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

Wednesday, 08 July 2009

BBC News

• Images of track jumpers releasedImages of youths running over the tracks at Edinburgh's Waverley Station have been released as part of a hard-hitting safety campaign.
• Rain floods London Tube stationsA number of London Underground stations are closed and rail services are disrupted due to flooding after thunderstorms.
• Greece fined over airline subsidyEuropean Court of Justice orders Greece to pay 2m euros for failing to recover illegal state aid granted to Olympic Airways.
• Qantas admits cargo price-fixingQantas Airways pleads guilty to fixing prices for air cargo on routes from Canada between 2002 and 2006.

Financial Times

• Korean state fund to buy shipsState-run Korea Asset Management Company said it would buy 62 vessels from shipping companies in the country through its Won4,000bn fund to help free up funds for the troubled groups

The Guardian

• National Express accelerates on cash call, bid talkIt may seem a brave call after all the chaos surrounding National Express, but Royal Bank of Scotland analysts have just issued a buy note on the business.
• The UK in airport subsidiesDoes the free market have a free hand?

The Herald

• Closure of Glasgow bus station 'will cause years of traffic chaos'Bus operators have warned of up to two years of traffic "chaos" as Scotland's largest bus station closes to make way for a £400m city centre retail development.

The Independent

• Crossed lines: Untangling Britain's rail networksThe troubles of National Express have provoked renewed despair at the state of our under-funded, over-priced, over-complicated rail network. But are things really that bad? Simon Calder goes on a journey of discovery

The Telegraph

• Pilots demand action as laser attacks on planes increaseAirline pilots are being temporarily blinded during take-off and landing as incidents of laser beams being shot into cockpits increase dramatically, union leaders have warned.

Times Online

• Save UK aviation by dropping taxThe threat of a large number of jobs maintained by aviation being exported to nearby countries is extremely serious for the UK
• London Tube, bus and trains 'extremely vulnerable' to terroristsThe transport network in London remains œextremely vulnerable to terrorist attack, according to a Commons committee report published yesterday.

Network Rail

• YOU™RE HIRED - 1000th NETWORK RAIL APPRENTICE JOINS AWARD-WINNING SCHEME

Transport Briefing

• Fyra trains to cut London-Amsterdam journey timesHigh speed trains that will slash train journey times between Brussels and Amsterdam by more than an hour have been unveiled by rail operators in Belgium and the Netherlands.
• Ashford station spruce-up precedes 140mph launchWork has begun on a six-month refurbishment of Ashford International station in Kent.
• Edinburgh tram contract picked up by McKeanGlasgow-based civil engineering contractor McKean has landed two light rail contracts for work on the Edinburgh tram and Manchester Metrolink systems.
• Forthspan musters civils talent for bridge bidBalfour Beatty, BAM Nuttall, Morgan Est and VINCI Construction Grands Projets have teamed up to bid for the billion pound plus contract to build the Forth Replacement Crossing.
• Bus rapid transit consultations get underwayPlans to build bus rapid transit routes in three of England's major cities have gone out to public consultation.

Derby Telegraph

• Timetable tweaks may put rail station back on trackCAMPAIGNERS hope timetable alterations could boost a village railway station and support their calls for services to be reinstated. The number of trains serving Willington railway station was slashed by more than half earlier this year – from 10 to just four a day.

Journal Live

• A massive transport snub for the regionMINISTERS preparing to fund the nation's most important transport assets have ruled that large swathes of the North East are of no "strategic importance".

London Evening Standard

• New peril to Heathrow pilots from attacks by £10 laser gunsPilots landing and taking off at Heathrow and Gatwick are reporting a dramatic increase in the number of laser beams fired into their cockpits. More lives are being put at risk by £10 laser guns bought from corner shops and online.

Nottingham Evening Post

• Letter: Trams are not the solutionam disappointed to read that the county council cabinet member for transport and the environment and Conservative group leader on Broxtowe council, Richard Jackson, still seems unable to make a decision regarding involvement in phase two of the tram (Post, June 27). The county's unwillingness to confirm their position in writing has now put Beeston Square redevelopment at threat.
• Changes could keep motorists off tram-only viaductCOLOURED road surfaces and solar-powered cats' eyes could be brought in to improve safety at a tramline viaduct.

