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Friday, 07 August 2009

BBC News

• Residents fury over 'the bunker' Plans to build a huge train depot, dubbed "the bunker", in north London has sparked fury among residents.
• Rail traveller misery continues Thousands of rail commuters face a second day of disruption as National Express East Anglia staff continue a 48-hour strike over pay.
• Calcutta's clean air slowdown For five days, millions of people in the Indian city of Calcutta have endured long queues in the stifling heat at bus and taxi stands, metro railway counters and on auto-rickshaw routes.
• GM insists no Opel decision madeGeneral Motors has said it is still considering the pros and cons of both bids for its European business, Opel.
• Scrappage scheme boosts car salesCar sales rose 2.4% in July compared with a year ago, the first rise for 15 months, as the scrappage scheme takes effect.

Financial Times

• Heathrow expansion protesters win legal challenge The case against the expansion of Heathrow will be heard in public later this year after a High Court victory by a coalition of green groups, councils and local residents.
• UK car sales rise for first time in 15 monthsNew car sales in the UK rose for the first time for 15 months as the benefits of the government™s car scrappage scheme began to feed through to dealerships
• 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
• Show of resilience helps boost BAThe UK flag carrier's shares jump after it announced more robust monthly traffic volumes than expected from business customers that are its most lucrative market segment
• Neptune Orient hit by shipping stormThe container-shipping industry produced further evidence of the depth of its crisis when Singapore's Neptune Orient Lines revealed a $391m first-half net loss and revenue slump
• Report questions value of free bus passesFree bus passes for the UK's over-60s have high administrative costs, benefit many who do not need help with travel, and should be better targeted, says a study commissioned by the Local Government Association
• OOCL adds gloom to shipping industryHong Kong's Orient Overseas International, which owns the OOCL container line, added further gloom to the global container shipping industry after it swung to heavy losses in the first half of this year

The Guardian

• Proposal to scrap free bus travel for pensioners rejected Ministers and council leaders today rejected a proposal in a report commissioned by the Local Government Association suggesting free bus travel for all pensioners should be abolished.
• Boris Johnson: ghost stations commitment Writing at Boris Watch, HelenOnTheBus has disparaged the delight with which Mayor Johnson seized on an idea put to him from the floor at his recent public meeting in Croydon. An enterprising audience member explained that he had a business plan to open up London's defunct Underground stations to tourists. Quoth Boris:
• London-Birmingham rail link plans take Tory victory into account Plans for a high-speed rail link from London to Birmingham via Heathrow are being drawn up on the basis that a third runway will not be built, in anticipation of a Conservative victory in the general election.
• The fast and the furious – why new rail link will be controversial • Secret London to Birmingham line planned in detail • Fears of property blight and threat to countrysideT he exact route for the new high-speed rail line from London to Birmingham is being planned in secret to within a few metres, officials behind the project have told the Guardian.
• Conservationist fears high-speed line will scar Chiltern landscape Even on a damp and grey August afternoon, Park Wood oozes a soothing bucolic ease. Kestrels and red kites soar through the drizzle over the low Chiltern hills, rain glistens on the sloe berries and the occasional rabbit skims across the fields among the thistles and cow parsley. If the noise from the nearby A4010 or the panting of a passenger diesel bothers the polo ponies grazing at the bottom of the valley, they do not lift their heads to acknowledge it.
• Adonis catches up on high-speed rail The Conservatives set out plans for high-speed rail long before Labour. And, once in government, we will put them into action
• High-speed rail link project leaders enthuse about new line's benefits Professor Andrew McNaughton, chief engineer of the High Speed Two project, and Sir David Rowlands, its chairman, explain the plans
• Rail link plans take Tory victory into accountPlans for a high-speed rail link from London to Birmingham via Heathrow are being drawn up on the basis that a third runway will not be built, in anticipation of a Conservative victory in the general election.High Speed Two, the company charged with proposing a north-south route, is working on a business model that features a Heathrow station but does not factor in a new runway at the UK's largest airport, reflecting Tory policy to block expansion.In an interview with the Guardian, the High Speed Two chairman, Sir David Rowlands, and the company's chief engineer, Andrew McNaughton, said the sc...

The Independent

• 'Support growing' for rail strike Commuters faced fresh travel misery today because of another strike by rail workers, with worse disruption threatened unless a bitter row over pay and conditions is resolved.

