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

Wednesday, 24 February 2010

BBC News

• Talks held in dispute over Airdrie-Bathgate rail link Talks aimed at ending a dispute which has resulted in industrial action by rail workers in Scotland are due to take place later.
• London 'unfairly burdened' with £8bn cost of Crossrail Londoners are "unfairly burdened" with half the cost of the £16bn Crossrail, a London Assembly report said. Business premises in the capital with a rateable value in excess of £55,000 will raise £4.1bn of the cost by paying a 2% business rate levy.
• Cycling England scheme encourages bike users in towns A government scheme to boost cycling in towns appears to have increased the number of trips taken by bike by more than a quarter between 2005 and 2009.
• Historic canopy saved for railway An historic piece of a railway station in Greater Manchester has been saved.
• Toyota president says recall-hit firm 'grew too fast' Toyota's rapid expansion might have prompted safety issues which have led to 8.5 million vehicles being recalled, the carmaker's president has said.
• A mixture of 'physics and romance' for plane-spotters For most of us an aeroplane is a mere means of transportation, a prosaic and functional method by which we can travel around the world in a matter of hours.
• Link road work could be delayedCouncillors are to decide whether to delay work on a new link road, due to complications in the tendering process.
• New bridge 'not worth the cost'Campaigners tell MSPs that a new Forth road bridge would not be a
• Heathrow expansion plan 'unfair'Plans for a third runway at Heathrow breach natural justice because the consultation process was unfair, the High Court hears.
• Talks to avert rail strike threatTalks are to be held to try to end a dispute over a new rail service which has resulted in members of the RMT in Scotland striking.
• Strike damageEuropean airlines struggle to polish up their images
• BA set to resume talks with unionBritish Airways will hold fresh talks with the Unite union later to try and avert strike action by cabin crew.
• BA pilot pay row lands in court British Airways is due in court later - this time in a battle with its pilots who say their holiday pay is not calculated correctly.

Financial Times

• FerrovialThe Spanish group's loss narrows, but financing costs are still the albatross hanging around its neck and share price
• Hummer deal faces Beijing hurdleGeneral Motors' deal to sell its troubled Hummer brand to a Chinese company faces possible collapse after the buyer struggles to secure approval for the purchase from Beijing
• Gatwick sale hits Ferrovial results The Spanish infrastructure group that controls UK airports operator BAA said activity in some of its business areas showed early signs of improvement as it unveiled a 2009 net loss of €92.4m

The Guardian

• Runway 3: the greenwash goes on We shouldn't have to go to court to discover the environmental measures supposed to offset Heathrow expansion. But we are
• East London lines Hackney blogger John Dee: Within the last week I have seen several trains running on the new East London Line through this part of Hackney.
• Toyota boss grilled by US Congress'When the cars are damaged, it is as though I am as well,' says founder's grandson in written evidence ahead of congressional committee hearingThe boss of the embattled Japanese carmaker Toyota has conceded that his company's runaway growth over the past decade has clouded its focus on safety, in a deeply penitent apology for faults in accelerators and brakes that have led to a vast recall of 8.5m cars.In written evidence ahead of a potentially humbling appearance before US Congress on Wednesday, Toyota's president, Akio Toyoda, pledged to place a high priority on improving

The Herald

• Bus operators to get cash to keep down fares Bus operators are to be given extra money to help fund the network and keep fares "affordable", Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson has announced.
• Ministers approved disputed rail plansThe Scottish Government approved controversial staffing arrangements on a new east-west train service that have inflamed relations with the RMT union and triggered a series of Scotland-wide rail strikes, The Herald can reveal.
• Anger as bus travel scheme costs cappedThe Scottish Government moved to cap the spiralling costs of its popular concessionary bus travel scheme after repeated warnings that it would exceed £200 million a year and prove unsustainable in the long term.

The Independent

• Scanners 'are threat to privacy not health'Full body scanners being introduced at airports to tighten security pose little risk to passengers but raise concerns about privacy, according to a radiology expert.
• Government advice on third runway was 'unfair'Devisive plans to build a third runway at Heathrow airport were given

Times Online

• Government 'ignored own climate policy' over third runway at HeathrowApproval of a third runway and sixth terminal at Heathrow Airport was œconspicuously unfair and was based on an outdated business model that failed to take account of the Government™s own climate change policies, the High Court was told today.

