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

Thursday, 03 September 2009

BBC News

• Bus route deemed "too dangerous" Translink has announced it is to withdraw one of its bus services in County Fermanagh because of safety concerns.
• Tram passengers travel for free Passengers travelling on part of Greater Manchester's tram system will not have to pay after technical problems affected services.
• Obese bus drivers offered weight tips from their employerObese bus drivers are being offered help to lose weight, a transport company says.
• RHJ raises bid for carmaker OpelBelgium investment group RHJ renews its bid for General Motors' European arm Opel by raising its offer to 300m euros.
• German scrappage scheme endsGovernment funding for the German car scrap scheme runs out, marking an end to a scheme that has boosted car sales.
• Wheel success?Winners and losers of car scrappage schemes
• Jobs boost with new Mini modelsTwo new models of the Mini are to be built at the firm's plant in Oxfordshire, the carmaker BMW confirms.

Financial Times

• Maersk moves to invest outside core lineThe Danish shipping and oil group is set to concentrate future investment away from its main container shipping business after the group's chief executive said proceeds of a DKr9.2bn share placing would be spent in other areas

The Guardian

• Can we stop noise pollution using human rights laws? Anna Fairclough tells joyjoyjoy the courts balance the competing interests of those living under a flightpath with the wider community
• Emissions per transport type Walking and cycling have long been considered the most environmentally sound methods of getting around. They still are but some environmentalists have argued that food production has become so fossil-fuel intensive that driving could be considered greener than walking (though the analysis has been debunked as flawed).

The Telegraph

• Rail renationalisation: the case for At some point over the next few weeks, National Express will hand back the keys to the Government for the East Coast Main Line franchise in what will be just another chapter in the humiliating failure of rail privatisation.

Reuters News

• SNCF, Eurotunnel buy Veolia's rail cargo business Groupe Eurotunnel (GETP.PA) and French state-owned railway company SNCF said on Wednesday they had bought Veolia Cargo, the rail freight businesses belonging to Veolia (VIE.PA).
• BMW plans Mini expansion at UK plantLONDON (Reuters) - Car maker BMW plans to build two new Mini models at its plant near Oxford, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.

ATOC

• National Rail Enquiries™ Online Journey Planner passes one billion enquiriesNational Rail enquiries has handled its billionth enquiry and also passed its third birthday.

Network Rail

• RAIL UPGRADE AIMS TO SWITCH 50,000 FREIGHT CONTAINERS FROM ROAD TO RAIL (Hampshire)

Liverpool Echo

• Union hails compromise deal to end Liverpool John Lennon Airport strike actionTHE withdrawal of compulsory redundancies among Liverpool John Lennon airport baggage handlers led to a peace deal.

London Evening Standard

• Go-Ahead’s shares rise as bus division makes record results Transport company Go-Ahead today reported record results in its bus division but said its train services into London are feeling the impact of job losses in the City.
• MP lines up with cash-and-carry millionaire to fight £4billion Brent Cross makeoverTo the casual observer, the proposed £4billion regeneration of London's first shopping mall is good news. Brent Cross shopping centre will be reborn, with 7,500 homes, three rebuilt schools, a railway station and 27,000 jobs

Manchester Evening News

• Troubled tram line halted - againMETROLINK has been thrown into chaos just hours after bosses reopened the troubled Altrincham service. Around 50 passengers had to leave a tram stranded at the Navigation Road stop between Altrincham and Timperley after a problem with overhead power lines.

Newcastle Journal

• Bus firm Go-Ahead announces £5m deal to buy rival's operation TRANSPORT group Go-Ahead yesterday announced a £5m agreement to buy rival Arriva's bus operation based in Horsham, West Sussex.

Nottingham Evening Post

• £2.6m Notts cycling routes boost A CASH package of £2.6m will pay for about 40km of new cycling and walking routes in Notts.

The News (Portsmouth)

• MP: People left out of Gosport - Fareham bus route debateAn MP says his constituents have been denied their say on a controversial £20m bus link between Fareham and Gosport.

The York Press

• Anger as Heslington Road bus service stops without warning PASSENGERS using a main bus route in York have been left œhigh and dry after the operators of the route stopped the service without warning, said an angry city councillor.
• Plans shelved for Blossom Street, Micklegate, Nunnery Lane and Queen Street junction changes YORK™S transport boss has shelved plans for major changes to one of the city™s busiest junctions, saying it would have an adverse knock-on effect.