The Scotsman

• Deadline for transport bids BIDDERS for troubled transport operator National Express have been given a "put up or shut up" order by the UK takeover regulator.
• More travel chaos amid rail disputeCommuters are facing more travel misery as rail workers walk out for a second day.

The Telegraph

• Drinkdrive deaths rose last yearThe number of people killed in road accidents involving alcohol rose last year according to figures released by the Department for Transport.
• Cash for bangers boosts car salesNew car sales rose in July for the first time in 15 months as the Government's

Times Online

• Parking levy can help to untie knots in transport Ask anyone about their motivations for choosing a place to live and you can be sure that “good access to public transport” will be one of the top priorities.
• Cloud ships on course to beat climate change, says Copenhagen studyThey sound like ideas from a Jules Verne novel, but giant engineering schemes designed to alter the climate offer the cheapest way of avoiding catastrophic global warming, according to a growing number of scientists and green-minded entrepreneurs.
• Scrappage scheme drives surge in sales of private carsThe Government™s œcash for bangers scheme gave the car industry a much- needed boost last month as sales increased for the first time in 15 months.

The Mirror

• Pensioners' bus passes should be funded by the privateersCouncil chiefs are considering proposals to means-test free bus passes for old folk.

Network Rail

• CHASE LINE GETS £2.1M REVAMPSix stations in the West Midlands are to be revamped as part of a £2.1 million programme of investment on the Chase Line. Network Rail, rail operator London Midland and transport authority Centro are investing £1.7m to significantly improve facilities including the provision of new waiting shelters, seating and CCTV.
• TIPTON LEVEL CROSSING USERS GET HARD HITTING SAFETY MESSAGE Network Rail is alerting Tipton pedestrians to the dangers of level crossing misuse on Friday 7 August. Tipton has the West Midlands’ most misused public crossing. The awareness day aims to combat the irresponsible use of the crossing and highlight the dangers of ignoring warning signs and barriers.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Needless signs are cluttering rural areasTHE Campaign for the Protection of Rural Wales (CPRW) is launching a campaign to reduce the clutter in rural areas of Wales made up of unnecessary road signs and speed cameras.
• Bus pass rumours ’untrue’ say WAGTHERE are no plans to scrap free bus passes for pensioners, the Welsh Assembly Government vowed yesterday.

Journal Live

• High speed rail plans won’t help North EastTHE Government’s multi-billion pound high-speed rail plans are in danger of simply increasing the dominance of the South East, it has been claimed.

Liverpool Post

• Hall Lane Gateway Project gets go-ahead GOVERNMENT transport bosses today gave the go-ahead to the £18m Hall Lane Gateway Project.

London Evening Standard

• Second rail strike brings more misery to the journey homeRail commuters face a nightmare journey home again tonight after the start of a 48-hour strike closed down busy routes to and from Liverpool Street station

Nottingham Evening Post

• A46 on track despite heavy rain challenges WORK to dual the A46 is on schedule despite being hampered by the recent deluges, the Highways Agency has announced.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Restoration project runs into trouble A PLAN to restore the historic railway station at Invergarry has hit the buffers – because no one knows who owns some track.

This Is Local London Network

• No Third Runway campaigners go to judicial review CAMPAIGNERS against the third runway at Heathrow have been granted a hearing in the High Court. The 2M Group of local authorities have learnt that the application launched by campaigners for a judicial review against expansion at Heathrow will be considered in open court in the Autumn.

Peterborough Telegraph

• Rail strike causes travel chaosA strike by workers at a leading rail firm has been "solidly" supported, causing travel chaos for thousands of passengers in East Anglia, with worse disruption threate

Forbes

• ExxonMobil: Green Company of the Year Oil from algae? Just a sideshow, Exxon's real thrust into green energy is a big bet on natural gas.

Aviation Industry

• Passengers dig deep for local good causesGenerous passengers at London Stansted Airport have helped pump over half a million pounds into local good causes over the past ten years...

