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

Tuesday, 25 May 2010

BBC News

• Slam-door train service withdrawn The last slam-door electric trains serving a branch line in the New Forest have been withdrawn from service.
• Transport firms hoping to turn ash into cash The cloud of ash from Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano has played havoc with flights across Europe. It has hit airlines' balance sheets hard - but has brought a booking windfall for rail and ferry companies.
• Police to target louts on trainsProtecting passengers from anti-social behaviour will be the top priority for officers, the head of British Transport Police says.
• Climate protest on airport runwayProtesters cut through a fence at Manchester Airport and chain themselves to the wheels of a plane.
• Protest against East London LineTube workers hold a protest over the East London Line on the day the full service begins for commuters.
• BA strike heading into second dayBritish Airways passengers at Heathrow have trips cancelled or disrupted as cabin crew begin a five-day strike.
• BAA scraps airports' runway plansBAA withdraws planning applications for new runways at Heathrow and Stansted airports due to government opposition.

Financial Times

• BA and union defiant as crews turn up to workMore British Airways flight attendants turned up for work than were needed yesterday, the airline claimed, as the Unite union launched the first of a wave of strikes...
• Enterprise expressIn seeking regional growth without big taxpayer injections, it would be good to see more enterprises like York-based Grand Central, a privately owned train operator...
• Runways U-turnAirport protesters were planning celebrations last night after the owners of Heathrow and Stansted ditched plans to build runways at the two airports, in response to...
• BA disrupted by fresh strike action British Airways cabin crew began the latest in a series of strikes on Monday after weekend talks to try to resolve a long-running dispute over wages, job cuts and working conditions broke down.
• BA says more staff defied strike than neededMore British Airways flight attendants turned up for work than were needed on Monday, the airline claimed, as the Unite union launched the first of a wave of strikes at the lossmaking flag carrier

The Herald

• RAC chief to look at transport failures during winter freezeA review of the transport industry™s ability to cope with severe winter weather has been ordered by the UK Government.
• Crime on railways falls for sixth yearCrime on Scotland™s railways has decreased for the sixth consecutive year, according to figures published by British Transport Police (BTP).
• Flats a turn-off to electric carsScotland™s large number of tenement flats and lack of adequate off-street parking will hamper drivers switching to electric cars, a report predicts.
• Strike grounds 20 BA flights to HeathrowA five-day strike by British Airways cabin crew is under way with both the airline and their union appearing more entrenched than ever in an increasingly bitter dispute.

The Independent

• Strikes leave passengers grounded “ but insults fly between BA and Unite Dozens of flights from Heathrow were cancelled yesterday as members of British Airways cabin crew set up picket lines outside the airport as part of their long running dispute with the airline.
• Plans for new runways at Heathrow and Stansted are withdrawnThe airport operator BAA bowed to the inevitable yesterday and formally announced it was abandoning plans for new runways at Heathrow and Stansted.

The Telegraph

• David Laws tells ministers to stop using chauffeur-driven cars to save millions Ministers have been ordered to stop using chauffeur-driven cars and walk to meetings, or take the bus or train if they have to travel further, in a bid to save millions of pounds.

Times Online

• Congestion charge to return to its rootsTransport for London is braced to lose £55 million a year in revenue as the Mayor Boris Johnson prepares to halve the capital™s congestion charging zone, with plans to abolish the western extension by Christmas.
• Union managers have undermined cabin crew and boosted BA™s handIt was supposed to have been a winter of discontent. What we have is a summer of discomfort for British Airways passengers as the one rumbling dispute of the past six months explodes into a head-on clash that threatens to define industrial relations in the first weeks of the post-Labour economy.
• Union has been destroyed by British Airways, admits top officialWillie Walsh, the chief executive of British Airways, has broken his cabin crew union and will win the dispute, a prominent official conceded yesterday as stewards began a 15-day strike over jobs and working conditions.
• Merging Virgin ˜may be only way to survive™Sir Richard Branson has spoken of merging Virgin Atlantic with another airline to keep it big enough to compete with rival carriers.

Birmingham Mail

• Railway chaos as power cut shuts down London to Birmingham trains Thousands of rail passengers heading for Birmingham faced travel chaos this morning when trains were cancelled because of a power cut in north London.

Birmingham Post

• Road and rail schemes scaled back or deferred in DfT's £683m cuts Some road schemes will be deferred and grants to local authorities scaled back as part of £683 million of Department for Transport (DfT) savings announced today.

Journal Live

• Railway welcomed back into the dale THE first scheduled passenger trains for almost 60 years have begun ferrying passengers on a Durham railway.

London Evening Standard

• Heathrow third runway axed in victory for campaignersAirports operator BAA officially confirms it is scrapping plans for a third runway at Heathrow and a second at Stansted

Blackpool Gazette

• Road safety is 'shambles'PLANS to make an accident blackspot safer have been scrapped by county road bosses.

