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

Wednesday, 01 April 2009

BBC News

• Historic passenger train returnsA passenger train is running on a restored historic railway in Dorset for the first time in 37 years. The special train - called the Purbeck Pioneer - was departing from London's Victoria Station at 0845 BST.
• Rail reopening remains 'on track'An assurance has been issued that an advertising delay will have no impact on construction targets for a rail line between Edinburgh and the Borders.
• Green light to extend tram systemThe next step in Nottingham getting an extension to its tram network has been given government approval.
• TfL budget heralds major worksA series of transport improvements for the capital will benefit after Transport for London (TfL) announced a £9.2bn budget.
• Merkel offers state aid for OpelGerman Chancellor Angela Merkel gives assurances that any investor in GM subsidiary Opel will have state support.

Department for Transport

• Tough new powers to make UK roads safer New powers to ensure that all drivers who break the rules of the road face tough penalties come into force today.

Financial Times

• Foreign groups eye Channel rail linkThe prospect of competing high-speed train services running through the Channel Tunnel was raised when it was revealed talks had taken place with Germany's Deutsche Bahn and Air France
• Rail delays hit Jarvis jobs and profitsThe rail maintenance group expects operating profits to miss previous forecasts due to a cutback in business with Network Rail and a downturn in the freight container market

The Guardian

• Highway Wi-Fi: How the new tracking system worksA Europe-wide car tracking system may sound far-fetched, but the scientists behind the scheme say the technology required to make it happen is already part of our everyday lives.
• Falling passengers and £1bn debt drag railway caterer into talks with bankersBritain's largest owner of railway food and beverage outlets is in talks with its bankers as falling passenger numbers expose weaknesses in a £1bn private-equity deal struck at the peak of the market.
• Tube station work halted after discovery of £400m funding gapTube passengers will have to endure cramped conditions at some of London's busiest stations after the discovery of a £400m funding hole forced the postponement of vital upgrade work yesterday.

The Herald

• Rail passengers may have to change carriages to leave trainsAt least four stations in Ayrshire and Inverness will utilise "selective door operating" (SDO) technology to accommodate trains which are due to increase from six carriages to seven or eight as part of a move to increase capacity during peak periods.
• Extend scheme to railThe Scottish Government's "review" of the national concessionary travel scheme should include concessionary rail travel, which is still denied under the free-bus travel scheme across Scotland ("Increase in bus journeys due to free passes", The Herald, March 31).

The Scotsman

• Park-and-ride: 'The profile of the sites needs to be raised 'IT is very disappointing to see such a low take-up rate at most of the city's park-and-ride sites. Of all the transport initiatives designed with the primary aim of taking cars off the roads, they seemed to present the best chance of making some serious inroads into congestion.

The Telegraph

• Seaside town reopens railway line to reverse Dr Beeching's cutVolunteers from the seaside town of Swanage will reopen a railway line reconnecting them to the national network, 37 years after it was cut off.
• Rail companies could be forced to default on franchiseTwo of Britain's major rail operators, National Express and Stagecoach, could be forced to give up their rail franchises, a city analyst has warned.
• Pensioners denied free long distance coach travel with bus passes Thousand of elderly people are to be denied free long distance coach trips allowing a tightening of the rules covering concessionary bus travel by the Government.

Times Online

• Mumbai's overcrowded trains kill 17 people every dayPassengers regularly forced to cling limpet-like to the sides of Mumbai’s rush hour trains because there is no room inside will tell you that as commutes go, theirs is a killer. And they aren't joking: 17 people died every weekday on the city’s suburban rail network last year — a record for what may well be the world's deadliest stretch of track.
• Sunday trains will mean a bus ride for the next five years Rail passengers will have to put up with at least another five years of replacement buses and longer journeys at weekends after Network Rail modified its target to deliver a full rail service seven days a week.

ATOC

• NETWORK RAIL™S BUSINESS PLAN “ DELIVERY IS NOW THE KEY, SAYS ATOC CEO MICHAEL ROBERTSCommenting on the Network Rail™s business plan published today for Control Period 4 Michael Roberts, Chief Executive of the Association of Train Operating Companies, said: œThis investment programme is a major opportunity to provide a better railway for passengers and we welcome Network Rail™s focus on meeting the needs of its customers.

