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

Wednesday, 09 September 2009

BBC News

• 'Hydrogen highway' plans backed A coastal strip north of Aberdeen is being zoned as a "hydrogen highway", trying out the new fuel technology for transport and a new power grid.
• Grangemouth train campaign boost The campaign to re-establish a public train service to Grangemouth has received a boost after transport bosses agreed to explore the issue.
• Cash for valley's cycle network Around 100 miles of new routes for cyclists and walkers will be developed in the south Wales valleys, completing a £16m network, it has been announced.
• Formula One racing group McLaren unveils a new road carFormula One racing group McLaren unveils a new road car that marks the creation of a new UK-based carmaker.
• Planes 'to reset climate targets'The UK economy may have to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 90% by 2050 to make space for aviation growth.

Financial Times

• Sunday services back on trackSunday services look set to return to normal for the train operator that was forced to cancel nearly all its services last Sunday, while users of another key...
• Cap airline emissions, says bodyAirlines around the world must face a cap on the amount of carbon dioxide they can emit as part of a new international treaty on climate change, the UK government's...
• NatEx options narrowStagecoach has insisted it will go ahead with its purchase of key parts of NatEx only in conjunction with the existing private equity offer for the group

The Guardian

• Eleven UK cities campaign for high-speed rail network Eleven big cities will announce a joint campaign for a high-speed rail network serving the entire country tomorrow. Government plans involve the development of one high-speed north-south line, but the transport secretary, Lord Adonis, has told the Guardian the cities' move has the government's "strong support", suggesting that development of a high-speed line would quickly lead to offshoot lines.
• Ministers urged to cap emissionsAn agreement to cap aviation emissions must be reached at the UN climate talks in Copenhagen if countries are to meet targets to combat global warming, according to the committee set up to advise the government on the issue.Rich countries should take the lead, ensuring their aviation emissions are no higher or lower than they were in 2005 by 2050, the climate change committee said in a letter to ministers.In advance of the December meeting in Denmark, the committee said any deal to reduce emissions from flying should be
• Madrid reverses chargers with electric car planThe rise of the mobile phone has left the streets of Madrid littered with increasingly redundant telephone booths. But these underused installations are now set to play a key role in Spain's electric car revolution under government plans to make them part of a network of electric charging stations for vehicles.Some 30 telephone boxes have been earmarked to form part of a test network of 546 state-subsidised recharging points in Madrid, Barcelona and Seville.Phone boxes are often ideally placed close to the curbs of pavements and already have their own electricity supply, making them relatively...

The Herald

• Cities join forces to lobby for new high-speed rail line Glasgow and Edinburgh councils are to join forces in a coalition of 11 UK cities that have come together to lobby for a new UK high-speed rail line.

The Independent

• Commuters facing renewed rail strike chaos Rail passengers on busy commuter and other routes are facing fresh travel chaos after strikes were called today in separate disputes over pay and the sacking of a worker.

The Telegraph

• Rail commuters face strike chaosThousands facing threatened strikes on two of the country's busiest lines.

Times Online

• Government to be challenged from within over expanding aviation industryThe Government is likely to be challenged by its own climate change advisory body on its decision to approve a third runway at Heathrow and permit a doubling in air travel by 2030, The Times has learnt.
• Passengers face new tax to halt rise in air travelTens of billions of pounds will have to be raised through flight taxes to compensate developing countries for the damage air travel does to the environment, according to the Government™s advisory body on climate change.

Belfast Telegraph

• Aer Lingus axes five of its Belfast routes in winter cuts Aer Lingus is cutting its Belfast service by taking one plane out of action and axing routes to Barcelona, Milan, Paris, Rome and Faro. Related StoriesSainsbury's opens largest Northern Ireland storeRush to pay off debt threatens UK recoveryeasyJet to cut back on servicesBakery apartment buyers in row with builders over doughBakery apartment buyers in cash row with builders

Birmingham Post

• West Midlands awaits outcome of its bid to pick up £29m to fund green travel The Department for Transport wants to award the sum to one English region as part of the Sustainable Travel City project which seeks to move more people from road to rail, bus and bicycle. The two-year project will provide incentives to businesses and schools who encourage use of public transport.

Derby Telegraph

• Burnaston gears up for Auris A HYBRID car to be built at Toyota's Burnaston factory will be unveiled next week at a major European motor show next week.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Trains hit a 10-year high for reliability Train operator ScotRail and infrastructure manager Network Rail said punctuality reached 94.8 per cent in the 28 days to August 22. And over the same period, punctuality reached 97.9 per cent on express services including the main Glasgow-Edinburgh line and trains from both cities to and from Aberdeen and Inverness.
• Ministers to face 'torrid time' over £2bn road bridge plans SCOTTISH Government ministers have been warned they face "a torrid time" over their plans for the new Forth Road Bridge unless they answer searching questions on the £2 billion project.

Liverpool Echo

• Allerton Road and Lark Lane bar consultation plan approved by Liverpool councilTHE catalogue of crime and disorder on two south Liverpool streets ’saturated’ by bars and restaurants was revealed by exasperated police bosses.
• Merseytravel launches competition for passengers to design their own giant penguinPASSENGERS on Merseyside public transport are being given the chance to design their own giant penguin.

Liverpool Post

• Liverpool City Council urges: Don’t put the brakes on high-speed trains network LIVERPOOL will today join forces with 10 other cities to demand that dreams of a network of high-speed rail lines do not fall victim to the recession. The council will join local leaders from Glasgow to Cardiff to launch a campaign to urge the Government to accelerate plans for 225mph trains to link all of Britain's big cities.

