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

Saturday, 23 January 2010

BBC News

• Lorry checking unit begins workA unit checking commercial vehicles using the roads of north Wales issues £6,000 of fines in its first week.
• Plans to extend airport terminalA £5m scheme to redesign and extend the terminal at Cardiff Airport is unveiled to planners, aimed at boosting business.
• On yer bikeHow Google Street View captured the National Trust.
• Inventor in cleaner engine claimA Dundee inventor says he has designed an engine that would make cars cleaner, more efficient and possibly cheaper to make.
• Lorry driver dies after accidentA 54-year-old lorry driver dies after his vehicle overturned and landed on parked cars.
• No injuries in train derailmentA commuter train derails just south of Dingwall station Network Rail confirm, but no one is hurt in the incident.
• Park to withdraw bus fundingFunding for a bus service in a national park is being withdrawn because of the rising cost of running it.
• Puffed outHow one rider survived a gruelling bike challenge
• Osborne rejects fuel duty claimsGeorge Osborne rejects reports that a Tory government could increase fuel duty to fund tax cuts for married couples.
• BP fuel delivery in water 'taint'Some BP petrol in Northern Ireland was contaminated with water, the company has confirmed.
• Human bones under stationA number of human bones, believed to be from the 19th century, are found under Manchester Victoria railway station.
• A 'new human frontier'An anthropologist, who is spending 18 hours a day in the terminals of Manchester Airport, believes it is the new style of living.
• Underground staff staging strikesMaintenance workers on a London Underground line are to stage a series of 24-hour strikes in a row over pay.
• Thames airport not in Tory plansConservative leader David Cameron says building a new airport in the Thames Estuary is not one of his party's policies.
• UK car production down in 2009UK car production fell by 31% in 2009 following the collapse in the global car market, industry figures show.
• BA strikers may lose travel perksBritish Airways threatens cabin crew who go on strike that they may lose travel perks permanently.

Financial Times

• BA threatens cabin crews™ travel perksIn a sharp escalation of the row, the airline™s head of cabin crew wrote to staff ahead of the fresh strike ballot saying he wanted them to be ˜fully aware of the consequences should you vote Yes and go on strike™
• Stobart plans Southend airport expansionThe transport and logistics group, known best for its Eddie Stobart road haulage arm, awaits a government decision on its plan to expand Southend airport after it received local council approval
• EasyJet hit £8m by winter freezeEurope's second-largest no-frills carrier says December's extreme weather conditions had cost it £8m and that it remains cautious about market recovery despite an improvement in profits

The Guardian

• Striking BA crew will lose travel perks¢ BA says failed Christmas strike cost airline 'millions of pounds' ¢ Poll of cabin crew shows strong support for industrial actionBritish Airways has warned cabin crew that they will be stripped of travel benefits if they take part in a strike over staffing cuts.BA said that any employee who joined the walkout would no longer receive discounted or free fares. Many French and Spanish cabin crew rely on the BA travel scheme to commute to the airline's Gatwick and Heathrow bases and would be left out of pocket by the move, according to trade union sources. The Unite trade union, which is locked ...
• Quarter of US grain crops fed to carsNew analysis of 2009 US Department of Agriculture figures suggests biofuel revolution is impacting on world food suppliesOne-quarter of all the maize and other grain crops grown in the US now ends up as biofuel in cars rather than being used to feed people, according to new analysis which suggests that the biofuel revolution launched by former President George Bush in 2007 is impacting on world food supplies.The 2009 figures from the US Department of Agriculture shows ethanol production rising to record levels driven by farm subsidies and laws which require vehicles to use increasing amounts ...

The Herald

• Milngavie is Scotland™s ˜boy racer™ hotspotSome of the worst speeding motorists are to be found in the west of Scotland, according to new research.
• Private firms bid to operate Renfrew FerryFour private operators are in talks about providing a replacement service for the Renfrew Ferry, which will sail for the last time on March 31 after almost six centuries.

The Scotsman

• Rescue of pirate captives 'bungled'An attempt by British special forces to rescue a couple kidnapped by pirates was "bungled" because of bureaucratic delays and technical problems, it has been reported.

The Telegraph

• Prison ship plan under consideration by Tories A prison ship could be reintroduced under the Conservatives.
• Children, 12, taking legal high drug meow meow on school bus Children as young as 12 are turning up at school under the influence of a

Times Online

• Luxury on the rails: India™s Orient ExpressI had never been to India. Old hands told me not to read it up. œJust let it hit you in the face.
• Car production falls 31% amid scrappage schemeThe motor industry today braced itself for a tough year ahead after its trade body announced that British car production fell by 31 per cent in 2009 compared with previous year.
• National Express chairman to join CobhamFresh from a battle for the future of National Express, veteran boardroom player John Devaney is taking on another leading job - as chairman of Cobham, the growing British aviation and defence systems group.
• EasyJet denies skirting French labour chargesEasyJet put its staff in French airports on British labour contracts in an attempt to avoid the costly welfare contributions required under Gallic employment legislation, a French court heard yesterday.
• E-Clear administrators find no trace of £100m owed to creditorsThe £100 million owed to creditors by the collapsed credit card company E-Clear has disappeared, according to administrators.

