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

Thursday, 15 April 2010

BBC News

• Redundant Jarvis workers to stage demonstration in York More than 100 former Jarvis workers have staged a demonstration in York in protest at 1,200 rail engineering job losses after the company's collapse.
• Warwickshire candidates support high-speed rail link Cross party support has been given by three parliamentary candidates in Warwickshire for a high speed rail link between London and Birmingham.
• Train punctuality improves but East Coast route worsens Train punctuality across Britain has improved compared with the same time last year but is worse on a main line in public hands, figures show.
• Road through Wiltshire could see lorry restriction A route linking the north and south of Wiltshire could have its status changed to prevent lorries using it as a through road.
• Candidates talk rail links to Ipswich Candidates for the Ipswich constituency in Suffolk have outlined how rail transport to the town could be improved. Labour candidate Chris Mole said the government was working to improve the cross-country route from the ports of Felixstowe and Harwich to the Midlands.
• Volcano ash from Iceland hits UK flight plans UK airline passengers are facing disruption as an ash cloud from an Icelandic volcanic eruption drifts towards the country.
• Later Tube opening hours on holdThe Mayor of London Boris Johnson's plan to extend Underground opening hours is put on indefinite hold.
• Mayor accused of railway 'stunt'Mayor Boris Johnson is accused of trying to make political capital out of the reopening of the East London Line.

Financial Times

• Bidders line up for HSBC train leasing armThe bank is expecting a flurry of bids for the business, which owns about a third of the UK's rail rolling stock and is expected to be valued at about £2bn

The Guardian

• Airports closed as volcanic ash drifts toward UK Eruption of volcano in Iceland grounds flights in Scotland and England
• Environment is part of the fabric of the Liberal Democrats' election manifesto The green measures set out the Lib Dem manifesto are the most progressive and radical of all the major parties - but will the party ever get the chance to put them into action?
• Transport for London buys Oyster TfL has paid £1m for the Oyster brand used by its travel smartcards as well as considerably more for the associated infrastructure
• Opinion: Why public control over buses is long overdue Leeds' bus services could be back under public control by 2013, if plans by Metro come to fruition. But will it really improve services?

The Herald

• Scottish Government under pressure to reinstate Garl project The Scottish Government has come under renewed pressure to reinstate the Glasgow Airport Rail Link. As Holyrood debated the SNP administration’s economic recovery plan yesterday, Labour MSP Wendy Alexander said the Government had benefited from a windfall of around £100 million from Westminster and should have reviewed its decision to scrap the project.
• Traffic commissioner to probe bus firms over breachesThree bus firms are being investigated over claims their drivers have been deliberately blocking bus stops, poaching passengers and causing traffic hold-ups in the centre of Glasgow.
• RMT denies strike was brokenBacking for an industrial dispute involving Scottish train conductors and drivers was called into question last night as it emerged that union members had crossed picket lines in three cities during this week™s strike.

The Scotsman

• Volcano ash closes UK airportsAirline passengers faced massive disruption after ash from Iceland's volcanic eruption moved towards UK airspace causing a number of airports to close.

The Telegraph

• Boris, Labour and a tug-of-war over the train setConnoisseurs of the many ways in which Ken Livingstone has made himself look silly since losing his job remember with special pleasure the unofficial, ex-mayors-only “opening ceremony” he performed last year on the Docklands Light Railway’s new Woolwich Arsenal extension, to pre-empt Boris Johnson’s official cutting of the ribbon two days later.
• Volcanic ash cloud 'spreading towards London': forecast The cloud of ash caused by the eruption of a volcano in Iceland is forecast to spread south towards London today, adding to disruption of flights across the country.

Times Online

• Business big shot: Phil White Less than a year ago Stagecoach tried to buy its rival National Express, taking advantage of the fact that the company had lost its chief executive, was struggling under a huge debt pile and had admitted that it would have to hand back its East Coast franchise.
• Sacked Jarvis workers march on Network RailJarvis workers who lost their jobs when the company collapsed last month are demonstrating in York today against the way in which their redundancies were handled.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Exhibition and book planned to chart the progress of trams projectIT'S perhaps more of a work in progress than a well-loved masterpiece.

Journal Live

• Flights grounded by volcanic dust Passengers have been left stranded at Newcastle Airport as volcanic ash drifts across the country.

Liverpool Echo

• Liverpool John Lennon Airport passes security test with flying colours LIVERPOOL John Lennon airport passed a security inspection by its main operator easyJet with flying colours.

Liverpool Post

• Liverpool John Lennon Airport passenger numbers up as it targets 2007 peak PASSENGER numbers at Liverpool John Lennon Airport (JLA) have continued their upward trajectory, with the first quarter of this year showing 15% growth compared with the same period in 2009.

Sheffield Star

• BREAKING: Volcano causes South Yorkshire flight delays BOSSES were today warning of significant disruption at Robin Hood Airport because of a cloud of volcanic ash.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Airport set for longer opening timeInverness Airport will extend its opening hours to allow night flying if it wins a major contract for mail deliveries, it emerged yesterday.

The York Press

• Jarvis workers march through YorkWorkers left redundant by the collapse of York rail giant Jarvis are marching through the city in protest at their treatment.

Other Regional Press

• Three bus firms face probe over breachesThree bus firms are being probed over claims their drivers have been deliberately blocking bus stops, poaching passengers and causing traffic hold-ups in the centre of Glasgow.

Aviation Industry

• Southwest CEO says no hiring in 2010The CEO of Southwest Airlines Co. says his company is reducing its work force and won't be hiring this year as it deals with high jet fuel prices.

Green Miscellany

• Latest fixed gear bicycle is a penny farthing The current fashion for fixed gear bicycles is inspired by the pared down bikes used by couriers in New York, but designs based on the very earliest direct drive cycles of the 1870s are about to make a reappearance. read more
• The electric bike successor to the Honda Super Cub Honda this week unveiled a new design of electric scooter that bears a striking similarity to the C90, an equally humble-looking bike that went on to sell over 60 million units earning it the title of best-selling powered vehicle to date.read more
• Bicycle giant to build electric cars The world™s largest producer of bicycles, Giant, has announced that it is moving into the electric car business. read more

Other News Sources

• Leeds-Bradford flights disrupted by volcanic ash Passengers at Leeds Bradford Airport are facing massive disruption today after a large plume of ash from an Icelandic volcanic eruption entered UK airspace.
• Volcanic ash plume forces flights to be cancelled at Humberside Airport ​The next two flights from Humberside airport have been cancelled after ash from a volcanic eruption in Iceland moved towards UK airspace causing a number of airports to close.
• Union to fight cuts to Tube ticket office hours TICKET office opening hours could be slashed for thousands of passengers at Tube stations across the borough, leaked plans suggest.
• Network Rail, Joslin Rowe and CBS Butler double winners at Recruiter Awards Network Rail, Joslin Rowe and CBS Butler were the worthy recipients of two awards each at the Recruiter Awards for Excellence, sponsored by Innovate CV, held at the Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane last night.
• Footbridge plan is back on track A £1.3M scheme for a replacement footbridge at Thornaby Railway Station is now set to go ahead after the final funds needed were secured.
• Industry on the road to greener asphalt Low-temperature asphalt could slash a third off the carbon emissions of the much-used material over the next ten years.

Other Subscription Services

• Liberal Democrats manifesto pledges £400m for UK shipyardsFunding to facilitate yard conversions to the manufacture of offshore wind turbines and other marine renewable energy equipment