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

Thursday, 28 May 2009

BBC News

• New cycling initiatives unveiledInitiatives designed to boost cycling in the capital have been unveiled by the mayor of London.
• Design flaws 'led to derailments'Design faults have been blamed for rail accidents in Cumbria and Bedfordshire, in which empty freight containers were blown off railway wagons in high winds.
• Carbon footprint targets 'missed'The Scottish Government is failing to hit targets for cutting its own greenhouse gas emissions, new official figures have shown.
• UK 'must build more rail lines'Railways in Britain may need to double their capacity in the next 30 years to cope with demand, say train operators
• GM ponders future as deal failsGeneral Motors' battle to avoid bankruptcy suffers a blow as bondholders reject a key part of the carmaker's restructuring plan.
• Chrysler seeks Fiat sale approvalStruggling US car firm Chrysler is asking a court for permission to sell most of its assets to Italian carmaker Fiat.

Department for Transport

• Transport Statistics Road Goods Vehicles Travelling to Mainland Europe - Q1 2009

Financial Times

• Hoon eyes new transport climate accordThe UK transport secretary will call for an international consensus on ensuring that shipping and aviation are included in any global environmental deal made in the Copenhagen forum
• Airlines set to suffer steep decline in MayRate of decline in demand for air travel slowed in April, but preliminary data for European airlines suggests a renewed steep fall during May
• Fiat names top executives of new ChryslerFiat will name chief executive Sergio Marchionne, Alfredo Altavilla, its head of business development, and Lucio Noto, former vice-chairman of ExxonMobil to the board of a new Chrysler, Mr Altavilla said in court testimony late Wednesday

The Guardian

• Boris's cycling revolutionIf you haven't seen it yet, take a look. You might not pick out London's mayor in the column of cyclists at the start of the CCTV clip of his "near-death experience" with a rampaging truck in Limehouse, but you'll spot him inspecting the wreckage at the end. He was lucky not to be part of it. Some might think the driver lucky to have been charged with nothing more than a couple of motoring offences: it seems he'd secured the rear doors with a coat hanger.
• Rail industry urges shorter trains off-peak to cut carbon emissionsThe rail industry is urging the government to run shorter trains in order to meet Britain's climate change obligations. Removing carriages outside rush hour would conserve energy and reinforce rail's reputation as one of the greenest modes of transport, says an industry manifesto published today.

The Scotsman

• Transport chiefs urged to scrap accident blackspot roundaboutTRANSPORT chiefs have launched a safety review of a busy city roundabout after a string of accidents.

The Telegraph

• Despite its failings, Network Rail is doing a better job than RailtrackThings must be serious if you get people across the rail industry agreeing with Bob Crow. But the unreconstructed left-wing leader of RMT has struck a chord with his warning about Network Rail's decision to put a huge slice of its maintenance work on hold.
• Talks over GM's Vauxhall and Opel businesses stall on new cash demandGM's emergency demand for 300m euros £260m leaves fate of Opel and Vauxhall in the balance.

Times Online

• Mandelson offers assurance on jobs at Vauxhall after talks with bidders for GM EuropeLord Mandelson, the Business Secretary, has secured pledges from each of the three main potential bidders for Vauxhall to safeguard the vast majority of the carmaker™s 5,000 British workers, it emerged last night.

Reuters News

• May Gurney gets Network Rail contract extensionBritish construction and support services group May Gurney Integrated Services Plc (MAYG.L) said its long-term contract for Network Rail has been extended for two years and is expected to result in about 20 million to 25 million pounds of work annually.

Network Rail

• DERBY STATION LETS THE SUNSHINE IN Work has started on the final stage of completely transforming the platforms at Derby station. Passengers are already enjoying new light, airy and spacious platforms. Three quarters of the work has been completed whilst keeping the station open and trains running as normal.

Transport Briefing

• First ScotRail begins smartcard ticketing pilotTrain operator First ScotRail is to begin trials of smartcard tickets later this month.
• Apperley Bridge station plan aims for 2012 openingWest Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive Metro and Network Rail have invited local residents to give their views on plans for a new railway station at Apperley Bridge.
• Crossrail picks Dublin firm to handle small claimsCrossrail has appointed Miller International as the administrator for its small claims scheme.
• First phases in Ftr buses for Swansea MetroThe Ftr Streetcar vehicles, similar to those currently operating in Leeds and York, are being rolled out as part of changes to bus services for the Morriston and Parc Gwernfadog areas. These will replace the existing 4/4A routes and service 4 will be rebranded as Swansea ftrMetro as the new vehicles are phased in over the coming weeks.
• Network Rail: Brighton line will be full by 2019Rail lines between London and the south coast will be operating at full capacity within a decade, according to the latest route strategy published by Network Rail.

Belfast Telegraph

• Oil price drops below $60 a barrel Oil prices eased below $60 a barrel yesterday as investors awaited the latest meeting of the Opec oil-producing cartel later this week.

