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

Tuesday, 10 November 2009

BBC News

• Tram lines close for £100m revamp Blackpool's tram system, which carries four million passengers a year, has closed for five months for refurbishment.
• More rail cancellations expected More than 50 Thameslink trains have been cancelled on the Bedford to Brighton line.
• MSP fights airport car park fees Plans to introduce car park charges at Shetland's main airport will meet "fierce opposition", according to the MSP for the islands.
• Bus depots open to private firms Private bus operators will be free to use Translink bus depots under new plans aimed at encouraging people to use public transport.
• Steam rail line plans discussed Plans are being stepped up to connect Aviemore to Grantown-on-Spey in the Highlands by steam railway.
• 'Road trains' get ready to roll along European roadsA sensor system that joins vehicles in 'platoons' so they travel close together is being researched with European cash.
• Long-haul decline hits Aer LingusIrish airline Aer Lingus says sales fell by 9.7% in the third quarter after it suffered a drop in long-haul passenger traffic.

The Telegraph

• Karen Boswell joins Government Rail Karen Boswell, a former customer services director at First Capital Connect, is joining Directly Operated Railways, in a senior role. She will be re-united with her former Capital Connect colleague, Elaine Holt, who is DOR's managing director.
• Women are better drivers says study by Moneysupermarket.comMen pay 71 per cent more for their car insurance than women because they take greater risks on the road a study has shown.

Times Online

• All aboard National Express's mystery tour Launching a rights issue used to be a very big deal. If the accompanying news was good, it had to be very good. If it was bad, the company had to put a compelling case to shareholders about why it was going to get better, often by handing them the chief executive’s head on a platter.
• All aboard National Express's mystery tour Launching a rights issue used to be a very big deal. If the accompanying news was good, it had to be very good. If it was bad, the company had to put a compelling case to shareholders about why it was going to get better, often by handing them the chief executive’s head on a platter.
• Aer Lingus cuts long-haul flights to focus on battle with RyanairAer Lingus, the loss-making Irish flag carrier, said that its aggressive downsizing had helped to ensure its survival by reducing costs, but it warned that œchallenging conditions might lead to more cuts.

Daily Express

• Leaner Aer LingusIRISH airline Aer Lingus announced lower quarterly revenues but said cost- cutting was helping it to overcome turbulence, writes Philip Waller.

Belfast Telegraph

• Aer Lingus revenue down by 10% Embattled airline Aer Lingus today reported a further slide in revenues, but said performance was “stabilising” after efforts to cut aircraft and capacity. Related StoriesBank votes for £25bn boost and rate freezeGlimmer of hope for local economyCity Hall serves up a healthy business messageLloyds in pledge to new businessesMobile giant Nokia recalls danger threat chargers

London Evening Standard

• 'Women with toy boys are fuelling demand for IVF'Spanish fertility centre says the British women it treats are more likely to be significantly older than their partners compared with other nationalities
• Boris Johnson fights plan to shut commuter routeBoris Johnson fights proposals to close rail route into Victoria and London Bridge stations after accusing Government of ducking out of its responsibilities to pay for alternative service
• Main rail lines could be closed on SundaysRail services on busy London routes could be closed on Sundays as train drivers refuse to work overtime
• Thousands hit by bus walkout as workers strike over payNEW: Tens of thousands of bus passengers faced travel chaos as staff walked out for 24 hours over pay

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Fundraising campaign launched to extend railway Ambitious plans to extend the Aviemore-based steam train railway line to Grantown were taken a stage further last night when a public meeting was held to launch a fundraising campaign for the project.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Wakefield Kirkgate: CCTV for 'worst rail station in the country'A crime-hit Wakefield rail station dubbed 'the worst in Britain' is to get security cameras within weeks as part of a £300,000 improvement scheme.

Yorkshire Post

• 'Putrid' railway station in line for major improvements A WEST Yorkshire railway station once described as "putrid" and "unwelcoming" is getting much needed investment. Passengers using Wakefield Kirkgate station will benefit from new CCTV, improved signs, a help-point on platforms 2 and 3 and an improved subway environment.

New Scientist

• Super-efficient cars racing to win the X prizeWith $10 million prize money at stake, the race to build energy-thrifty cars that appeal to the mass market is hotting up

Other News Sources

• Rail trainer Silver Track set to expand in Nottingham ATRAINING company is to open a new centre with the aim of turning jobless people into apprentices for the rail industry. Silver Track Training says it expects to put 160 apprentices through a series of training programmes at its new facility, based at the National Rail Heritage Centre at Ruddington.
• Virgin Trains overhauls website Virgin Trains is overhauling its website to convey the brand's new positioning of train travel as superior to other modes of transport.
• Mayor Of London To Meet With Transport Minister Sadiq Khan To Improve Rail Services For South LondonersThe Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, will this week meet with the Transport Minister, Sadiq Khan, on behalf of Londoners living in the south of the capital in a bid to resolve their concerns over the future of rail services in their area.
• First Great Western wins press award Train operator First Great Western has scooped the best staff newspaper award in this year’s South West Chartered Institute of Public Relations PRide Awards.
• Celebrity backing in train station fightVILLAGERS' attempts to save their Victorian railway station from the bulldozers have been backed by comedian Ian Hislop, whose magazine has criticised moves to demolish it. Network Rail says if no new use is found for Trimley station by the end of the year, it will knock it down and replace it with a fence.
• Boroughs and Network Rail on track to ensure speedier removal of rubbish and graffiti A pioneering agreement to speed up the removal of graffiti and rubbish from around the capital's stations and railway lines has been struck between London Councils and Network Rail.
• London Underground waste another opportunity to settle pay dispute, says Unite Unite, the union representing workers across London Underground, has reacted strongly to London Underground’s rejection today (Monday) at a meeting at ACAS, of approaches made to settle the outstanding pay dispute.
• Network Rail to appoint integrated agencyNetwork Rail is on the hunt for an integrated marketing agency to work across a variety of campaigns.
• Proposed overhaul of union election rules in US aviation and rail sectorsOrganising in the US aviation and rail sectors is set to become easier thanks to new proposals to change the way in which union elections are carried out.
• American and BA continue to dismiss calls for relinquishing Heathrow slotsOneworld alliance partners American Airlines and British Airways remain adamant in their belief that calls for the two carriers to relinquish slots at London...
• Rail 'will never be economically efficient' Rail travel will never be economically efficient, is "intrinsically expensive" and tickets prices would need to be doubled for it to make a profit, an expert has declared. Commenting on a recent study which found a first class fare between Scotland and Cornwall cost more than £1,000, director of Transport Watch Phil Withrington explained that the network has "not paid for itself since the 1950s".