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

Friday, 11 June 2010

BBC News

• Gosport to Fareham railway bus link appeal dismissed An appeal against a decision to allow a rapid bus route to be built on a disused railway line in Hampshire has been thrown out by the Court of Appeal.
• Seat belt offences show 64% riseDumfries and Gallloway Constabulary reports a sharp rise in seat belt offences in the past five months.
• Union urges mayor Tube talksUrgent talks with the Mayor of London over Tube strikes are demanded by maintenance workers' union.
• Glasgow airport worst hit by ashThe volcanic ash cloud and industrial action by BA cabin crew affect passenger numbers at Scotland's airports in May.
• BAA passenger numbers downBAA says the number of people using its airports fell in May because of the ash cloud disruption and the British Airways strike.
• BA chief refuses £334,000 bonusBritish Airways chief executive Willie Walsh has turned down an annual bonus worth £334,000, the airline says.

Financial Times

• Hammond blocks scores of local transport plans Local authorities around England have been told to stop spending on scores of transport projects approved under the previous government, after the Department for Transport suspended permission for schemes expected to cost £1.6bn, writes Robert Wright . Philip Hammond, transport secretary, told the Commons he was suspending approval for all schemes where contracts had not yet been awarded, pending the spending review and changes to rules on prioritising projects.

The Guardian

• Conservative pledge to protect frontline services in doubt as cuts revealed Quangos, transport and local authorities are hit, and grants to schemes for young people reduced
• Halfords shares rise 8% as cheap transport thrivesShares in Halfords, the car parts and bicycle retailer, jumped 8%, after pound-stretched consumers looked for cheaper ways of transport, helping push full-year sales up 4.6%.
• BA boss Walsh turns down bonusBA chief executive spurns £344,000 after BA's record loss and costly disputeBritish Airways' boss, Willie Walsh, has turned down a bonus worth £344,000 following record losses at the airline and a costly industrial dispute with cabin crew.BA said Walsh could have earned the amount in deferred shares under the long-term incentive scheme but for the second year running the chief executive had turned down a bonus. The airline said:

The Herald

• Wheels come off for rogue bus operators Bus companies in the west of Scotland are facing tough new regulations that will force them to invest in new, less-polluting vehicles and stick to timetables or facing losing lucrative urban routes. Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT), the council-run transport body, is today expected to approve Scotland’s first legally enforceable contract, which aims to weed out rogue operators and drive up standards for passengers.
• Souter adds to portfolio with Nutrafeed dealStagecoach founder Brian Souter has paid more than £2 million to acquire a company which recycles food waste from supermarkets and food and drink manufacturers for use as animal feed and thus helps reduce landfill disposal.
• British Airways chief Willie Walsh turns down six-figure shares bonusBritish Airways™ chief executive Willie Walsh has turned down a six-figure bonus for a second year as the carrier struggles with losses and a series of strikes by cabin crew.
• Maersk North Sea profits decimated as oil prices tumbleProfits plunged by 99% last year at the North Sea business owned by AP Moller-Maersk, the Danish shipping giant, as falling oil prices took a heavy toll.

The Scotsman

• Abandoning trams will cost tens of millions, council is warnedCANCELLING Edinburgh's troubled tram project would still leave taxpayers having to fork out tens of millions of pounds more in future years, it was claimed yesterday.

The Telegraph

• The personal agony that will forever be public transport We do not have the worst public transport in Europe – but we do have the stupidest, writes Andrew Gilligan.
• Questor share tip: Go ahead and buy into this growing transport business Go-Ahead Group has nothing to do with biscuits, as Keith Ludeman, chief executive of the transport group, must be forever explaining.

Times Online

• £1.6bn transport schemes hit a red light in review of spendingTransport projects worth a total of £1.6 billion, including bypasses, bridges and metro systems, are under threat after the Government announced yesterday that it was suspending all schemes not already under contract.
• BA chief™s bonus gets harmony linkWillie Walsh, the chief executive of British Airways, has turned down a £334,000 bonus, but his performance-related pay could rise this year if he can improve the industrial relations of the strike-hit airline.