Birmingham Post

• Transport infrastructure the priority to put Midlands on right roadPlans to build hundreds of thousands of homes in the West Midlands have sparked lively debate.
• Digital transport project to be rolled out in BirminghamDigital entrepreneurs have teamed up with the local council and software giant Microsoft to start a unique digital transport project in order to make Birmingham England’s first “intelligent city”.
• Warning of housing plan's effect on West Midlands transport networkThe West Midlands Business Council has said that the current system is not ’fit for purpose’ and is costing businesses dearly. WMBC executive director James Watkins spoke at the Regional Spatial Strategy public inquiry, where the implications of building more than 400,000 homes is being debated.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Railway police in North Wales crime crusadeTRANSPORT police have carried out a blitz against crime on the railways in North Wales.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Car club surge 'helps clean up city air and cut traffic jams'THE operator of an Edinburgh car sharing scheme says a surge in popularity has helped cut congestion in the Capital.

London Evening Standard

• ... But Boris still leads the cycling reLondon could witness a cycling revolution this summer, with a series of events aimed at getting more people to ditch their cars.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Plea to get bridge back on trackPoliticians and parents are calling for a closed railway bridge in Inverness to be reopened because children are using it as an unofficial shortcut to school.
• Glenfinnan railway station given £15,000 cash boostA £15,000 Holyrood grant is just the ticket for trustees of a West Highland Line station who want to increase facilities for travellers.
• Council to save cash on school transport Aberdeen City Council will save more than £350,000 a year after a councillor put forward proposals to shake up its school transport system.
• Bus giant accuses union of holding passengers in Aberdeen to ransomBus passengers in Aberdeen are being œheld to ransom by trade union officials who are planning a fresh wave of strikes in the city, transport giant First claimed last night.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Leeds bus cuts: details revealed COMMENT ON THIS STORYFRESH details have emerged about the Leeds bus service cuts being proposed by transport giant First.

Railnews

• News: Network Rail’s claim of ’record punctuality’ runs into criticism AN announcement by Network Rail that passengers last year “enjoyed the best train punctuality ever recorded on Britain's railways” has been met with criticism — and an official complaint to the Office of Rail Regulation by Virgin Trains

Aviation Industry

• Boris’s bike escape shows what cyclists put up withI was at a launch for MPs of CTC’s Safety in Numbers campaign in the House of Commons the other day. They produced statistics which show that cycling in London since 2000 has increased by 91 per cent and that fatalities have fallen by 33 per cent.

Other News Sources

• US official inspects French TGV, finds it on strikeUS Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood inspected France's ultramodern high speed rail network on Tuesday, and found it was undergoing one of its periodic bouts of industrial unrest.
• Commuters are finally feeling the benefit of railway repairsTRACK replacement work is improving services on the London to Colchester line, according to Essex Rail Users’ Federation.
• What can European Elections do for transport?On 4 June, voters from across Europe will elect 785 MEPs, made up of representatives from all 27 EU countries. The UK is allocated 72 of these seats.
• Birmingham plans "intelligent" IT-enabled transport networkBirmingham could be at the forefront of urban technology if a multimillion-pound transport project backed by a public and private consortium goes ahead.
• YORKSHIRE villages Bus service to be expandedA VILLAGE bus service aimed at residents with limited means of travel is to be expanded from next week after new funding was secured from the scheme.
• Public inquiry call over £20m bus route planCampaigners are calling for a public inquiry into a proposed £20m bus route through Gosport and Fareham.
• Fears of Midlands train fares loophole despite barriersA TRAIN company that spent more than £2.7 million on ticket barriers designed to crack down on fare dodgers could still be losing profits due to a security loophole. London Midland installed automatic ticket gates at five Birmingham stations. But travellers can still purchase concessionary tickets at machines without providing proof, which slash ticket prices by up to 20 per cent.
• It's train fares that take strainSEAFORD MP Norman Baker has released figures showing that the cost of bus and train fares has shot up in the past 12 years, while cars and planes are now cheaper in real terms than they were in 1997.
• London rail link behind timesDONCASTER'S mainline rail link to London lagged behind the national average for punctuality, according to new figures. Annual train punctuality reached the 90 per cent mark for the first time since records began in 1992, Network Rail announced.
• Fast Huddersfield to London train wantedIT’S one of the biggest towns in the UK, but it still has no direct link to London. Now rail campaigners are urging the Government to give Huddersfield a fast train line to the capita
• Train disruption drives commuter to tearsJulie Bart of the Garth in Abbots Langley says a pledge from Watford MP Claire Ward for more stopping trains at Kings Langley station is yet to be fulfilled
• Railways 'must double in size' within 30 yearsTrain operators warn of urgent need to build extra lines to cope with forecast passenger boom British railways must double their capacity over the next 30 years if they are to cope with demand from passengers, train operators have warned.
• Rail passengers' anger over being 'stranded' at stationDisabled passengers and mums with pushchairs are being 'stranded' at Alfreton railway station, says a local woman, as the only way off the southbound platform is over the footbridge.
• Sussex train overcrowding is tackled in new planCommuters could benefit from longer trains and more seats as a part of a plan to combat overcrowding.
• Oil prices down ahead of Opec meetingOil prices eased below $60 a barrel as investors awaited the latest meeting of the Opec oil-producing cartel later this week

News from Europe

• Rolling stock cable brand launchedNexans has launched Flamex as the brand for its range of cables for rolling stock applications, including on-train power, control, data, high voltage and optic fibre products.

Other Subscription Services

• German owners set to ink CSAV rescue dealSHIPOWNERS heading for agreement to prevent stricken line from bankruptcy ahead of Thursday's deadline.