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

Wednesday, 17 December 2008

BBC News

• Bus drivers given DNA spit kitsBus drivers in Wrexham are to be given spittle collection kits as part of a crackdown on anti-social behaviour.
• BAA told to sell three airportsThe Competition Commission says it wants BAA to sell Gatwick, Stansted and Edinburgh airports to improve competition.
• Third runway would 'drive coach and horses' through mayor's green plansBoris Johnson urges London assembly to join him in opposing controversial expansion of airport
• Rail works halt new early serviceAn early bird train service between north and south Wales was cancelled due to engineering works - only 24 hours after it was launched.
• Meetings over car parts job cutsMeetings are held over job losses at car components firms as a car maker suspends investment at a Welsh plant.
• Transport Dept plan 'incompetent'A Department for Transport cost-cutting scheme to save £57m has left taxpayers with an £81m bill, an MPs' report claims.
• Aer Lingus rejects Ryanair offerIrish airline Aer Lingus rejects a hostile 750m euro takeover bid from its rival Ryanair.
• Biggest car sales fall since 1999European new car sales dropped by 25.8% in November, figures show, as the economic downturn continues to hit the industry.

Department for Transport

• Transport Secretary renews focus on freightA new environmentally friendly approach to transporting freight was announced today, as Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon published a blueprint for working with and supporting the industry.
• Julian Lee re-appointed to the Advisory Board of the Maritime and Coastguard AgencyThe Secretary of State for Transport has re-appointed Julian Lee as a non-executive member of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) Advisory Board. The appointment will run until October 2011.
• Regular rail services resume after 25 year gapourly services connecting Nottingham and Leeds running again Regular services connecting Nottingham, Sheffield and Leeds have been brought back on line 25 years after the brakes were applied on the rail link, Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon announced today.

The Guardian

• Busiest train operator may reduce servicesritain's busiest train operator has warned it could seek a cut in services if the economic downturn hits demand for travel, amid mounting evidence the rail franchise model is under severe pressure. Keith Ludeman, chief executive of Go-Ahead, said he would consider cutting services on its Southern, Southeastern and London Midland franchises if conditions deteriorated.
• MPs and hauliers protest at three-month diversion for long and winding A303It is one of the UK's most well-known roads, often celebrated in song and forever associated with the start of the summer holidays for generations of travellers.

Times Online

• Car industry spluttering to halt as pleas for aid grow desperate The car industry is facing a national emergency, the Government has been warned, amid increasing pressure for a state bailout. Ministers have been told that immediate action is needed as companies run out of cash and stall production.
• Longer rail franchises proposed by Competition CommissionCompetition Commission says train operators should have 12 to 15 year franchise terms to encourage the purchase of new carriages

Transport Briefing

• Thameslink platform extensions completed at LutonThe first platform extensions for the Thameslink Programme have been completed at Luton Airport Parkway station.
• Notts reaffirms commitment to workplace parking levyNottingham City Council has said it will not suffer a similar fate to Manchester as its proposals for a workplace parking levy (WPL) are fairer and cheaper than a congestion charge.
• Alloa rail station usage twice as high as predictedThe number of passengers using the recently opened Alloa railway station is more than double estimates prior to the opening, according to a survey by the South East of Scotland Transport Partnership.

Belfast Telegraph

• 99 jobs to go at car parts company Almost 100 workers at a car components company are facing redundancy.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Maiden run for rail service between North and South WalesTHE new, faster and more comfortable train service between North and South Wales was launched yesterday.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Call for rethink of Scottish transport strategyBUSINESS leaders in the Capital are calling on the Scottish Government to rethink last week's strategic transport review.
• Bus travel protest gift for ministerCHRISTMAS came early for Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson when Santa presented him with a giant card and gifts.

Liverpool Echo

• Go-ahead on right trackA NEW alternative rail link connecting Liverpool with London will help transport group Go-Ahead achieve profit targets, it said in a trading update today.

London Evening Standard

• Benn is right to raise fears over Heathrow says MayorBORIS JOHNSON today praised Cabinet minister Hilary Benn for raising concerns over a third runway at Heathrow.

Manchester Evening News

• Plunging pound hits flightsTHE plunging pound as well as the economic crisis is hitting holidaymakers' plans for a Christmas getaway from Manchester Airport, new figures show.

Newcastle Journal

• Switch to biofuels boosts insect pestUS subsidies that encourage maize cultivation for transport fuels are also boosting populations of soybean aphid, say researchers

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Businessman™s ferry plans inspire hope for Nigg yardThe opposition SNP group on Highland Council is optimistic that the intervention of an Australia-based Scots entrepreneur could speed up attempts to resuscitate the largely dormant Nigg fabrication yard in Easter Ross.
• Aberdeen Airport report out any dayAberdeen Airport bosses are about to find out just what a watchdog wants them to do to improve the gateway™s competitiveness.
• MSPs press the government for timetable on road improvementsTHE Scottish Government is being pressed to come clean about when it plans to carry out major north and north-east road improvements.
• High hopes for improved rail linksTHERE are hopes that improved rail services between Perth and Edinburgh could boost business and tourism in the area.
• Delaying bridge work ˜could save millions™OPERATORS of the Forth Road Bridge have announced an investigation into whether it is possible to safely delay the project to replace its main expansion joints.
• ˜Back off™ warning “ on a bus near youA new road-safety initiative was launched in the north-east yesterday by bus firm Stagecoach.

