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

Monday, 16 February 2009

BBC News

• Fury at plans to axe ticket hoursUnion leaders have criticised plans to cut ticket office opening hours in National Express stations across the North East.
• City tram scheme back on agendaLong-held plans for a multi-million pound tram system in and around Swansea are back on the agenda.
• Rail help points 'still faulty'Emergency help points at 22 unstaffed railway stations in West and South Yorkshire are not working, a BBC investigation has found.
• Juicy row: Council clashes with energy firm over 'juice' trademarkAn energy company is urged to withdraw its threat to sue a London council for calling its recharging posts for electric cars
• 850 jobs go at Mini car factoryBMW confirms 850 jobs are to go at the Cowley car plant, which makes the Mini, as weekend working is scrapped after falling sales.

Financial Times

• Detroit looks to revive used-car marketThere is a glimmer of hope for the auto industry as the sales of second-hand cars are increasing in the US and Europe, indicating that the market is recovering slightly
• Obama drops idea of 'car czar'President Barack Obama has decided to form a government task force to oversee the restructuring of the struggling US auto industry instead of naming a ``car czar'' with sweeping powers
• Rail operators at crossroads as revenues fallThe UK rail industry is starting to show vulnerability to the downturn, but companies' attempts to protect profits and cut costs are likely to risk alienating their best customers

The Guardian

• High-speed train plan goes off the rails [letters]There is much more to criticise in the government's rail deal with Hitachi than the fact that it appears to take jobs out of the country (Foreign jobs row erupts after £7.5bn 'super express' deal goes to Japanese-led consortium, 13 February).

The Herald

• Disgrace of Glasgow’s railway stationsA number of recent letters to The Herald have dealt with various options to link rail access across Glasgow city centre so passengers can avoid having to go by road from Queen Street station to Central station or vice versa. I want to highlight a more basic situation that demands urgent remedial action.

The Independent

• BMW 'to shed 850 Mini workers'Unions were braced last night for cutbacks at Mini's car plant near Oxford, leading to hundreds of workers being laid off in the latest blow to the motor industry.

The Telegraph

• Drivers breaking the law because of complex car seat rules, survey showsMany parents and grandparents are unintentially breaking the law, because of complex car seat rules, a survey shows.
• Singapore queues for London buses National Express, the transport group, has been holding detailed talks about the sale of its London bus operations to one of Singapore's largest firms.

Times Online

• Aircraft technical problem is not ’extraordinary’The Fourth Chamber of the Court of Justice of the European Communities so ruled, inter alia, when giving a preliminary ruling under article 234 EC, pursuant to a reference by the Handelsgericht, Wien, Austria, on questions of interpretation of Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of February 11, 2004, establishing common rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of denied boarding and of cancellation or long delay of flights, and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 295/91 (OJ 2004 L46/1).
• Flights at risk as pilots refuse to accept 'demeaning' ID cardsThousands of flights could be cancelled in a dispute between pilots and the Government over the introduction of identity cards.
• Thousands of drivers with photo licence face fines of up to £1,000 More than 40,000 drivers risk fines of up to £1,000 because they have failed to renew their photocard driving licences.

Press Association

• Railway network 'damage' warningUnion leaders have warned the Government that lasting damage would be caused to the railway network if it did not intervene to stop train operators cutting thousands of jobs and services and increasing fares.
• Rail firm in ticket office rowAnother rail firm was embroiled in a row over ticket office opening hours when union leaders complained that passengers were being "short changed".

Reuters News

• National Express held talks on London bus opsLONDON (Reuters) - Transport operator National Express held talks to sell its London bus operations to Singapore's Comfort DelGro, the Sunday Telegraph said, citing sources close to the talks.

Transport Briefing

• East West Rail study shortlists five timetable optionsThree route options for the central section of the East West Rail Link have been put forward in a new study commissioned for the East West Rail Consortium.
• DfT sidelines ROSCOs with Super Express train orderBritain's three rolling stock leasing companies look set to play a smaller role in the UK rail industry following the government's selection of the Agility Trains consortium as preferred bidder to deliver a new fleet of inter-city trains.
• Bombardier completes revamp of Virgin Super VoyagersRolling stock manufacturer Bombardier has completed a refurbishment of the Super Voyager fleet operated by Virgin Trains.
• Cycling City plans outlined for Bristol and South GlosBristol and South Gloucestershire councils have announced the plans that will be taken forward following Bristol's designation as the UK's first cycling city.
• London-Glasgow train journey falls to 4 hours 10 minsTrain journey times between London and Glasgow will be cut by nearly half an hour with the introduction today (16 February) of the fastest ever daily rail schedule linking the two cities.

Birmingham Post

• MPs demand railways must be better managedNetwork Rail must be forced to improve after delays on the West Coast Main Line proved it was poorly managed, MPs have demanded.
• Ministers should keep their hands of Network RailThere’s no organisation quite like Network Rail. It’s a private company created by the Government which does not make profits but is run as an independent business. It’s also responsible for one of the most important public services in the country, the rail network.

Derby Telegraph

• Cross-party support for campaign to win rail contract for city worksLEADERS of Derby's political parties are backing an Evening Telegraph campaign aimed at safeguarding jobs in the city.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Bridge opponents voice their concernsA PUBLIC meeting to discuss opposition to the proposed second Forth road bridge is to be held in South Queensferry.

