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

Wednesday, 21 April 2010

BBC News

• Ash cloud: Lord Adonis denies pressure to lift ban Transport Secretary Lord Adonis has denied that the decision to lift UK flight restrictions was the result of pressure from the airline industry.
• Double-decker bus trial to start in Jersey Double-decker buses have taken to Jersey's roads as drivers prepare for their public use later this month.
• Riches, rail and revoltAs a row erupts over £30bn plans for a rail link from London to Birmingham, a similar battle was fought almost 180 years ago.
• Candidates in runway debateCandidates standing for election in Slough, Windsor and Maidenhead debate the building of a third runway at Heathrow Airport.
• NI holidaymakers in flight returnThe first set of stranded Northern Ireland holidaymakers arrive back on a flight to Belfast International Airport.
• North-west airports set to reopenAirports in the north-west of England prepare to welcome passengers through their doors as restrictions on airspace are lifted.
• All London airports are reopeningHeathrow sees its first flight landing as Transport Secretary Lord Adonis announces all London airports can reopen.
• Airspace around Glasgow reopensAirspace around Glasgow Airport reopens hours before an announcement is made about all UK airports reopening.
• Ash chaos costing BAA £6m a dayAirports operator BAA says that the ban on flights as a result of the volcanic ash cloud is costing it between £5m and £6m a day.

Financial Times

• Lufthansa ends fuel contracts for grounded jetsLufthansa, Europe's biggest airline group, declared force majeure as it cancelled contracts for jet fuel bound for its fleet, which has been grounded for nearly six days
• Fuel cost 'is biggest threat to airlines'The main threat to the airline industry is volatile fuel prices rather than the sustainability of the recovery from the economic crisis, says the president of Delta Air Lines

The Guardian

• Flight ban ends: now recriminations begin¢ BA chief attacks government and air safety watchdog¢ Manufacturers change advice on flying in ash clouds¢ Days more of delays to come but end to chaos in sightBritish Airways chief executive, Willie Walsh, last night accused the government and the UK air safety watchdog of imposing unnecessary hardship on hundreds of thousands of passengers after a six-day flight ban was dramatically lifted amid pressure from the aviation industry.The opening of all UK airports came after aircraft and engine manufacturers changed their advice on commercial jets' ability to withstand contamination from volcan...

The Herald

• Campaign tells pupils: get on your bike Schoolchildren are being encouraged to take advantage of the warmer weather and start cycling to school.
• Cities unite in fight for Scots high-speed rail Glasgow and Edinburgh councils have joined forces to press for a high-speed rail line to be built to Scotland, warning the country could suffer 20 years’ economic disadvantage against England under current Government proposals.
• CAA statement in fullœThe Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the UK™s independent specialist regulator with oversight of aviation safety, today issues new guidance on the use of airspace.

The Telegraph

• Transport costs push UK inflation above 3pc Inflation surged back above 3pc last month, effectively sealing the likelihood that Mervyn King, the Bank of England Governor, will have to write another letter of explanation to the Chancellor next month.
• Volcanic ash: 500,000 Britons seek £250m in compensation Half a million British travellers could be in line for about £250 million in compensation from airlines as the Government comes under increasing pressure to bail-out the airline industry.
• Airport parking charges to be waived Stranded travellers will not be charged extra for overstaying in airport car parks, it has been announced.
• Iceland volcano: UK airports reopen as BA claims shutdown 'unnecessary' After six days without flights, which will have cost the economy more than £1.6 billion and 500,000 passengers stranded, the blanket ban on flights has been lifted as British Airways claim the shutdown was unnecessary.
• New car-share scheme puts you at the wheel of your neighbour's car Under-used cars to be rented to local people who need short-term transport.

Times Online

• Lord Adonis: Labour's very own high-speed Pendolino In cabinet photographs, Andrew Adonis is the weedy-looking one, inevitably nicknamed Muscles. But looks can mislead. In terms of brainpower, enthusiasm and quiet ambition for his department, the transport secretary is one of those high-speed Class 390 Pendolino trains he so loves to travel in, preferably in the driver's cab.
• Volcano: airlines ’breach EU law’ by refusing to pay for hotels Thousands of stranded passengers are being refused hotels and food despite government assurances that airlines are obliged to help, The Times has discovered.
• Live: airports reopen as crisis eased22.09

Reuters News

• Eurotunnel sees D. Bahn trains to London by 2012COQUELLES, France (Reuters) - Eurotunnel SA, the operator of the Channel tunnel, expects Deutsche Bahn trains to run between London and the continent by the start of the London Olympics of 2012.

