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

Monday, 20 April 2009

BBC News

• Minister backs new train serviceA minister has backed plans for a train service, which recently completed a journey for the first time in 37 years, to be re-introduced permanently.
• Motor show gears up in ShanghaiThe Shanghai motor show gets under way in China, the only major car market in the world that is expanding.

Financial Times

• Adonis hints at end to rail bonusesLord Adonis appeared to step up pressure on Network Rail bosses to forgo their bonuses, signalling their salaries should be sufficient reward for the jobs they did.
• Boeing chief braced for bumpy rideJim McNerney, Boeing chief executive, may have pre-empted some bad headlines by issuing a profits warning last week, but he will be bracing himself for tough...
• Dover port seeks investor for terminalDover port officials are looking at private investment as one means to fund a new ferry terminal, though they could try to fund the scheme “ likely to cost about £400m “ with debt

The Guardian

• Stagecoach locked in rail contract rowStagecoach, one of Britain's biggest train operators, is embroiled in a dispute with the government over compensation for potential losses on its South West Trains franchise.
• Transferring tube upgrade to public sector 'will save taxpayers money'Taxpayers will get a better deal if the entire £30bn programme to overhaul the tube network is carried out in-house instead of being awarded to a public-private partnership, the head of London Underground (LU) has claimed.
• Electric cars and more efficient ways of cutting carbon emissions [letters]To get a comparison over the full "well-to-wheel" cycle, overall efficiencies can be established by taking into account the efficiencies of extraction, generation, transmission, distribution and motor/engine performance for each fuel type

The Herald

• Welcome Lord Adonis ... just in time for railway debateScotland's railways are in urgent need of more staff, clearer ticketing systems and cleaner stations and trains, passenger groups and transport experts said yesterday following an investigation by The Herald into the state of Scotland's rail service.
• Watchdog criticises rail network’s ’illogical’ ticket systemThe ticketing system on Scotland’s rail network is “illogical” and “confusing” and is undermining confidence in train travel, industry watchdogs and politicians claim.

The Independent

• Obama signals US rail revolutionChicago wants them before 2016 when it hopes to host the Olympics Games. California is ready to start work straight away, even if most of its citizens can't imagine travelling to Chicago, or anywhere else, if it is not by car or plane. New York, Boston and Washington are convinced they already have them, but they don't.

The Scotsman

• UK drivers miss bus as car numbers increase 30% in a decadeTHE number of cars in the UK has risen by almost a third in the last decade as Britons continue to shun public transport.
• Darling to double green stimulusAlistair Darling will announce £500m of further investment in green initiatives in an attempt to shore up low carbon industries hit by the recession.

The Telegraph

• Lord Adonis: try travelling to Norwich by train at the weekend [blog]Being a Norfolk broad myself, when I saw that Lord Adonis, the Rail Minister, was interviewed on a fact-finding trip while travelling on a train in my home county my hopes rose. He's known as a sensible kind of man, I thought. At last! he'll be able to fix something that has become one of the banes of my life.
• Network Rail 'spends millions on payouts for race and sex claims' Network Rail spent millions of pounds of taxpayers' money in compensation payouts to staff amid allegations of race and sex discrimination it has been claimed.

Times Online

• National Express in rail cash pleaBUS and rail group National Express will this week make a fresh plea to government for financial assistance on its London-Scotland train service.
• Birmingham New Street - my lowest point[17-4-09] Birmingham New Street, where I spent two hours yesterday en route from Norwich to Chester, is without doubt the lowest point of the tour so far. Whilst the staff there were incredibly helpful and accommodating, almost everything about the station is ugly, unfriendly, dark and forbidding.
• Smart waiting rooms and a finance director turned train driverI enjoyed my week on the railways and could easily embark on another week's journey. But, alas, Parliament is back tomorrow
• Busy roads, slower speeds, extra taxes – but we'll carry on driving Britain is more dependent than ever on cars, according to a study published today. Even the poorest families are increasingly reliant on them, and when motoring costs rise they prefer to sacrifice other household spending rather than stop driving.

Mail Online

• The gates of wrath: Heritage town's anger as a piece of railway history disappears overnight For the people of Frinton, their Victorian railway gates were a proud symbol of their heritage and old-fashioned values.