This Is Local London Network

• Go-Ahead fares up as commuter boom endsThe boom on the commuter railways that come into the capital from the south is ending just as City workers are about to be hit with the biggest fare rises in years.

Peterborough Telegraph

• Competition watchdog set to repeat airports sale callCompetition chiefs are expected to stand by their decision to call for under-fire airport operator BAA to sell Gatwick and Stansted Airports.

Reading Evening Post

• Buses lose out on concessionary cashReading's bus company has missed out on hundreds of thousands of pounds in lost revenue due to a flaw in the National Concessionary Fares Scheme.

Sunderland Echo

• Rail boss steaming as scrap thieves walk freeA museum boss has lashed out after two scrap metal burglars who raided a historic landmark were spared jail.

West Sussex Gazette

• £3m given towards harbour's revampTHE Government has awarded £3m to support the regeneration of the Shoreham Harbour area.
• Row erupts as charity bus hit with £35 fineA CHARITY that provides transport for people with mobility problems has been slapped with a £35 parking fine.
• Save Our Signal Box petition pleaMORE than 2,300 people have signed a petition to save the historic signal box at Barnham Railway Station.

International Herald Tribune

• OPEC plans further output cutThe cartel will reduce its oil production by a further 2 million barrels a day, the Saudi oil minister said.
• European car sales plunged in NovemberSales slumped 39 percent at General Motors and 56 percent at Chrysler after the U.S. companies told Congress they were running out of cash.
• The U.S. railroad disability board that couldn't say noThe board, plagued by labor-management infighting and weak standards, approved nearly every single disability application it received last year.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Clearer direction needed on road pricing, expert claimsBritain needs to establish a clearer direction on road pricing and ensure that there is a level of consistency in initiatives developed for towns and cities across Europe, according to a specialist.Mike Waters, director of market insight at fleet and fuel manager Arval, suggests that timings, detection and payment methods for road charging schemes in the UK should be standardised and their objectives clarified.In an article for the Airdrie and Coatbridge Advertiser, he writes: "Road pricing is not yet commonplace so now is the time to establish some clear and consistent road pricing p...

Aviation Industry

• UK Railways Adopt a Single Format for Mobile Ticket BarcodesAn industry standard for the various UK railway operators to offer mobile phone based barcode tickets has been agreed between mobile applications developer, Masabi and the Rail Settlement Plan (RSP), the rail ticketing body jointly owned by UK train operating companies. The new open standard allows all mobile ticketing schemes to use a common secure barcode system, and also to be able to start accepting a single mobile ticket on a journey involving multiple rail operators.
• At Tesco's heels - Most admired transport sector companies 2008A list of the top 250 most admired companies in the UK has been assembled by Management Today. The full list contains only 10 transport companies, of which Stagecoach comes out on top in an impressive 6th position.
• United awarded best business classFlat, flat, flat. So you can sleep, sleep, sleep. United's new international premium cabins with true lie-flat bed seats Many airline seats that are considered
• Air France becomes the first airline to deploy Amadeus' new solution (press release)In today's market it is vital that airlines harness all available revenues and remove unproductive bookings. Against this backdrop, Amadeus has extended its revenue integrity portfolio with the launch of the Automated Ticketing Limits solution, which provides innovative flight firming features as it delivers real time assignment of ticketing time limits and instant prompts directly onto travel agents' desktops.

Other News Sources

• A year of progress amid challenging timesPD Ports, like many businesses has not been immune to the effects of the economic downturn. However as a region, the North-east seems not to have suffered as severely as many areas in the UK.
• Metro renovationHelsinki City Transport (HKL) has chosen German industrial giant Siemens to renovate its metro network.
• Electric car testA University of Florida partnership hopes to discover how clean, cheap and reliable electric-powered cars really are.
• Finally An Optimization Tool That Can Predict The Need For Public Transport Based On Real Time DataImagine being the manager of a taxi company and knowing that you always have enough taxis to meet demand without having taxi drivers hanging around ? The FDP system provides the answer to the supply and demand problem
• Doug on the digGordon Brown has pledged to spend his way out of recession and Crossrail executive chairman Douglas Oakervee looks set to be one of the biggest winners. He explains why the huge budget will be money well spent.
• 'Intelligent' transport systems driven forwardEU executive says overarching plan is needed to help increase use of smart technologies across the EU.
• MAG scraps sale of Humberside AirportManchester Airports Group (MAG) has failed to find a buyer for its stake in Humberside Airport.
• Business travellers' expense "retaliation" Frustrated travellers "boost" claims, reveals KDS read more