Journal Live

• Ticket office hours to be cut at North East rail stationsBUSY rail stations in the North East are to have their ticket office opening hours cut. National Express East Coast are to slash the opening times at Newcastle and Durham Stations

London Evening Standard

• Cyclists let down by crushed glass on icy roadsA council has been criticised for using crushed glass to treat roads during the snowy weather.
• Ticket office hours cut as rail firm struggles to pay £1.4bn franchiseNational Express is to reduce ticket office opening hours on the East Coast Main Line to save cash. King's Cross, one of the most heavily used stations in London, is among those to be affected.

Manchester Evening News

• Anger at streetlight planTOWN hall bosses are planning to turn off street lights to save money.
• Station calls time on kissingRAIL stations and romantic farewells go hand-in-hand. Tearful clinches as the train prepares to leave - immortalised by Trevord Howard and Celia Johnson in the classic film Brief Encounter - have always pulled at the heart-strings. But not at Warrington Bank Quay Station, it seems.

Metro

• Pilots used as 'guinea pigs' over ID cardsAirline pilot leaders today accused the government of using airport workers as 'guinea pigs' for identity cards and warned they would not co-operate with the scheme.

The York Press

• Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Leader of The Opposition David Cameron back our road safety campaign THE Press™s Live, Now Drive Later campaign has won backing from the very top.

Wales Online

• Belgian success gives wings to Cardiff airport’s expansion plansBOSSES at Cardiff International Airport are in talks with the Assembly Government to see if it can be expanded to offer more flights and compete with Bristol.
• Hopes for take-off of airport expansion schemeEXECUTIVES at Cardiff International Airport are in advanced talks with the Assembly Government to secure “significant” funding for the airport’s expansion, the Western Mail can reveal.

Peterborough Telegraph

• Port in talks over job loss fearsOne of the region's ports has confirmed it is in discussions with unions over potential job losses.

Reading Evening Post

• ’New trains will be great news for town’Labour Parliamentary hopeful Anneliese Dodds has welcomed the announcement Reading will be home to a rail depot for new Super Express trains on the Great Western line.

International Herald Tribune

• Obama confronts a choice on coptersPresident Barack Obama, who slammed executives for traveling by jet, will soon have to decide whether to proceed with an expensive new fleet of presidential helicopters.

Wall Street Journal

• Obama Will Not Name 'Car Czar'The Obama administration will not name a

Aviation Industry

• Aptera 2e [USA]An exclusive drive of an aerodynamically slick electric vehicle that looks to change the world, three wheels at a time.
• Airlines Say They WANT Global Warming GuidelinesConsortium Of Carriers Says Industry Needs To Be Included In UN Climate Change Talks Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change statistics show that the air transport industry causes only about two percent of CO2 emissions worldwide.

Other News Sources

• Croydon tram travels one million kilometresA Croydon tram has set an extraordinary record and travelled the equivalent distance of going to the moon and back three times.
• Surge in rail travel hits a new recordA HUGE rise in the number of passengers using trains from Dingwall means the town's station is now the busiest North of Inverness.
• The EU takes on the pirates, but who’s winning?The European Union is keen to help fight piracy in the Straits of Malacca and the waters of Singapore, the bloc’s maritime-affairs commissioner told Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa), just before a maritime watchdog group issued a warning to international seafarers of an increasing number of pirate attacks off the Somalia coast as a Japanese-owned cargo ship was released after three months in captivity
• Synthetic fuels: New hope for the EU energy sectorAn increase in greenhouse gasses, exhaust emissions and their consequences on climate change have led to a call for action on a sustainable alternative energy policy. The subject of the Alliance for Synthetic Fuels in Europe (ASFE’s) EU Sustainable Energy Week Conference was therefore the role of synthetic fuels as a clean alternative to conventional sources of energy. The third edition of EUSEW – Europe’s leading event on energy issues – took place in Brussels and also in other cities across Europe between February 9-13 as an umbrella conference for “Securing Sustainable Energy for Transport.”
• Swindon to get £150m to improve transportSWINDON is set to receive a massive transport boost after £150m was allocated to improve transport throughout the town and beyond.
• Comfort may buy UK bus firmLONDON - BRITISH transport operator National Express has been holding talks to sell its London bus operations to Singapore's Comfort DelGro
• Pilots oppose ID cards planLeaders of airline pilots have stepped up their opposition to identity cards, warning the Government of growing anger that airport workers are to be used as "guinea pigs" for the controversial scheme.
• First bid hopes for Orbital railwayRailway enthusiasts hoping to create a Norfolk orbital railway, which could take in Wymondham, have set their sights on what could be their first purchase of track bed - but they want help keeping the price down.
• Mid Norfolk Railway's steam dreamMore than 120 years after the first railways brought rail travel to Norfolk, a steam renaissance is gripping the county's longest - and shortest - preservation railway lines.
• Oyster deal lights touchpaper for new tech makeoverCubic Transportation Systems and EDS - which were part of the TranSys consortium - will take over the "future management and development of the Oyster card system and other ticketing services" from 2010.
• Motorists 'planning to buy cars'Motorists 'planning to buy cars'