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

Thursday, 06 August 2009

BBC News

• Passengers not allowed on train A rail lobby group has called for better plans for staffing a northern route, after a sick conductor led to a train running without passengers.
• New £113m road route is announced The route for the planned £113m dualling of a new section of the A8 carriageway between Ballyclare and Larne has been announced.
• No C-charge plan for diesel cars Low-emission petrol and diesel cars would be allowed free entry to London's congestion charge zone under a plan by Transport for London (TfL).
• Bus services return to villagers Some rural bus services in Shropshire have started-up again after a village was left with no service at all.
• Rail strike starts as talks failA strike by rail workers on National Express East Anglia begins after talks over pay between unions and management broke down.
• Green failures 'may hit taxpayer'The failure of UK government departments to cut their carbon emissions could hit taxpayers, MPs warn.

Financial Times

• Show of resilience helps boost BABritish Airways shares jumped yesterday after it disclosed more resilient monthly traffic volumes than had been expected from the business customers that are its most...
• Cathay back to profit on fuel-hedge gainsGains on fuel-hedging contracts help Cathay Pacific record a 'paper profit' of $105m for the first half of the year, masking a 27% decline in revenues
• Five-week deadline for National Express bidsThe Takeover Panel has given transport group Stagecoach and the Spanish-led consortium until September 11 to make a firm offer for the bus and rail operator
• Singapore shipping firm NOL sees improvementNeptune Orient Lines, one of the world's largest container shipping firms, said on Thursday it saw some improvement in the container business and that the operating environment has stabilised

The Guardian

• High-speed rail in Spain: From Madrid to Barcelona in a flash Ana Portet has had an unusual commute to work. At 7.30am she popped down to Sants railway station in Barcelona. Three hours later she was in a meeting with colleagues from her brewery firm, 315 miles away in Madrid.
• High-speed trains: off the rails or right on track? [letter]As a regular rail user, I am all in favour of improvements to the rail network (Government unveils high-speed rail plan to ground short flights, 5 August). I am also all in favour of ways of reducing our emissions. However, the transport secretary, Andrew Adonis, should not try to justify the investment of billions of pounds in a new high-speed rail network as being a "green" initiative.
• Which country has the most high speed train lines? Find out exactly where the UK stands in the international league table
• Plane to train: the ultra-fast route to a travel revolution Europe's largest high-speed rail operator has predicted that domestic air travel in the UK will lose millions of passengers to a 250mph train service if an ultra-fast network becomes a reality.
• High-speed rail in the United States: Back on track after 50 years of neglect Long before he became president, Barack Obama had a hankering for the TGV and other fast trains. "I am always jealous about European trains," he told an audience during a visit to Strasbourg last spring. "And I said to myself: why can't we have high-speed rail?"
• Peter Hendy's bonus decision Transport for London's Annual Report and Statement of Accounts was published yesterday. It contains many pages of facts including, on page 169, the following:
• Ultra-fast route to a travel revolutionEurope's largest high-speed rail operator has predicted that domestic air travel in the UK will lose millions of passengers to a 250mph train service if an ultra-fast network becomes a reality.The chief executive of the French rail giant, SNCF, said the proposed network could dominate travel from London to all British cities as far north as Glasgow. Guillaume Pepy said the

The Independent

• Rail strike goes ahead as talks break down A 48-hour strike by workers at a leading rail company will go ahead from midnight after talks aimed at resolving a row over pay and conditions broke down today.

The Telegraph

• Parties unite to back high speed railHigh speed rail is set to replace short haul flights as all three parties united in backing a 250mph network linking major cities across the country.

Daily Express

• BA's traffic is on riseBRITISH AIRWAYS flew with fewer empty seats last month as the prospect of an improvement in summer traffic brought some relief for the beleaguered airline.

Mail Online

• The bus pass means test: How millions of middle-class pensioners may lose right to free travel

The Mirror

• Free OAP bus travel 'inefficient'Free bus passes for all pensioners is an "inefficient" use of public money which would be better used by "targeting" it at those most in need, according to a report.

Birmingham Post

• Birmingham Airport says high-speed railway won't stop domestic flightsBirmingham Airport has dismissed Government claims that a high speed railway would put a stop to domestic flights and said it would continue to operate short-haul flights in direct competition with the rail network.

Liverpool Echo

• Transport secretary claims Liverpool John Lennon airport will lose flights when high-speed rail link opens LIVERPOOL will lose many of its air links to the continent when a high-speed rail line is built, the transport secretary predicted.

London Evening Standard

• Rail strike causes travel chaos for thousands with worse threatenedHundreds of trains were cancelled today as a second strike halted most National Express East Anglia services to and from Liverpool Street.
• TfL chief waives half his bonus due to ’tough times’ London's transport commissioner Peter Hendy has forgone more than half his annual bonus.

Nottingham Evening Post

• County council faces backlash over plans to pull bus plugs A FLEET of new buses costing £1m was introduced on the Pathfinder 100 service after the Gedling bus plugs were introduced in 2007.

Yorkshire Post

• Charlie Elphicke: Try these new ideas to cut congested policiesTHERE are few things I hate more than traffic jams. You know, the tedium of sitting in traffic queues for an age while the kids scream in the back.

Peterborough Telegraph

• Rail strike goes ahead as talks break downA 48-hour strike by workers at a leading rail company in East Anglia will go ahead from midnight on Wednesday after talks aimed at resolving a row over pay and conditions brok

Wall Street Journal

• Funds Flow to Electric CarsObama announced $2.4 billion in grants to developers of next-generation car batteries and parts, aiming to develop a domestic electric-vehicle industry that creates jobs and reduces demand for oil.

Railnews

• News: UK Government plans to ground domestic flights with 250 mph trains CONFIRMING that Britain’s next high-speed rail line from London to the North will operate trains at 250 mph (400 km/h) — as exclusively disclosed by Railnews two months ago — Transport Secretary Lord Andrew Adonis has now declared his aim of ending all domestic air travel in Britain.

Other News Sources

• http://www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/news/4530457.City_parking_tax__was_considered_/A consortium plotting to buy troubled transport group National Express has been told to come up with a firm takeover offer by September 11- or shelve any bid for at least six months.
• City parking tax 'was considered'Councillors confirmed they had considered levying a tax on office parking spaces in Oxford.
• £1.85m boost for public transport Public transport in Gainsborough is to get a £1.85m boost, the Government has announced. The money will go towards improvements at Lea Road Railway Station, as well as drawing up plans for redeveloping the facilities at the town centre bus station.
• Second city centre tram line planned Plans to send Metrolink trams from Rochdale on a new route through the centre of Manchester were this week being studied by Government officials.
• Fate of controversial transport scheme to be decided A crunch meeting will be held this evening to decide the future of a controversial bus route through Bath. Members of Bath and North East Somerset Council's development control committee will meet at the Guildhall to make a final decision on a £9 million Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system.
• MP blasts VOSA's Steeton closure decsionAnn Cryer, Labour MP for Keighley, West Yorkshire, has accused VOSA's plans for Authorised Testing...
• Welsh give thumbs down to buses and trainsPublic transport in Wales needs more investment to lure people out of their cars, according to ICE Wales director Keith Jones.

Other Subscription Services

• NOL posts $391m half year lossSingapore headquartered line says container shipping remains depressed even if volumes have improved
• Seaspan rebuffs Hapag-Lloyd, CSAV charter rate reductionBoxship owner did not participate in CSAV rescue plan and will not renegotiate Hapag-Lloyd charters