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

Monday, 01 June 2009

BBC News

• Bullet trains run preview serviceRail passengers on commuter routes from Kent to London will be able to try out the new Japanese-built bullet train on a special preview service.
• Tram named after steam rail lineOne of Greater Manchester's Metrolink trams has been renamed in honour of a tourist steam railway line.
• Access to trains and buses demandA series of demonstrations are taking place to highlight the difficulties faced by disabled people accessing public transport.
• Honda's production line restartsThe production line at Honda's car factory in Swindon is going back into operation after a four- month break.
• GM ready to file for bankruptcyCar giant General Motors is preparing to file for bankruptcy protection, the biggest industrial failure in US corporate history.

Financial Times

• Road-charging stuck in the slow laneBritain is “a long way short” of adopting a national system of charging for road use, the transport secretary said in a strikingly downbeat assessment of the policy’s prospects. Geoff Hoon said in an interview with the Financial Times that he wanted to see evidence of the practicality of road-charging schemes – which have been government policy since 2004 – before pressing ahead.

The Guardian

• Gatwick bidders get second shot at airportBidders shut out of the Gatwick auction could re-enter the fray after Manchester Airports Group (MAG), the frontrunner to acquire Britain's second-largest airport, held talks about enlarging its bidding consortium.
• Tube Lines and TfL dispute threatens £30bn LU improvementThe London mayor, Boris Johnson, could be forced to consider slashing a £30bn London Underground improvement programme after the regulator threatened to intervene in a funding row.
• Vauxhall deal leaves UK jobs in limboUnions are calling on the government to force the new owners of Vauxhall to divulge their plans for the company's British workforce after the business secretary, Lord Mandelson, admitted he did not know if jobs at Vauxhall's Luton and Ellesmere Port plants would be safe.The Canadian car parts maker Magna and the Russian bank Sberbank agreed at the weekend to take control of the European arm of General Motors, which includes Vauxhall and its German sister company Opel, in a deal backed by loans from the German state.The rest of the company is expected to declare itself bankrupt, seeking legal p...

The Independent

• 140mph trains previewed, but they'll cost moreRail passengers on busy commuter routes will get their first taste of new 140mph "Javelin" trains later this month - but will have to pay more to use them, it was announced today.

The Scotsman

• Car workers return to uncertaintyThousands of employees at motor giant Vauxhall are returning to work after a week-long shutdown, with a huge question mark hanging over their future.

The Telegraph

• Bikers fall foul of bus lanesTransport for London should take control of all London's bus lanes so that it is clearer to motorcyclists which ones they can use, the British Motorcyclists Federation (BMF) said this week.

Times Online

• Mandelson seeks details on British jobs from Vauxhall's new ownersLord Mandelson is preparing to meet the new owners of Vauxhall within days to “nail down” how many British jobs will be protected and over what period they will be guaranteed.

Press Association

• Trains 'still running late'Two out of every five trains on Britain's busiest railway line have been running late despite a £9 billion upgrade, a trade union has claimed.

Daily Express

• London City Airport firm in lead for GatwickGlobal Infrastructure Partners (GIP) is tipped as the favourite to buy Gatwick airport — if the sales process is not put on hold.
• UK port in doubt as Dubai reviews plan Dubai Ports World, due to build a new £2 billion container port at Shell Haven in the Thames estuary, is believed to have placed all its major projects under review, putting a question mark over the future of the UK development.

Mail Online

• Heave-ho! The curse of Heathrow's Terminal 5 strikes again as foundations begin to swell

The Mirror

• Task force to fix London to Glasgow train lineA task force of skilled engineers has been formed to get more trains running on time on the West Coast main line between London and Glasgow.

Network Rail

• MULTI-MILLION POUND RAIL PROJECT TAKES A WEIGHT OFF OUR ROADSThousands of lorry journeys have been eliminated and more than one hundred jobs safeguarded following the successful completion of a project to connect a freight terminal to the main rail arteries in the region for the handling of 'big box' containers.

Transport Briefing

• Network Rail seeks Birmingham New Street bidsBirmingham Gateway contracts worth up to £29m have been advertised by Network Rail as part of its £600m project to upgrade New Street station in the heart of the city.
• Grassohol offers solution to biofuel conundrumScientists in Wales are developing a new transport fuel made from grass in an attempt to avoid the problems associated with existing biofuels.
• RAC calls for more roads to cut CO2 emissionsAs many as a fifth of Britain's 34 million motorists are planning to buy an electric car within the next five years or would consider doing so, according to a GfK NOP survey for the RAC Foundation.
• Ebbw Valley rail bridge lifted into positionThe £2.6m bridge - which is due to open in September - will provide a link for pedestrians and cyclists between Newbridge town centre, Newbridge Comprehensive School, the nearby leisure centre and Newbridge railway station, which opened in February 2008 (Transport Briefing 06/02/08).
• North east transport cash allocation under fireBusiness leaders from north east England have criticised the government for failing to make sufficient money available to spend on transport in the region.

Birmingham Post

• Birmingham Airport urged to drop plans for second runwayCampaigners have called for Birmingham International Airport to forever banish all plans for a second runway at the site.

London Evening Standard

• Mayor Boris Johnson in Tube strike feudMayor Boris Johnson today refused to meet union bosses in talks aimed at averting the 48-hour Tube strike. His refusal increased the chances of the walkout going ahead from 7pm on Tuesday 9 June.

Manchester Evening News

• Cabbies' bus lane protestPRIVATE hire drivers fighting to be allowed to use bus lanes to pick up and drop off passengers are staging a protest cavalcade. Twenty cars will take part in the procession, carrying signed petitions from private hire companies across Manchester to the town hall on Wednesday. The private hire drivers say current bus lane regulations, which permit black taxis but prohibit them from pulling in and out of bus lanes, discriminate against older and disabled passengers.

The News (Portsmouth)

• Working on a cycle-safe ferry-to-ferry routeCouncil leader Gerald Vernon-Jackson doesn't need permission from other councillors to decide not to allow cycling on the promenade.

Aviation Industry

• New fees at Southwest called 'starting point'Southwest Airlines Co., which has bashed competitors for charging fees, said Friday it will add new fees for passengers who bring small pets onboard and for unaccompanied minors.

Other News Sources

• Crossrail fast-tracks Royal Oak western portal designFurther details of the Crossrail western portal design contract have been released after Capita Symonds was confirmed as winner of the package on Friday (29 May).
• Revealed: the cost of high-speed rail travel!Commuters will get a chance to try out the UK's first high speed rail service from June 29 - five months ahead of its official launch on December 13.
• Preston Bus takeover probeThe takeover of Preston Bus by bitter rival Stagecoach will be investigated amid fears it could drive up prices.
• Lancashire rail fares could fallSome rail fares will be slashed on trains in Lancashire next year if inflation falls into negative figures.
• 'Two out of five trains late' on Lancs rail lineTwo out of every five trains on Lancashire's busiest railway line have been running late -despite a £9 billion upgrade, it has been claimed.
• Rail fears spark debateMPS have said they are "gravely concerned" the troubled East Coast Mainline rail franchise could collapse and leave a billion pound hole in the government's coffers. Some 27 MPs have now signed a parliamentary motion which states there must be no renegotiation of troubled rail franchises and they should be taken into public ownership if they fail.
• Joy as rail bosses install lift to Chippenham Railway StationA small pressure group is delighted after persuading Network Rail to bring forward planned improvements to Chippenham Railway Station by nearly six years.
• Attack on ’shocking’ lack of spending on transportTHE North-East continues to be in the slow lane when it comes to spending on transport, the region’s leading business organisation has said.