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

Monday, 09 March 2009

BBC News

• Airports 'to focus on passengers'Secretary of State for Transport Geoff Hoon has suggested giving the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) a primary duty towards passengers. Passenger Focus will be the advocate for air passengers' interests - it currently does so for bus and rail.
• Grant awarded for station revampA Greater Manchester railway station is to receive extra funding towards a £4m refurbishment of its public facilities. The Greater Manchester Integrated Transport Authority's (GMITA) announced it will give £950,000 towards improvements at Bolton railway station.
• Campaign against more bus stopsA campaign has been launched against council plans for more bus stops in an east London suburb - saying more stops will encourage anti-social behaviour.
• Plan to film bus lane car driversMotorists parking or driving in bus lanes in Bristol could find themselves caught on CCTV cameras and fined.
• Service boost for Alloa rail linkA new peak-time direct train service from Alloa to Edinburgh will begin in May, Transport Scotland have announced.
• High speed rail safety film shownA campaign has been launched to keep youngsters in Essex, Kent and London away from the high speed railway line.
• Osborne praises car workers' voteShadow chancellor George Osborne praises Jaguar Land Rover workers who voted for a pay freeze and shorter week to save jobs.
• Opel 'should consider insolvency'German carmaker Opel should consider insolvency instead of state aid, the country's interior minister has said.

Department for Transport

• Airports must put passengers first - Hoon Passengers' needs are to be put first under new measures designed to improve air passenger experience and the economic regulation of airports, unveiled today by Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon.

Financial Times

• Mandelson says Vauxhall is in 'trouble'UK business secretary in talks with German counterpart as London and Berlin debate whether to use state aid to preserve European subsidiaries of troubled General Motors
• BA loses investment grade ratingThe UK airline's long-term credit rating was downgraded to junk status by Standard & Poor's as it faces a second year of losses and shrinking cash reserves

The Independent

• Rural speed limits may be reduced to 50mph Speed limits on most single-carriageway roads in rural areas could be cut from 60mph to 50mph under a Government plan to cut the number of deaths in car accidents.

The Scotsman

• Rail engineering work 'deferred'A fresh row over spending on the railways erupted when the main rail workers' union claimed that essential engineering works was being deferred at almost 200 locations.

The Telegraph

• Lowering of speed limits could be policed by average speed cameras The lowering of speed limits from 60 mph to 50 mph on some of Britain's roads is likely to be policed by cameras that calculate drivers' average speed it has been revealed.

Times Online

• Recession leaves €85m of rail projects in sidingsA number of schemes, including the Metro North and West lines in Dublin, are expected to be left in limbo by next month’s mini-budget.
• Construction groups unveiled to build CrossrailConstruction industry sources say two American-led groups are regarded as slight favourites.
• Speed limit may be cut to 50mph on rural roads The speed limit may be cut from 60mph to 50mph on thousands of rural roads without any change to signs, leaving unsuspecting drivers at risk of prosecution.

Press Association

• Better facilities for air commutersPlans to improve the travelling experience for the millions of passengers who use UK airports were outlined by the Government.

Mail Online

• Speed limit on rural roads to be cut to 50mph Speed limit on rural roads to be cut to 50mph

The Mirror

• Network Rail to create 1,000 new jobs this yearAround 1,000 new jobs will be created this year as Network Rail chiefs start a £20billion overhaul of the ageing network.

Transport Briefing

• Transport research unit to study future travel optionsA £7.75m programme to create a transport research centre based at Imperial College London, University College London and the University of Leeds has been announced by the government.
• Cross Country and Ebbw Vale lift Arriva rail profitBus and train operator Arriva increased its profits by 30% last year, helped by taking over the Cross Country rail franchise from Virgin Trains.
• Transport Scotland to introduce new Alloa rail linkTrains on Scotland's recently reopened Stirling to Alloa rail link are to be extended during peak hours to provide direct connections between Alloa and Edinburgh.
• Initial bendy bus replacement to cost £3m a yearConverting the first three of London's articulated bus routes back to double and single decker operation could cost more than £3m a year, according to figures published by Transport for London.

