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

Saturday, 20 February 2010

BBC News

• Lottery cash boost for cycling in Suffolk More than £350,000 of National Lottery funding has been awarded by Sport England to promote cycling in Suffolk.
• fast:track investigates profiling at airports [video]After the latest failed attempt to blow up a plane, fast:track investigates passenger profiling and full body scanners. It's all good business for the security industry but is it really adding up to a safer journey for you and me?
• Gatwick trains lifted into place Carriages for a £45m upgraded shuttle service are being lifted into place at Gatwick Airport in West Sussex. Two high-tech trains have been brought in to speed up the time it takes passengers to travel between Gatwick's north and south terminals.
• Testing Eigg's green credentials The Isle of Eigg has been dubbed "Scotland's first green island", but what have the islanders done to deserve that accolade? BBC Scotland Environment and Science Correspondent David Miller paid a visit to find out.
• Tories 'don't want a cosy deal behind closed doors' [Today programme audio]A cross-party consensus on plans for a new high speed rail link between London and Birmingham have been stalled after the Conservatives declined an offer from the government to look at the White Paper containing details of the route.
• Bristol airport taxi crackdown finds 22% 'unsafe'Nearly one in four taxis taking people to and from Bristol International Airport are not fit to be on the road, spot checks have found.
• Wealden council wants rural driving testA councillor has claimed new drivers are being killed because the driving test fails to include rural roads.
• Evan and Jim's review [Today programme video]A cross-party consensus on plans for a new high speed rail link between London and Birmingham have been stalled after the Conservatives declined an offer from the government to look at the White Paper containing details of the route.
• Tories deny 'politics' over railThe shadow transport secretary denies the Conservatives are
• Call for Tube stranding inquiryA passenger watchdog calls for an inquiry after trains on London Underground's Central Line were stuck for two hours.
• Strike action over rail serviceThe first of three one-day strikes on First Scotrail services by members of the RMT union have started.
• Motorway beams lifted into placeMotorists are warned to expect delays this weekend as four huge beams are lifted into place as part of the £320m M80 upgrade.
• Opel creates 700 jobs in PolandGeneral Motors' (GM) European car unit Opel will create up to 700 jobs this year to produce its new Astra IV model at its factory in Poland.
• Union loses fight to halt BA cutsThe Unite union fails in a High Court bid to get last year's British Airways' cabin crew changes overturned.

Financial Times

• Tory claim over high-speed railThe shadow transport secretary has insisted the Conservatives are more enthusiastic about high-speed rail than the government, in spite of their refusal to endorse a forthcoming white paper on the subject.
• Stakeholders boost prospect of SAS saleThe Scandinavian airline moves closer to being put up for sale as Denmark and Norway join Sweden in saying they were willing to offload their stakes in the troubled carrier
• BA cabin crew lose legal bid to halt cost-cuttingThe Unite airline workers' union vowed to press on with its strike threat against British Airways despite its loss of a court battle to reverse cuts to cabin crew costs
• Lufthansa eyes options to halt strikeGerman airline is considering legal action to head off a four-day strike by its pilots as the dispute threatens to escalate into one of the severest industrial conflicts in the country's history

The Guardian

• Petrol prices remain high as wholesale costs fallAverage cost of petrol remains at 112p a litre with some paying 124.9p despite wholesale price dropping over 34p in January
• Tory councils join talks on high speed rail line despite party's stance• Conservative frontbench distances itself from project • Theresa Villiers fears rail threat to Tory seats

The Herald

• Mudslinging goes on as parties jockey for position on SPT boardStricken quango Strathclyde Partnership for Transport must adopt a much more cross-party approach if it is to get over the crisis that has seen three senior figures resign this week, it has been claimed.
• M80 missing link a step nearer completionA multi-million-pound project to ease congestion on one of the busiest stretches of road in Scotland has taken a significant step forward.
• One in four road dead not wearing seatbeltAlmost a quarter of deaths on Scotland™s roads could be prevented if people wore seatbelts, police have revealed.

Times Online

• BA cabin crew lose court battle on conditionsBritish Airways cabin crew have lost their legal challenge against the imposition of new working practices, but will press ahead with a strike ballot that closes next week.
• Air India receives £107m in state bailoutIndia is to inject fresh funds into its ailing state airline as part a last-gasp effort to save the gaffe-prone carrier.
• Passengers brace for BA cabin crew strikeThe union representing British Airways cabin crew yesterday lost a High Court bid to overturn a reduction in the number of staff serving passengers aboard BA aircraft.

