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

Monday, 14 December 2009

BBC News

• Air cadets help push rail safety Special recruits have been drafted in to help spread the crime safety message to train passengers. Cadets from the 1940 (Levenshulme) Squadron of the Air Training Corps are at Manchester Piccadilly handing out crime reduction leaflets.
• Extra staff to cover rail strike Extra staff are being drafted in to stop disruption on the railways as hundreds of signalling workers begin six days of strike action from Monday.
• Javelin trains start full 140mph Kent to London service Full services of 140mph Japanese-built trains have begun operating between Kent and London.
• AA claims councils lack road saltThe AA claims half of UK local authorities only have enough road salt for six days of continuous freezing weather.
• BA strike ballot result awaitedA strike by British Airways cabin crew could move a step closer when the result of a strike ballot is announced.

Financial Times

• Fast train set to pull in new businessThe journey time of thousands of London-bound commuters will be slashed this morning as high-speed domestic services start on the Channel tunnel rail line. Services on the line known as High Speed 1 are set to turn parts of east Kent into prime commuter territory and attractive locations for business

The Independent

• Speeding into the future?Men and maids of Kent should be happy, particularly those who work in London. From today 29 Japanese-built Hitachi Javelin trains, with top speeds of 140mph, will hurtle between Folkestone and the capital. This will cut the one-hour journey time between Ashford and London almost in half, and the journey time from Dover to St Pancras to 69 minutes.
• BA cabin crew to hear result of strike ballotThe threat of a strike at British Airways is set to come closer today when the result of a ballot for industrial action among cabin crew is announced. A meeting of workers will be held at Sandown Park racecourse in Surrey ahead of an expected announcement of what action will be taken in a in a long-running dispute over changes to working practices, a pay freeze and job cuts.

The Telegraph

• Road chaos threat looms due to grit shortages, warns AABritain’s roads could descend into chaos this winter due to shortages of grit after it was revealed that stocks in half of local authority areas would only last for six days.
• British Airways strike vote threatens Christmas chaos British Airways flights could be thrown into disarray over the Christmas period with the result of a strike vote to be announced today.

Times Online

• Christmas chaos as 12,500 BA cabin crew prepare to back strikesBritish Airways is braced for Christmas strike action by cabin crews after last-ditch negotiations with union leaders failed to broker a truce over changes to staffing levels.

Reuters News

• Tube Lines says "not aware" of TfL takeover bidUK rail contractor Tube Lines said it had not received a takeover offer from Transport for London (TfL) and was not aware that any such offer had been made to its shareholders, Spain's Ferrovial FER.MC and U.S.-based Bechtel.

Daily Record

• Network Rail spend almost £1m on 'useless' housesDEBT-RIDDEN rail bosses bought five cottages for almost £1million to make way for a showpiece new line - then discovered they did not need the land.

London Evening Standard

• Electric vehicle trial switched onA one-year

Nottingham Evening Post

• Parkway's new services to Sheffield and ChesterfieldA NEW hourly rail service was due to be launched between East Midlands Parkway and Sheffield from today. There will also be 16 new direct train services between the station and Chesterfield as East Midlands Trains' new timetable begins.

Wales Online

• Repeat of road gritting chaos in Wales is fearedMOTORING experts today warned of a shortfall in council salt reserves to treat icy roads as Wales braced itself for the first cold snap of winter.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Travellers 'disappointed with airport experience'Those people travelling on holiday via an airport have suggested that their experience of using such facilities has become poorer, new figures show.A poll by World Travel Market of 1,030 holidaymakers who took a summer trip in 2009 discovered one in three (31 per cent) believed that the experience of using airports had deteriorated.The survey also showed nearly half (49 per cent) of 457 senior travel industry executives polled agreed that travelling by plane has become a worse event.Data from the Office for National Statistics for the third quarter of the year showed a one per cent decline in ...

Other News Sources

• Use of Mobile Phones Whilst Driving is on The Increase Despite Bluetooth Headsets- Transport Research LaboratoryDespite the popularity of bluetooth headsets, it appears that a large proportion of UK drivers still insist on continuing to use mobile phones by holding them in their hand whilst actually driving, found research by the Transport Research Laboratory.
• Toyota releases deals for 2010 HiluxToyota has released details of its 2010 Hilux pickup, which offers a significant 20% increase in power on its 2.5-litre engine.
• Copenhagen talks 'not making enough progress' Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband warns that international talks to tackle global warming are not on track.Related StoriesClimate campaigners blast 'heavy-handed' policeBrown spends night with Afghanistan troopsBlair to give Iraq evidence 'very much in public'Ex-civil servant slams 'sycophant' BlairNew money to tackle roadside bombs
• JAL to apply for anti-trust immunity with US partnerJapan Airlines (JAL) plans to apply for anti-trust immunity with an American airline after Japan and the USA successfully concluded open skies talks.