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

Thursday, 17 June 2010

BBC News

• Traffic flow changes ahead of Reading station revamp A major re-organisation of the traffic flow around Reading town centre to allow a £400m revamp of the railway station is to get under way.
• Thousands sign fuel cost petitionA woman from the Western Isles hands over a petition protesting against high petrol prices to the UK Treasury.
• Motorway escape gates extensionA series of motorway queue escape gates is being extended across Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside.
• Fears over line electrificationA Liverpool MP fears the electrification of the railway line between her city and Manchester has been put on hold.
• Call for talks over Tube strikeThe RMT union calls on London Mayor Boris Johnson to hold
• Second trial for bikes in lanesA second trial allowing motorcyclists to use bus lanes is to take place, after the first showed a small increase in collisions.
• Driverless Tube trains proposedAll trains on the London Underground should be driverless, according to the Conservative group on the London Assembly.
• BA and Unite union 'deadlocked'The latest attempt to secure a deal between British Airways and the Unite union has failed, says the conciliation service Acas.

Department for Transport

• Transport Secretary visits future Crossrail Station at Canary WharfTransport Secretary Philip Hammond today visited what will be the first station of the exciting Crossrail project at Canary Wharf.

Financial Times

• Signs of growth lift the mood in business aviation Welcome to High Flying: The FT Guide to Corporate Aviation. This new section of FT.com aims to provide a dynamic barometer to a sector that has been described as a bellwether for the health of the whole economy.
• Spirit pilots strike a chord in the sectorGiven the rarity of strikes, the airline industry is paying close attention to the Spirit experience to gauge the relative strengths of labour and management and the tactics at their disposal
• Eifage-Macquarie group buys APPR stakeFlash French toll road holding bought for €900m

The Guardian

• New Leeds railway station plans set for approval Kirkstall Forge station earmarked for green light - but is station in the best location?
• BA faces more strikes as talks haltIf cabin crew vote for further industrial action, then a new wave of strikes is possible from the first week of August onwardBritish Airways is facing further industrial unrest by cabin crew after the latest attempt to forge peace with the Unite trade union failed.The Acas conciliation service said a renewed attempt to bring both sides together had failed, paving the way for another strike ballot of 11,000 BA flight attendants who have already embarked on 22 days of strikes this year. If Britain's largest trade union pushes ahead and cabin crew vote for further industrial action, then a new wa...

The Independent

• Colin Walton: Railway man trying to keep Bombardier on track The Business Interview: The boss of the UK's last remaining builder of locomotives and rolling stock tells Sarah Arnott of its struggle to survive
• More strikes on the cards as BA crew talks break downTalks aimed at resolving the long-running dispute between British Airways and its cabin crew ended without agreement yesterday.

Daily Express

• Aer Lingus to ground flightsIRISH carrier Aer Lingus is axing loss-making winter services between Shannon and the US but pledged to continue flying from the west of Ireland airport.

Meet the Boss TV

• The Final Frontier? ['Meet the Boss TV' Video]Virgin Galactic may possibly just be a natural development from train and air travel for the enterprising and entrepreneurial Sir Richard Branson, but as Galactic’s President William Whitehorn explains, true innovation is behind everything at the Virgin brand.

Network Rail

• MILTON BUSINESS PARK GETS RAIL BRIDGE UPGRADE
• PLANS TO DELIVER MORE TRAINS AND FASTER JOURNEYS ON DISPLAY IN DONCASTER
• 300 ENGINEERING JOBS CREATED TO HELP DELIVER A BETTER RAILWAY FOR BRITAIN

Belfast Telegraph

• Ash cloud’s silver lining for Stena Line bookings Ferry company Stena Line said summer advance bookings demonstrate it has held on to some of the new customers gained during the ash cloud crisis. Related StoriesFinancial software company in £3.3m share issueMachinery firm wins contract valued at £400,000Industry sector is on road to recoveryTen firms hopeful of a role in Euro 2012 build upGeorge Osborne announces banking shake-up
• Aer Lingus shelves loss-making flightsIrish airline Aer Lingus has announced it will suspend loss-making transatlantic flights from Shannon Airport for nearly three months next year.Related StoriesFinancial software company in £3.3m share issueMachinery firm wins contract valued at £400,000Industry sector is on road to recoveryTen firms hopeful of a role in Euro 2012 build upGeorge Osborne announces banking shake-up

Birmingham Mail

• Harborne cycling enterprise iCycle to host event for Bike Week A cycling project in Birmingham is to host a special event this month aimed at encouraging more people to get on their bikes. 

Liverpool Post

• Talks in BA cabin crew row break down TALKS aimed at resolving the British Airways cabin crew dispute have ended without agreement.

London Evening Standard

• Tube union calls for talks to avoid crippling Underground strikesUnion leaders today renewed their call for last-ditch talks in a bid to avert two 48-hour strikes by London Underground workers which threaten disruption from next week.
• Underground chiefs want more mobile phone apps Transport for London is to give away all its data free to encourage the development of hundreds of new internet sites and mobile phone apps to help commuters.
• First dock in place for London bike hire schemeThe first docking station for Boris Johnson's bike hire scheme has been installed.
• Talks break down on BA crew strikesTalks aimed at resolving the long-running British Airways cabin crew dispute have ended without agreement.

