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

Wednesday, 02 September 2009

BBC News

• Views sought on 10-year rail plan More rail services from Cardiff to Portsmouth and Taunton are part of Network Rail's plan to meet increased demand over the next 10 years.
• Upgraded tram services to start An upgraded tram service in Manchester should be running later after its re-opening was delayed on Tuesday.
• The age of action? New green pledge campaign launchesA new environmental campaign, backed by a variety of businesses and celebrities, is launching on Tuesday.
• Airline losses 'hit $1bn a month'Airlines are likely to have lost more than $6bn in the first six months of 2009, according to an international air body.
• Airline collapse hits passengersBudget European airline SkyEurope files for bankruptcy leaving passengers stranded or without flights.
• Carmakers see upturn in US salesCarmakers generally report sharp August sales growth as they prepare for life without a popular $3bn car scrappage scheme.

Financial Times

• Bidder aims to improve offer for Nat ExpressThe Cosmen-CVC Capital Partners consortium is looking for ways of making its deal more attractive after the train and bus operator rejected a conditional all-cash 450p takeover proposal
• SkyEurope declares bankruptcy The Slovakian low-cost airline grounds flights after being unable to cope with the difficult conditions of the global economic crisis

The Independent

• BP hails 'giant' oil find BP was given a shares boost today after the group announced a "giant" oil discovery in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Telegraph

• Airlne collapse strands hundredsHundreds of holidaymakers have been stranded by the collapse of SkyEurope a Slovakian budget airline flying out of Luton and Manchester.

Times Online

• The 15 airports furthest from city centresPassengers bound for the most remote of London's nine airports might be a little surprised to touch down in Oxfordshire, more than 40 miles from the city centre, but it's far from the longest airport transfer in Europe.
• Royal Society warns climate engineering 'could cause disaster'Giant engineering schemes to reflect sunlight or suck carbon dioxide from the air could be the only way to save the Earth from runaway global warming, according to a group of leading scientists. But they say that these schemes could have their own catastrophic consequences, such as disrupting rainfall patterns, and should be deployed only as a last resort if attempts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions fail.
• US car sales soar during cash for clunkersThe US government™s popular ˜cash for clunkers™ programme for new car buyers, sent vehicle sales soaring in August, although some of the biggest winners were foreign companies.
• Passengers stranded as SkyEurope crashesSkyEurope became the latest budget airline to collapse when it cancelled its flights from Manchester and Luton airports with immediate effect.

Mail Online

• Riding high: Bike enthusiast develops electric penny-farthing that travels up to 13mph

Network Rail

• GOGAR STATION EXHIBITION: NEXT STOPS WAVERLEY AND INVERKEITHING

Birmingham Post

• Birmingham Airport chief steps up campaign to get high-speed rail link Birmingham Airport chief executive Paul Kehoe has stepped up his campaign to bring a high-speed rail service to the airport by condemning Birmingham International station as “tired” and little improved since the 1970s.
• Birmingham Airport chief steps up campaign to get high-speed rail linkBIA chief executive Paul Kehoe has stepped up his campaign to bring a high-speed rail service to the airport by condemning Birmingham International station as “tired” and little improved since the 1970s.

Edinburgh Evening News

• John Barrett: We can't be left behind by high speed trains [letter]It's time to reinvent passenger railways for 21st century says John Barrett ON 3 JULY 1938, the famous Mallard steam train set the world record top speed for a steam locomotive at 125mph, causing a stir across the railway world. Sadly, 60 years on, 125mph is still the fastest that passengers can expect to travel on our railways. For the country that exported railways to the rest of the world, we have been left far behind by our neighbours.

Manchester Evening News

• Anger as tram restart failsANGRY commuters slammed Metrolink this morning after plans to reopen the Altrincham line following a month-long overhaul were cancelled at the last minute. Metrolink announced to a great fanfare that its Altrincham and Eccles lines would reopen today.

Wales Online

• Rail service improvements ’not enough’ says MP Jenny Willott, Lib Dem MP for Cardiff Central, said: “Any improvements are welcome, but this isn’t anywhere near enough. The people of South Wales want and deserve to see more carriages and quicker travel on all routes.”
• How rail bosses plan to cut journey times and cope with a passenger boom PLANS to cut journey times plus new commuter trains to cope with a boom in passenger numbers, were announced yesterday by Network Rail. A 10-year strategy for the Great Western route identifies services between Cardiff and Portsmouth and Cardiff and Taunton as needing urgent improvements.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Jet2.com expanding to MidlandsLeeds-based airline Jet2.com has announced it is to open a new base at East Midlands Airport.

Peterborough Telegraph

• Budget airline cancels all UK flightsA budget airline flying in and out of Luton Airport has cancelled all flights because of financial problems.

Sunderland Echo

• Workers begin railway station overhaul Work is now under way on the final phase of the £7million revamp of Sunderland railway station. Workers are on site to transform the platforms, waiting areas and lighting systems at the station.

Transport for London

• Wanstead station re-opens following major worksLondon Underground's (LU) Wanstead station re-opened on Bank Holiday Monday 31 August, following major structural works as part of its ongoing modernisation.

