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

Tuesday, 15 December 2009

BBC News

• Railway land pulled from auction A disused railway station in Somerset, which was due to be auctioned off, has been withdrawn from sale at the last minute.
• Concern over city station project The firm given the go-ahead for a £820m redevelopment of the rail station and surrounding area in Cambridge last August has gone into administration.
• Tube contract falls into 'chaos' London Underground (LU) could see major delays after a maintenance contract descended into "chaos", a union said.
• Longbridge Island bypass to open A multi-million pound bypass is due to open to help reduce accidents and relieve motorway congestion at a roundabout in Warwick.
• Levy legal challenge is shelved Business leaders have dropped plans for a legal challenge to Nottingham's Workplace Parking Levy. The levy, starting at £253 per space, is designed to pay for a new tram line.
• Railway lines being electrified in £200m scheme Commuters will have their journey times slashed between major stations in the north west of England as part of a £200m rail electrification scheme.
• First bus leaves revamped Birmingham coach station The first buses have left Birmingham's Digbeth Coach Station following a £15m revamp. The station, which has been shut since November 2007, includes a new concourse, information centre, a cafe, shop and toilets.
• High speed rail travel: Your views The new high-speed train service operating between Kent and London St Pancras has been officially launched.
• Borders rail route 'could go to Carlisle' A reopened rail line between Edinburgh and the Borders could be extended to Carlisle, according to the Scottish transport minister.
• Car help scheme yet to give fundsA £2.3bn government scheme to provide funding for UK carmakers has yet to help a single firm, MPs report.
• BA 'examining all strike options'British Airways says it is exploring all options, including possible legal action to stop a planned 12-day Christmas strike by cabin crew.

Financial Times

• High-speed services cut European train timesEuropean travellers got a taste of the continent's most widespread improvements in rail travel as the annual timetable update ushered in the first weekday service on new high-speed rail lines in four countries
• Battle looms over BA pensionsBritish Airways signalled the start of a protracted battle with the Pensions Regulator over the price tag on its retirement obligations, the outcome of which will be crucial to its tie-up with Spain's Iberia
• Twelve days of Christmas woe for BABritish Airways was preparing on Monday night for what could be a deeply damaging strike after its cabin crew voted to walk out for nearly two weeks over the peak Christmas season

The Guardian

• 75 years after the UK's first cycle lane opened, the same debates rage on Today's cyclists would jump at the chance to ride on the wide, separate lanes that in 1934 received only a 'frigid welcome'
• Gordon Brown pledges £20bn funding as high-speed rail service begins UK's first full domestic high-speed rail services have drastically reduced journey times between London and Kent
• BA staff to strike over ChristmasNo-frills rivals would love to snatch extra business from troubled flag carrier, but say many holiday flights are fully bookedPlanned strikes by BA cabin crew today handed a pre-Christmas bonus to rivals benefiting from the

The Herald

• Scotland gets on its bike, but funding wheels move slowlyCall for a more action to back up health campaign
• 12 days of misery for travellers as BA staff set to strikeCrippling strikes by British Airways cabin crew will deal a major blow to Scotland™s Christmas and New Year celebrations.

The Independent

• Brown hails first high-speed rail service Gordon Brown today hailed the start of the UK's first full domestic high-speed rail services and promised to invest £20 billion in railway infrastructure in the next few years.
• All change please “ how new Tube line left passengers baffled The Circle line never has been nor is ever likely to be London's best-loved Underground route. But at least until yesterday, it was approximately circular.

The Scotsman

• 12 days of misery for BA passengersMore than a million passengers face Christmas travel misery after British Airways cabin crew announced a 12-day strike in a bitter row over jobs, pay and working conditions.

The Telegraph

• Javelin train service launched amid plans for North-South high-speed rail network The first of the new high-speed Javelin trains arrived on time in London on Monday as Gordon Brown announced plans for a North-South fast rail network.
• British Airways: 12 days of Christmas strikes hit a million passengers The strike is likely to ground almost all of BA's fleet, ruining the pre-booked holidays and family reunions of the estimated one million people scheduled to fly BA this Christmas.
• British Airways Christmas strike: Willie Walsh threatens legal action The strike is likely to ground almost all of BA's fleet, ruining the pre-booked holidays and family reunions of the estimated one million people scheduled to fly BA this Christmas.

Times Online

• Million face twelve days of misery as BA strike loomsAlmost one million air passengers face travel chaos over Christmas after British Airways cabin crew voted for a 12-day strike starting on December 22.
• Merger hopes dip as BA reveals size of its pension deficitThe merger between British Airways and Iberia is under threat after it emerged yesterday that the hole in BA™s pension scheme has widened dramatically.

Daily Express

• 140MPH RAIL SERVICE IS LAUNCHED AS GORDON BROWN PLEDGES TO INVEST £20BILLION BRITAIN’S first high‑speed commuter rail service was launched yesterday, with Gordon Brown pledging to invest £20billion in railway infrastructure in the next few years.

Mail Online

• BA's 12 strikes of Christmas: Cabin crew action will hit a million travellers, cost £500m... and could destroy the airline, says boss

Network Rail

• ACCESS IMPROVEMENTS UNDERWAY AT HUDDERSFIELD STATION
• ACCESS IMPROVEMENTS UNDERWAY AT MIDDLESBROUGH STATION

Birmingham Post

• Birmingham Coach Station opens after £15m revampTHE first buses set off today from Birmingham’s Digbeth Coach Station following the £15 million facelift.
• High Speed Rail plans to be published in MarchDetailed plans for a new high speed rail line linking London and Birmingham will be published in March, the Government has pledged.

