueThe auto-industry crisis is forcing a broader debate over how far the government should go to prop up ailing industries.

Railnews

• News: Eurostar services delayed by saboteurs in France EUROSTAR high-speed services to and from London St Pancras have been seriously delayed following a spate of sabotage to electrified rail lines in France.

Transport for London

• London Buses seeks your views on S3 extensionLondon Buses is seeking the views of local residents and bus users on proposals to extend route S3 from Worcester Park Station to serve Malden Manor Station.
• Brand new bus station for BecktonTransport for London (TfL) will open a new bus station in Beckton today. Designed to create a pleasant and safe environment for bus users, the new station will feature four well lit bus shelters and 24-hour digital CCTV.

Aviation Industry

• Cycling on the up in New YorkNew York's Department of Transportation says cycling levels in the city have doubled since 2002.
• Government pull-out threatens Snowdonia Sherpa busesA project to encourage walkers and mountaineers on to public transport has been thrown into doubt by the sudden withdrawal of funding.
• MPs CALLED ON TO STOP AIRPORT EXPANSIONThe current recession is reducing flying, and the aviation industry – like others – is clearly in difficulties. But the Government has not called a halt to airport expansion, despite the fact that this conflicts directly with its own policies on climate change. Dr Hazel Dawe has contacted all of Kent’s MPs calling upon them to urge an end to airport expansion at Rochester, Manston and Lydd as well as at Heathrow.

Other News Sources

• Calls to invest in Leyland stationRail bosses have come under fire from angry passengers who are calling for major investment at Leyland Railway Station.
• Rail service faces axe under new ruleA train service between Brighton and Hove could be axed under a new contract.
• Eddie Stobart poised to buy Southend AirportMAJOR transport company the Stobart Group, is poised to take over Southend Airport.
• Report says low-cost air carriers could profit from the global recessionJane Wardell, The Associated Press November 9, 2008 - 10:36 p.m. LONDON - The international tourism industry faces a tough year in 2009, but low-cost travel operators could be the big winners from th...