Edinburgh Evening News

• TIE chiefs admit breaching contract guidelinesTRAM bosses have admitted they broke government guidelines by failing to advertise contracts.
• Anger as tram crews return two years on to move cablesTRADERS in the West End have reacted angrily after tram bosses announced plans to return to Shandwick Place to carry out work that should have been completed two years ago.

Liverpool Post

• Whitehall ’biased against Merseytrams’ claim WHITEHALL appears biased against modern tram schemes like Merseytram, a report from MPs will say today.

London Evening Standard

• Campaigners in court over challenge to Heathrow expansionA coalition of local councils, "green" groups and residents will today mount a legal challenge to Government plans for a third runway at Heathrow Airport.
• Report condemns Crossrail's 'far from positive' dealings with evicted residentsrossrail bosses have been ordered to “raise their game” after being criticised for the way businesses and residents have been evicted to make way for the £15.9 billion train route.
• Government's approval of Heathrow third runway 'flawed by unfair consultations'Government decision to approve a third runway at Heathrow was flawed by 'conspicuously unfair' public consultations, the High Court has been told

Nottingham Evening Post

• Beeston Rylands campaigners oppose council parking permit plan A LAST-DITCH campaign against plans to introduce parking charges for residents has been launched in Beeston Rylands.

Sheffield Star

• Free cycle loan for 800 Sheffield workersEIGHT hundred people in Sheffield will be offered the free loan of a bike for three weeks in a £250,000 scheme to get more people cycling to work.

Wales Online

• Car-makers’ change of plans hit hopes for ’hydrogen highway’ PLANS to turn the M4 into a “hydrogen highway” could be run off the road before they get properly under way, it has emerged.

Peterborough Telegraph

• Funding given for low carbon researchCompanies in East Anglia will be given funding to conduct low carbon research and development, the Government has announced.

Sunderland Echo

• New grit warning as snow crisis deepensHundred of miles of roads will be left untreated as the national salt shortage hits the region's roads.

The Shields Gazette

• No hitches as £3m roadworks startTHE first day of work on a £3m revamp of one of South Tyneside's busiest roundabouts passed off without any major problems, say highways bosses.
• Light at the end of the new Tyne TunnelANYONE who lives or works in Jarrow will tell you how big a headache the roadworks at the Tyne Tunnel roundabout have been for more than a year now.

Other Regional Press

• Metro seeking feedback on new Calderdale bus servicesMetro and Centrebus are holding meetings to find out what people think of the new Calderdale bus services introduced in January.
• Crunch talks to put the brakes on speeding A CRUNCH set of talks will be held in Lymm this week aimed at tackling speeding on a village road.
• Huddersfield bus drivers banned from quick loo-breaks BUS drivers in Huddersfield are angry at a toilet ban at the town’s bus station.

Transport for London

• Fifty per cent capacity boost as DLR rolls out three-carriage trainsPassengers on the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) are set for a significant expansion in service as the first of a fleet of new three-carriage trains went into public service today.

Aviation Industry

• Aer Arann brings Glasgow and Donegal closer together with new serviceAer Arann has launched a new direct service from Glasgow Airport to Donegal.
• Mott's Price Says BA Needs `Draconian' Cuts to SurviveFeb. 23 -- Laurie Price, director of aviation strategy at Mott MacDonald Group Ltd., talks about the vote to strike by British Airways Plc cabin crew and the outlook for the airline industry.
• Air France, Lufthansa Hit by Strikes as British Air Workers Weigh WalkoutFrench air-traffic controllers began a four-day strike and British Airways Plc stepped up talks aimed at avoiding a walkout by cabin crew as air travel across Europe faces mounting disruption from a spate of labor disputes.

Other News Sources

• Campaigners launch fight against Heathrow expansion in High CourtThe Government’s decision to approve a third runway at Heathrow was fatally flawed because the final plans were fundamentally different to the proposals the public were consulted on, the High Court heard today.
• Heathrow runway opponents start legal fightOpponents of a new runway at Heathrow will start the next stage of their fight against the policy today with a high court legal battle.