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

Thursday, 04 March 2010

BBC News

• Crab and Winkle Way bridges plan unveiled in WhitstableProposals for two new bridges in a Kent seaside town are to be unveiled at an exhibition.
• Cambridge congestion charge plans on hold Plans for a congestion charge in Cambridge have been put on hold after the government announced it was scrapping a scheme set up to fund it.
• Works begins on M1 hard shoulder scheme Work has begun on a scheme that will allow drivers on the M1 to use a 15-mile (25km) stretch of the hard shoulder to ease peak-time congestion.
• Face scanners in use at airportFacial recognition scanners are introduced at Birmingham Airport as an alternative to border control passport checks.
• £235m rail link project under wayThe project to reopen the rail line between Edinburgh and the Borders is officially started by the transport minister.
• Capital chiefs want tram networkTransport bosses in Edinburgh tell BBC Scotland they are determined to push ahead with plans for a city-wide tram network.
• Women refuse airport body scansTwo women are stopped from boarding a plane at Manchester Airport after refusing to go through a full body scanner.
• Piccadilly Circus's £14m revampLondon's Piccadilly Circus is to become pedestrian-friendly as a £14m refurbishment of the area rids the junction of guard railings.
• Image reveals avalanched railwayA picture showing a slide of snow that has closed the West Highland Line is released by Network Rail.
• Ferry scheme to go on despite cutPrivate transport firm Western Ferries vows to continue a free travel scheme, despite a cut in subsidy.
• Nissan recalls 540,000 vehicles Japan's third largest carmaker recalls nearly 540,000 vehicles, the majority in the US.
• Rail safety plans under scrutinyBritain's railways watchdog expresses concerns about plans to overhaul the way the network will be maintained in the future.
• BA lines up 1,000 volunteer crewBritish Airways says 1,000 staff have offered to work as cabin crew if threatened strikes at the airline go ahead.

Financial Times

• Rail regulators sound alarmRegulators have warned of 'significant areas of concern' at the potential impact on rail workers' and passengers' safety from a planned reorganisation of the network's maintenance
• BA talks tough with cabin crew Willie Walsh has warned cabin crew that 'a strike will not ground this airline' as he disclosed that up to 6,000 volunteers would help ward off the impact of any industrial action
• Arriva eyeing foreign travelThe UK transport operator outlines an ambitious expansion strategy that will see it play a lead role in the privatisation of bus and rail operations across Europe

The Guardian

• Rail watchdog raises safety fears over maintenance plans Office of Rail Regulation criticises Network Rail's recent performance, saying too many passengers were left in the dark about services during the prolonged cold snap in January
• British Airways unveils strike-breaking plans BA chief executive Willie Walsh says 1,000 volunteers will help if cabin crew walk out

The Herald

• Hopes rise in the Borders as work starts on rail linkWork on reopening a rail link between Edinburgh and the ­Borders officially started yesterday, as ministers emphasised their commitment to the ­controversial scheme.
• Threat of strike amid safety fearsA damaging national strike by rail maintenance workers is looking increasingly likely after Network Rail promised to defy what it called the steam-age working practices of unions and press ahead with controversial cost-cutting measures.
• Cairngorm railway under further fire as MSPs claim profit is unlikelyThe Bank of Scotland™s £3.6 million investment in the ill-fated Cairngorm funicular railway was bought out by Highlands and Islands Enterprise for just £145,000, it has been revealed.
• Final warning over road repairsCouncils and utility firms have been placed on a final warning by Scotland™s road works commissioner and warned that they face fines of almost £50,000 unless sites are repaired properly after being dug up.

The Scotsman

• Trams shocker: Residents face window washing ban over electrocution fears Electrocution fears could cause a problem when cleaning windows RESIDENTS on the tram route will have to ask for permission to clean their windows because of the health and safety hazard of overheard power cables, it emerged today.

The Telegraph

• BA will fly through strike, insists defiant chief Willie Walsh British Airways has cranked up the pressure on the Unite union by saying it will maintain many of its flights even if its 12,000 cabin crew go on strike.

Times Online

• Network Rail shake-up ’could risk passengers’ Britain’s railway watchdog warned yesterday that plans to change the way the network is maintained could have safety implications.
• BA retrains 1,000 staff to counter strikeA thousand British Airways staff will have completed cabin crew training by next week to keep flights going in the event of a strike, the airline™s chief executive said yesterday.
• New twist in Toyota recall crisisToyota™s bid to overcome its catastrophic vehicle recall crisis took an alarming twist today after it emerged that the œfix offered by dealerships may not work.