Transport Briefing

• Greenwich Waterfront Transit bus upgrade scrappedPlans to create a bus rapid transit route along the south bank of the River Thames have been formally binned with Mayor of London Boris Johnson announcing that the Greenwich Waterfront Transit scheme has now been abandoned.

Birmingham Post

• Network Rail to pump extra £90m into West Midlands railwaysThe biggest expansion of Britain’s railway network since the 19th century will see the West Midlands sharing in £35 billion which will be invested in more seats, longer trains and platforms and faster services.
• Pallasades sale brings Gateway Project start closerBirmingham City Council has moved a step closer to starting work on the Gateway Project by purchasing The Pallasades shopping centre.
• Birmingham Airport extension plan approved by Solihull CouncilControversial plans to extend the runway at Birmingham International Airport finally got the go-ahead last night from Solihull Council.

London Evening Standard

• Network Rail promises £35 billion railway revolutionTHE head of Network Rail promised today the biggest expansion of the national railway system since the days of the great Victorian engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel.
• Key Tube station upgrades are scrapped as TfL faces funding black holeKey transport projects are to be scrapped or postponed because of cash shortages, the Evening Standard has learned
• Mayor's £9.2bn to keep transport projects on trackThe biggest post-war investment in London's transport network will be made this year despite the recession

Manchester Evening News

• Vital tram stops to shutTRAMS will stop running in the heart of Manchester from Monday for five months as a massive rail replacement scheme gathers pace.

Sheffield Telegraph

• Campaign aiming to bring train works jobsSHEFFIELD politicians have launched a campaign to make sure the city is chosen to build the next generation of high speed trains for Britain. Attercliffe MP Clive Betts, Hillsborough MP Angela Smith and deputy council leader Coun David Baker met with the Chamber of Commerce, Creative Sheffield, Yorkshire Forward and South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive.

The York Press

• York bus cuts on the agenda YORK™S bus services will be under the spotlight this week, when councillors debate ways to prevent further cuts.

Wales Online

• Electrification of rail line ’vitally important for Welsh economy’ELECTRIFICATION of the entire Swansea-to-London route is crucial to support Wales’ economic needs of the next 25 years, according to a report from a leading think-tank.
• Rail plans welcome – but there’s much more to doHE upgrade in investment for the rail network, announced by Network Rail yesterday, comes not before time.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Towpath ride on new cycle route into LeedsLeeds City Council is planning to create the £400,000-plus route from Kirkstall Brewery along the Leeds-Liverpool canal towpath before heading to Leeds University and on to Leeds Met's civic campus.

Northants Evening Telegraph

• Guided bus to cut A45 trafficPeople who use bus services between Wellingborough and Northampton could be in for a quicker journey after funding was granted for a guided bus.
• Green light to cut traffic on A14Work to alleviate congestion on the A14 by installing traffic lights on sliproads will begin this year.

Peterborough Telegraph

• £35bn plan to boost railway networkPassengers on the Thameslink rail project which runs up to stations in Bedfordshire have been promised relief from overcrowding as part of a five-year, £35bn spending programm

Reading Evening Post

• Motion on HeathrowThe council in Reading has so far not taken a view on the expansion of Heathrow Airport but all that will change this week.

Sunderland Echo

• Plea to reopen old rail line earlyWork to reopen the mothballed Leamside line should be brought forward by five years, campaigners are demanding.

The Shields Gazette

• Bus drivers get text warning if they use too much fuelA GREEN team has been launched to keep track of bus energy levels in South Tyneside.

New Scientist

• US tells ships to clean up fumes or stay awayThe US Environmental Protection Agency plans to place restrictions on shipping emissions near America's coastline

Railnews

• Holt to quit First Capital ConnectELAINE Holt is to step down this week as managing director of First Capital Connect to pursue other interests, after 10 years with FirstGroup. No reason has been given by FirstGroup for Ms Holt, 42, leaving the multi-national rail and bus group which is headed by Sir Moir Lockhead.