Derby Telegraph

• Leaders from all walks of life condemn 'diabolical' decisionLEADING figures from the world of business, politics and the arts have signed an online petition calling on the Government to award a multi-billion-pound rail contract to Derby train-maker Bombardier.
• David Parsons asks Alistair Darling for Bombardier backingA SENIOR politician has urged Chancellor Alistair Darling to pass on concerns about the Government's decision to favour a Japanese train-maker over Bombardier for a £7.5billion UK rail contract.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Tram works at station fall six more weeks behind scheduleTRAM works at Haymarket Station have fallen at least another six weeks behind schedule, it has emerged.

Manchester Evening News

• Manchester to Leeds in 25 minutesRAIL journeys between Manchester and Leeds could be slashed to 25 minutes under plans for a `Crossrail of the North'. The region's MPs are understood to have met Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon to lobby for more cash and the plan is likely to be raised in Parliament by Manchester Blackley MP Graham Stringer on Monday night.

Metro

• ’Lives at risk’ in rail works delayLives will be put at risk because more than 200 essential rail engineering projects are being delayed to save money, a union says. The warning comes after plans to postpone works to replace rails in three regions were leaked.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Grandad in determined push for new A96 footpathA determined grandfather has started a door-to-door appeal to win wider support for his campaign for a footpath on a busy stretch of road where a pedestrian was killed earlier this year.

The York Press

• Profit ˜hypocrisy™ of bus company BUS operator First York has been accused of œhypocrisy after slashing services while recording bumper profits.

Blackpool Gazette

• Blackpool schoolchildren get £1 bus travel passesALL aboard for cheaper travel! Pupils from Blackpool Palatine Community Sports College have joined Blackpool's under-16s bus pass scheme “ which gives them ultra-low price

International Herald Tribune

• An auto show opens in denialIn defiance of all global economic realities, the opening of the 2009 Geneva auto show was a glittering showcase awash in six-figure supercars.

Washington Post

• Public Transit Ridership Hits Highest Level in 52 Years Despite job losses and falling gasoline prices, record numbers of Americans rode subways, buses and commuter rail last year, boosting public transportation ridership to its highest level in 52 years, according to a survey to be released today by the American Public Transportation Association.
• Obama auto task force members to drive GM's Volt DETROIT -- Members of the Obama administration's autos task force will test drive the Chevrolet Volt rechargeable electric car and tour a Chrysler LLC pickup truck factory when they visit the Detroit area on Monday, an administration official said Sunday.

Other News Sources

• Bus prices: We're being taken for a rideSKY-HIGH bus fares in the Worcester area have been slammed by council leaders as among the most expensive in the country.
• Lymington to Isle of Wight ferries withdrawn due to windEW multi-million-pound ferries on a cross-Solent route have been hit by a new problem - strong winds. The controversial W-class vessels are having to operate under strict safety rules until the final sea trials have been carried out.
• Southampton's trams could return to streets once again as a tourist attractionGATHERING dust in a dark warehouse by the docks, a piece of Southampton history sits hidden. Until 1948, Tram 11 was an everyday part of life in Southampton.
• Row over scheme to use old Fareham to Gosport railway for commuter busesA PROTEST group has been launched as fears grow over the future of an old railway track which has been earmarked for a high-speed commuter bus scheme.
• The Senators’ Railway Station [NewYork]After years of starts and stalls, replacing New York City’s gloomy, subterranean Pennsylvania Station with an elegant transit hub suddenly looks possible again.
• Major overhaul of bus routes and timetablesReading Buses has announced a major overhaul of routes and timetables to cope with an increase and change in demand.
• Land hitch over station 'park & rail' planThe proposal of freeing up more car parking spaces at Metheringham train station and creating an area for buses to drop and pick up passengers rests upon available land.
• Rail Firm National Express Close Restaurant Cars On All RoutesNational Express have announced they plan to shut the last 15 dining carriages on their east coast routes between Edinburgh and London.
• Peter Pilots Port TeamA sea captain is heading the port authority team that helps ships supply the capital with food, fuel and goods.
• Rail engineering work 'deferred'