Reuters News

• Inventor eyes "Schweeb" power for urban transport ROTURUA, New Zealand (Reuters Life!) - It's economical, ecological and good exercise: a new human-powered monorail is attracting the crowds in New Zealand, and may become a new mode of transport within cities.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Railway station plans approved Plans for a new railway station at Apperley Bridge have been approved by Bradford Council.

Journal Live

• Transport approval delays leave region facing £35m loss BUREAUCRATIC red-tape could see £35m taken from the region’s transport pot.

London Evening Standard

• Arriva finds fuel prices costly with profits 19% down Arriva today revealed its wounds from the recession, posting a pre-tax profit down 19% to £121.7 million for 2009 because of a higher fuel bill.
• Rail firms shortening busy commuter trains About 100,000 commuters are squeezed onto overcrowded trains each week because of a lack of carriages. More than 1,000 trains a week are shorter than they should be. Offenders include London Midland, Southern, Southeastern, South West Trains, c2c, First Capital Connect and Chiltern.

Manchester Evening News

• Muslim woman barred from flight for refusing ’naked’ scan A MUSLIM woman was barred from boarding a flight to Pakistan after refusing to go through a new ’naked’ full-body scanner at Manchester Airport on religious grounds.

Nottingham Evening Post

• Tram satisfaction on the up again, says survey OVERALL satisfaction with Nottingham's trams hit 94% last year, according to a new passenger survey.

Sheffield Star

• MP in free over 75s passport bidROTHERHAM MP Denis MacShane has launched a campaign calling for free passports for over-75s.
• First threatens drivers with the sack over walkoutFIRST bus drivers in Sheffield have backed down from proposed new strikes - after the company threatened all 740 of them with the sack.

Yorkshire Post

• Carbon cut claims 'over optimistic' The Department for Transport (DfT) has been "over-optimistic" in reporting its achievements, a report by MPs said today.
• Carbon cut claims 'over optimistic' The Department for Transport (DfT) has been "over-optimistic" in reporting its achievements, a report by MPs said today.

Bucks Free Press

• MP calls for urgent pothole action AN MP has called for a transport boss to prioritise filling in potholes in her constituency following hundreds of complaints.

Washington Post

• U.S. Postal Service to test a repurposed electric vehicle fleet Whether it was delivering packages via locomotive or launching 3,000 letters inside a guided missile, the U.S. Postal Service has always pushed the envelope when it comes to transportation.

Green Miscellany

• Latest electric car is human-powered The latest electric car promises not only to cut emissions and reduce fuel costs, but save on the cost of gym membership; the HumanCar Imagine converts the rowing motion of the driver and up to three passengers into speeds of up to 25mph.read more
• Cold weather cycling: handlebar muffs vs heated gloves Motorcycle couriers who brave the roads come wind or shine have long used handlebar muffs, but until recently they have not been readily available for cyclists “ the designers of the BarBra are hoping to change that.read more
• Daimler and BYD give birth to electric car giant It is a marriage intended to sporn a global electric car brand of the future; automotive giant Daimler AG is teaming up with rechargeable battery specialists BYD to produce electric vehicles for Chinese car market.read more
• Fewer children now walking to school Less than one in two primary school children now walk to school. In the three years to 1991 the proportion of children aged five to 10 walking to school in Britain was 62 per cent, but this has now dropped to 48 per cent. read more

Other News Sources

• Transport looks beyond congestion charging The Government is finally to break the link between its Transport Innovation Fund and congestion charging.
• Ministers scrap congestion charge fundMinisters have scrapped the Government's flagship transport infrastructure fund aimed at boosting the take up of congestion charging in cities across England.
• Report on Department for Transport™s performance releasedCommittee calls on governments to provide greater stability at the Department for Transport
• Bus-related crime in London falls to a six year low after introduction of area Hub Teams 3 March, 2010 Bus-related crime across the capital fell by 18 per cent in the first year of Boris Johnson™s administration, and has fallen by a further 10.5 per cent in a ten month period taking the figures to a six year low. Dedicated to patrolling transport hubs in specified areas, the Mayor introduced 32 transport Hub Teams last year, including a team serving Harrow Bus Station and Harrow-on-the-Hill tube station, to increase visibility of policing on the transport network. bus image11755 60x60.jp...
• New hope for Cromer bus stationThe battle to bring back Cromer's bus station has been given hope after its owners revealed they were in talks with council officials about restoring the facility which closed four years ago.
• Network rail puts Suffolk mast plan on holdNetwork Rail has vowed to put action on hold following a dispute over plans to put up a 20m radio mast in a Waveney village.