Yorkshire Post

• United front is possible in rail cash campaign SENIOR transport officials from across northern England are to consider joining forces to press Ministers for extra investment in rail schemes.
• United front is possible in rail cash campaign SENIOR transport officials from across northern England are to consider joining forces to press Ministers for extra investment in rail schemes.

Wall Street Journal

• Battle Heats Up To Provide Wi-Fi Access To NYC Rail Commuters Cablevision Systems Corp. (CVC), Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ), AT&T Corp. (T), Sprint Nextel Corp. (S) and more than a dozen other firms have submitted competing proposals to provide wireless broadband service to customers on New York City commuter trains.

Rail Technology Magazine

• Invensys Rail Becomes the New Name for Westinghouse Rail Systems Westinghouse Rail Systems has announced that from 1st September 2009 it will change its name to Invensys Rail. For many years, Westinghouse has been one of a number of companies comprising the Invensys Rail Group (IRG). With IRG's headquarters firmly established in Chippenham, the group also includes Safetran Systems in the United States, Dimetronic Signals in Spain and Westinghouse Rail Systems in Australia. During this time, the companies have worked closely on the development of innovative signalling and control solutions for rail operators across the world, sharing skills and...

Aviation Industry

• Airline to impose first checked bag feeHawaiian Airlines says it will join its competitors in charging a fee for the first checked bag on interisland flights.

Other News Sources

• City council's £800,000 bus bill Cash-strapped City Hall chiefs are facing an extra financial headache because a local bus firm has hit them with an £800,000 bill to cover concessionary bus fares. Bus company First has appealed against the amount of cash Norfolk's councils are paying out to cover the cost of carrying passengers who have bus passes.
• Stagecoach faces action over Preston Bus takeover Stagecoach will face action over its takeover of Preston Bus, it has been revealed. Anti-monopoly investigators ruled on Thursday that the national bus giant's acquisition of its local rival had lessened competition in the city and risks pushing up prices and driving down service quality.
• Cycle Campaigners Demand City-Wide 20 Limit Cycling campaigners in Bristol want the council to impose a 20mph limit across the city. Transport bosses last week announced two large parts of east and south Bristol would become 20mph zones -- but major routes would be exempt.
• Essex fits travel info points at interchanges Essex County Council is rolling out a network of nine high-tech information points at major bus and rail interchanges to provide travel information and services for residents as part of a scheme to encourage public transport use across the county.
• Rail boost outlined in blueprint Improvements to Bath's busy railway station and extra train services between the city and Bristol are outlined in a new transport blueprint.
• Bus firms ’are sitting targets’ over fuel prices BUS companies covering Burton and South Derbyshire believe they have become a ʻsitting targetʼ for the Government after the latest fuel price increases.
• CPC will help industry, says transport secretary Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Transport Paul Clark believes that the Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) will give the industry a competitive advantage, despite the extra cost to the operator.
• Crossrail tunnelling contracts tenderedBalfour Beatty and Morgan Est have teamed up with European giants Beton und Monierbau and Vinci to bid for the two major Crossrail tunnelling contracts which were put out to tender last week. The contracts cover the majority of the central tunnelled section of the route.
• CPC 'will benefit freight sector' The freight industry in the UK will gain a competitive advantage with the introduction of the Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC), it has been argued. According to parliamentary under-secretary of state at the Department for Transport Paul Clark, the CPCwill result in "improved safety and reduced CO2" in the sector, Road Transport reports.
• Profit drops at PD Ports PD Ports has seen it profit decline in the past 12 months due to the impact the recession has had on freight volumes. The company has posted a fall in full-year profit of over 45 per cent for the 12 months to the end of June, with the earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation dropping from £59.5 million to £32.6 million, International Freighting Weekly reports.
• Lorry camera system aims to improve visibility New camera technology can help to improve visibility for drivers of heavy goods vehicles (HGVs), it has been claimed. Its developers Alpine say that it can reduce blind spots when changing lanes, parking and carrying out other manoeuvres.
• FEATURE: Sixt goes green (Sep 2)Sixt is the first car rental company to offer corporates electric vehicles. Kasper Gjedsted tells ABTN that the scheme is proving a success read more