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

Tuesday, 22 September 2009

BBC News

• Lib Dems call for big rail boost Plans to divert cash from road to rail in Wales have been announced at the Liberal Democrats' UK conference.
• Minister quizzed over bridge plan Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson is to address concerns over a planned compensation scheme for companies vying to build the new Forth road bridge.
• Public bike hire scheme for city A 'Paris-style' cycle rental scheme allowing people to pick up and drop off bikes at new hire stations to be dotted around Cardiff is being launched.
• Recession 'is hitting Tube usage' The London Underground has recorded its biggest monthly fall in journeys for 20 years.
• Drivers told 'slow down for deer' Drivers are being warned to slow down for deer in a new government initiative hoping to cut the estimated 74,000 collisions with the animals each year.
• New rail services to come on line New rail services for the west, east and south of Scotland - including a new link from Glasgow to Edinburgh - will be up-and-running later this year.
• New hopes for Tees Valley metro A new metro system on Teesside may be a step closer. Redcar and Cleveland Council is set to seek planning permission for new stations and work with Network Rail to develop the first phase of the project.
• Stormont wheels out cycle scheme They may not be called the Stormont free-wheelers, but thousands of civil servants in Northern Ireland are now eligible for a cycle to work scheme.
• Airlines plan 'to cut emissions'The aviation industry is to pledge to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to half the 2005 levels by 2050.

Financial Times

• Maersk appoints non-Dane as CFOThe appointment of Trond Westlie, a Norwegian, is the latest sign of how radically Denmark's biggest company is changing under Nils Andersen, its first externally appointed chief executive
• Smaller truck operators crush green shoots theoryRunning a trucking company has never been easy “ and for Willie Oliver life is getting worse

The Guardian

• Was Skyride just about cycling? The Mayor of London's Skyride event, which took place yesterday, existed for three reasons. One was to persuade people who wouldn't normally ride a bicycle on the capital's streets to take it up, another was to reflect glory on Mayor Boris Johnson and the third was to enlarge brand awareness of the broadcaster that sponsored the event. How successfully was each of these objectives fulfilled?
• Airlines vow to halve carbon emissions by 2050Exclusive: Industry will offer cut at climate change summit to avoid tougher actionThe aviation industry will tomorrow make a dramatic pledge to slash carbon dioxide emissions in half by 2050 in a move that will force up air fares and spark a green technology race among aircraft manufacturers.The British Airways chief executive, Willie Walsh, will unveil an agreement between airlines, airports and aircraft companies to cut emissions to 50% below 2005 levels by 2050. In a bid to seize the initiative from environmental groups clamouring for higher taxes on the industry, the plan will be presente...

The Herald

• Train service from Edinburgh to Glasgow to double in frequency Train services between Edinburgh and Glasgow Central will double in frequency from December as the first element in a £1bn package of central belt rail improvements takes shape.

The Telegraph

• Prince Charles urges people to abandon car in favour of walking and public transport The Prince, who has two Jaguars, two Audis, a Range Rover and still drives an Aston Martin given to him by the Queen on his 21st birthday, said developers had a duty to put public transport and the pedestrian at the heart of their housing schemes.
• Airlines 'to halve emissions by 2050', British Airways boss Willie Walsh to announce Willie Walsh, the British Airways chief executive, is set to announce an agreement between airlines and airports that will halve emissions by 2050.

Times Online

• Airlines to slash emissions, says British Airways chief Willie WalshThe chief executive of British Airways is to announce an agreement by the aviation industry to cut its carbon dioxide emissions to 50 per cent of 2005 levels by 2050.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Put transport back on track say Lib DemsTRANSPORT in Wales would be transformed if the Liberal Democrats come to power.
• Hundreds of Welsh buses had defectsHUNDREDS of buses in Wales were found running with mechanical defects by inspectors.

London Evening Standard

• Crossrail not a key priority for us, warns Vince CableCrosrail's future was thrown into unprecedented doubt as its all-party support appeared to unravel

Nottingham Evening Post

• Column: Achieving Nottingham in 90THE Midland Main Line (MML) provides Nottingham with a direct service to London and the international gateway of St Pancras, with its onward connections to the continent.
• Station could be shutdown for Olympics NOTTINGHAM Railway Station is to shut for over a month – as Britain gears up for the 2012 Olympics. The station is in line for £71m worth of track improvements, which will stop all trains travelling into and out of the city for about 37 days.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Scots councils shell out more than £1.2m for pothole damage ABERDEEN City Council has paid out more than £45,000 of taxpayers™ money over five years because of potholes causing damage to cars.

The York Press

• Are you ready for York Car Free Day? Tomorrow York is hoping to go car free.

Wales Online

• Call for shift on transport policy TRAIN lines throughout the South Wales Valleys should be electrified and a new “Gwent Parkway” station built next to the M48, the Liberal Democrats said yesterday.

Blackpool Gazette

• Protests over closure of train stationRAIL users have joined forces to derail plans which could lead to the closure of Blackpool South station.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Network Rail 'to construct recycling depot'Network Rail has announced that it has been given the green light for a new recycling facility in Cambridgeshire, which will create jobs and reduce waste.The organisation claimed that the development in March will also reduce lorry journeys and cut the level of material sent to landfill this year by over 50,000 tonnes.Situated at the operator's Whitemoor Yard depot, the plant will generate aggregate for use by the construction sector and the local council has now voted unanimously in favour of the plans.Network Rail development manager David Millar explained: "The new national rail re...

Other News Sources

• VOSA response to Select Committee report due imminentlyVOSA's response to the recent House of Commons transport select committee's report, which stated that VOSA must retain a significant network of testing stations, is due any day.
• Tachodisc warns over 'illegal' downloadsTransport managers remotely accessing data from digital tachographs via telematics systems might be breaking the law unwittingly unless they also download the data via the encrypted front port.
• Ann Cryer to table EDM on VOSA closuresLabour MP Ann Cryer has agreed to table an Early Day Motion on the issue of the VOSA closures as soon as Parliament returns from recess in October.
• Unions gear up to lobby VOSAThe three trade unions representing VOSA employees are gearing up to campaign against the wholesale closure of VOSA-run test stations.