Daily Record

• Man was stabbed to death for trying to stop thief breaking into carA RETIRED seaman was murdered as he tried to stop a drunken teenage thug stealing a car, a jury ruled yesterday.
• Teenage driver who killed friend in high-speed smash sentenced to four-and-a-half years in jailA TEENAGE driver who caused the death of his friend after losing control of his car while driving at more than 100mph was jailed for four and a half years today.
• Transport chiefs axe historic Renfrew Ferry service in bid to save cashTHE historic Renfrew Ferry service is to be axed after more than 500 years, it has been confirmed.

Mail Online

• Painkiller risk to drivers after experts link codeine to fatal road accidents

The Mirror

• CAM OVERBOARD Tory leader faces mutiny over plan for prison ships

Network Rail

• NETWORK RAIL GIVEN GREEN LIGHT FOR NATIONAL CENTRE AT MILTON KEYNES
• 30-YEAR KENT RAIL STRATEGY PUBLISHED

Belfast Telegraph

• EasyJet expecting substantial profit rise Low-cost airline easyJet forecast a “substantial” improvement in profits after passenger numbers jumped 9% in its most recent quarter. Related StoriesWhich? asks if new gold merchants cashing inNew year event for women going into businessCommittee wants to help credit unions add servicesConstruction worst hit in rising county court judgmentsNew car output takes a battering
• New car output takes a battering Car production slumped in 2009, driven down by the depressed state of the motor market in the early part of the year, it was announced today. Related StoriesCBI sees proof of recovery in exportsWhich? asks if new gold merchants cashing inNew year event for women going into businessCommittee wants to help credit unions add servicesConstruction worst hit in rising county court judgments

Birmingham Mail

• Birmingham Airport's information desk will close with 25 job lossesBIRMINGHAM International Airport is closing its information desk, leading to 25 redundancies.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Metro to take executive decisions Two Bradford councillors will sit on a powerful executive board set up to drive forward West Yorkshire™s transport strategy.
• City Park roadworks set to start Motorists will start to see changes being made to Prince™s Way in Bradford city centre from Monday as major roadworks begin in preparation for the City Park.

Edinburgh Evening News

• £250,000 tram levy discount smooths path for new hotelA HOTEL developer is being given a £250,000 "discount" on its tram levy in order to ensure it pushes ahead with its plans.

Liverpool Echo

• Train to be a travel champMERSEYTRAVEL is looking to recruit 100 volunteer ’travel champions’ who will be trained to offer guidance and support to people who are weary about using public transport.
• Praise for Liverpool bus driver who saved Childwall man’s lifeA BUS driver was today hailed a hero for saving an elderly passenger whose heart stopped beating.

London Evening Standard

• Lorry kills woman cyclist on road too narrow for it to passCyclist crushed to death by a tipper lorry at an accident blackspot where the road was too narrow for the vehicle, an inquest hears

Metro

• Tube workers plan 24-hour strikesLondon Underground maintenance workers are to stage a series of 24-hour strikes in a row over pay, it has been announced.

Northern Echo

• Tornado pulls the Prince of Wales train to museum A HISTORIC stream locomotive from the region will pull the Prince of Wales as he arrives at the world™s oldest surviving passenger railway station by royal train.

Sheffield Star

• Crackdown on car theftALMOST £2 million worth of stolen vehicles were recovered from criminals last year by South Yorkshire Police's Road Crime Unit.

The News (Portsmouth)

• Cruise liner hit by norovirus - againA cruise ship has been hit by a vomiting bug for the fourth trip in a row.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• School bus safety inspires pupilsThe head of a north-east safety group has praised pupils for taking part in a project to highlight school bus safety.
• Boost for north-east disabled passengersDISABLED residents at Fraserburgh were given the chance to road-test a new bus yesterday.
• Passengers escape serious injury after train derails at DingwallMore than 70 passengers on an Inverness commuter train escaped serious injury when their train derailed in Ross-shire last night.

