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

Wednesday, 17 March 2010

BBC News

• Nottingham City Council brings in mobile CCTV car Nottingham City Council is to use a new car fitted with a CCTV camera to help catch motorists driving illegally.
• Nexus seeks views on bus routes overhaul An overhaul of bus routes across Tyneside and Wearside is being considered by a local operator.
• Safety fear raised over Tube lineThe RMT union calls for services on one section of a London Underground line to be suspended because of concerns about safety.
• Unite in US talks over BA strikeBritish Airways union Unite will meet with its US counterpart Teamsters to discuss the impending strike by cabin crew.

Department for Transport

• New skills for new railwaysTransport Secretary Andrew Adonis today welcomed the creation of a new National Skills Academy for Rail Engineering, which has been announced by the Department for Business Innovation & Skills.

Financial Times

• Transport: More investment needed to keep region on right trackLeeds is one of the UK’s most strategically important city regions. It is halfway between London and Edinburgh, and Liverpool and Hull. Its network of road and rail connections are a big potential competitive strength.
• Deutsche Bahn bid speculation drives Arriva higherBid speculation made Arriva the main talking point yesterday as the London market edged higher. Shares in the transport group rose 2.1 per cent to 579½p, the...
• BA bust-up could sway votersGapper blog (Jonathan Guthrie): A bust-up between British Airways and trades unionists is a top business story in the UK. What makes the dispute interesting for...
• Tube Lines loses £34m LU claimThe contractor responsible for maintaining track and trains on some of London's busiest underground lines has lost its second big compensation claim in two months...
• Tories focus on Labour's union linksThe Conservatives attacked Labour for being
• Brown walks political tightrope over BA strikesGordon Brown's attempts to distance himself from planned strikes by BA cabin crew have been undermined by the fact one of his right-hand men sit at the heart of Unite union
• High-speed China changes rail landscape State-owned rail producers are posing a serious threat to the dominance of European, US and Japanese companies
• European groups rail at S Korean decreeEuropean railway industry companies say Hyundai Rotem, Korea's main train builder, has unfair domestic advantages because foreign companies are barred from tendering for public contracts in South Korea's
• Siemens joins China bid for Saudi rail link German industrial giant drops a bid to supply trains and equipment for the Mecca-to-Medina high-speed railway line in Saudi Arabia and joins a Chinese consortium
• BA agrees pension deal with unionsThe UK airline has reached an agreement with its unions on measures to curb the growth in pension costs in a move that could pave the way for its planned merger with Iberia of Spain

The Guardian

• Labour missed the bus on transport [letter]Rae Street is right to ask why the government, in its dash for high speed, is overlooking the need to improve medium-speed rail links (Letters, 13 March). The same could be said of low-speed local bus services.

The Herald

• Fresh row as subway services face axeThe frequency of trains on Glasgow™s subway is to be cut during off-peak periods in a desperate attempt to bring the cost of running the ageing system under control.
• Cutbacks on subway could spell more woe for SPTAmid the scandal that has hit the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) in recent weeks, a running theme has been its perceived inability to operate core services effectively.
• Airlines take off after economic crisisThe airline industry is recovering strongly from the worst economic slump since the 1930s, as passengers, freight and pricing power return.

The Independent

• Brown urged to step in to prevent BA strike actionGordon Brown has come under renewed pressure to intervene in the looming strike by British Airways staff which is set to disrupt the travel plans of 90,000 passengers.

The Telegraph

• Tony Woodley, BA strike union leader, given Commons pass by Labour Tony Woodley, the leader of the trade union behind the British Airways strike is one has been given a security pass to the House of Commons by a Labour MP.
• British Airways strike: dispute goes international as Unite officials meet US union The union behind the British Airways strike has been accused of attempting to escalate its industrial action overseas.

Times Online

• High-speed rail will not solve the real problems with transport [letter]There is a requirement to spend money on development of the railways, but for freight, not high-speed passenger services
• Arriva shares jump as merger rumours returnShares in Arriva, the European bus and rail group climbed today on rumours that a 700p a share bid for the transport operator was in preparation.
• British Airways e-mailing flight information to avert strike chaosKey operational staff will meet at Heathrow to hone contingency plans to keep Europe™s busiest hub airport running smoothly if the British Airways cabin crew dispute culminates with strike action this weekend.

Daily Express

• Punters take Arriva bid rideSPECULATORS boarded Arriva yesterday on hopes the bus and rail operator had attracted fresh -predatory interest from overseas.