Aviation Industry

• Vienna Airport Expands the sally Resource Management System with a Check-In Module Braunschweig, Germany “ The positive experiences gained with the resource management system 'sally stand/gate' from delair at Vienna Airport resulted in an order of the module 'sally check-in'. In addition to the optimised utilisation of stands and gates ('sally stand' and 'sally gate'), 'sally check-in' will help Vienna Airport to optimise the planning of its check-in counters. With 'sally check-in' Vienna Airport can rely on the most modern and future orientated technology. Both 'sally stand/gate' and the new check-in module feature a fast planning algorithm for the optimised u...
• Air Canada may file for bankruptcy protectionShares of Air Canada fell more than 10 per cent in early trading on the TSX on Tuesday as fears rose that Canada's biggest air carrier may be preparing to file for bankruptcy protection from creditors for the second time in six years.

Other News Sources

• MPs renew calls for landing charges at Heathrow to endTWO MPs have renewed their calls for landing charges at Heathrow to be scrapped as the final bmi flight from Durham Tees Valley Airport (DTVA) to London jetted off at the weekend. Sedgefield MP Phil Wilson and Stockton North MP Frank Cook both said the link to the South-East was crucial to the region’s economy.
• Heathrow Express looks for outdoor owner to handle on-board TVExpress TV was introduced onboard the train service in 1998. It aimed to deliver tailored bulletins covering domestic, international and business news alongside global weather and stock and commodity price updates.
• Agency cash is station boostPlans to bring a new-look railway station to the centre of Northampton could have been speeded up thanks to an investment of cash from a Government development group. The East Midlands Development Agency (EMDA), yesterday announced it would invest £11.2 million in Northamptonshire over the next two years.
• Licence boost for Cradley Heath eco tramThe groundbreaking Parry People Mover (PPM) was due to replace trains on the Stourbridge Town to Stourbridge Junction line in the New Year but has suffered a series of setbacks. London Midland trains have also revealed the PPM will enter service on weekends in April - with a view to have it fully up and running in May. Managing director Stephen Banaghan said he was keen to see the railcar enter service in Stourbridge.
• New tram lines clear hurdle but still need fundsTHE extension of Nottingham's tram system has cleared another hurdle after the Government gave it the legal go-ahead.
• Trains for Wellington Station Seeks Re-Opening CampaignA ’Trains for Wellington' campaign is being recommended to Wellington Town Council by Mark Formosa, the aspiring Conservative MP for Taunton Deane.
• Bus and train firms combine in Pendle transport revolutionA REVOLUTIONARY public transport ticket scheme has been launched in Pendle today. Bus operator Transdev and Northern Rail have combined to introduce the Pendle Connect, which will allow people to travel to Accrington, Blackburn or Preston with a single transferrable ticket bought from the bus driver.
• Train station protestCampaigners staged a protest at Berkhamsted Train Station on Monday over expensive fares, hiked parking charges and poor service.
• Train company trying to ease overcrowdingThe London Midland train company has applied to the Government for more carriages to ease overcrowding on Northampton services. Chief executive Steven Banaghan was at Castle station yesterday to speak to passengers about the rail company's performance, which came under fire in February because of severe delays.
• New rail screens... but no information: Halifax station timetable boards still not workingTHEY are the first improvements of the £3.3 million scheme to finally bring Halifax railway station into the 21st century.
• Bob Crow blasts Network Rail spending plansRail union RMT general secretary Bob Crow has attacked "dangerous" cuts contained in Network Rail's £35bn spending plans which were revealed today.
• US survey reveals rise in general aviation manoeuvring accidentsAnalysis of US general aviation safety trends in 2007 shows an increase in manoeuvring accidents against the previous year. This accident category continues...
• HHLA's profits take offHAMBURG box terminal operator HHLA said today its net profits jumped by 43% last year, pushed by strong demand for cargo handling in the first six months.
• The soft target that wasn'tPIRATES picked the wrong target and are being held today by the multinational patrol force.
• Aeromobile chips in with new payment benefits for airlines AeroMobile, the award-winning in-flight mobile communications provider, is to revolutionise credit card payments for airlines and passengers by bringing "chip-and-pin" to the sky

Other Subscription Services

• European parliament waters down passenger rights lawALLIES of Europe’s maritime industries in the European parliament have succeeded in watering down a Brussels regulation on passenger rights.
• North American waters set to become largest emissions control areaUS and Canada plan seeks to create consolidated ECA stretching 200 nautical miles off the coast of either nation.