Yorkshire Post

• Special trains to celebrate volunteers on oldest railway THE world's oldest working railway, the Middleton Railway in Hunslet, Leeds, is marking the 50th anniversary of being run solely by volunteers.

Carlisle News & Star

• Workington man's anger over disabled bus pass rules A BLIND man is furious that he had to pay for a bus to get him to an important hospital appointment “ because it was 15 minutes before his free disabled pass kicked in.

Northants Evening Telegraph

• Group calls for car ban rethinkThe centre of Kettering should not be closed to vehicles, according to a town's civic society which has criticised regeneration plans.

Other Regional Press

• Weymouth Transport Package: Businesses lose trade BUSINESSES in the Lynch Road area of Weymouth have told how they are losing trade over the traffic disruption.
• Weymouth Transport Package: Residents' fury over rat-run RESIDENTS of a road being used as a rat-run are fighting back against the traffic chaos.

Railnews

• News: Growing gloom over electrification prospects The chances of the Great Western Main Line and several key routes in the north west being electrified in the foreseeable future appear to have dwindled to almost zero. The House of Lords has been told that there would be problems paying for such projects, and with increasing uncertainty over rolling stock orders the chief executive of Network Rail is also talking openly about delaying the upgrades.

Aviation Industry

• Airport boss moving onAberdeen Airport Managing Director, Kevin Brown, has this morning confirmed he is set to leave his post, after more than three years in the top job...
• Aer Lingus to suspend transatlantic flights from ShannonIrish carrier Aer Lingus will stop flights to New York and Boston from Shannon from January 5, due to "significant losses".read more

Other News Sources

• Rapha launches iphone app for cycling groups Cycling accessories maker Rapha is launching its first iPhone app to encourage cyclist groups to meet more regularly.
• Get in the saddle for cycling challenge BUSINESSES are being urged to sign up for a competition to encourage people to enjoy cycling.
• China wants Nordic railway link A railway connection from China, through Russia, the Nordic countries and to the Norwegian port of Narvik might not be far from becoming reality, Swedish Communications Minister Åsa Torstensson maintains.
• RMT calls on Boris Johnson to 'get out of the bunker' over Tube Lines disputeTUBE UNION RMT today issued a renewed call for London Mayor Boris Johnson to 'get out of the bunker and start talking' as the clock ticks down towards two 48 hour strikes called by the union in defence of jobs, pay and working conditions on Tube Lines starting next Wednesday.
• Scotrail chief slammed for ignoring reality over the safety-critical role of train guards in recent derailmentsRAIL UNION RMT today accused Scotrail Managing Director Steve Montgomery of 'ignoring reality' after he failed to accept that the heroic role played the guard, alongside the rest of the train crew, after the derailment in Argyll on the 6th June nails every last, spurious argument for ditching Guards on the company's new Airdrie- Bathgate route.
• East Lancashire community bus firm goes to wallCOMMUNITY transport users in East Lancashire are facing disruption after the service operator announced it was going into liquidation.
• Resurfacing plan to tackle potholesDOZENS of roads could be resurfaced in a bid to tackle problem potholes caused by last winter's harsh weather.
• Philip Hammond commits to CrossrailTransport Secretary Philip Hammond commits the Government to delivering the full £16bn London Crossrail scheme
• Social care and transport 'most vulnerable to cuts'BBC research predicts areas likely to be the biggest victims of the upcoming funding squeeze
• Muirhead to be new chairman of Ask DevelopmentsGeoff Muirhead, soon to retire as chief executive of Manchester Airports Group, is to be the new chairman of property firm Ask Developments.
• Cornish confirmed as Manchester Airports Group's new chief executiveUnited Utilities (LSE: UU) today confirmed that Charlie Cornish, its managing director utility solutions, is leaving to become the new chief executive of Manchester Airports Group.
• MANCHESTER AIRPORTS GROUP APPOINTS CHIEF EXECUTIVEThe Manchester Airports Group (MAG) – the largest British-owned airport operator – has appointed Charlie Cornish to the position of Group Chief Executive. Charlie, 50, will join MAG on 1...
• Virgin Atlantic signs up with AeroMobile to bring passengers in-flight callsAeromobile is providing its award-winning service to Virgin Atlantic's newest aircraft. Virgin's new fleet of 10 Airbus A330s, which will come into service early next year, will initally be...
• Sabre announces total travel solution enabling agencies to drive customer loyalty and power business performance (Press Release)Sabre Travel Network, the leading provider of high performance solutions for the travel industry, today announced the global launch of Sabre Red, an innovative total travel solution designed to help travel agencies drive customer loyalty and power business performance, resulting in increased revenues, improved efficiency and reduced costs. read more

News from Europe

• Bombardier wins $1.6 billion Swiss train contract MONTREAL — Bombardier Transportation has signed a contract worth $1.6 billion (U.S.) to supply double-deck trains to Swiss Railways for inter-city travel.