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

Tuesday, 16 June 2009

BBC News

• Crime on London buses 'falls 18%'London's mayor has said crime on buses has fallen to its lowest level for five years as he completed the rollout of safer transport police teams.
• Town included in station proposalA campaign to provide a railway station for a Warwickshire town has been boosted by train operators including it in a list of proposed new stations.
• Lost linksThe legacy of the 1960s Beeching rail cuts
• 60,000 take up car scrappage cashThe UK government says orders for new cars under its scrappage subsidy scheme have reached the 60,000 mark.
• World firstBoeing and Airbus greet rival aircraft from Russia
• First orders from Paris Air ShowThe first deals are done at the Paris Air Show, with Qatar Airways ordering 24 A320 planes from Europe's Airbus.

The Guardian

• Paris to introduce driverless trains on underground systemParis's oldest and busiest underground railway line is to be given a multimillion-euro overhaul which local authorities hope will make it more stylish, streamlined and – crucially in a city regularly crippled by industrial action – more strike-proof than ever.

The Herald

• Speed-limiting device to be fitted to cars in pilot schemeAutomatic speed-limiting devices will be fitted to cars under a pilot scheme unveiled yesterday as part of the Scottish Government's long-awaited road safety framework.

The Telegraph

• National Rail Enquiries investigated over My Rail Lite iPhone appThe Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) announced today that it is investigating complaints about National Rail Enquiries' handling of real-time train information in regard to My Rail Lite, the free iPhone application that was removed from the iTunes App Store earlier this year after a licensing dispute.
• Warning: there's trouble ahead for Britain's railways This is a boom time for the railways so why aren't they better asks Christian Wolmar

Times Online

• Safety boost for cyclists: junction mirrors to alert lorry driversMirrors that reveal cyclists and pedestrians hidden in a lorry’s blind spot will be attached to traffic lights in an attempt to prevent hundreds of deaths and serious injuries.
• Southern Rail faces big fines unless number of complaints dropsThe days of suffering in silence will soon be over for rail passengers who endure rude staff, dirty trains and blocked lavatories on one of Britain™s busiest commuter franchises.
• UK scrappage scheme shifts 60,000 carsMore than 60,000 new car orders have been placed under the Government's car scrappage scheme, figures revealed today.

Daily Express

• BA's zero pay planBRITISH Airways staff are being asked to work for four weeks without pay as the company desperately tries to cut costs.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Cold winter means potholed Denbighshire roads need £10,000 repairsAROUND £10,000 a week needs to be spent filling potholes left in the aftermath of the coldest winter since 1995.

Liverpool Post

• Second Mersey bridge ’more important than tram scheme’, says MP Derek TwiggAN MP backed plans for a second Mersey bridge claiming it was more important to Merseyside than the axed tram scheme.

London Evening Standard

• Paris on track for 'strike-proof' trainThe busiest underground line in Paris is to be given a multi-million-pound overhaul which will make it
• Tories may ban 'trivial' Tube strikes
• Boris launches electric car hire schemeBritain's first electric car hire scheme has been launched in London with a scheme which will allow members to rent an adapted Toyota Prius from £5.95 an hour
• Mayor's bus police cut theft and vandalism by a thirdThe number of bus robberies and cases of vandalism on London's buses has fallen by more than a third since Boris Johnson became Mayor

Nottingham Evening Post

• £3.9m ticket to rideEXPANDING the free local bus pass scheme to operate across the country was widely welcomed by the over 60s and eligible disabled people. And with money to cover the costs coming from central Government, local authorities were told they would not have to foot the bill.
• £28m tram farceIs £28m good value for the residents of Rushcliffe for the Line Two extension of the tram? A line which could not be more on the periphery of Rushcliffe if the planners had tried, which runs for approximately one mile before it re-enters the City boundary.
• 'Free' ticket to ride costs £3.9mCITY council taxpayers must pick up a £3.9m bill for 'free' bus passes. A popular destination, Nottingham has been hit by rising costs since the Government decided money to pay back bus companies for travel should come from the place a journey begins.

The York Press

• First York passengers vented their frustration with Number 10 daytime service BUS bosses are to analyse claims of problems on a York bus route after passengers vented their frustration, claiming it had become crammed and unreliable.

Blackpool Gazette

• Trainline hope for FleetwoodTRAINS could once again be travelling to Fleetwood!

Carlisle News & Star

• Carlisle council taking part in commuter challengeCouncil staff will take part in a commuter challenge this week testing cars, bikes, public transport and walking to see which is the fastest.

Northants Evening Telegraph

• Rolling back the years at stationA railway station has welcomed back passengers for the first time in 50 years.

Peterborough Telegraph

• Rail network report backs expansionThere is a strong case to expand the existing rail network by opening new stations and train lines, including in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, a report has stated.

Sunderland Echo

• 'Reopen mothballed railway lines'TRAIN companies have called for new train lines and stations in Wearside and East Durham to reconnect passengers left out by the existing network.

