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

Wednesday, 03 March 2010

BBC News

• Could a bigger airport actually make a greener Bristol? [blog]Bristol is the capital of organic food. Of sustainable travel. It's a cycling city, with a funky digital, creative, graffiti zeitgeist.
• Council's try innovative ways to cut spending Norfolk County Council says it needs to save £1.3m on home-to-school transport. But it still needs to get children to their classrooms every day.
• Network Rail proposes more seats and faster journeys Improvements are being proposed to some First Great Western rail services in Gloucestershire and Wiltshire.
• Asian taxi drivers 'face greater threat of murder' According to analysis carried out by the National Private Hire Association with the Department of Transport, taxi driving has the highest murder rate of any British profession.
• A quarter of Welsh polling stations 'inaccessible' Committee members heard a number of issues needed to be addressed to ensure polling stations are accessible, including proximity to public transport and parking facilities.
• Elderly and disabled minibus link in Brecon faces cuts A minibus service in south Powys with 600 elderly and disabled members could be cut back.
• Oxford Circus' giant crossing hailed a 'success' Designers of the giant X crossing in central London's Oxford Circus is calling it an "instant success".
• Announcement due over rail linkAn announcement is due on the progress of plans to reopen the rail line between Edinburgh and the Borders.
• Bus stoning stats 'unacceptable'Buses are attacked with stones at a rate of more than one a day, newly released government figures reveal.
• Airlines '90% anti-new airport'Nine out of ten airlines using Heathrow Airport oppose Boris Johnson's plans to build a Thames Estuary airport, a council claims.
• Ford outsells GM after sales jumpFord reports a jump in US sales of 43% last month, selling more cars than its great rival General Motors, as Toyota sales slip.

Department for Transport

• Cities told transport strategies need to be bolderTransport Minister Sadiq Khan today issued a challenge to local authority and city leaders to be bold and innovative in developing transport strategies.

Financial Times

• Lufthansa suffers loss in aviation downturnAirline to skip paying a dividend after reporting a €112m net loss for 2009, even though it still managed to achieve its target of an operating profit
• Borghetti to be new Virgin Blue chiefThe Australia-listed airline part-owned by Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group has appointed John Borghetti, a veteran of rival Qantas, as its chief executive

The Guardian

• Ready for take-off: Why Birmingham airport is a sensible alternative to Heathrow The controversial third runway at Heathrow may make the headlines but, from a West Midlands perspective, the plan to extend Birmingham airport's runway is a far more important alternative for the future economy of the region and Britain, according to Birmingham International Airport chief executive Paul Kehoe.

The Herald

• Tory victory ˜would cut Scots flights™Flights between London and Scotland are likely to be cut unless a controversial third runway at Heathrow is given the go-ahead, the UK Transport Secretary has warned.
• Passengers down at Prestwick AirportThere was another sharp fall in the number of passengers flying through Prestwick airport in January as the economic downturn continued to weigh on demand for flights.

The Scotsman

• Train strike door incident sparks concern SAFETY concerns were raised today after it was revealed a stand-in conductor unlocked doors on the wrong side of a train during yesterday's one-day ScotRail strike.

The Telegraph

• Cockroaches cluster on trains The average railway carriage is providing a home for up to 1,000 cockroaches, 200 bed bugs and 200 fleas, it has emerged.

Times Online

• We don™t want to strike but it™s our only weapon, say BA crewShe could be any young mother at the school gate were it not for the pencil skirt and red, white and blue cravat beneath her coat. Her dark hair scraped into a bun and with a flash of mascara, Julie Parks has come in uniform. She greets her daughter with a hug before dropping her off at home and continuing the drive through the suburbs to Heathrow.
• BA talks to head off strike by cabin crew fail to make progressWillie Walsh, the British Airways chief executive, will brief staff on the protracted cabin crew dispute today, but there was little sign last night of an imminent breakthrough in negotiations.
• Fears over potential Toyota problems surfaced in 2006, US Senate toldFurther evidence that Toyota knew about safety problems and a decline in the overall quality of its vehicles was produced today at a US Senate hearing into the company's recall of cars.

Network Rail

• STATION CAR PARK SHORTLISTED FOR AWARD Network Rail’s brand new car park at Birmingham International station has been shortlisted in the best new car park category of the British Car Parking Awards 2010. Up against three other entries, the winner will be announced at a ceremony in London on 12 March.
• ROCHDALE GETS £300,000 MAKEOVER Passengers are set to benefit from improvements at Rochdale station thanks to a joint investment of £300,000 from Network Rail, train operator Northern Rail and Greater Manchester Integrated Transport Authority (GMITA).
• WORK BEGINS ON NEW £5m GOUROCK STATIONNetwork Rail has today (March 3) begun construction work on the site of the new £5m Gourock station. Scheduled for completion in November 2010, the new station will greatly improve facilities for passengers at Gourock and allow for better integration of road, rail and ferry links.
• DIRECTING THE ACTION AT STATIONS: NETWORK RAIL APPOINTS NEW STATIONS CHIEFNetwork Rail today announces the creation of a new role of stations director to take forward its ambitious plans to transform rail stations across Great Britain. Announcing the appointment of Mike Goggin to the position, Robin Gisby, Network Rail’s director of operations and customer service said:
• NETWORK RAIL RESPONDS TO THE ORR AND TRADES UNIONS ON ITS PLANS TO RE-ORGANISE ITS MAINTENANCE FUNCTION A Network Rail spokesperson said: "Today Network Rail welcomes the support of the Office of Rail Regulation for our maintenance re-organisation. An efficient railway is a safe railway. As the ORR clearly says, the principles of our changes are sound and appropriate.
• TIME TO RESTORE HISTORIC WATERLOO CLOCK
• HUYTON GETS £800,000 MAKEOVER

Bolton News

• Gritting bill set to rocket GRITTING Bolton™s roads during the snowy winter could end up costing the borough more than £1million ” which is about £930,000 more than expected.

