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

Monday, 01 December 2008

BBC News

• Talks held over bus strike actionBoth sides in a pay dispute at First Bus in Aberdeen are due to holds talks with concilation service ACAS.
• Ryanair in new Aer Lingus offerThe budget airline Ryanair makes a fresh 748m euro ($950m; £619m) takeover offer for the Irish flag-carrier Aer Lingus.

Financial Times

• Volvo and Saab ask Sweden for aidGeneral Motors and Ford want to bolster the two marques' finances in anticipation of selling them as the Detroit carmakers grapple with a cash crunch
• Ryanair launches fresh bid for Aer LingusEurope's largest low-cost airline issued a new all-cash offer to buy Irish rival Aer Lingus, offering €1.40 ($1.81) for each share of the former state airline

The Guardian

• Phones and hangovers distract drivers, studies showChatting on a hands-free phone is more distracting to drivers than a conversation with a passenger, researchers have found. Drivers were more likely to drift out of their lane and miss a right turning if they were using a hands-free set, than if they were talking to someone sat in the car or not speaking at all, a study reveals. The finding builds on recent work that suggests younger people's reactions become as slow as those of pensioners if they are talking on a hands-free set while driving.David Strayer, at the University of Utah, used a driving simulator to see how conversations affected p...

The Independent

• Road users 'Needlessly killed' by mobile callers Road users are still being "needlessly killed" through the flouting of mobile phone rules five years after they were introduced, accident prevention chiefs said today.
• Port workers to strike Hundreds of workers at one of the country's busiest ports are to stage a fresh round of strikes in a row over the outsourcing of jobs.

The Telegraph

• Climate Change questions and answersAs part of the Climate Change Act the Government has committed the UK to long term targets and carbon budgets to cut emissions.
• Train fares cost more than under British RailTrain fares cost more under the privatised rail system than they did under British Rail it has emerged.

Times Online

• Commuting cost less under British Rail Commuters who were promised that privatisation would mean cheaper journeys will soon be paying more in real terms than they did in the days of British Rail.
• Car Clinic Q Has the government’s plan to increase road tax for cars registered before 2006 been ditched in the wake of last week’s pre-budget announcement? I own an Alfa Romeo Spider 3 litre 24v dating from 2006 and am worried that the tax could double from £210 per year. — TM from Appin, Argyll
• Scramble to cut emissions to avoid shaming Some of Britain's biggest companies are scrambling to try to reduce their carbon emissions before being named and shamed by the Government and being hit with a hefty bill.

Reuters News

• Climate body sets emissions targetsLONDON (Reuters) - Britain should commit to cutting greenhouse gas emissions by at least 34 percent by 2020, through greater energy efficiency, switching from fossil fuels to renewable sources like wind and using more nuclear power, the chief climate change adviser said on Monday.

Birmingham Post

• Campaign to save Walsall to Wolverhampton train serviceCampaigners have vowed to fight for the full reinstatement of a rail service which was axed by Government officials.

The News (Portsmouth)

• Airport is first with live travel detailsThe UK's first live travel information system has been launched at Southampton Airport, aimed at improving transport links to and from the airport.

Northants Evening Telegraph

• Plea to keep mobile safety cameras in NorthamptonshireRoad safety campaigners have hit out at proposals which could see mobile speed cameras withdrawn in Northamptonshire.

International Herald Tribune

• Owners of pirated Ukrainian freighter reach deal on ransomThe Somali pirates who captured the freighter more than two months ago have reached an agreement with the ship's owners on a ransom, a Kenyan maritime official said Sunday.

Other News Sources

• Merseyside rail passengers ’up 40% by 2020’Merseyside's rail network will be expanded to cope with soaring demand. Rail industry managers expect the number of people using Mersey trains to increase by up to 40% by 2020. Plans to cope with the surge include building a new station in Liverpool, introducing a new fleet of trains, extending platforms and increasing train frequency. Managers are also considering raising the speed on some lines to cut journey times and introducing a new route to Skelmersdale. Commuters are now being asked for their opinions on the proposals which are part of plans to improve links between Liverpool and north Wales, Chester, Southport, Ormskirk, Preston and Wigan.
• It's all change for Network RailNETWORK Rail is relocating its Swindon base to a £6m office space. More than 400 staff members will move from Milford House and Swindon 125 House to Western House, Holbrook Way, in March next year. The seven-storey 45,000sq ft glazed office block in the town centre is one of the most prominent buildings in Swindon. Network Rail has just completed the signing of the lease with Mark Roberts, of Loxton Developments Limited, this week. The office block, which was originally owned by Network Rail in the 1980s, is now being given a new lease of life. It has been completely refurbished. “About five years ago I looked at other buildings in Swindon but the town centre looked like it was going nowhere,” said Warwickshire-based developer Mr Roberts, who has owned the building since April 2007.
• Hoon backs electrification strategyThere are signs that the long drought in railway electrification since privatisation may soon be over. Around a third of Network Rail's 15 810 route-km is currently electrified, including 3 220 km at 25 kV 50 Hz and 1 995 km using 750 V DC third rail. Much of the overhead wiring was done in three bursts during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, but barely 50 km of track has been energised since 1995.
• Warning to rail firm over worksRail infrastructure company Network Rail (NR) can "re-establish public confidence" by ensuring there is no repeat of the engineering overruns which caused travel chaos last new year, rail regulators said. NR was fined a record £14 million by the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) for the late-running work which particularly affected the busy London to Scotland West Coast Main Line. Work on the West Coast line at Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire is included in another large tranche of engineering work NR is due to carry out this festive period.
• Christmas shoppers urged to use public transportShoppers are being encouraged to use public transport if planning a pre-Christmas trip to Dublin.Operation Freeflow is being launched in the city later today.It aims to keep Dublin moving in the busy ...
• Rail car monitoring firm Ionx acquires Salco TechWEST CHESTER — A company that has developed low-power, wireless monitoring systems for rail cars has announced its presence and done its first acquisition.
• West Coast ports continue cargo slideContainer cargo volumes moving through the five major West Coast ports continued to slip in October, with the collective ports shedding more than a million containers of volume so far this year. The ...
• Oil slides after Opec fails to agree cutsOil prices fell by more than dollar today after exporter countries within Opec failed to agree on production cuts at their weekend meeting in Cairo
• Climate change committee report dueThe committee set up to advise ministers on climate change will make recommendations on a series of emissions cuts, amid calls to further toughen UK action on global warming. The Committee for Climate Change, chaired by Adair Turner, will give its advice on what the UK's target should be for reducing emissions by 2020.
• Ryanair makes Aer Lingus bid Low-cost carrier Ryanair has revived its takeover interest in Dublin-based airline Aer Lingus.
• Airlines could be 'named and shamed'European commissioners ask airlines association to 'police' its members to end misleading price quotes.
• Reducing Road Traffic Noise “ Scientists Support Quieter TyresConcern over EU Parliament-backed report supporting weakened tyre standards.
• Chamber survey: 63 per cent against congestion chargingA member survey carried out by the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce shows 63 per cent of respondents are against congestion charging.
• Ofcom says congestion charge film breached its rulesBroadcasting regulator Ofcom has ruled that a television advertisement for the proposed Greater Manchester congestion charge was in breach of its guidelines.

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