Other News Sources

• High-tech GPS system to revolutionise bus travel A SATELLITE orbits earth beaming down the type of vital information West Fifers need to know - such as how long they have to wait for the next bus.
• High Speed Rail now Connects more than 200 British Towns and Cities to Mainland EuropeEurostar, the provider of high-speed, carbon neutral rail journeys between the UK and the Continent, today announced that it now offers fares from more than 200 towns and cities across Britain for high-speed rail travel to the continent. Eurostar outlined its plans the day after the Government announced an investment programme in high-speed rail to help meet its targets to cut carbon emissions.
• Taxation and rail-links to curb UK air-travelEach year 169 million passengers take advantage of 1.9 million domestic and short-haul European flights to and from the UK. These figures result in regular calls to the government from environmental lobbies to control the numbers through heavier taxation of the aviation industry and more investment in rail networks.
• High speed rail firm ready for Tory victoryCompany charged with proposing high speed line factors in Conservative success in next general election
• Lord Adonis: Three reasons why he is wrongTransport minister Lord Adonis tells us that the government’s intends to replace domestic and short-haul flights with a new high-speed rail network. There are three good reasons to think that this is a terrible idea.
• Strike-hit commuters flock to c2c rail line SURPRISED staff at Laindon station say they were inundated with requests for latte coffees as commuters from Billericay flocked in because of the train strike.
• Six station Chase Line revamp aheadSix railway stations are to be revamped as part of a £2.1million programme of investment on the Chase Line which runs through Staffordshire into the West Midlands.
• £2m revamp for six West Midlands rail stations MORE than £2 million is to be spent on revamping six West Midland railway stations. The Chase Line is the target of a £2.1 million cash injection which will see stations in Walsall and south Staffordshire get a makeover, the Birmingham Mail can reveal.
• Gatwick monorail replacement busA replacement bus service between Gatwick South and North terminals will start on September 28, 2009 as work begins on upgrading the Gatwick monorail.
• Councils win Heathrow runway review A group of councils opposed to Heathrow expansion have been told they can challenge the Government’s decision to approve a third runway at the airport.
• Bus station shop 'should re-open' A WORKER made redundant by the closure of Bridgwater Bus Station's travel shop has issued a passionate appeal for it to be reopened.
• New bus route blockade THE Scholes bus service saga, which has caused widespread disruption for many local people during the past three weeks, took a turn for the worse this week. Police were called to the village on Monday after two buses were unable to continue serving new route 64A after their path was blocked by parked vehicles.
• £60,000 WORK TO IMPROVE WORKINGTON BUS STATION WORK to improve footways in Workington’s bus station got underway this week. The footways will be raised and new railings installed on the kerbs during improvements which are scheduled to last for a month.
• Transport Ministers endorse 2009 MPG Marathon in CoventryThe new Secretary of State for Transport Lord Adonis and Transport Minister Sadiq Khan have both endorsed fuel efficiency extravaganza, the 2009 ALD Automotive/TOTAL ECO 10 MPG Marathon in Coventry on September 30 and 1st October.
• Transport Ministers endorse 2009 MPG Marathon in CoventryThe new Secretary of State for Transport Lord Adonis and Transport Minister Sadiq Khan have both endorsed fuel efficiency extravaganza, the 2009 ALD Automotive/TOTAL ECO 10 MPG Marathon in Coventry on September 30 and 1st October.
• North West 'losing out on transport cash' THE NORTH West is losing out to London for vital transport funding, according to the Liberal Democrats.
• Brits favour premium long haul over mini-breaks Holidaymakers are still favouring a single, premium long-haul holiday and turning their backs on European mini breaks, according the American Express (Amex)...
• BA to charge for skis and golf clubsBritish Airways has introduced charges of up to £80 to carry skis, snowboards and golf clubs, and will also cut baggage allowances for flights to America
• 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.
• TfL publishes review of potential East London river crossingsEarly results recommend further feasibility work on a package of projects including Silvertown crossing and Woolwich ferry upgrade
• Nissan takes a 'leaf' out of eco book and claims world's first affordable electric car NISSAN has just revealed details of the Leaf, which the company claims will be the world's first affordable electric car.
• Scottish Climate Change Bill gets Royal AssentThe Climate Change Scotland Bill has been granted Royal Assent and will now become an Act of Parliament.
• GM's rechargeable hybrid carGM's rechargeable hybrid car
• More travel chaos amid rail disputeMore travel chaos amid rail dispute

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• Diana wary despite strong second quarterDIANA Shipping has cautioned against taking recovery in the dry bulk market for granted.