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

Wednesday, 30 September 2009

BBC News

• Airport demolition work beginning Demolition of the oldest building at west London's Heathrow Airport has begun as part of a £1bn refurbishment.
• Council sued on City flights rise An east London council has been taken to court for allegedly failing to consult residents before allowing a 50% increase in flights from City Airport.
• Road widening ahead of schedule Work to turn one of Nottinghamshire's main roads into a dual carriageway is ahead of schedule, officials have said.
• New station opens in south London A new railway station has opened in south London following a 15-year campaign by residents.
• Underground strike is called off A 24-hour strike planned for next week on a London Underground (LU) line has been called off. Members of the Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) union on the Victoria Line were due to walk out next Monday in a row over workloads and rosters.
• Tram bill could escalate to £750mThe final cost of Edinburgh's tram project could reach £750m - £250m more than originally planned, a senior MSP says.

Financial Times

• Eco City Vehicles narrows lossesRising demand for a new version of London's traditional black cab helps Aim-quoted Eco City Vehicles narrow interim losses
• Air India suspends domestic ticket bookingsMass sick leave by Air India pilots in protest at a steep pay cut forced the ailing national carrier to suspend ticket bookings indefinitely
• Revamped Olympic Air to axe European routesGreek privatised airline Olympic Air relaunches with a new short-haul fleet and a reduced network of European routes
• CMA CGM set to demand concessions from lendersThird-largest container shipping line launches emergency restructuring in fcae of downturn in which both transport volumes and rates have plunged
• BA ponders business class-only flightsBritish Airways has looked at whether to go ahead with its London-to-New York service at least twice after announcing it last year, prior to the collapse of premium travel

The Guardian

• Stephen Greenhalgh: Brighton barrage due The newest addition to London's collection of Overground stations is being formally opened even as I hit my "launch" button
• Arguments against high-speed rail plans [letter]Julian Glover jeers at the fools who cite "reasons why Britain's high-speed line will never run"

The Scotsman

• Bus bosses frozen out of talks on merged tram firm FEARS have been raised about the future running of the city's trams after bus bosses were frozen out of crucial planning for the project. Lothian Buses is set to merge with tram company TIE in order to run the city's tram service.
• Rail link 'may have been sacrificed for Salmond's bypass' A £100 million transport project in Glasgow may have been cancelled in the Scottish budget to save a cherished project in Alex Salmond's North-East backyard.

The Telegraph

• Suburbia at the London Transport Museum In a fortnight’s time, London’s Transport Museum will slide open its doors for a show dedicated to the sprawl girdling our capital city.
• Eurocrats demand £4.1 million subsidy for using public transport EU officials have asked national governments hand over extra money to tempt civil servants onto buses, trams, trains and the metro. The new perk, which is expected to be introduced next year, will be benefit 31,380 EU civil servants, many of whom already gain from low tax rates, high salaries, pensions and a job for life.

Times Online

• BA eyes BMI and expects Iberia merger this year Willie Walsh, the chief executive of British Airways (BA), expects to complete the airline’s merger with Iberia before the end of this year.
• Video: BA's new all-business JFK flightFollow David Robertson live on Twitter onboard BA001 to New York
• British Airways launches business-class-only serviceMAXjet, Silverjet and Eos all failed, but yesterday British Airways started its first business-class-only service to New York, hoping for better luck.

Press Association

• BA chief backs Heathrow expansion British Airways will be forced to scale back flights at Heathrow if plans for a third runway are scrapped, the airline's chief executive Willie Walsh said.

Reuters News

• Japan transport minister says govt to back JALJapan's transport minister said he believes Japan Airlines Corp (9205.T) can revive itself on its own but that the government is ready to step in and offer its support for the loss-making carrier.
• FirstGroup says first half trading as expectedBritish transport operator FirstGroup (FGP.L) expects first half results to come in as expected as both UK rail and bus operations showed like-for-like growth for the six months to end September.

Mail Online

• East Coast rail franchise to be renationalised The flagship East Coast rail franchise is set to be renationalised within weeks and stay in public hands for several years, the Transport Secretary has revealed.

Network Rail

• £60M+ EAST COAST RAIL LINK PLANS SUBMITTED

Belfast Telegraph

• Scrappage scheme extension welcomed Car dealers in Northern Ireland have welcomed the government’s plan to extend its car scrappage scheme. Related StoriesFormer Invest NI chiefs in spotlightDamned: Invest NI - the £1bn jobs quango that failed to deliverReview blasts Stormont’s running of the economyInvest NI - the £1bn Northern Ireland quango that failed to deliverOnline advertising overtakes TV sales for first time ever

Bristol Live

• Anger over railway station parking fee rise Rail users have condemned increases in parking fees at Yate station, saying they are having to fork out more money while getting nothing in return.

Journal Live

• TEES Valley transport chiefs are today set for an almighty collision course over the proposed East Middlesbrough bypass. Redcar Cleveland Council will confirm if it will support or block the proposal backed by Middlesbrough Council - with a lengthy fight in prospect if the answer is No.
• Nissan boost as Lord Mandelson annouces scrappage extensionTHE North East’s car industry was handed a £100m boost yesterday as Lord Mandelson announced the “bangers for cash” scheme is being extended.