Network Rail

• REVEALED: FIRST GLIMPSE OF NEW STATION FOR BEDFORDBuilt in the 19th century. Rebuilt for the 21st
• ESSENTIAL BRIDGE WORK AT SKINNINGROVE THIS EASTER

Birmingham Post

• Birmingham International train station branded 'shabby' by business leader A West Midlands business leader has hit out at the “shabby” state of Birmingham International station.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Councillors to study free bus pass issue Councillors have recommended a feasibility study be carried out on changes to the authority™s free school transport policy.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Tram firms face fines of £1m a month over delaysFINES of £1 million a month will be slapped on the firms building Edinburgh's tram line if they miss a new completion deadline of June 2012.

London Evening Standard

• Longer waits and fewer trains after Circle line extensionCommuters on the redesigned Circle line are suffering much longer waits between services and fewer trains, official figures reveal today.
• Market Round-up: Traders say guten morgen to talk of an Arriva bid Is Arriva in talks with a possible bidder? The whisper on traders' lips today was that the buses and trains group has attracted the attentions of a new suitor, rumoured to be German transport giant Deutsche Bahn. A price of 700p a share was mentioned, pushing Arriva's shares up 13p to 580¼p.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Newcastle Airport loses million passengers A MILLION fewer people used the region’s biggest airport over the last couple of year, as the recession continued to bite.

Nottingham Evening Post

• CCTV car introduced to catch bus lane cheats THE city council is introducing a new mobile CCTV car to catch motorists driving in bus lanes.
• Plea to DfT for £27m to achieve 'Nottingham in 90' TRANSPORT chiefs at the city and county councils have joined forces to plead for an extra £27.5m to bring Nottingham-London train journeys inside 90 minutes.

Bucks Free Press

• Transport boss slams "cheapskate" rail plan A TRANSPORT boss today condemned a planned high speed rail link as œthe cheapskate option - despite it costing a planned £30billion to build.
• Campaigner on track to halt railway bid A CAMPAIGNER who successfully fought the introduction of car parking charges in her home town is starting a new battle “ to halt plans for a new high speed railway line.
• Hughenden Valley in firing line for High Speed railHORRIFIED villagers in Hughenden are fearing for the future of their precious valley after it emerged it is in the firing line for the Government's High Speed rail project.

Sunderland Echo

• Lorries banned from overtaking on A1(M) hillsTruckers are to be banned from overtaking during the daytime on stretches of a busy motorway.

Other Regional Press

• Airport plans grounded by governmentJust days after a controversial airport expansion was approved the corks have gone back in the champagne bottles.
• BA cuts off Scotland for weekend travellersScotland will be cut off for thousands of air travellers this weekend after British Airways said just 10 out of 108 flights would take place between Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and London Heathrow.
• Anger as minister changes tune on city airport rail linkThe reasons behind the decision to axe the Glasgow Airport Rail Link have been thrown into confusion by Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson.
• High-speed rail line 'will destroy my village' A WOMAN whose family home will be just yards from the new high speed rail line set to slice through Warwickshire has said it will wreck her village.

Green Miscellany

• MPs scrap bicycle parking spaces to make way for cars Bicycle parking spaces at the Palace of Westminster have been scrapped to make more room for ministerial cars.Covered bicycle racks in the Star Chamber Courtyard have been removed and replaced by parking for Government ministers’ cars, many of which are left with their engines running for hours while they wait for their passengers, according to MPs angry at the change.read more
• Bluetooth electric bicycle does away with brake cables The Shadow e-bike is the first electric bicycle to feature wireless throttle and brakes.read more

Other News Sources

• British Airways strike threat: US union weighs into cabin crew dispute Teamsters union to meet Unite leaders amid declaration of solidarity with UK workers
• Public inquiry for Belfast City Airport expansionNorthern Ireland environment minister Edwin Poots has called for a public inquiry into plans by Belfast City Airport to extend its runway.
• HSH sees 2011 turnaroundGERMAN shipping finance giant HSH Nordbank said today it expects to record profits next year after reducing its losses from €2.8Bn ($3.8Bn) to €679M last year.
• Optimism put back in the boxTHE PERIOD market for box ships has been warned that the pick-up in timecharter rates should not be misread as a steady upward trend™s beginning.
• Petrol prices at record levelsPetrol prices in parts of Norfolk were nudging record levels last night as the AA urged the Government to delay a planned hike in fuel taxes.
• Costain/Skanska scoops second Crossrail portalA Costain/Skanska joint venture has won a second portal construction package through the Crossrail enabling works framework.
• Tram firms £1m fine threatFor every month of delay, the companies constructing Edinburgh city centre™s tram line will be fined £1 million, according to the Scotsman newspaper.
• East Coast Rail deal cuts cost of business travel for Scottish firms (press releas)New Scottish Executive Package offers business travellers First Class perks at Standard Class pricesread more