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

Sunday, 04 January 2009

Financial Times

• Stobart views straitened times as opportunity Stobart Group, the haulage company famous for its green-liveried trucks and uniformed drivers, is one of the few businesses that views the current economic uncertainty as an opportunity rather than a threat to its future

The Telegraph

• 'Supercouncils' given power to impose road taxes Congestion charges and workplace parking fees could be imposed by unelected quangos under proposed laws.
• Rail bosses accused of 'ripping off' passengers Rail firms which have increased fares by up to 11 per cent are making a combined profit of £330 million in only six months.

Times Online

• Voters to make Labour MPs payLabour faces losing four out of six marginal seats to the Tories in west London following the controversy surrounding the expansion of Heathrow.
• BAA emission controls fail to halt airport breaching pollution limitsBAA, the airport operator, has failed to control pollution levels around Heathrow while pushing for a third runway and more flights.
• Heathrow train plan to allay environmental fearsAn international rail interchange could be built at Heathrow to compensate for the environmental harm caused by a new third runway at the airport, the transport minister Lord Adonis has indicated.

Journal Live

• Passengers face weekend delays as train fares riseRail travellers in the North East have been hit by a New Year double whammy, with increased fares and weekend service disruption.

Liverpool Echo

• Call for government to limit rail ticket risesA rail passenger lobby group is calling on the government to limit fare rises during the current recession.
• Council in red for transport costsTransport costs at a Merseyside council are being reviewed after the service fell into the red for the third year running.

London Evening Standard

• Disruption warning over Thameslink workRail bosses warned passengers to prepare for nearly three years of disruption as work on the £5.5billion Thameslink upgrade gets under way

Manchester Evening News

• Rail delays set to continueRail passengers face a weekend of delays as a busy train line remains closed following a fatal air crash.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Transport solutions on way The north-east™s transport system could be facing its biggest year of development yet, according to regional transport body Nestrans.
• Figures reveal high death toll of cyclistsThe number of cyclists killed on Aberdeenshire roads is higher than anywhere else in the country.

The York Press

• Passengers™ fury at train fare hikeTrain passengers at York Station have hit out at inflation-busting rail fare hikes.
• Cheaper petrol prices due to fall in the price of crude oilFuel prices have fallen to their lowest in York for almost four years “ but experts have warned that diesel could start to rise again because of the cold winter weather.
• York drivers braced for Black MondayA Black Monday is looming for motorists in York and North Yorkshire, with experts predicting icy roads, a record number of breakdowns and new roadworks misery.

Sunderland Echo

• Three hurt in A19 crashThree people were taken to hospital after a car crash on the A19.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Ministers to press ahead with spy-in-the-sky road pricing plansTrials of road pricing technology that uses satellites to monitor vehicles are to continue despite concerns about the scheme.According to the Daily Mail, a £10 million trial of so-called 'spy-in-the-sky' congestion charging technology will go ahead and test runs will be carried out in seven locations.

Other News Sources

• Beijing bans heavy-polluting carsOne in ten cars in Beijing have been banned from entering the city centre in a bid to reduce the city’s pollution. The 350,000 banned vehicles are responsible for half of the notorious auto pollution in China’s capital.
• Inflation link to rail fare 'must be ditched'Ministers are today facing mounting pressure to scrap inflation-linked rail fare increases