Birmingham Mail

• Tories want more talks over route of Birmingham to London high speed rail Conservatives have warned they may reject the findings of a Government review into the route of a new high speed rail service between London and Birmingham.

Birmingham Post

• Greener transport hits a UK roadblockGovernment encouragement to get greener transport on the road is lacking, says one industry boss. Anna Blackaby reports

Liverpool Post

• Merseyrail becomes UK’s first fully secure rail network MERSEYRAIL has officially become the first fully secure rail network in the UK.

London Evening Standard

• British Airways can cut cabin crew jobs, rules High CourtBritish Airways wins a major victory against the Unite union over its plans to cut cabin crew on some flights
• New Heathrow runway ’will cause chaos across London'Transport for London bosses attack plans for a third runway at Heathrow as they claim it would cause severe Tube overcrowding
• Tube passengers stuck in tunnel for hours... and staff didn’t knowPassenger watchdogs demand full inquiry into why hundreds of people were left stuck in a Tube tunnel for almost two hours

Manchester Evening News

• 1,000 airport workers sign-up for ID cards More than 1,000 Manchester airport workers have voluntarily signed up for ID cards. All staff who work 'airside' “ beyond airport security - are eligible to get a free card as part of the regional roll-out of the ID cards scheme.

Nottingham Evening Post

• Presentation on station 'hub'A PRESENTATION organised by the Nottingham Industrial Heritage Association on how Nottingham station is to be turned into a transport "hub" will be given at the Central Library at 7.45pm on Thursday.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Brighter times for troubled airline as potential buyer is lined upAN AIRLINE which provides lifeline services in the north announced last night that it could soon be bought over and was now taking longer-term passenger bookings.

Other Regional Press

• Work begins on motorway escape gatesWork to install gates on the central reservation of the M2 gets underway tonight, Friday, between Junction 5 at Sittingbourne and Junction 6 at Faversham.

Campaign for Better Transport

• New DfT study shows transport models not fit for purpose19 February: We've long argued that the models on which transport investement decisions are made are faulty. Now a major study by the Department for Transport has agreed. read more

Other News Sources

• Morocco on track for high-speed rail High-speed rail will soon be a familiar feature of the Moroccan landscape once a key transport infrastructure project is completed. The project is set to radically cut travel times between Tangier and the country’s commercial capital Casablanca from more than five hours to just over two.
• Heathrow showdown: High court battle to be launchedOpponents of a third runway at Heathrow are set to launch their High Court legal battle against the project. A coalition of councils, eco-campaigners and residents living under the flight path will argue their case at a judicial review, which is due to start on Tuesday.
• Hampstead traders protest over tube closureFURIOUS Hampstead traders are campaigning against the proposed Northern line closures amid fears they will decimate business. They gathered outside the tube station on Saturday to voice concern about the weekend and early evening closures - expected to last at least 16 months.
• Lib Dem leader on Hampstead visit"The transport situation with the tube and train closures is unbelievable," he said. "No-one questions the idea that work needs to be done on these lines. But why are they being done all at the same time. "I am an avid user of London transport and I know how important it is for people to be able to rely on public transport.
• Four months of commuter misery on Overground lineCOMMUTERS beware – there will be no service on the Gospel Oak, Camden Road and Highbury and Islington to Stratford Overground line for almost four months to allow for a £326million upgrade.
• Trains suspended on the Edgware branch of the Northern Line south of Golders Green this weekendTUBES will not be running southbound on part of the Northern Line from Golders Green this weekend. Upgrade work on the line means the service is suspended between Golders Green, on the Edgware branch, and Euston.
• People are urged to get behind transport planPEOPLE are being urged to get behind plans for £46 million upgrades to Worcester’s transport system and forget about the “fantasy” north-west link road.
• GMPTE on board with city centre safety campaignTransport officials are backing a major police operation aimed at tackling alcohol-fuelled violence in Manchester city centre.
• Rail crossing issue needs addressing [letter]The letter of P. Rives (February 12) really confirms the hidden agenda of Network Rail, which both myself and Peter Banks feared (Echo, November 23, 2006) when the Lincoln upgrade work was first announced.