Other Regional Press

• Speed camera cuts ’a trip back to dark ages’ according to road safety charity Brake PLANS to cut the funding of new speed cameras have been slammed by a road safety charity.
• Happy Birthday, Brighouse Bus Station!Metro™s rebuilt bus station at Brighouse is now one year old.
• Workers™ anger as council asks for museum donationCouncil workers across the city are being asked to make a cash donation towards the cost of building Glasgow™s new transport museum.
• Axe falls on £500k council car fleetGlasgow City Council is to cut back on the excesses of the Steven Purcell era by slashing its fleet of chauffeur-driven cars.
• Cabin crew strike hits city airport passengersPassengers at ­Glasgow Airport were ­today badly hit by fresh strike action by British ­Airways cabin crew as the row between unions and company bosses escalated.
• BA strike sees Aberdeen flights cancelledSEVERAL flights from Aberdeen Airport were cancelled today as a last-ditch effort to avert a British Airways cabin crew strike collapsed.

Campaign for Better Transport

• Cut the roadbuilding budget, protect public transport24 May: The Chancellor George Osborne has announced cuts of £6.2 billion, with £683 million coming from the Department for Transport. read more

Railnews

• Transport faces £683m cuts DEPARTMENT for Transport budgets are to be reduced by £683 million. The savings are part of national cutbacks worth a total of £6.2 billion in the current financial year, the Chancellor of the Exchequer said today.
• Rolling stock, TfL, Network Rail and councils all hit by budget cuts as Chancellor slashes spending THE DEPARTMENT for Transport has revealed the first details of how budget cuts announced earlier today will affect its plans in the current financial year.

Aviation Industry

• Stansted to withdraw runway planning applicationStansted Airport today announces that it is withdrawing its application to build a second runway at the airport....
• Heathrow updates local residentsIn response to the new Government's 'Coalition Agreement', Heathrow Airport today announces that it will stop work on the planning application for a third runway...

Other News Sources

• http://www.khl.com:80/magazines/international-construction/detail/item56357/Plans for a new lift at Bath Spa railway station have been controversially approved. More than 60 people and organisations had opposed a revised scheme for the lift, which will replace the existing ramp to the eastbound line at the station designed by Brunel.
• Parsons Brinckerhoff designs world's first plastic bridge International engineering consultant Parsons Brinckerhoff has designed the world's first recycled plastic railway bridges for the US Army at Fort Eustis, Virginia.
• Budget ferry service adds another shipFerry operator LD Lines has announced it is adding a second ship to its Dover - Boulogne service which will start from this weekend.The current eight sailings a day will increase to up to 14 with the introduction of the newly-named 22,152 gross tonnes vessel Norman Trader, which will work in tanden with existing sister ship Norman Bridge.  Both ships can carry up to 400 passengers, has 2,000 lane metres of vehicle deck space and can hold up to 130 cars and 40 trucks,....
• RMT warns of government attack on transport budgets with Crossrail, High Speed, electrification and Tube upgrades all under threatWITH THE new ConDem government kicking off its cuts programme today, transport union RMT warned this morning that key transport projects, including Crossrail, High Speed rail, electrification and the Tube upgrades, are all at risk of being scrapped, scaled back or kicked into the long grass with the union forecasting that the national transport budget could be hacked back by up to 27%.
• BAA scraps Heathrow and Stansted expansion plansBAA has withdrawn its planning application for a third runway at Heathrow airport.
• East Lancs bus lane funding may be axed A CONTROVERSIAL £50million bus lane scheme to link Blackburn, Darwen and Hyndburn could be axed by the new government.
• Incompatible EU and US security regulations impede airfreight International airfreight movements could be delayed, and costs will increase, because European and US security regulations are incompatible, says Lufthansa Cargo. read more
• New Government Rules Out Heathrow ExpansionPM has said the government won't pursue third runway at Heathrow.
• Ireland pledges support for electric car The Irish Government has pledged to support the electric car industry after signing a deal with vehicle manufactures and power firms.
• Former Go airline MBO director joins personnel firmA founder director of the airline Go has joined recruitment firm Gap Personnel as finance director.
• Costain wins £139m Lancashire road schemeCostain has won a £139 million contract to develop and construct a major road decongestion and regeneration scheme for Lanacashire County Council.
• Fears over Crossrail station projectsA senior local authority figure has expressed fears that Crossrail budget cuts will see station upgrade projects abandoned.
• Procurement of £133m new Wear Bridge set to beginSunderland City Council is to hold an information day for firms interested in bidding for the main contract to build the £133 million 1.2km Wear Bridge.
• BAA withdraws application for second runway at StanstedUK airport operator BAA is withdrawing its application to build a second runway at London™s Stansted Airport.
• Transport spending cuts hit local authorities, TfL and Network RailThe Department for Transport will make a £309 million reduction in its grants to local authorities as well as trimming Network Rail and Transport for London™s spending in a bid to meet its cost reduction targets this year.