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

Wednesday, 20 May 2009

BBC News

• Plan for new high-speed rail linkTwo entrepreneurs are looking to raise £4bn to build a new high-speed rail link between Cambridge and Norwich. George Freeman, founder of 4D Biomedical, and Nigel Brown, chairman of the Greater Cambridge Partnership, are looking at how to raise the funds.
• Rail help points are overhauled [video]After past failures, the emergency help points at Yorkshire's railway stations have now been overhauled.
• Rail crime falls for fifth year Crime on Britain's railways fell for a fifth successive year in 2008/09, but drug offences rose by 47%, British Transport Police says.
• Virgin offers train upgrade dealSir Richard Branson says his Virgin Group would invest at least £1bn in its train service if allowed to run its franchise for another 20 years or more.
• Carmakers end scrappage disputeFord and Honda say they have resolved their differences with the government over the UK's car scrappage scheme.

Financial Times

• Branson urges £1bn rail spendA further upgrade of the London-Glasgow west coast main line at a cost of £1bn could reduce journey times sharply and be self-funding if the government gave the private sector more freedom to innovate, Sir Richard Branson claimed on Tuesday.
• Moller-Maersk's Sorensen to leaveDenmark's AP Moller-Maersk has lost one of its most senior executives in a surprise departure a week after the shipping and energy conglomerate announced its...
• Air France-KLM in deep lossAir France-KLM fell deeply into loss in its last financial year and has axed its dividend as it seeks to conserve cash and to cut costs, reports Kevin Done...
• Lufthansa heading for the top slotAir France pioneered the wave of aviation restructuring in Europe with its acquisition of KLM in 2004, but it is Lufthansa that is now setting the pace, and its appetite is far from satisfied
• Setback for Ferrovial as Gatwick bidder quitsFerrovial's hopes of securing a higher price for Gatwick airport have been hit by the withdrawal of one of its two remaining bidders
• Lufthansa seeks BMI cash fillipLufthansa has warned it could walk away from the planned takeover of BMI British Midland unless the airline's controlling shareholder injects more capital into the struggling UK carrier

The Guardian

• Trainline.com ads banned for exaggerating online savings [includes a video]Watchdog censures ticketing firm Trainline.com's TV adverts portraying rail users who buy tickets at stations as sheep
• Branson calls for overhaul of rail franchisesSir Richard Branson, co-owner of Virgin Trains, has urged the government to overhaul rail franchises after warning that the system "does not work".

The Independent

• Off the rails: Rethinking Britain's train servicesEniviromentally friendly trains could take on carbon-intensive flights from London to Glasgow in as little as four years if the Government rethinks the rail franchising system, according to Sir Richard Branson.

The Telegraph

• World's first battery fuelled by airThe world's first battery fuelled by air - with 10 times the storage capacity of conventional cells - has been unveiled.

Reuters News

• Government to approve M25 road upgradeLONDON (Reuters) - The government will approve a Private Finance Initiative scheme to widen and maintain London's M25 motorway despite a jump in the cost of the project, the Times newspaper reported without citing sources.

Transport Briefing

• Branson bids to upgrade West Coast to 140mphVirgin Trains' ambition to run Pendolinos at 140mph on the West Coast Main Line could be realised within five years if the government accepts calls by Sir Richard Branson to give train operators greater freedom to invest in track and stations.
• Statement of Intent for Mayor's Transport StrategyMayor of London Boris Johnson has published a 'Statement of Intent' document which will form the basis for the new Mayor's Transport Strategy - due to be published in draft form later this year.

Belfast Telegraph

• Confusion reigns on first day of car scrappage scheme The Government’s “cash for bangers” car scrappage scheme began amid confusion yesterday with top-selling company Ford among some manufacturers delaying taking part.
• Derry airport passenger numbers plummet The number of passengers using City of Derry Airport have slumped by over 40,000 in the past financial year, a new report has revealed.

Derby Telegraph

• Theresa Villiers visits Bombardier (with slideshow)THE Shadow Transport Secretary has heaped praise on Derby train-maker Bombardier following a visit to its factory.

London Evening Standard

• Roads and railways set for bank holiday delaysTravellers face the prospect of busy roads and severely disrupted train journeys this bank holiday weekend
• Tube commuters face Victoria line strike tomorrowThe Tube’s Victoria line will be hit by a second 24-hour strike starting at 9pm tomorrow. The line is expected to shut completely

Doncaster Free Press

• New respect campaign on buses FIRST is launching a campaign to encourage people to be more considerate when using buses across South Yorkshire.

Northants Evening Telegraph

• Cyclists get an off-road boostA series of improvements have been made as part of a campaign to get more people on their bikes.
• Gates to stop selfish bikersGates to stop motorcycles being ridden along a lane have been put up to cut nuisance on an estate.

Peterborough Telegraph

• Airport dropping-off charge delayedControversial plans to introduce a drop-off charge for plane passengers have been put on hold while officials look at more options, Luton Airport has said.