Transport Briefing

• Beckton cash heralds DLR-wide 3-car rail serviceDocklands Light Railway has secured an £18.2m funding package to complete the upgrade of the DLR network to 3-car running.
• Urban transport fund put forward as successor to TIFGovernment policy to encourage road pricing schemes through the Transport Innovation Fund should be abandoned if local authorities fail to submit eligible schemes by the end of the year, according to a newly published report.
• Glasgow Subway work to make stations fit for 2014Glasgow's Subway system is to be modernised ahead of the 2014 Commonwealth Games after members of Strathclyde Partnership for Transport signed off a £20m upgrade programme on Friday (17 April).

Manchester Evening News

• Bus protest delayed by late bus!TEENAGERS protesting about massive bus fare increases turned up late for a meeting with transport bosses - after their bus was delayed.
• GMPTE boss steps downTHE man who helped lead Greater Manchester into the congestion charge referendum is quitting just four months after the resounding no vote.
• Driver's bus lane u-turnCOUNCIL bosses could end up paying back tens of thousands of pounds of fines after a driver turned loophole-lawyer to get a bus lane penalty quashed. Derek Brocklehurst, 38, refused to pay the £30 on the grounds that the sign was wrong.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• MP expects bypass cash U-turnLiberal Democrats are confident the Highlands can rely on an “SNP U-turn” to secure additional funding for a long-awaited Inverness bypass.

Carlisle News & Star

• Car club plan to cut traffic congestion in CarlisleThousands of people in Carlisle are considering whether to back an effort that could cut congestion on city roads.
• Cumbria will benefit from London high speed rail link, says transport ministerRail services in Cumbria are safe for the future and will benefit from direct access to a high speed link to London, says the transport minister.

Peterborough Telegraph

• Airport wishes surveyedPeople using an East Anglian airport are to be asked which destinations they would like to fly to.

Railnews

• US seizes high speed rail initiativeWHILE Britain awaits a further report on whether to go ahead with a second high speed rail line, US President Barack Obama has announced a strategic plan for 10 high-speed corridors — with up to $13 billion (£8.8 billion) to seed planning and development.

Aviation Industry

• Cathay Pacific Cuts Capacity, Implements Unpaid Leave on Plunging TravelCathay Pacific Airways Ltd. , Hong Konga s largest carrier, will cut capacity and ask staff to take unpaid leave as it battles plunging travel demand.
• JetBlue promotes Maruster to COO positionJetBlue Airways Corp. said Thursday that Rob Maruster will take over as chief operating officer in June.

Other News Sources

• Colne bus stop improvements plannedNINE bus stops in the Colne area are set to be upgraded over the next two years.
• £65m for city centre to station bus routeA MULTI-MILLION pound high speed bus-only road could be created linking Stoke-on-Trent railway station with the heart of Hanley.
• Bus firm slammed over changes to Aberdeen serviceHUNDREDS of residents have hit out at bus services in Aberdeen. And calls were today made to change routes. First Bus previously made major changes to services in Aberdeen including withdrawing some and altering others.
• Bus fares under threatReading Buses could be forced to go back on a promise not to raise fares and may cut services as passenger numbers drop during the credit crunch.
• Anger grows over Worcester's peak time bus pass banDISABLED people are angry they are now having to pay to travel on buses to important hospital appointments and day centres in Worcester.
• Train plans go on displayAn exhibition outlining plans for a new railway service between Oxford and London Marylebone go on public display today.
• Fury as the gates come downNETWORK Rail has been accused of “cowardice” after Frinton's historic level crossing gates were removed under cover of darkness just hours before a planned demonstration calling for them to stay.
• Charging electric cars 'will lead to blackouts'Gordon Brown's plans for an electric car revolution could lead to power cuts and blackouts from 2020
• Petrol prices surge to five-month highPetrol prices have hit a five-month high thanks to an increase in fuel duty and the rising cost of oil
• Pirates seize ship off SeychellesSOMALI Pirates have seized the Belgian stone-carrying vessel Pompei some 700 nautical miles off the coast of Africa and 150 nm from the Seychelles.

News from Europe

• Full order book in FreilassingROBEL: Driven by a robust export market and sub-contracted work from its parent company Plasser & Theurer, German track equipment supplier Robel is increasing capacity at its base in the south of the country.

Other Subscription Services

• Eco-friendly driving gets green light to save fuel on Arriva busesArriva has given the green light to fuel-saving technology which, together with changes in driving technique, will help cut exhaust emissions from its UK bus fleet.