London Evening Standard

• Pay-as-you-go parking card will charge drivers for car's emissionsAn Oyster card-style parking scheme is to hit the drivers of gas guzzlers in west London. The system in Richmond will allow drivers to buy top-up cards and swipe them at ticket machines rather than using cash to pay — but will also charge for their vehicle's carbon emissions.
• TfL wins £1billion loan from Europe to fund 'unstoppable' CrossrailA vital £1 billion loan has been obtained by Transport for London to help fund Crossrail
• Week of rail strikes set to cripple Liverpool St

Metro

• Cut plane emissions, not flights, says panelAviation greenhouse gas emissions must be capped at 2005 levels to limit the damage of global warming, the government's climate change panel has warned.

Nottingham Evening Post

• History of transport on sale AN Aladdin's cave of transport memorabilia will be revealed this weekend as Trent Barton and Bartons plc hold a bus memorabilia sale for charity.
• Nottingham joins high speed rail campaign Coun Jane Urquhart, Nottingham City Council's portfolio holder for transport and area working, said: "We think it is very important that, when the Government and the rail industry are considering high-speed rail, they look at the needs of the core cities, and not just one route, or another route out of London.
• Nottingham joins high speed rail campaign Coun Jane Urquhart, Nottingham City Council's portfolio holder for transport and area working, said: "We think it is very important that, when the Government and the rail industry are considering high-speed rail, they look at the needs of the core cities, and not just one route, or another route out of London.

The News (Portsmouth)

• Third coach company offers £1 London runNational Express is the latest bus firm to join the Portsmouth to London price war, with a 99p ticket to the capital.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Withdrawal of school bus leaves parents fearing for pupils™ safetyYoung children will have to walk to school up and down a steep hill when a new road is completed on the outskirts of Inverness, leaving some parents fearing for their safety.
• Bitter dispute at an end after staff agree to FirstBus offerA deal has been agreed between bus firm First and hundreds of its Aberdeen workers to bring a bitter two-month pay dispute to an end.

The York Press

• Tour of Britain bike race impact on buses BUS users have been warned some services will be affected when one of the world™s top cycle races comes to York this weekend.

Wales Online

• Speedy demand for new trains A HIGH-SPEED rail network which would take passengers from Cardiff to London in 70 minutes will be demanded today by council leader Rodney Berman. Cardiff has joined a coalition of cities which are holding a summit in London today to support the creation of the network.

Carlisle News & Star

• High-speed rail link must stop at Carlisle, says city MP hopefulWould-be Carlisle MP John Stevenson says the city must be a stop on any future high-speed rail route between London and Scotland.

Northants Evening Telegraph

• Rail passengers promised more notice over station closurePassengers will be given "as much notice as possible" if mass train cancellations happen again in Northampton this Sunday, London Midland has promised.

Peterborough Telegraph

• More rail strikes announcedRail passengers in East Anglia face fresh travel chaos after more strikes by train drivers were announced in a long-running row over pay and conditions.

Wall Street Journal

• Race Is On to Grab Stake in Rail Effort WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration is poised to spend $8 billion in stimulus funds on high-speed-rail projects, kicking off a scramble among states and railroads, train makers, construction firms and other companies angling to profit from the unprecedented stream of federal funding.

Aviation Industry

• Government invests £20 million to kickstart The Learning RevolutionA partnership between Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive, Merseytravel, Urbis and a National Trust property which will create ’learning journeys’ for young people 19-25, older people living in isolation and people recovering from substance abuse. Each learner will use a free bus pass to take journeys around travel ’lines’, including the Engineering Line, the Football Line and the Mersey Beat Line.
• Seattle-based Alaska Airlines tops on-time performance listSeattle-based Alaska Airlines ranked first in on-time performance for the fourth month in a row among the 10 largest U.S. carriers and was second only to Hawaiian Airlines among all 19 U.S. carriers in the U.S. Department of Transportation's monthly Air Travel Consumer Report , released Tuesday.
• Sector Snap: Airlines shrug off oil price jumpAirline investors didn't seem to mind that oil prices jumped on Tuesday. Airline shares have often moved opposite of oil prices, since jet fuel is one of an airline's biggest expenses.

Other News Sources

• Cambridge Guided Bus - Ramsey Link Needed THE residents of Somersham are fortunate that Whippet Coaches are putting on an hourly service from the village that joins the guided bus section at St Ives to provide a direct service to Cambridge. This is a commercial decision, and Whippet is to be applauded for making this provision.
• Have a say on new Rawtenstall bus station design BUS passengers in Rossendale are being given a choice between the traditional and ultra-modern as plans for Rawtenstall’s new £3million public transport interchange are unveiled.
• Britain's first dual fuel bus will cut emissions by half A consortium brought together by low carbon experts at the University of East Anglia (UEA) is today launching the first bus in the UK to run on clean, biomethane gas. The innovative dual-fuel diesel-biomethane powered bus will reduce pollutant emissions and greenhouse gas emissions by around a half. It is hoped the technology will be rolled out to bus fleets across the country and further afield.
• National high speed rail line in the works [Kenya]Plans by the national railway operator—Kenya Railways Corporation (KR)— to build high speed rail lines across the country could further sideline the Rift Valley Railways—a South African consortium— that runs the current passenger and freight service.
• High-speed rail plans strengthen case for Mid Wales line PLANS to build a new high-speed line from London to Scotland strengthen the case for reopening the mid Wales railway.
• TDG wins Wilson James 4PL contractTDG has agreed to run a fourth-party logistics (4PL) operation for construction logistics provider Wilson James - following similar deals with Aggregate Industries and Corus.
• Hapag reported axeing 120HAPAG-Lloyd has reportedly agreed with unions to cut 120 of its 1,100 jobs in Germany by April 2010.
• Multimodal mayhem foundAN EC STUDY into the viability of introducing a single multimodal transport document to cover carriage of goods within the EU has warned of underlying legal complexities.