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

Tuesday, 30 March 2010

BBC News

• Princess Anne officially opens Metro station revamp The Princess Royal has officially opened Newcastle's redeveloped Haymarket Metro station.
• Children must go through airport scanners, says Adonis Children selected to walk through the full body scanners at airports must do so, the transport secretary has said. Lord Adonis, announcing a consultation on a code of conduct for the scanners, said to exclude children risked undermining the security measures.
• Day one of rail strike talks endsTalks between both sides in the threatened national railway strike on 6 to 9 April have taken place in London.
• Unite raising BA fighting fundThe Unite union wants to raise a £700,000 via a compulsory levy on its branches to help support striking BA cabin crew.

Financial Times

• Car carriers concerned over a long haulSenior executives at major operators of car-carrying ships have expressed doubts about how quickly the sector will recover from a slump, in spite of plans by Oslo-listed Wilh. Wilhelmsen for an initial public offering of shares and capital-raising

The Guardian

• Unite raising £700,000 war chest for BA strike Union digs in for long haul by imposing 2% levy on members as airline confirms it is docking wages of striking cabin crew
• Bristol to introduce bus smartcards Bristol City Council will begin a pilot of smartcard tickets in June on selected bus services ahead of a regional scheme

The Herald

• Ministers calling for answers over Garl Opposition parties have demanded full disclosure of Government advice relating to the Glasgow Airport Rail Link after fresh evidence emerged suggesting it may not have been completed before the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
• Ministers knew rail link could miss 2014 GamesMinisters were warned the Glasgow Airport Rail Link faced delays that could lead to it being completed only after the 2014 Commonwealth Games, despite a series of public assurances it was on track.
• BA cancels two-thirds of Scottish scheduleScots are bearing the brunt of the British Airways strike, with two in three of the airline™s scheduled flights from Scotland to Heathrow being grounded over the next two days.
• Unite will levy members to pay striking BA cabin crewsA £700,000 war chest to help British Airways cabin crew fight a bitter dispute over pay and conditions will be raised by an unprecedented levy on ordinary Unite members, the union decided yesterday.

The Independent

• Unite plans levy to raise money for BA strikers Britain's largest union, Unite, has raised the stakes in its bitter dispute with British Airways by announcing plans for a £700,000 compulsory levy on members to support striking cabin crew.

The Telegraph

• BA strike spawns Willie Walsh computer game Willie Walsh, British Airways chief executive, has become the star of a new computer game in which he becomes one of the airline's volunteer cabin crew.

Times Online

• Talks to avert first national rail strike in 16 years expected to resumeTalks to avert the first national rail strike for 16 years are expected to resume today and are expected to run into tomorrow, as rail bosses try to reach a deal with the unions before next week™s planned walkout. Network Rail said yesterday that only one in five trains would operate if signallers and maintenance workers strike as planned for four days from April 6.
• Unite union cash call to raise £700,000 for British Airways strikersThe trade union Unite is raising £700,000 in a cash call on its membership to keep the British Airways strike going. The money is the equivalent of about two days™ strike pay for BA workers who have walked out.

Network Rail

• RAIL TALKS RESTART AND CONTINGENCY PLANS OUTLINED

Birmingham Post

• Crucial talks to avoid national rail strike Crucial talks aimed at averting a crippling strike by thousands of rail workers after Easter will be held today, with the Government hoping for a breakthrough in a row over jobs.

Bristol Live

• Bristol travel smart card could be ready by September An Oyster card-style electronic ticketing system could be speeding up travel on Bristol's buses by September – provided bus companies can fit new equipment into their vehicles in time.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Does this Wrexham road have the most speed bumps in Wales? EIGHTEEN speed bumps in just a mile are giving motorists the hump.

Derby Telegraph

• At long last, the new bus station is up and running and en route towards a bright future AFTER the crowds and bluster of Saturday's opening ceremony, yesterday morning dawned chilly and quiet in Derby's new bus station.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Business rates team feels wrath of firms on tram lineMORALE among the team which sets business rates in Edinburgh is said to have plummeted as it deals with angry and abusive calls from firms hit by tram works.

London Evening Standard

• Rail firm hounded my family over £2 fineCommuter tells of his two-year legal dispute with South West Trains over an unpaid £2 fine
• Heathrow ruling ’has killed off all airport projects’Plans to extend London’s airports are 'dead in the water' after a High Court ruling, it was claimed
• No sign of BA strikes breakthroughThe latest wave of strikes by British Airways cabin crew is drawing to a close with little sign of an early breakthrough in a bitter row over jobs and cost-cutting.

Sheffield Star

• Bus court action threat won't thwart regulation, says council chiefTHREATS of legal action by bus operators will not put the brakes on plans to bring services under public control, Sheffield Council leader Paul Scriven has said.

The York Press

• Friends Of The Earth highlight growing traffic problems in York ENVIRONMENTAL campaigners handed out sandwiches and tarts in York as they urged residents to help get the city™s roads out of a jam.
• Speed cameras coming to York and North Yorkshire? SPEED cameras could be finally coming to York and North Yorkshire in a move that supporters say could save dozens of lives and millions of pounds.