The York Press

• Cycle-route plan for Beckfield Lane, in Acomb, opposed by York councillorsCOUNCILLORS want the brakes to be put on extension plans for a York cycle route – because they fear it could be a waste of money.
• RMT union accused of ˜mischief making™ over maintenance claims relating to National Express East Coast trains A RAIL union has raised fears over safety on National Express East Coast trains after claiming that the frequency of maintenance checks on brakes has been almost halved.

Washington Post

• Traffic congestion dipping as economy falters WASHINGTON -- Drivers are spending less time stuck in rush-hour traffic for a second straight year, the first-ever two-year decline in congestion as high gas prices and the economic downturn force many Americans to change how they commute.

Aviation Industry

• Wellington cycle stand is Sold Secure GOLDThe new Wellington cycle stand from Autopa has been awarded Sold Secure Gold after passing rigorous tests.

Other News Sources

• £700m Tithebarn project - what you thinkMany believed better transport links were needed before construction begins.
• Station car park plans spark backlashResidents have launched a campaign against the building of an extra deck of car parking at Hemel Hempstead railway station.
• New cycle route on trackKent’s new extended cycle route network is making ’excellent progress’ according to the council.
• Train passengers happy with serviceSPALDING'S rail operator East Midlands Trains has hailed the improvements it has made in a passenger survey.
• New train service will speed up trips to cityLICHFIELD could get an extra direct rail service to London on Sundays by the end of the year.
• Flybe fills the National Express void Flybe has reported record sales on its new air service from Yorkshire to London. In direct contrast to the chaos on the rail network, which has seen the government take the East Coast rail service into public ownership, Flybe sold more tickets on June 30th than on any other day since the route was announced in April.
• Streatham Labour candidate pushes for tube extensionAn ambitious plan to bring the tube to Streatham has been launched by a parliamentary candidate.
• Truck fleet bids to drive down emissionsIt’s not easy for truck fleets to go green, but McBurney, one of Northern Ireland’s largest independently owned transport operators, is certainly making a spirited effort.
• OFT welcomes Ryanair compliance with fare rules A two-year Office of Fair Trading (OFT) campaign to ensure Ryanair complies with rules to include all unavoidable charges in prices has ended with the low-cost...
• Fuel price 'could force 3PLs to move to Continent'A leading haulage boss believes the UK government's failure to reduce fuel duty could lead to many third-party logistics (3PL) businesses leaving the UK and moving to mainland Europe.
• Balfour Beaaty/Vinci/Morgan Est/BAM Nuttall JV confirmed for Forth Replacement CrossingFour major contractors today confirmed they will compete as an integrated joint venture to participate in the procurement of Transport Scotland™s £1.7 to £2.3 billion Forth Replacement Crossing.
• Green shoots wither in box tradeCONTAINER shipowners and operators face a torrid 2009 with a projected 10.3% market contraction.
• New Reports Say Noise is Harming our Health Environmental Protection UK support call for expert group on noise and health.
• London getting greener but more needed, new report concludes London is becoming more environmentally friendly, according to a new report examining quality of life in the capital.

News from Europe

• Luxembourg tram for 2015The progress of the tram project has been a major topic of discussion between a delegation of the Railway union, Syprolux and project managers.
• Malta said to oppose EU ship scrapping schemeThe European Commission is considering an EU ship scrapping scheme as a means to easing the sector’s suffering, maritime affairs commissioner Joe Borg said yesterday. But Malta, according to Lloyd’s List, is among those countries against such an idea.

Other Subscription Services

• French sea motorway report calls for state funding of shipsFRANCE is to press for changes to European transport regulations.
• ''If we do not get money we beat the crew badly''SOMALI pirate warning raises fears ransom negotiation tactics are being intensified as pirates push for more money.
• Transpacific box lines prepare to tear up contractsTSA member lines issue stark warning that annual contract rates are unsustainable