Daily Express

• Bid hopes get buses movingSPECULATORS boarded bus and rail operators yesterday in search of the next bid target as Stagecoach signalled its readiness to make a big acquisition.

Mail Online

• Britain's barmiest bike lane is wide than the rest of the road

Network Rail

• 500 MAINTENANCE STAFF TO LEAVE NETWORK RAIL Network Rail, the company that owns and runs Britain’s rail infrastructure, today announces that approximately 500 maintenance employees will be leaving the company by the end of May as a result of productivity improvements over the last two years. The 500 people are leaving as part of the company’s voluntary redundancy programme and are in addition to the 235 volunteers who took redundancy in January 2010.
• BLACKFRIARS STATION PROJECT USES THAMES TO TAKE THE STRAIN OFF LONDON STREETS

Birmingham Mail

• Home Secretary goes for spin at University of Birmingham HOME Secretary Alan Johnson went for a spin in an electric taxi in a bid to convince the West Midlands that the future of the economy lies in low carbon, high technology industries.

Liverpool Post

• Volcanic ash cloud affect on Liverpool: Air travellers switched to ships NOT everybody has been losing trade. Ferry passenger numbers on the Irish Sea rose by almost half as much as usual over last weekend as air travellers switched to ships.
• Liverpool city region counts the cost of flight ban as UK airspace starts to re-open THE no-fly-zone over Merseyside has so far cost the region’s economy £18m, business leaders warned last night.
• Volcano ash all clear means Liverpool John Lennon Airport set to re-open LIVERPOOL John Lennon airport (JLA) is preparing to receive passengers again after aviation authorities re-opened the UK's skies.

London Evening Standard

• Rail chaos as gas leak closes routeTrain passengers heading to the West Country from London faced major disruption after a ruptured gas main closed a main railway route, according to a train company.

Manchester Evening News

• Stagecoach plan to cut Metrolink emissions Drivers, managers and other staff on Manchester’s Metrolink are to be trained to reduce the amount of carbon pollution generated by the tram system.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Long haul flights land at Newcastle Airport A NUMBER of long haul flights are tonight due to land at Newcastle Airport after being diverted from other UK destinations.

Chester Standard

• Motorists furious as prices at the pump hit new highOUTRAGED motorists in Chester who have seen a staggering increase in their weekly fuel bills since the budget announcement this month have hit out at rising costs.

Other Regional Press

• Leeds Bradford airport, Humberside Airport and Robin Hood Airport open from 1pm say air traffic controllers AIR passengers in Yorkshire and the Humber have been braced for further delays after warnings that a

Railnews

• News: New ’not for profit’ rail operator unveils plans A new open access operator is revealing its plans to run trains between Yeovil and the Midlands from next year. But this operator is a pioneer, because it has no shareholders hoping for a profit, but would be run on co-operative principles.

Aviation Industry

• Airline losses from ash cloud exceed $1 billionPARIS: Airline losses from the volcanic ash cloud climbed above $1 billion on Monday, and the industry demanded compensation from the European Union as officials agreed to let flights resume on a limited basis.
• Talks deepen between United, Continental airlinesUnited Airlines and Continental Airlines are in the early stages of exchanging financial information that could lead to a deal to combine and create the world's biggest airline, people briefed on the talks said Tuesday.

Other News Sources

• Clampdown on taxi rank rule-breakersSpot-checks are to be carried out on taxi drivers who rank illegally across Preston city centre.
• Keep your air cargo, says BIFA With many airline cargo sheds and ground handling agents refusing to accept freight, the British International Freight Association (BIFA) is advising its members to encourage customers to retain cargo in their own premises until the authorities issue some clarity on when flights are likely to resume. read more
• Busting the myths surrounding electric vehicles Greg Archer, head of the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership (LowCVP) took to the Stage at The Environmental Technology show this week in an attempt to dispel some of the fog surrounding the facts on electric transport.
• Ash crisis: UK airports reopen as rules rewrittenThe first BA jet lands at London just hours after the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) rewrote the rules governing volcanic ash clouds and gave the go-ahead for all UK airports to re-open.