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

Friday, 30 April 2010

BBC News

• EU to ease airport liquids rule in security revamp The EU says the current restrictions on liquids carried by air passengers will end by April 2013.
• New path and bridge route over the River Wye revealed The route of a new foot and cycle path, which includes a bridge over the River Wye, has been unveiled.
• Dingwall-based haulier criticised over failures A Dingwall-based haulage operator has had its licence curtailed for 10 weeks due to concern about the unsatisfactory maintenance of its fleet of vehicles.
• New airline for north-south linkAn airline has been appointed as the new operator of Wales' north-south air link, says the assembly government.
• Heathrow Terminal 2 work beginsDemolition work begins at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 2, originally named Europa Building, as part of a £1bn redevelopment.
• BAA says ash chaos cost it £28mUK airport operator BAA says the closure of Heathrow and Stansted by the volcano ash cloud cost it £28m.

Department for Transport

• Transport StatisticsThe Department for Transport has today published the following Transport Statistics:

Financial Times

• UAL heads set for windfall in event of mergerThe top five executives at UAL Corp, parent of United Airlines, stand to make millions ofdollars in cash and shares if their company merges with Continental Airlines, according to an analysis of the carrier's regulatory filings
• United and Continental closer to mergerThe boards of Continental Airlines and UAL, the parent of United Airlines, are each meeting on Friday to discuss the prospect of a nil-premium merger, which could be announced as soon as Monday and would create the world's largest airline
• Stagecoach keeps eye on acquisitionsThe bus and rail operator underscored its interest in expansion as it said full-year results would be better than expected

The Herald

• The lifeline of a nation There are few things we like to gripe about more than the state of public transport in this country: there isn’t enough, it’s too expensive, they don’t go where I want them to.
• UK-wide extension of yellow school buses is rejectedIntroducing US-style yellow buses to transport children to school across the UK would be too costly and risk reducing the number of pupils who walk and cycle, the Government has found.
• Airlines ˜struggled before ash crisis™European airlines were struggling to recover from a deep recession in aviation even before they were hit by a six-day shut down of airspace earlier this month, an industry body has found.
• Forth Ports rejects fresh bid of £640mForth Ports, the Scottish ports-to-property takeover target, has rebuffed a fresh £640m approach from rival Peel Group and its consortium partners, saying it still failed to reflect the group™s value.
• Stagecoach gains after positive update as revenues pick upShares in Perth-based transport group Stagecoach gained 1.4% yesterday after figures from the company suggested that revenues are beginning to pick up again.

The Scotsman

• Car club booms to 3,500 members EDINBURGH'S hourly car rental scheme has expanded to cope with a burgeoning membership that has almost doubled.

Times Online

• Airlines close to agreement over mergerUnited Airlines and Continental Airlines are expected to announce a merger agreement on Monday to create the world™s largest carrier.
• High-speed line will stay on the rails with subsidyBritain™s first new high-speed line will receive a government subsidy for the next four years because expected property developments around Ebbsfleet and Stratford station remain unbuilt.
• Virgin chief Stephen Ridgway ˜confessed to protect job™A confession by the chief executive of Virgin Atlantic that he had operated a criminal cartel with British Airways was made to protect himself, a court was told yesterday.

Mail Online

• Three more years of misery for plane passengers as EU says it will only end liquid restrictions in April 2013 The ban on liquids in air passengers' hand luggage is to continue for another three years. The European Union announced today that the misery will continue until 2013 when mass-screening technology to detect explosives in fluids is perfected.
• Poor station toilets to meet their Waterloo - but passengers will have to spend more than a pennyUnveiling plans for a new 'bog standard loo' for train travellers, rail tsar Chris Green said ancient, dirty and inadequate toilets must be ripped out.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• North-South Wales airlink to resume next month as WAG appoint Manx2 Airlines THE North-South Wales airlink will resume next month after a new airline was appointed by the Welsh Assembly Government, officials confirmed this evening.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Capital makes tracks to tramMORE than 1,200 people visited the first of Edinburgh's trams in the first three hours after it was opened to the public yesterday.

Journal Live

• Go-Ahead prepares for first US contract GO-AHEAD is driving ahead with preparations to start running its first yellow school buses in the US.
• Go-Ahead confident as bus and rail revenues up TRANSPORT company Go- Ahead Group has reported revenue from its bus and rail operations grew in the third quarter of the year.
• Tories pledge to end motorists' misery and dual A1 THE A1 would be made a route of national importance if the Conservatives form the next Government.

London Evening Standard

• We could hold balance of pedal power at election, say cyclistsPedal power could help to decide the outcome of the election, campaigners said today, claiming that cycling policy could be the key to winning marginal seats.

Burnley Express

• New cycle routes for Burnley CYCLING routes around Burnley are to be improved as part of a £200,000 scheme.
• Campaign for prayer room at Burnley bus station BUS drivers have launched a campaign to have a prayer room installed at Burnley bus station.

Reading Evening Post

• The tiny particle which grounded Europe This may look like a lump of rock but actually it’s a tiny piece of volcanic ash from the Icelandic eruption found on a car in Reading.