London Evening Standard

• 'Mayor's pact with cabbies leaves unsafe taxis on roads'Thousands of black cabs emitting illegal levels of pollution - and hundreds with brake problems - are being allowed on London's streets as a result of Boris Johnson "cosying up" to the taxi trade, it was claimed today.

Nottingham Evening Post

• Councillors could travel on buses The idea of using municipal or large car parks for commuters, particularly those belonging to pubs may, on the face of it, appear to be a simple component in a solution for the problem of traffic into Nottingham.
• Rail campaigners to seek views in Nottingham RAIL campaigners will ask passengers in Nottingham what they think about fares during a tour across the country. Cat Hobbs, from the Campaign for Better Transport, and Julie Boston, a campaigner from Bristol, are mirroring Transport Secretary Lord Adonis' train journey around the country, which he took in April.
• Extra cycle spaces for Nottingham railway station MORE cycling spaces are to be created at Nottingham railway station. Transport Secretary Lord Andrew Adonis announced the city's station was one of 350 across the country to be given a share of £3m for more than 4,500 extra cycle park spaces.
• £3m cycling boost for city students and hospital staff STUDENTS and hospital staff in Nottingham will benefit from an investment of more than £3m to encourage walking and cycling.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Bus safety drive to be stepped up A NORTH-EAST politician who is spearheading a campaign to improve the safety of school buses plans to write to transport ministers in Westminster and Holyrood.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Leeds: Traffic congestion under the spotlight An inquiry is to be held into the best way of improving transport in congestion-hit Leeds. To be held in three sessions over the next few months, the inquiry by watchdog councillors will focus on transport planning and how the arrangements for providing better services can be improved.

Campaign for Better Transport

• Campaign Support TourWe're going around the country to recruit passengers to help us convince the Government to cut train fares. We need thousands of people to join our campaign if we're going to win this fight. If we're in a town near you, come and see us!

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• People leave A series of strange items have been left by passengers on Eurostar trains travelling through the Channel Tunnel, it has been revealed.According to the company's head of press, Lesley Retallack "we've had all sorts of things - false teeth, zimmer frames, crutches - it's like suddenly they travel on Eurostar and they're cured".She added that other abandoned items included "high value stuff" such as laptops, mobile phones and BlackBerrys, in addition to curious objects including underwear and cheese.More popular things to be left behind were hats, books and umb...

Railnews

• News: HS2 will be the 'Union Railway' of England and Scotland - Adonis TRANSPORT Secretary Lord Andrew Adonis has declared his commitment to a new high-speed rail line between London and Scotland, speaking at the Labour Party conference in Brighton.

Transport for London

• Boost for West London as Mayor opens new Imperial Wharf stationThousands of local residents directly connected to London Overground and rail network for first time.
• Strike threat lifted as RMT leadership accepts Victoria line working patternsRMT agrees working patterns proposed before strike action was threatened.
• Taxi drivers warned about over-ranking at Waterloo StationTransport for London's traffic enforcement officers will be spending time at the taxi rank at Waterloo station over the next couple of weeks, to observe and remind drivers about the rules they must follow when using designated ranking areas.

Aviation Industry

• Queens Building makes way for the new Heathrow Terminal 2BAA Chairman Sir Nigel Rudd has brought down the curtain on one of Heathrow™s oldest landmarks, starting the demolition of the Queens Building to make way for the airport™s new Terminal 2.

Other News Sources

• Crossrail confirms plans to move five million tonnes of spoil via Thames Crossrail has today confirmed that more than five million tonnes of material excavated from the project will be transported by boat along the Thames for use in landscaping projects including the creation of a new nature reserve at Wallasea Island in Essex.
• Chesterton rail station 'could open in 2013' PROPOSALS to ask the Government for £500 million to sort out Cambridgeshire's transport problems have been given the green light by councillors. Members of Cambridgeshire County Council's cabinet approved a recommendation to press ahead with a request for funds from Whitehall's Transport Innovation Fund (TIF).
• Legal action over flights LEGAL papers were lodged at the High Court on Monday as campaigners hoped to begin an action against Newham Council over its decision to allow an increase in flights at London City Airport. Now a High Court judge will rule over whether there issufficient grounds for the action to be heard.
• Babcock loses high output rail contract Support services specialist Babcock has lost its contract with Network Rail for High Output Track Renewal operations, but trading overall is as expected.
• Hitchin Rail Flyover On Track Plans to create a £60m rail flyover near Hitchin moved closer today (Wednesday) when they were handed over to the Government for approval.
• Bombardier wins $2bn rail contractBombardier Transportation's Chinese joint venture has been selected by the Chinese Ministry of Railways to supply 80 trains for the country™s high-speed rail network.
• Tube Lines to pay £10M per month for overrunsTube upgrade contractor Tube Lines will pay London Underground £10M per month beyond December 31 for overruns to the resignalling of the Jubilee Line confirmed Tube Lines chairman David Begg today.