Journal Live

• Lord Adonis to investigate A1 plans TRANSPORT Secretary Lord Adonis will investigate plans to slash speed limits and introduce narrow lanes on the A1 Western Bypass.

Liverpool Post

• £1.7billion General Motors European investment cheers Vauxhall Ellesmere Port staff CAR workers at Vauxhall’s Ellesmere Port plant today welcomed a huge funding injection from US parent company General Motors (GM).

London Evening Standard

• Bus lanes cut in bid to ease traffic
• Botched Tube privatisation wasted £410mGovernment wasted £410 million in its botched part-privatisation of the Tube, the Commons' spending watchdog reveals

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Minister to be quizzed over A90 flyoverTRANSPORT Minister Stewart Stevenson is expected to receive a tough grilling today over his refusal to build a flyover at a notorious north-east road junction.

Other Regional Press

• Faith school pupils set to lose free buses FREE transport to Oxfordshire™s faith schools could be scrapped under cost-cutting plans proposed by county transport chiefs.
• Campaigners welcome new Kenilworth train station plan CAMPAIGNERS have welcomed moves to bring a railway station back to Kenilworth after 45 years.

Railnews

• News: DfT’s ’inadequate management’ of failed Metronet could have cost taxpayer £410m, say MPs A House of Commons Committee has published a damning report of the Department for Transport’s management of Metronet, the London Underground PPP contractor which collapsed in 2007. The Committee of Public Accounts said the taxpayer could have lost as much as £410 million because of the DfT’s methods.
• News: Major sponsors announced for key station design event The organisers of a major event about station design to be held in London at the end of next month have confirmed two major sponsors.

Other News Sources

• Angel Trains in Grand Central HST sale and lease-back deal UK: Rolling stock leasing company Angel Trains has bought three High Speed Train sets from Sovereign Trains, sister company of open access operator Grand Central Railway. The inter-city diesel trains will be leased back to the operator under a contract running to December 2016, Angel Trains announced on March 2.
• Euro station that's going nowhereSTRATFORD City shopping centre developer Westfield and Newham Council have called for the launch of Eurostar services from Stratford International Station.
• Train managers' inexperience allowed rail unions to prosper, says researchRail unions have prospered under privatisation, partly due to the inexperience of managers in the new train operating companies, new research says. Too many jobs were cut after privatisation and the resulting staff shortages in some areas strengthened the unions' fight for better conditions and pay.
• Labour candidate claims Crewe Station improvements are being delayed LABOUR’S parliamentary candidate for Crewe and Nantwich has accused the council of delaying improvements to Crewe Railway Station in its Vision for Crewe.
• Heathrow saves £30 million with business process managementHeathrow airport has saved £30 million (US$44.8 million) by using software from business process management (BPM) supplier Pegasystems to build a system for managing activity in the airport, from aircraft landings to passenger movement.
• Transport fund and road pricing link broken The much-criticised link between transport infrastructure grants and road pricing has been broken by transport minister Sadiq Khan.
• Ministers bin Transport Innovation FundThe Government has scrapped the Transport Innovation Fund (TIF), which will be replaced by a new funding scheme designed to support packages of measures that will deliver transport improvements.
• Spelthorne's parliamentary candidate joins fight against replacing Heathrow with estuary airport Spelthorne's prospective Conservative MP has joined the fight against replacing Heathrow airport with one in the Thames Estuary.
• Airlines reject plans for Thames Estuary airport Airlines have rejected plans to build a new airport in the Thames Estuary, describing it as transport “cul-de-sac”.
• MP keen to find out if council can help railway plan MP David Laws is trying to ascertain how serious Somerset County Council is about securing land at Chard Junction so a railway station can be reopened there.
• MPs lambast failed Tube PPP dealMPs on the Public Accounts Committee slam the disastrous public private partnership used to upgrade parts of London Underground
• Transport fund and road pricing link brokenThe much-criticised link between transport infrastructure grants and road pricing has been broken by transport minister Sadiq Khan.
• MPs criticise DfT over Metronet oversightThe department for transport should hold annual reviews of major devolved delivery arrangements to ensure they can identify and mitigate œmajor risks to value for money, an MPs™ report into the failure of Metronet has recommended.
• Electric cars for the East of England? The East of England Development Agency (EEDA) is currently examining the demand for ultra low carbon transportation in the East of England, specifically with regards to a potential bid to the second round of the Department for Transport's 'Plugged in Places' fund. 03/03/10
• OnAir makes airline history with both mobile and WiFi Internet access on Oman Air flight OnAir together with Oman Air celebrated a successful first flight using the full spectrum of mobile and WiFi Internet connectivity services based on Inmarsat SwiftBroadband. This is the first...

News from Europe

• Finnish transport strike halts buses, trucks HELSINKI, March 2 (Reuters) - Finnish transport union workers went on strike on Tuesday, halting a big part of the Nordic country's bus and goods transport traffic.

Other Subscription Services

• UK owners set to keep race law wages get-outShipowners set to retain right to pay lower wages to foreign nationals on UK-flag ships