Press Association

• Privately funded stations proposed Private firms could be encouraged to fund stations along the route of a proposed high-speed rail line, Transport Secretary Philip Hammond has said. Carriages and interchanges could also be privately financed, Mr Hammond indicated in a Commons written answer.

Mail Online

• Volcanic ash cloud payouts for airlines 'simply may not be affordable', says Transport MinisterCompensation for airlines affected by the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud 'simply may not be affordable', Transport Minister Theresa Villiers said today.

Birmingham Post

• Midland Metro extension in Birmingham put on hold The long-awaited extension of the Midland Metro through Birmingham city centre has been officially put on hold.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Bus timetable blunder costs cash-strapped Gwynedd council £13,500 A CASH-STRAPPED council have had to spend thousands of pounds reprinting a travel guide – because so many errors were found in it.

Liverpool Post

• Government funding axe threat for Mersey Gateway project THE axe hangs over the Second Mersey Crossing dream after local transport chiefs were told to find more cash within one month – or watch the project die.
• Government funding axe threat for Mersey Gateway project THE axe hangs over the Second Mersey Crossing dream after local transport chiefs were told to find more cash within one month – or watch the project die.
• Liverpool John Lennon Airport launches a Fly Local campaign LIVERPOOL John Lennon Airport (JLA) has launched a campaign to persuade Merseyside businesses to ’Fly Local’.
• Government funding cuts to hit Merseyside councils and transport schemes MERSEYSIDE is bracing itself for huge funding cuts after the coalition Government announced more detailed plans to tackle the economic deficit.

The News (Portsmouth)

• Gosport and Fareham bus link will go aheadAN APPEAL to prevent a bus link being built on an old railway track has failed.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Plea to ban lorries travelling on rural road is rejectedA plea to ban HGV lorries from travelling on a rural Aberdeenshire road has been rejected by council officials.

Doncaster Free Press

• Airport boasts big improvements in passenger figuresBOSSES at Robin Hood Airport have announced a 13 per cent increase in passenger numbers following the launch of new routes

Other Regional Press

• Pudsey Bus Station stop changes from Monday 14 JuneNew arrangements make way for essential highway alterations
• Burford bus link to railway on the cards PROPOSALS to give Burford a direct bus connection to the railway network have won the backing of the town™s mayor.

Wall Street Journal

• National Express Launches GBP225M 10 Year Sterling Bond Issue LONDON (Dow Jones)--National Express Group PLC (NEX.LN), a U.K.-based transport group, said Thursday it has successfully launched a GBP225 million ten year Sterling bond issue.
• National Express Launches GBP225M 10 Year Sterling Bond Issue LONDON (Dow Jones)--National Express Group PLC (NEX.LN), a U.K.-based transport group, said Thursday it has successfully launched a GBP225 million ten year Sterling bond issue.

Campaign for Better Transport

• Transport cuts should be smarter10 June: The Government has announced plans for reducing local authority grants and it's bad news for public transport. read more

Transport for London

• Ten Tube stations for 10:10Ten of the largest stations on London Underground sign up to 10:10 campaign to reduce energy use.

Green Miscellany

• Car Junkie Detox | Beautiful shoes vs. public transport Today was by far the worse day of my challenge so far.read more
• Mayor of London to invest £3.1m in 'Greenways' cycling scheme Transport for London and the Mayor, Boris Johnson, are investing £3.1m in a new ‘Greenways’ scheme in the capital. Under the scheme, Londoners will see more foot and bicycle paths being funded in an attempt to fulfil the Mayor’s vision of an environmentally friendly city where people can ride their bikes and walk safely and easily.read more

