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

Friday, 27 March 2009

BBC News

• Work starts on A1 'missing link' Work has started to upgrade a stretch of the A1 in North Yorkshire from dual carriageway to three-lane motorway
• Motorway lights switch-off starts Lighting on part of the M4 near Bristol is now being switched off between midnight and 0500 hours in an attempt to cut carbon emissions and save money.

Financial Times

• Conservatives pledge to reform Network Rail Tories say they would slash size of membership body and give it powers to hold management to account and would end the veto held by Network Rail management over appointments
• National Express chiefs in voluntary cuts to bonusesSenior executives at National Express have cut their bonuses and deferred payments in a sign of the growing pressure on companies to link boardroom pay to share-price performance
• Air France-KLM issues profits warningEurope's largest airline Air France-KLM warns group has suffered loss of €200m

The Guardian

• Whitehall met aviation chiefs over Heathrow third runwayDepartment for Transport civil servants repeatedly met aviation industry chiefs in advance of the decision to back a third runway at Heathrow, even though they told environmental groups that there was a blanket ban on meetings with any external bodies.
• British firm Artemis turns BMW 5 series into a 'wave power' hybrid carScientists have fitted a BMW with wave power technology and ramped up the miles per gallon while slashing carbon emissions.

Times Online

• Car industry in 'state of emergency' The car industry is “reaching a state of emergency” and needs government action in the Budget otherwise the supply chain and the country’s industrial capability will be irreparably damaged, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders warned today.

Daily Record

• MSPs blast senior civil servant over controversial £2.5bn rail dealFURIOUS MSPs yesterday claimed they were being spun "bulls**t" over a controversial rail contract.

Mail Online

• Back to the future: Mercedes-Benz creates bizarre concept car that looks like a 19th century carriage It bears more than a passing resemblance to an old-fashioned carriage, but Mercedes-Benz claims this roadster could be the car of the future.

Transport Briefing

• Stagecoach taps East Midlands Parkway opportunityTransport operator Stagecoach has launched a new combined train and bus service which will link services provided by its East Midlands Trains and Megabus operations to create new journey opportunities.
• East London Line Brixton spur backed by AssemblyThe London Assembly has renewed calls for the extended East London Line to include a station at Brixton.

Derby Telegraph

• Cyclists call for improvements to Derby's bike networkCYCLISTS who regularly use Derby's bike lanes are hoping improvements to the city's road network will help encourage more people to leave their cars at home.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Train tickets nearly run outNATIONAL Express bosses at Waverley Station had to ship in emergency tickets after their supply almost ran dry.

Newcastle Journal

• Ice that burns could be a green fossil fuelNatural gas trapped in water crystals could provide enormous amounts of energy – and if a new technology delivers, it could even be emissions-free too

Doncaster Free Press

• Airport boss upbeat about the future in spite of lost flightsROBIN Hood Airport got off to a flying start with soaring passenger figures and exciting destination choices.

Peterborough Telegraph

• Minister moves on rail improvementsTransport Secretary Geoff Hoon has confirmed the need for improvements to the West Anglia main railway line to deal with rising passenger demand.

Forbes

• Sweden plans more competition on railways in 2010STOCKHOLM, March 26 (Reuters) - Sweden plans to open up its railways to full competition in 2010, the country's infrastructure minister said on Thursday, as the centre-right government pushes ahead with market-oriented reform.

Wall Street Journal

• New Navigation System Is FAA's Top PriorityTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood said the development of a next-generation air-navigation system is the FAA's No. 1 priority.

Washington Post

• Obama says automakers to get aid, must restructure WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Thursday struggling U.S. auto companies could expect new government aid if they commit to
• Automakers to Get Aid Package President Obama said yesterday that his administration will offer the auto industry an aid package that will require General Motors and Chrysler to make

Aviation Industry

• Temporary changes to Heathrow's night time runway alternationBetween 27 April and 10 September 2009 development work will be undertaken on taxiways connecting Heathrow's southern runway with the rest of the airfield...

Other News Sources

• Rivals do not fear £1 London serviceTHE launch of a new service giving travellers in East Yorkshire the chance to get to London for just £1 has been welcomed as healthy competition.
• Bus passes won't be eligible on rail journeysPensioners will soon be unable to use their bus passes for discounted train fares. From Wednesday, April 1, Hull City Council will no longer permit people to use their passes to travel by rail.
• Government plans A1 motorway upgrade 'on the cheap'A senior councillor said the £342m scheme would cause serious problems for some villages because relatively inexpensive elements had been dropped from earlier proposals.
• Council criticised over Blackburn's 'pointless' short cycle lanesCYCLISTS and motoring organisations have criticised a series of “pointless” cycle lanes around Blackburn. Red cycle lanes that can run for just 20 or 30 yards have appeared throughout the borough recently, including Salford in the town centre.
• We have to vs We can't: the Heathrow third runway debate’That runway will be built over my dead body. And i mean that literally’ Tamsin Omond may not look like a threat, but her struggle against Heathrow’s third runway has fascinated the media. Emily Wright found out what she’s planning next, while overleaf we hear the pro-runway case from a rather more conventional figure …
• MEPs call for measures to support job creation in the car industry and encourage the development of green technologiesThe effects of the economic crisis on the European car industry and its supply chain are the subject of a cross-party resolution adopted by the EP during this week's Strasbourg plenary. The European automotive industry is key to the EU economy, employing 12 million workers directly and indirectly, that is 6% of the employed population in the European Union. MEPs are calling for measures to support job creation in the industry, and to encourage the development of green technologies.