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

Thursday, 15 October 2009

BBC News

• Bus chiefs 'stung by City trader' Scottish transport tycoons Brian Souter and Ann Gloag are alleged to have been stung by a prominent City financier who has apparently disappeared.
• Crossrail extension safeguarded The government has paved the way for a possible extension of a £16bn rail project into Kent, saying it will be protected from future development.
• Trains 'could slow' for crossings Train drivers are being advised by their union to reduce speeds at railway level crossings following the deaths of three people at a site in Caithness.
• Rail route 'value' query for MSPs A councillor has written to all of Scotland's 129 MSPs urging them to reconsider plans to reopen a railway line to the Scottish Borders.
• Bridge tolls 'set for 18 months' Humber Bridge tolls could be frozen for at least the next 18 months after a meeting between the bridge board and transport minister Sadiq Khan.
• Bypass linking two counties opens A new road which it is hoped will improve links between Ceredigion and Carmarthen is due to open to traffic.
• Extra carriages on packed trains Transport bosses have promised extra train carriages on a commuter line into Manchester after complaints of overcrowding.
• New road licensing plans gear up A new licensing system for the commercial road transport industry is to be introduced in Northern Ireland, the environment minister has announced.
• New year transport fares revealed London's bus and Tube fares for 2010 will be announced by mayor Boris Johnson later. There are fears the new fares will be used to offset a funding gap of millions of pounds.

Financial Times

• Cash 'infusion' plan for Air IndiaIndia's government is considering a Rs50bn injection of equity in tranches into loss-making Air India but government support would be conditional on cost-cutting measures as well as steps to boost revenues
• Fredriksen to join container shipping ventureShipping entrepreneur John Fredriksen is set to invest in container shipping's equivalent of low-cost airlines
• Air Partner suffers sudden descentThe leading listed air charter broker is predicting more collapses in the industry after its full-year profits tumbled 90% to £900,000 in the year to the end of July

The Guardian

• Voters with motors put Boris in a jam Boris Johnson is tempted to expand the congestion charge zone but daren't – meanwhile, London is choking on polluted air

The Independent

• Don't 'price us off' London transport, warns passenger group Londoners must not be

The Scotsman

• London commuter fare rises due outMillions of London Tube and bus travellers are to learn how much they will have to fork out for fares in the new year.

Daily Record

• Bus driver blasted for driving through red lights on level crossing - with passengers on boardA BUS driver was spotted driving through a red light at a Scots rail level crossing with passengers on board, police have revealed.

The Mirror

• London commuter fare rises due outMillions of London Tube and bus travellers are to learn how much they will have to fork out for fares in the new year.

Belfast Telegraph

• Innovative car port that can charge electric carsIt IS the car port of the future and it can be seen outside the Hilton Hotel in Belfast this week.Related StoriesInvestment bank Goldman Sachs to reveal huge profitInsurer to lay off 22 staffDeveloping Maze site could give work to thousandsBanks agree to stick to pay and bonuses rulesRecession continues to take its toll on jobs

Edinburgh Evening News

• 9am Briefing: Tram chiefs win first round in contractor fight TRAM chiefs have won the first round of their dispute with the contractors building the route.

Journal Live

• Rail buffs to highlight Teesside Airport ’ghost station’THEY call it the ghost station – with every justification.

Liverpool Echo

• Budget carrier easyJet sets new monthly passenger record for Liverpool John Lennon airportNO-FRILLS carrier easyJet has set a new record for passenger traffic at Liverpool John Lennon airport.

London Evening Standard

• Huge bus and Tube fare rises plus £10 C-chargeBoris Johnson today imposed huge rises in bus and Tube fares and a 25 per cent increase to the congestion charge.
• These fare rises are hard, but I have no choice Public transport is critical to the health and success of London. And this is a critical moment for the health of public transport.
• Boris gives Woolwich ferry four more yearsThe future of Thames river commuter services to Woolwich was today guaranteed for another four years after Boris Johnson agreed to keep subsidising the ferries.
• BAA blasts Tory plan to axe Heathrow third runwayBusinesses will face 'disaster' under Tory plans to scrap the third runway at Heathrow, airports operator warns

The News (Portsmouth)

• £20m bus route 'would harm bats'A high-speed bus route between Gosport and Fareham should be stopped as it will harm 'commuting bats', a court heard.

The York Press

• Rawcliffe Bar roundabout to be upgraded for second time in ten years YORK™S busiest junction is to be overhauled for the second time in a decade, bringing short-term pain but long-term gain to road users.

Railnews

• News: Greater Manchester PTE to cut crowding by funding ’Oldham 5’ Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive is to pay for the restoration of five diesel units which were withdrawn earlier this month when the Oldham loop line was closed for conversion to Metrolink trams. The Chair of GM Integrated Transport Authority Keith Whitmore made the surprise announcement at a Parliamentary event attended by the Transport Secretary Lord Adonis. Cllr Whitmore revealed that he had given instructions to pay for the units, because overcrowding had become ’ridiculous’ at some suburban stations over the past week.

Transport for London

• Future of Greenwich to Woolwich Arsenal river service guaranteed until 2013 £269,000 deal between TfL, Greenwich Council and Thames Clippers sees river services to Woolwich Arsenal pier continue for a further four years.

Other News Sources

• Road transport unions will fight to protect jobsRoad transport workers around the world have vowed to take a stand against deteriorating working conditions and job cuts, which have come about as a result of the financial crisis.
• Commission asked to weaken planned CO2 cuts for vansFrance, Italy and Germany have asked the European Commission to either delay or soften a planned proposal to curb CO2 emissions from new vans, EU diplomats say.
• Ministers debate future EU transport fundingEU transport ministers agree on the future challenges identified by the European Commission, but stress the need to take into account the impact of the current economic crisis on the sector and make passengers pay more for using infrastructure. 
• 'White elephant' green spending should be ploughed into road and rail infrastructure A right-leaning think tank has published a report arguing that the billions spent on subsidising the green agenda would be better spent on the UK's basic infrastructure.