Edinburgh Evening News

• City borrows £21m to fund tram projectCOUNCIL bosses have raised nearly two-thirds of the money they need for the city's tram project “ but only after borrowing £21 million, new figures show.

Journal Live

• Weardale Railway revival could be fuelled by coalPLANS to ferry coal along the tracks of a tourist railway in County Durham are being unveiled today.
• Tories pledge to scrap airline taxA DAMAGING airline tax would be scrapped by a Conservative Government. But the Tories say they will introduce their own per-plane tax to offer "real environmental incentives".

Liverpool Post

• Rail services from Liverpool to be improved under £200m electrification plan RAIL services from Liverpool are to be improved under a £200m electrification programme for the North-West. It is hoped journey times between Lime Street station and Wigan and Blackpool North will be reduced under plans to electrify major rail routes and carry out improvements to track and signalling on the lines.

London Evening Standard

• 12 days of misery for BA passengersMore than a million passengers face Christmas travel misery after British Airways cabin crew announced a 12-day strike in a bitter row over jobs, pay and working conditions.

Metro

• BA staff vote to take strike actionMore than a million passengers are facing Christmas misery as British Airways cabin crew announced a 12-day strike in a bitter row over jobs, pay and working conditions.

Nottingham Evening Post

• Business chiefs drop WPL legal challengeUSINESS chiefs have dropped plans to take legal action against Nottingham City Council over the Workplace Parking Levy. The Derbyshire and Notts Chamber of Commerce said members would not pursue the option of a judicial review after taking legal advice.
• High Speed Rail plans to be set out in the spring THE Government will set out its plans for the future of high speed rail in Britain by the end of March next year, Transport Secretary Andrew Adonis has confirmed.

Sheffield Star

• Our stations on right track A REPORT into the quality of railway stations has ranked those at Sheffield, Barnsley and Doncaster as the best.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• British Airways crew to strike over Christmas holidaysBritish Airways cabin crew are set to stage 12 days of strikes over the Christmas holidays, sources said today.

Yorkshire Post

• Squeeze threatens Yorkshire transport spending Transport projects in the Yorkshire region could be shelved MULTI-million-pound transport projects in the Yorkshire region could be shelved as the Government warned it would enforce strict regulations on public spending.

Blackpool Gazette

• Fylde railways on track for £200m boostFYLDE coast commuters were today given a £200m boost as it was announced the main rail route into Blackpool is to be electrified.

Railnews

• News: ASLEF accepts new FCC pay offer, but skeleton service continues First Capital Connect has confirmed that ASLEF has accepted a revised pay offer for drivers, but the emergency timetable providing only half the normal service is continuing on the Thameslink route for the time being.
• News: RMT starts six-day strike in south Wales over rosters dispute A six day strike of signallers has begun in South Wales, but Network Rail said it would have ’minimal effect on rail services’. The main line is not expected to be affected, although there will be some disruption on the Coryton, City and Penarth to Rhymney lines today and tomorrow.

Aviation Industry

• London Gatwick Airport responds to British Airways ballot announcementFollowing the announcement earlier today that Unite, the Union representing British Airways cabin crew members, has announced its intention to strike during Christmas and New Year...

Other News Sources

• Villagers welcome new half-hourly train service Communities in East Ayrshire have welcomed a new half-hourly train service to Glasgow, which they say will help open up the area.
• STOBART’S PALLET DEAL FOR NEW TRAIN SERVICE CARLISLE transport giant Stobart Group has signed a deal with pallet giant Chep to export pallets via its pioneering train service between Spain and the UK.
• "Cycle train" calls for Brighton A “train of cyclists” could regularly make frequent trips along a busy road.
• Boris pledges £5.4m to improve transport THE Mayor of London has announced a multi-million pound funding deal for major transport improvements in the borough.
• Transport Secretary Adonis Announces New £200m Electrification Programme for North West England Rail TracksRail passengers will benefit from greener, more comfortable and reliable rail journeys as Transport Secretary Andrew Adonis announced details of plans to electrify three major rail routes in the North West today.
• Southern to launch Passenger Panel Southern Railway is looking for 1,000 travellers to take part in a Passenger Panel designed to “test drive ideas” on everything from tannoy announcements to catering.
• Rail firm ’working hard’ on Newport footbridge work RAIL chiefs are working "very hard" to ensure the refurbishment of Newport railway station's Victorian footbridge - but they have stopped short of putting a timescale on its completion.
• BA cabin crew vote on Christmas strikeBritish Airways cabin crew are expected to plunge thousands of passengers into Christmas flight chaos by voting today to strike
• MEP: Climate action 'all about the economy'Climate action is not about the environment, but about building a new economic order, the vice-chair of the European Parliament's delegation in Copenhagen, Karl-Heinz Florenz MEP, told EurActiv in an interview, arguing that the investments of today will be the growth of tomorrow and trigger a sustainable development revolution.
• Flybe adds three routes to Manchester airportLow cost airline Flybe is adding three new routes from Manchester airport next summer.
• Manchester to Bolton line to be electrified as part of £1bn planManchester to Liverpool journey times will be cut to 30 minutes from 45 minutes under electrification plans announced in last week's Pre-Budget Report.