The York Press

• Support for return of taxi rank in St Sampson™s Square PLANS to re-open a taxi rank in St Sampson™s Square have won strong support from the trade “ but police say they have some reservations.
• Pledge to maintain free admission at Railway Museum if Labour re-elected CULTURE Secretary Ben Bradshaw has pledged to keep free admission to the National Railway Museum (NRM) in York if Labour is re-elected at the General Election.
• Youngster helps relaunched clunk-click message to motorists A YOUNGSTER is helping save lives on the road by re-launching Jimmy Savile™s famous Clunk-Click Every Trip seatbelt campaign.
• Plans unveiled for massive shake-up of major York junction ONE of York™s busiest and most dangerous junctions could be the scene for the biggest city centre road revamp in more than a decade.

Wales Online

• Cold weather left Welsh roads full of potholesSOME roads in Wales are worse than those in the Third World, it was claimed yesterday.

Bucks Free Press

• Bus firm pulls service following pothole damage BUS company Carousel has pulled one of its High Wycombe service routes after two buses were put out of action by potholes.

Carlisle News & Star

• Cumbria council not ˜sorry™ over road grittingCumbria went into the recent cold snap with levels of rock salt 6,000 tonnes lower than last winter, Liberal Democrat county councillors have claimed.
• Cumbria based Stobart Group on target to deliver profitsThe Cumbria based transport giant Stobart Group said today that it is on target to achieve its annual profit target “ despite the recession.

Northants Evening Telegraph

• First driver convicted of death by careless drivingThe first motorist in Northamptonshire to be charged with causing death by careless driving has been found unanimously guilty.
• Biker was killed as he filmed runAn experienced motorcyclist died when he lost control of his bike while trying to film his high speed run on a camcorder, an inquest has heard.

Peterborough Telegraph

• Government pledges better rail servicesThe Government has promised passengers improved services on three rail franchises, including a key London to Essex route and a line from the capital to Norwich.

Sunderland Echo

• Work starts to demolish unsafe Sunderland car parkWork has begun to dismantle the condemned multi-storey car park above Sunderland's Jacky White's Market.

The Shields Gazette

• £70 a time to fix potholes in our roadsMOTORISTS in South Tyneside are in for a 'hole' lot of trouble now the snow has melted.
• Council saves £200k in mileageCAR mileage costs at South Tyneside Council have been slashed by almost £200,000 after a cost-saving team investigation.

Other Regional Press

• Safety fear as Leicestershire school bus run faces the axeChildren's lives will be put at risk if a school bus route is axed, campaigners say. Leicestershire County Council's Tory administration's...
• 'Humanity won' in death crash court case A MOTHER whose only child was killed in a road accident expressed her relief that the woman responsible was not sent to prison.
• Road tragedies hit record low NEW accident figures show there were 342 people killed or seriously injured on Oxfordshire™s roads last year.
• Cameron: We're not backing Boris IslandSpeaking in Kent today, David Cameron refused to support Mayor of London Boris Johnson's plans for an airport in the Thames Estuary

Forbes

• Harley Sees Loss, Sales SlumpThe motorcycle giant was hit hard by the economy, but expects to bounce back by cutting costs.
• The World's Most Delayed AirportsIndia and China top the list.

International Herald Tribune

• Korea Air Returns to Profit as Travel Picks Up in AsiaPassenger and air freight numbers rallied in the Asia-Pacific region in December, and Korean Air returned to profit during the last quarter of 2009.
• No Progress in Talks for Financing of European Military PlaneThe seven countries who ordered the Airbus A400M transport plane failed again to agree on how to pay for cost overruns.

Washington Post

• Over 900 car dealers try to get businesses back DETROIT -- Michael Wolf is taking a big gamble that he can convince an arbitrator to give him back his Chrysler-Jeep dealership.
• Delta expected to post fourth-quarter loss ATLANTA -- Delta Air Lines Inc., the world's biggest airline, reports fourth-quarter and full-year 2009 results on Tuesday. The following is a summary of key developments and analyst opinion related to the period.
• Harley-Davidson posts 4Q loss, first in 16 years NEW YORK -- Harley-Davidson Inc. reported a fourth-quarter loss Friday, its first quarterly deficit in 16 years, as restructuring costs and the sluggish economy wore on the motorcycle maker.

Campaign for Better Transport

• Southend Airport: bad decision22 January: Southend-on-Sea has just approved expansion at Southend Airport. But the Government knows it can't expand regional airports and Heathrow, as our investigation last year revealed. read more

Aviation Industry

• Religious Tefillin Prompts Bomb Scare on PlaneJanuary 21, 2010 -- A bomb scare that forced a plane to land at Philadelphia International Airport turned out to be a misunderstanding over a religious ritual.
• Airlines charge large passengersHEAVY LOAD: A passenger waits for a delayed flight at Heathrow airport in London.
• Plane diverted as 'security precaution'A disruptive passenger prompted authorities to divert a Louisville, Kentucky-bound US Airways Express plane Thursday to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, federal aviation authorities said.
• Analysis: What next for JAL?Japan Airlines (JAL) has filed for bankruptcy protection. It is an ignominious development for one of Asia's largest airlines and one which is a symbol of national pride in Japan read more
• Continental lost $295m in 2009 Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"...