Other News Sources

• Bus performance examined by watchdog London TravelWatch has published, for the first time, the ten worst performing bus routes, in its performance report on Transport for London’s (TfL) services, looking at the performance of tubes, trams, buses, rail, Docklands Light Railway, roads, cycling, motorcycling, river, taxis and Dial-a-Ride.
• Cornwall's major road scheme halted as Government axe hovers ​Transport Secretary Philip Hammond last night ordered a freeze on all major road projects in the Westcountry as the axe hovered over schemes which Labour repeatedly failed to fund.
• Cornwall's major road scheme halted as Government axe hovers ​Transport Secretary Philip Hammond last night ordered a freeze on all major road projects in the Westcountry as the axe hovered over schemes which Labour repeatedly failed to fund.
• ’Link cash should be spent on new projects’ Highways chiefs in Lancashire should scrap plans for multi-million pound road schemes and plough their efforts into improving public transport instead, a pressure group has said.
• Cash for ash delays? Unlikely, say UK chiefsLondon - Britain has played down the prospect of compensating airlines for losses suffered when ash from an Icelandic volcano grounded flights earlier this year.
• Birmingham students create posters for rail stations Design students from Birmingham City University are creating a series of posters that will appear at train stations across the West Midlands.
• NEW CROSS: Boris Johnson forgets about £10m station FUNDING for a new £10m train station is still no clearer to being confirmed after the Mayor of London admitted forgetting to raise the issue.
• Tories threaten to axe Mersey Gateway THE second Mersey crossing faces the axe after local transport chiefs were told to find more cash within one month – or watch the project die.
• Fury over tram ban on mobility scooters METROLINK has banned mobility scooters from its trams after a man fell onto the tracks at Besses o’th’ Barn station.
• Schoolboy designs mascot for MetrolinkTHE Met Man creation of a Prestwich schoolboy has taken to the streets of Manchester to promote the benefits of the iconic Metrolink tram system.
• Have your say on futuristic podsPeople in Bath are being invited to have their say on a futuristic transport system that would see pods on tracks above the ground criss-crossing cities.
• Crossrail project essential, claims Chamber of Commerce London businesses have made a plea to government ahead of the emergency budget to strike a delicate balance between cutting the UK's deficit whilst avoiding measures that could jeopardise the competitiveness of the capital.
• Crossrail budget squeezed as costs climb £1bn Cost estimates for the £2bn overground sections of Crossrail have risen by 30% as the project’s senior management remains under pressure to cut costs on the £15.9bn scheme, writes Joey Gardiner.
• Bath transport consultation launchedA consultation has been announced in Bath for a futuristic transport system to move people throughout the city.
• Dutch union wins agreement with container terminal operatorDockers in the Netherlands have reached a settlement with their container terminal employer ending nine rounds of negotiations and several spates of industrial action.
• Core cities hit by transport freeze63 major projects frozen, including Leeds™ trolley bus and Birmingham™s tram extension and £150m slashed from budget for small local transport schemes
• Commission launches 'green scheme' for biofuelVoluntary scheme seeks to certify that biofuel meets 'tough' EU standards.
• Mayor recognises London's green business leaders Some of London's top carbon-cutting companies have received awards for their efforts from city Mayor Boris Johnson.
• UK Government wasting millions on 'unnecessary' flights The UK Government could save more than £300M and about 60,000 tonnes of carbon over the next three years by banning 'unnecessary' business flights.

News from Europe

• How Can Germany's High-Speed Trains Get Back on Track?German ICE trains still underperform their zappy French TGV counterparts. Deutsche Bahn hopes its new high-speed train will improve Germany's record -- but old tracks and complex networks may put the brakes on the plan.
• Call for EU rules on body scanners The European Commission is to make another push for EU-wide rules on the use of body scanners in airports.
• EU promotes ’green jobs’ as way out of crisis Plans to create a generation of 'green' jobs will involve low-skilled as well as high-skilled workers, and could therefore play a key social function in addressing Europe's unemployment crisis, EU officials and MEPs told a Brussels conference yesterday
• EU sets tight biofuel standards BRUSSELS — The European Union's top energy official set out tough standards for producing biofuels sold in the EU, demanding producers meet strict environmental criteria.
• EU Backing for Electric VehiclesMeeting through the Competitiveness Council, Trade and Industry Ministers from EU nations have agreed a new European Strategy on Clean Air and Energy Efficient Vehicles.