Washington Post

• UAW urges support for 'cash for clunkers' bill WASHINGTON -- The United Auto Workers union urged senators on Monday to reject any attempt to block a
• FAA to propose new rules on airline pilot hours WASHINGTON -- Obama administration officials said Monday they will propose new limits on how many hours airline pilots can fly in an effort to curb pilot fatigue, an issue safety officials have been urging action on for two decades.

Transport for London

• Comic book artwork takes over passageways at Charing Cross and EmbankmentSuperheroes will appear in Charing Cross and Embankment stations from 16 June when new artwork inspired by comic book tales of heroic quests is installed.

Aviation Industry

• An Open Platform for Electric Car-Charging Networks?A growing number of political leaders—from mayors on up to presidents and prime ministers —are taking up the electric vehicle (EV) torch, working on policies and incentives to spur widespread adoption of plug-in cars.
• ControlBuild wins prestigious Industry Award at the Siemens Innovation Grand Prix 2009; Industry Award recognises project for RATP - the Paris public transport operatorGeensys has announced that ControlBuild, its front-to-back, model-based environment for the design, development, validation, deployment and maintenance of control and automation systems, has won the prestigious Industry Award at the Siemens Innovation Grand Prix 2009. Geensys competed against a large number of companies to win the Award.
• Check In and Chill Out: Be Relax Spa Opens at Heathrow Passengers flying through Heathrow Terminal 5 can now enjoy a pamper and a pummelling courtesy of airport spa specialist Be Relax. The French firm is launching an 876 square foot relaxation centre in the airport™s satellite terminal “ Terminal 5B “ offering passengers a wide range of beauty and well-being treatments from massage and manicures to aroma and oxygen therapy...
• BAA consolidates Heathrow parking to improve passenger experenceThe UK™s leading parking management specialist, APCOA, has been appointed as Heathrow™s dedicated airport parking partner...
• Ryanair in talks to order 300 aircraftRyanair in talks to buy 300 aircraft as the low-cost airline aims to carry 100 million passengers by 2012 Ryanair has opened talks with Boeing and Airbus about ordering up to 300 more aircraft in a deal that would make the low-budget carrier more than double the size of British Airways.
• FAA Pledges To Fight Pilot FatiguePilot Fatigue Linked To Over 250 Crashes In The Past 15 Years

Other News Sources

• New council to drop tram fundingPlans to build a £470 million tram extension in Nottingham could be jeopardised after Nottinghamshire County Council's new Tory administration warned it would not contribute to the cost of the project. 28 years of Labour control, the Conservatives won the county council in the local elections.
• Town's bus link changes under fireSTOCKSBRIDGE councillors have criticised changes to the town's bus link with Sheffield. Operator First is running each of its 57 and 58 routes, which also serve villages in between, hourly instead of half hourly from July 19.
• Council appeals for public's help to find new bus station siteWANTED...a new home for Colchester’s bus station. Colchester Council chiefs are stumped in their search to find a site suitable for a new town centre station. So they are calling on residents to come forward with suggestions.
• TRAIN STATION HOPE FOR TOWYN AND KINMEL BAYA TOP-level study into the future of transport could see a railway station being built for Towyn and Kinmel Bay. The study, by Taith, the North Wales Regional Transport Consortium, found there was a "positive business case in the medium term " for a new station.
• Railway station to get overhaulMVA Consultancy has been commissioned by West Northamptonshire Development Corporation (WNDC) to design and develop a station. T
• New national report says rail line in Rossendale a priorityA NEW report has revealed that Rawtenstall is in the top five priority list for a new train line.
• Tesla Motors CEO: Gas Should Be $10/Gallon"I'm anti-tax, but I'm pro-carbon tax," Tesla Motors founder Elon Musk said onstage at the Wired Business Conference here Monday--a remark that prompted interviewer and Wired editor-in-chief Chris Anderson to quip that he was a "true Silicon Valley libertarian."
• Latest milestone for guided busCONSTRUCTION of Cambridgeshire's £116 million guided bus link has moved a step forward with the laying of the last section of track on the longest section of the route between Cambridge and St Ives.
• SeaFrance revises its restructuring plansSNCF-owned Channel ferry operator SeaFrance is scaling back...
• Pirates expand to Oman's waters A cargo vessel has been hijacked by suspected...
• Bypass set to cut congestion in North WalesA £50m road project to ease congestion and improve journey times for truck drivers in North Wales has been given the go-ahead.
• Rail network report backs expansion
• FAA to target pilot records and fatigue rulesThe FAA will ask all airlines to begin reviewing pilot records held by the agency as it revises a November 2007 advisory circular in the aftermath of the...
• What Iran vote means for tankersIRAN™S election has probably put the kibosh on foreign investment in Iranian oil shipping, IHS Global Insight said today.
• Ministers reiterate support for green railway transportEU transport ministers yesterday (11 June) paved the way to make rail freight transportation more attractive, as a way of reducing pollution and traffic on European roads.
• Hoon exit: ˜time for Heathrow rethink™Transport secretary Geoff Hoon™s resignation provides an opportunity for the Government to rethink its policy towards Heathrow expansion, according to the 2M Group.
• London Councils asks Mayor to work with boroughs on electric vehicle plansLondon Councils has called on Boris Johnson to work with boroughs on plans to significantly increase the number of electric vehicles in the capital.