New Scientist

• Breathing batteries could store 10 times the energyElectric car performance is being held up by limits to the amount of power that can be stored on board, but a new battery that breathes air could provide a solution

Wall Street Journal

• Obama Says Fuel Rules Give 'Certainty'Obama said new government rules on fuel efficiency will give auto makers

Washington Post

• New Auto Standards vs. Old U.S. Preferences The cars of the near future will be lighter, more expensive and maybe smaller. Big engines will shrink. And more and more cars will be hybrids or diesel-powered vehicles like those common in Europe.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Scottish councils offer free vehicle emissions testingA number of councils in Scotland are offering drivers the opportunity to have their vehicles tested for emissions.The free testing programme is intended to educate motorists about the ways in which they can reduce toxic exhaust fumes and encourage them to maintain their cars properly.East Lothian, Falkirk, West Lothian and Midlothian local authorities will provide checks at a series of locations across the region as part of a pollution and road safety awareness campaign.Tom Logie, a vehicle emissions testing officer, explained: "Poorly maintained vehicles, particularly diesels, produc...

Railnews

• News: Branson calls for longer franchises and control of stations VIRGIN Boss Sir Richard Branson has called for franchises to last between 20 and 30 years in exchange for a £1 billion investment on trains and track on the West Coast main line.

Transport for London

• TfL condemns further RMT Victoria line strike threatUnion backing driver dismissed for not following safety procedures.

Aviation Industry

• London's iconic red double-decker bus goes hybridAround 20 hybrid-electric drive buses have entered service on routes around London and are recording unprecedented levels of carbon efficiency. The state-of-the-art red double-deckers have achieved the best results for fuel consumption and CO2 emissions ever recorded from bus fleets - an unprecedented 10mpg.
• Top commutable UK townsWhere once commuting was the preserve of suited businessmen, these days, thousands of folk in different jobs choose to travel further for work. Some 900,000 commuters flow into London every day, while Birmingham and Manchester each see around 200,000.
• The Cloud UK Offers HP Notebook Users One Years FREE Wi-FiTechnology solutions provider Hewlett-Packard (HP) has signed a strategic partnership with The Cloud, a broadband wireless Hotspot operator, to offer free Wi-Fi Internet access to new small and medium business customers for one year. Typically you'll need to buy one of HP's B- or P-Range commercial notebooks or Mobile Workstations to take advantage of the promotion.
• Sir Richard Branson calls for new Lichfield to Birmingham rail linkAn underground extension to Birmingham International railway station linked directly to Lichfield is being suggested by Sir Richard Branson to ease congestion on the West Coast Mainline.

Other News Sources

• High-speed rail link is grail of two citiesA SCHEME to create a £4 billion high-speed rail link between Cambridge and Norwich has been unveiled by two entrepreneurs. Nigel Brown and George Freeman are keen to see major improvements to the rail network as a whole, and they are suggesting that connecting the two East Anglian cities would benefit the region enormously.
• Airlines post rare improvement in customer surveyMINNEAPOLIS – Airlines are doing a better job of taking care of the passengers they still have, according to a new study. Passenger satisfaction with airline service rose 3.2 percent earlier this year, the first increase in six years, according to a University of Michigan study to be released Tuesday.
• Pensioners’ garages are blocked by train companyA group of pensioners living in Theale who refused to pay a massive hike in an access charge have had their garages barricaded. People living in Wigmore Lane were told by landowners EWS – the company which runs the Royal train – they had to pay a threefold increase from more than £80 to more than £250 to drive yards along an access road to get to the garages they own.
• Train company respond to Harrow commuter fury with new serviceA NEW train service running through Harrow has been launched in a bid to appease disgruntled commuters. London Midland yesterday launched the new daily service from Watford Junction through Harrow and Wealdstone to London Euston.
• New look for bus stationBROMSGROVE bus station and the surrounding area will undergo development work over the next three months in the latest step by the district council to regenerate the town centre.
• Are you sitting comfortably?Britain's rail companies are about as popular as expense-fiddling MPs. For years the cost of travelling has risen much faster than inflation, the service is patchy and on some routes it is still hard to get a seat.
• Flight 1549 passengers get baggage back after Hudson splash downIt wasn't until after US Airways Flight 1549 had landed in the Hudson River, and passenger Karin Hill was stepping through an emergency exit onto the wing, that it hit her.
• Rail industry hits out at ’unfair' promotion of car-scrappingIn a letter to European Commission President José Manuel Barroso, rail industry chiefs criticised the schemes as “an inappropriate use of public money”, because they favour one mode of transport without aiming to cut the environmental impact of cars.
• MPs doubt if Britain rules the waves
• Running on airA new type of air-fuelled battery could give up to 10 times the energy storage of designs currently available.
• Rail freight groups campaign against LHVsMEP candidates across Europe are being lobbied to oppose the introduction of 'mega trucks' (trucks that are 25.5m long and 60 tonnes in weight) by rail freight lobby groups ahead of next month's Euro elections.
• Highways Agency tenders £2bn hard shoulder running frameworkThe Highways Agency today tendered a £2bn framework contract for the rollout of hard shoulder running schemes across its network.
• Stobart unveils Lake District-liveried HGVsStobart Group has joined forces with Cumbria Tourism to drive lorries liveried with images of the Lake District across the UK and the Continent.
• Facial recognition at Stansted AirportPASSENGERS at Stansted Airport are being urged to use the latest technology to beat the queues when they arrive home.