Wales Online

• Calls to open up tunnels to a new era of transport ABANDONED tunnels that criss-cross the South WalesValleys should be reopened to unite communities and unleash a new era of carbon-free travel, according to a prominent green transport campaigner.
• Wales transport improvements planned A SERIES of improvements to Wales’ transport infrastructure have been outlined in a plan published by the Welsh Assembly Government.

Blackpool Gazette

• Irish flights jet out of BlackpoolBLACKPOOL International Airport is celebrating everything Irish this Sunday as the first Aer Lingus flights jet in and out of the resort.

Bucks Free Press

• Rail campaigners to take a hike CAMPAIGNERS will be pulling on their hiking boots in a protest against the planned high speed rail link “ with a sponsored walk along the proposed route.

Carlisle News & Star

• COLOUR’S GONE OUT OF CARLISLE RAILWAY STATION The bridge transformed into a rainbow. Hundreds of people flocking into this previously grey place to admire its sudden warmth and colour.

Other Regional Press

• £44m viaduct project nears completion WORKMEN who slid a 5,000-tonne bridge into place in 16 hours have hailed the success of one of the county™s biggest transport engineering feats.
• Cash will provide better bus servicesIMPROVED bus services are on the way at St Austell after news that a bid for Kickstart Challenge money has been successful. More than half a...
• More cycle routes and valleys rail link in Assembly Transport Plan A RANGE of measures to improve road and rail links across Gwent were confirmed by the Assembly yesterday.
• £44m viaduct project nears completion WORKMEN who slid a 5,000-tonne bridge into place in 16 hours have hailed the success of one of the county™s biggest transport engineering feats.
• Scots hit hardest by BA strikeScots are bearing the brunt of the British Airways strike, with two in three of the airline™s scheduled flights from Scotland to Heathrow being grounded over the next two days.
• Garl delay would have hit GamesMinisters were warned the Glasgow Airport Rail Link might not be ready in time for the 2014 Commonwealth Games despite a series of public assurances it was on track.
• Store plan for bus HQThe Glasgow centre of transport giant First could become the site of a 100,000 square feet superstore.
• 5,700 potholes fixed on Aberdeen™s roads MORE than 5,700 potholes have been filled on roads in Aberdeen after council bosses launched a blitz.
• Countryside campaigners criticise high-speed rail route A REPORT has criticised the proposed high speed rail route which would slice through Warwickshire’s green belt land.

Washington Post

• NASA will help probe Toyota acceleration problem WASHINGTON -- NASA and the National Academy of Sciences are joining the government's effort to figure out what caused the sudden acceleration problems that led to Toyota's massive recalls.

Campaign for Better Transport

• Lib Dems promise to cut train fares29 March: One down, two to go! The Liberal Democrats have responded to our campaign, promising to cut train fares if elected. read more

Aviation Industry

• British Airways: Most passengers flying despite strikeDestinations in the UK, United States, Europe, Africa and the Middle East were directly affected by the cancellation of BA flights.
• US Airways powers up GoGo WiFi serviceUS Airways Group Inc. has launched Gogo Inflight Internet on five of its aircraft with plans to expand the service to all Airbus A321 aircraft in its fleet by June 1. Gogo, provided by Aircell, allows passengers to use their laptops or Wi-Fi enabled mobile devices to surf the Web, send e-mail friends and log onto corporate networks for a fee paid ...
• UAL sees 'real signs of recovery' in PacificUAL Corp.'s United Airlines said it's seeing a rebound in bookings for flights across the Pacific, the carrier's largest region by passenger traffic outside the U.S.
• BA strike enters final day as airline claims reduced impactBritish Airways said yesterday that the second flight attendants' strike, scheduled to run through Tuesday, cost the carrier £11 million ($16.4 million) over the weekend but will have no impact on its full-year earnings.

Other News Sources

• Unite wins London Underground outsourcing battle Unite, the UK’s biggest trade union, has won a battle to prevent London Underground cutting waste collections from five per day to two per week. London Underground had awarded the waste collecting contract for sixty stations across London to Initial Rentokil, who claimed they could do it for less money and then subcontracted the work to refuse company Biffa. The decision to subcontract to Biffa was reversed amid health and safety concerns raised by Unite about the threat of fire if rubbish was allowed to pile up.
• Transport campaigners call for cheaper train faresTRANSPORT campaigners braved the rain this morning to call for cheaper train fares outside St Albans City Train Station.
• Full steam ahead for Ashurst on Crossrail procurement dealAshurst has won a mandate to advise on the procurement of rolling stock and construction of a depot for the £15.9bn Crossrail project.
• Network Rail's Crossrail contract up for grabsFour teams have been invited to tender for Network Rail’s first major design and build contract for Crossrail.
• Easy to disperse?Cripes! There's been much chatter within the industry about how London's 'frightfully horrid' bendy-buses will find new homes elsewhere in the UK (though not necessarily).
• DfT approves new deep water container terminal at Avonmouth The UK Dept for Transport has giving consent for the construction of a Deep Sea Container Terminal at Bristol - one of the country's fastest growing ports. read more
• PM defiant despite Heathrow court reversalGordon Brown insists expanding Heathrow Airport is still the right decision despite campaigners claiming a major legal victory