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

Sunday, 05 April 2009

BBC News

• Hoon caught up in new claims rowTransport Secretary Geoff Hoon claimed an allowance for his constituency home while letting out his London flat, it is revealed.

The Herald

• FirstGroup submits planning application for Glasgow depotTransport giant FirstGroup has submitted plans for a new £25m bus depot and west of Scotland headquarters at Cathcart Road on the south side of Glasgow in a bid to raise passenger growth to target levels.

The Independent

• Geoff Hoon's three homes: Total cost, next to nothing The former defence secretary Geoff Hoon claimed allowances for his constituency home and rented out his London house while living free in a luxurious Whitehall flat that came with his cabinet job, it emerged last night. The Derbyshire MP lived rent-free for three and a half years in a grace-and-favour apartment in Admiralty House, formerly home to Sir Winston Churchill.

Times Online

• ’Rigged’ face scan airport security risk AIRPORT face scanners designed to stop terrorists getting into the UK have been “rigged” to cut passenger queues and are creating an “unacceptable” security risk, a confidential Whitehall e-mail has claimed.
• The 200mph train, a snip at £39bn LORD ADONIS, the transport minister, is studying plans for a £39 billion high-speed rail network that could see 200mph, French-style TGV trains almost halving journey times between London, northern England and Scotland.
• Car Shrink Q I’ve heard rumours that GM could go bust. Does this mean buying a Vauxhall or Saab is a dangerous proposition? After Rover collapsed, my friend bought one and he has no complaints.
• Cycle Girl What is it that has a waiting list of would-be owners months before it arrives in showrooms, has been snapped on test runs by undercover photographers, and has been in top-secret development for the past five years?
• Staff left in the lurch by car industry crash Donal Murphy had an offer of early retirement in January. With nearly 40 years’ service at the same car-parts plant in Belfast, the 57-year-old was looking at a pension of about £38,000 a year as well as the payoff cheque.
• Whitehall demanded BAA probe WHITEHALL OFFICIALS asked Merrill Lynch, the investment bank, to investigate the “robustness” of BAA’s finances before Christmas after a slump in the the airport operator’s bonds.

Daily Express

• Government must reverse car industry slumpTHE G20 roadshow may have been in town last week but the world's leaders lost some of the limelight to Visteon, the former supply arm of Ford.

Mail Online

• Rail boss facing corruption allegations found dead after 'suicide pact with his wife' Rail boss facing corruption allegations found dead after 'suicide pact with his wife'

The News (Portsmouth)

• US warship arrives in the SolentA huge American warship has arrived in the Solent.

The York Press

• Buses collide in rush-hour TWO buses collided in a busy York street during the teatime rush-hour.

Washington Post

• Obama's Wallow in the Automobile Industry The Constitution enumerates three requirements for those who would be president (they must be natural-born citizens, at least 35 and a resident within the country for 14 years) and now the government's thrashing about in the economy imposes a fourth: Presidents must be able to speak pluperfect nonsense with a straight face, lest the country understand what the government is doing. Obfuscation serves political salvation when what the government is doing includes promising that if Chrysler will sell itself to Fiat, U.S. taxpayers will lend that Italian firm $6 billion.
• Shrinking airlines park more planes in the desert MARANA, Ariz. -- Old jets come here, empty engine pods shrink-wrapped in white, tall red tails fading to pink in the desert sun. More will come soon. Some will never fly again.

Other News Sources

• Cleaner, Quieter, Safer, Motoring Ahead - Tyre Labels ApprovedTyre labelling will help reduce traffic noise and CO2 emissions, and save fuel.
• Californians vote for rail over airportsA recent survey by a public opinion firm indicates a majority of those car and plane loving Californians are in favour of plans for a new high speed rail link between San Francisco and LA. Two thousand registered voters took part in the survey, and fifty six percent would be in favour, even if it [...]
• 'Green' award for ODA rail projectThe Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) has received an ˜excellent™ CEEQUAL sustainability award for the work to relocate railway sidings from the Olympic Park.
• Several major U.S. carriers reports declines in MarchA number of major U.S. Airlines reported on Friday that fewer passengers traveled by airplanes in March compared to the number in same period last year. American Airlines Inc. said its traffic dropped...
• Commuter-rail tardiness data doesnBut the official MBTA numbers tell only part of the sad commuting story, according to a Globe analysis. The rush-hour trains, the ones most commuters take, are actually late about 6 percentage points ...
• VOSA defers enforcement of new penaltiesVOSA has confirmed that it won't begin issuing graduated fixed penalties until the end of May, despite the new powers that came into force on 1 April.

Other Subscription Services

• Shippers claim terminal charges are up 30%SHIPPERS allege that terminal handling charges imposed by container carriers appear to have increased by up to 30% in recent months.
• Shippers claim terminal charges are up 30%SHIPPERS allege that terminal handling charges imposed by container carriers appear to have increased by up to 30% in recent months.