Aviation Industry

• EasyBus expansion plannedWhat has been described as a 'virtual operator' by its chairman now looks set to become a more tangible operation following the acquisition of a small disused factory site in north London.
• Stagecoach Fit ClubThe latest on Stagecoach's mission to see its UK Bus workforce all fall below a certain weight has moved on slightly from the exclusive we brought you last month.
• Airport development key to Scotland™s economic growthDevelopment plans at Edinburgh Airport have the potential to boost Scotland™s economy by £867 million per year according to findings from a study revealed today, 31 August 2009.
• Aberdeen Airport latest investment opens for businessAfter only 14 weeks construction time, the brand new Aberdeen Airport car park has opened to the public.
• FAA Lets Southwest Fly With Unauthorized PartsThe Federal Aviation Administration had given Southwest Airlines until Tuesday to replace unauthorized parts on more than 80 of its jets, but the airline filed for an extension to finish the job.
• Lufthansa and JetBlue sign code shareAirlines await DoT approval read more

Green Miscellany

• FirstGroup Selects GreenRoad Service for 9,000 Buses DriveGreen Program Will Improve Environmental EfficiencyGreenRoad, a global pioneer in improving driving behavior, today announced that First UK Bus, Britain's largest bus operator, has signed a five-year contract to deploy GreenRoad's service across its fleet of 9,000 buses. First's DriveGreen initiative, powered by GreenRoad, will improve environmental efficiency and passenger comfort.

Other News Sources

• First to offer bonus to bus staff for cutting fuel useFirstGroup is to incentives drivers at its UK bus division with a £2m reward pot for improved driving standards.
• First's small change makes a big difference to Save the ChildrenStaff at FirstGroup, the UK’s leading transport operator, have raised nearly £5,000 for Save the Children through one of its employee share schemes. First employees donated a total of £4,765.96 to Save the Children through First’s Save As You Earn (SAYE) share save scheme. Last year saw First offer employees the opportunity to give any left-over loose change from their SAYE scheme maturity to the charity.
• Galliford Try appointed to Network Rail 'framework' Construction group Galliford Try has been appointed as one of the contractors on Network Rail's 'enhancements multi asset framework'.
• Rail connection 'must improve' THE rail connection linking Plymouth to Bristol and London must be improved if the city is to benefit from plans to bring in faster trains, a major report says.
• Central Government grants Tyne and Wear Metro £14m for ticketing upgradeThe Tyne & Wear Metro will receive £14m to improve its ticketing system in the first stage of its modernisation programme, Transport Minister Sadiq Khan announced today.
• £2 Transfers to London Airports with EasyBus Easybus are offering transfers from central London to Stansted, Gatwick and Luton airports from just £2.
• Accident on historic bridge 'proof of need for bypass' Heather Wheeler, leader of South Derbyshire District Council, said the most recent accident on Swarkestone Bridge was "another piece of evidence" for campaigners who have called for an alternative route in the area.
• High Speed Rail Link Wins MP Support uilding a new high-speed rail link between London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds would be one of the Conservative Party's first acts in Government if they win the next general election, Shadow Transport Secretary, Theresa Villiers MP, has said.
• Railway station reconstruction proposed A radical reconstruction of Oxford station and extra tracks to allow more trains to run on the Oxford-Didcot corridor are proposed by Network Rail in a blueprint for the development of rail services over the next decade.
• Network Rail sets out investment plan for Devon and CornwallNetwork Rail today outlined a ten-year strategy based on forecast rail demands and local and economic population growth for the Great Western Route.
• New rules coming to fight pilots' fatigue? Crowded skies and exhausted pilots are a bad mix, the airline industry and pilot unions agree, but they're struggling over what to do about it. The airlines want to schedule some pilots with less-taxing flights — fewer takeoffs and landings — but for longer, not shorter, hours in the cockpit. The unions say they won't agree to more hours for those pilots in exchange for fewer hours for pilots who fly as many as a half dozen short flights a day or take off at odd times.
• Managing Transport Noise “ new leaflets communicate noise action planningNew leaflets about noise mapping and action planning process published.
• Jacobs wins Manchester Airports Group contractJacobs Engineering Group Inc. (NYSE: JEC) today said it had won a new framework contract to deliver professional engineering services to Manchester Airports Group Plc.

News from Europe

• Portugal TGV link draws 3 bids amid political riskThree groups led by Mota-Engil and Brisa of Portugal and Spain's FCC on Tuesday lodged bids to build part of a high-speed rail link from Portugal to Spain. The TGV link is one of the country's largest infrastructure projects of recent times, but a question mark hangs over it.
• Minister Frattini sets up permanent table against piracy in the Horn of AfricaMinister for Foreign Affairs Franco Frattini, flanked by Defence Undersecretary Hon. Giuseppe Cossiga, met today at the foreign ministry in Rome with representatives of Confitarma and president of the “Company Security Officer” work group Dr. Cesare d’Amico to examine counter piracy measures.
• EC demands in-car emergency systems The European Commission has made a final call to EU countries to implement in-car technology that alerts the emergency services if the car is involved in an accident. In a document entitled ’eCall - saving lives through in-vehicle communication technology’, the Commission warns that if there is no significant progress in rolling out the system by the end of 2009 it could propose regulatory measures.
• Tackling the Mounting Threat of Transport Thefts Long-haul truck operations are the lifeline of Europe, the link that joins together the continent's various countries and permits trade between them. However, risks on the road have increased significantly over the past decade. Thefts from long-haul trucks total in the region of 8.2 billion euros every year. Now new initiatives are being taken to prevent these thefts, both by the EU and by Volvo Trucks.
• Bulgaria’s National Railway Infrastructure Company to cut salaries 30 per cent Bulgaria’s National Railway Infrastructure Company (NRIC) has a 50 million leva deficit and is implementing a temporary salary cut of 30 per cent with effect from September 1 2009, NRIC chief executive Anton Ginev said.