Sunderland Echo

• Port of Sunderland firm reveals £20m global ambitionA Port of Sunderland company today announced a £20million global expansion plan.

Wall Street Journal

• Go-Ahead Trades In Line, Retains Targets For Year LONDON (Dow Jones)--Bus and rail company Go-Ahead Group PLC (GOG.LN) Thursday said trading in its fiscal third quarter was in line with expectations and that it is retaining its targets for the year to June.

Transport for London

• North Greenwich station taxi rank to be marshalled on arena event nights at The O2Marshals to manage passenger queues and ensure people get a taxi quickly and safely.
• London Underground's got talentTube busking scheme invites musicians to audition for busking licence. Licences available for a limited time only.

Aviation Industry

• CFM cites progress in LEAP-X development, testingCFM International said development on its next-generation LEAP-X1C engine, selected late last year to power Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China's 150-seat C919 slated to enter service in 2016, is progressing well with second-phase core testing underway and scheduled to conclude by mid-May.
• US Airways CEO: NextGen benefits don't justify equipage investmentUS Airways Chairman and CEO Doug Parker expressed strong reluctance to invest in cockpit technology that is seen as being vital to achieving the goals of FAA's NextGen air traffic management system, stating that the cost/benefit case has not been made.
• 2009 "one of most challenging years in Lufthansa history" - MayrhubeVolcanic ash flying ban shows need for Single European Sky, ceo claims read more

Other News Sources

• Union petition against new aviation regulations in TurkeyTurkish aviation workers have signed a petition against plans by the Turkish civil aviation authority Sivil Havacılık Genel Müdürlüğü (SHGM) to introduce new regulations, which could increase the risk of fatigue-related accidents.
• Calls for electric cars to get a boostIndustry and campaigners want common standards as Commission launches plan for clean vehicles.
• Ten per cent hike in number of Plymouth bus passengers in three months THE transport firm that bought Plymouth Citybus has recorded a 10 per cent rise in revenue and passenger numbers in the first three months of 2010.
• Ghana orders 300 gas-powered buses from IndiaCommercial production of oil is due to start in Ghana in December 2010, and already government is planning ahead on what to do with the natural gas that will be produced alongside.
• BUSES SPREAD THE MESSAGE THAT COCKERMOUTH IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS A FLEET of Cumbrian coaches is spreading the word that Cockermouth is open for business.
• London City Airport Denies Stealth TacticsLCA has dismissed allegations that it is using stealth tactics
• Vauxhall announces pre-production EVVauxhall has revealed its first pre-production Ampera electrical vehicle.
• Recession 'brings decline in green vehicle interest'A recent survey has suggested that interest in green vehicles has declined during the recession.
• Rail proves resilient BOMBARDIER: The rail market 'remained resilient' in 2009, Bombardier Inc President & CEO Pierre Beaudoin said when he presented the company's annual results for the year to January 31 2010.
• Tory tells LBC rail project is 'uncertain' CONSERVATIVE uncertainty about the future of Crossrail has brought dire warnings about how it will affect Hayes.
• RMT to lobby MSPs over strikebreaking Rail workers will lobby the Scottish Parliament next week in the continuing dispute with ScotRail over attacks on the safety-critical role of guards.
• U.K. Conservatives Aim to Block Heathrow Runway, Fund Crossrail Britain’s Conservative Party would drop a plan to build a third runway at Heathrow and protect funding for the Crossrail train line as part of its agenda for London if it wins next week’s U.K.
• Bendy buses arrive in Brighton After trials, debate and the cold shoulder from cyclists and Boris Johnson, bendy buses have finally arrived in the city.
• Brighton cyclists fined for riding on cycle path Cyclists were slapped with £30 fines by police - for riding along a cycle path.
• High Speed 2 draws residents™ fireA backlash against High Speed 2 (HS2) emerged this week as local councillors and MPs along the proposed route began to mount opposition to the project.

News from Europe

• EU transport chief urges SES acceleration as post-volcano recovery measureEU transport commissioner Siim Kallas has urged acceleration of the Single European Sky (SES) programme to deliver integrated airspace management by the end of 2010 – two years before the scheduled implementation date of 2012.
• DB and SJ win Norrtåg regional operating contract SWEDEN: The Botniatåg joint venture of Deutsche Bahn subsidiary DB Regio Sverige and Swedish national passenger operator SJ has been selected to operate Norrtåg regional passenger services on the Botnia line and other routes in northern Sweden.
• DB unveils next-generation ICE GERMANY: The first of 15 Velaro D fourth-generation ICE trainsets for Deutsche Bahn was formally unveiled at Siemens’ Uerdingen plant in Krefeld on April 28 by DB Board Member, Technical, Dr Volker Kefer and the CEO of Siemens Mobility Dr Hans-Jörg Grundmann.
• Bergen Bybanen gets the green light NORWAY: The first phase of the 9·8 km Bybanen light rail project between Bergen town centre and Nesttun is due to be opened by Queen Sonja on June 22.

Other Subscription Services

• PD Ports revises development strategyUK port owner and operator to focus much more on the container sector