Other News Sources

• Council to repair damaged roadsLeeds City Council is planning to repair the damage caused by the cold weather on the city's roads.
• 11-year-old died after freak bike accident An 11-year-old girl died in a freak accident after falling off her new bike when she swerved to avoid a holly leaf, an inquest was told yesterday.
• Man brandished fake gun on Brighton bus A man on crutches waved a fake gun around on a bus.
• New bid to force train firm out of Sussex Sussex MPs have thrown their support behind a movement to strip First Capital Connect of its Brighton services.
• Train derails near stationPassenger train with 62 on board comes off tracks as it approaches Dingwall Station.
• Carroll requests fuel duty Early Day MotionIndustry campaigner Peter Carroll has requested that an Early Day Motion (EDM) be put down in Parliament calling for action to get a level playing field on fuel duty for UK hauliers.
• Cardiff airport submits terminal revamp plansCardiff Airport has submitted plans to redevelop its main terminal building.
• Nottingham Tran bidders down to twoThe two remaining consortia hoping to build the second phase of the Nottingham Express Transit (NET Phase Two) will submit bids in May.
• Southeastern train ads ape quality of car marketingDomestic high speed rail service Southeastern has unveiled its first advertising campaign.
• Budget airlines have lower carbon footprintA new report has claimed that no-frills airlines cost less for the environment with their low carbon footprint.
• New inquiry for M6 linkA second public inquiry is to be held into a £139m Lancashire road scheme.
• Car production down by 30 per cent Car production slumped in 2009, driven down by the depressed state of the motor market in the early part of the year.
• The best way to privatise portsThe UK's port industry is divided over the structure the UK's trust ports should take if they were to be privatised.
• Highways Agency response to the editor of New Civil Engineer following an editorial article published on 14 January 2010: Yesterday (Tuesday) my copy of last week™s New Civil Engineer was finally delivered. And I was astonished to read your editorial comment in which you leap to the conclusion that the Highways Agency was in some way waiting for formal publication of a report by the UK Roads Liaison Group.For the record:We reviewed our salt supply and winter maintenance arrangements immediately after the February 2009 shortages. This included my Operations Director personally visiting the working face at both UK mines;We started the winter with full salt barns across the country plus strateg...
• Stobart says it will grow in 2010Stobart Group says it will not only meet its year-end pre-tax profit expectations, but has also secured enough new business for growth in 2010.
• Wincanton says seven divisions to make £70m by 2015Logistics firm Wincanton has given the managing directors of seven of its business units the task of bringing in a pre-tax profit of at least £10m each by 2015.
• Gatwick Airport to get new summer routesGatwick Airport will offer passengers the opportunity to fly to four new destinations this summer thanks to the addition of several new routes.EasyJet has announced that it will be operating new services to Greece and Turkey from Gatwick Airport, making the travel hub its biggest Airbus 320 base in the UK for the spring.Flights will now be offered from Gatwick Airport to Crete, Kos and Zakynthos in Greece and Antalya in Turkey.The routes will begin in May in time for the summer holiday season, so passengers may wish to book their airport car park and airport hotel in preparation.Gatwick Airpor...
• Haiti port reopensCARGO is reportedly being offloaded at Haiti™s main port for the first time since the country was hit by a massive earthquake last week.
• World Shipping Council proposes global emissions reduction system The World Shipping Council and its members have proposed to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and its member governments a new global Vessel Efficiency System, which would improve the carbon and fuel efficiency of the world's fleet and therefore reduce greenhouse gas emissions. read more
• EU agrees to step up airline securityUse of body-scanners and the sharing passenger data are among the initiatives under discussion.
• EU offers support for Opel workersSacked workers will be eligible for EU support; Flemish politicians take case to Commission.
• Firm fined over Dereham roadworks chaosPower supplier EDF Energy has been fined £500 with £300 costs by magistrates after admitting it didn't tell Norfolk county council of road works that led to complaints from motorists who faced delays.
• Car collides with school coachA CAR has collided with a school coach in Ipswich.
• Suffolk MP wins Commons accolade A SUFFOLK MP's campaign to get the A11 dualled through his constituency has earned him the title œparliamentarian of the year from road campaigning group Brake.
• Southend Airport planning boost for StobartLogistics firm Stobart Group Ltd (LSE: STOB) today said it would hit full-year profit targets and revealed a new boost for its drive to squeeze value from its assets.
• FAA Sends Temporary Air Traffic Control Tower to HaitiAt the request of the Haitian government, the Department of Transportation's Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) dispatched a portable, temporary control tower to Haiti today to help assist...