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

Friday, 09 July 2010

BBC News

• Solar-powered plane lands safely after 26-hour flight An experimental solar-powered plane has landed in Switzerland after a successful test flight.
• Norfolk County Council plans £10m of cuts to services The GMB union said children's services, transport and health schemes, road safety and crime programmes at Norfolk County Council would all be hit.
• Hammond says rail rises possibleTrain passengers could see a big rise in fares in the new year if investment in the railways is to be protected, the transport secretary warns.
• Stagecoach boss waives pay to help fund heart screening projectStagecoach boss Brian Souter waives almost quarter of his pay package to help fund a heart screening project for his employees.
• Rolls-Royce car production risesThe manufacture of Rolls-Royce cars at the firm's West Sussex plant reaches its highest level for seven years.

Financial Times

• Government ready to take on Network Rail debt Philip Hammond, the transport secretary, said the government was willing to assume the £23.8bn debt of the company that runs Britain’s railways if it proves necessary to take greater control over it.
• Japan Inc shoots itself in foot on bullet trainThe group takes on distinctively Chinese characteristics under a Japanese exterior and learns a lesson on the risks for foreign companies doing business in China
• Cosco says stance on ports hits its growthThe Chinese group says that political opposition in the US is hindering the expansion of Cosco as US ports are largely off-limits to investment by state-owned shipping line
• Maersk returns to pre-crisis profit level The owner of the world's largest container shipping line expects this year's profits to exceed the $3.5bn it earned in 2008

The Guardian

• London Transport Museum's cycling illustration competition The London Transport Museum, which hosts one of the world's most important collections of graphic art, asked illustrators to draw the links between cycling in the capital, environment issues, health and fun. Fifty of the 1,000-plus entries are now on display at the museum, in London's Covent Garden, until 22 August
• Carbon emissions by local authority For the first time the carbon emissions of every local authority have been released. Find out how yours does
• What's wrong with Cardiff's buses? Someone once gave me a good motto: for every complaint find something to praise. To judge from the weary faces of bus representatives at St David's Hall yesterday, not everyone visiting the Bus Users UK surgery was quite so charitable.
• Green energy savings 'outweigh costs'Report by Greenpeace International and European Renewable Energy Council says savings would outweigh €2tn investmentThe European Union could obtain 92% of its energy from renewable sources such as wind and solar by 2050 while cutting carbon emissions by 95% compared with 1990, according to a report.An extra €2tn (£1.7tn) worth of investment would be needed by the middle of this century but that could easily be outweighed by €2.65tn of fuel cost savings, argues Greenpeace International and the European Renewable Energy Council.The report, Energy (R)evolution: Towards a fully renewable ene...

The Herald

• Minister hints at rail fares rise next yearTransport Secretary Philip Hammond gave another broad hint that rail passengers could face big fare rises next year.
• Ramblers call for car ban on Cairn GormSkiers and walkers should no longer be allowed to drive half way up Cairn Gorm to get to the funicular railway™s base station, a charity has claimed.
• Green case for £300m rail link to Borders ˜is overstated™The environmental benefits of one of the Scottish Government™s biggest rail projects have been dramatically overstated by ignoring the impact on housing growth in the Borders, transport experts have claimed.

The Scotsman

• Speed camera fines 'at £65m a year'Fixed penalty fines raised by speed camera partnership schemes have reached more than £65 million a year, according to figures from the TaxPayers' Alliance and the Drivers
• Commuter station closed due to fireOne of London's busiest railways stations has been closed and 2,000 commuters evacuated after a fire broke out.

The Telegraph

• Aviation taxes in danger of pricing people out of flying, says Willie Walsh Millions of people will not be able to afford to fly unless the Government stops hiking aviation taxes, the chief executive of British Airways has warned.
• Failure to invest in London transport will damage UK economy, Boris Johnson warns Boris Johnson has urged the Government to protect investment in London's transport infrastructure or endanger the UK economy.
• Crossrail's £16bn funding in fresh doubt Whitehall funding for the £16n Crossrail scheme in doubt as Transport Secretary Philip Hammond admits it may have to be scaled back.
• Thousands of rail passengers stranded as 'fire' report closes high speed rail link Thousands of train passengers suffered travel misery after reports of a fire in a tunnel closed Britain's only high speed rail link.

Birmingham Mail

• Birmingham gets electric smart cars on test THE first of the second generation smartfortwo electric cars have taken to the roads of Birmingham as part of the UK’s biggest electric vehicle trials.

Liverpool Echo

• Aeroplane named after comedian Ken Dodd at Liverpool’s John Lennon Airport THE sky’s the limit for one of Liverpool’s most famous sons after a plane was named after him.

Metro

• Commuter station closed due to fireOne of London's busiest railways stations has been closed and 2,000 commuters evacuated after a fire broke out.
• Speed camera fines 'at £65m a year'Fixed penalty fines raised by speed camera partnership schemes have reached more than £65 million a year, according to figures from the TaxPayers' Alliance and the Drivers' Alliance.

Sheffield Star

• Is this end of road for rural bus services? RURAL areas and housing estates in South Yorkshire could be left without any public transport under cost-cutting plans which could "decimate" already-dwindling bus ser

Sheffield Telegraph

• Stamp of approval for London Road planA LONG-running battle over plans for a new development in Sheffield was finally brought to a close after new Communities Secretary Eric Pickles intervened to give the scheme h
• NEWS ROUND-UP: New twist in rail station access sagaA ROW over access to Sheffield railway station footbridge was reignited this week when East Midlands Trains held a manual ticket check in the morning rush hour.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Passengers to go off the beaten trackPassengers on Britain™s highest mountain railway will be allowed access to the summit of Cairn Gorm for the first time during the summer months.

The York Press

• York rail firm Jarvis attacked at inquest into tragedy at Potters Bar A YORK rail firm sub-contracted to carry out track maintenance put forward a œpreposterous sabotage theory after seven people died when a train hit faulty points and derailed, a lawyer representing victims™ families told an inquest.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Leeds thieves take 120 tonnes of rail trackTHIEVES disguised as contractors have stolen more than 120 tonnes of rail track from a Leeds station.

Reading Evening Post

• First Person - Dealing with Reading's traffic problems Reading Borough Council’s lead member for transport and strategic planning cllr Richard Willis talks exclusively to the Reading Post explaining why these review plans are on the road

Other Regional Press

• Jaguar: 'New XJ outsold rivals in June' JAGUAR has revealed that its new Coventry-designed XJ car has outsold all its rivals in its first full month of sales.

Wall Street Journal

• EU Gets Complaint Vs Veolia Transport-Transdev Merger-DocPARIS (Dow Jones)--The European Commission has received a complaint over possible illegal state aid linked to the merger between the transportation arm of French utility group Veolia Environnement SA (VIE.FR) and Transdev, a transport subsidiary of French state-owned financial institution Caisse Des Depots et Consignations, according to a document seen by Dow Jones Newswires Thursday.

Other News Sources

• EU passenger rights extended to boats, not buses After air and rail, European citizens travelling by boat will be entitled to reimbursement and other compensation as of 2012 in case of cancellation or delays of more than 90 minutes, following a vote in the European Parliament yesterday (6 July).
• Mayor continues battle for Crossrail - Tells CBI "cutting project is a false economy" Mayor Boris Johnson has looked London's business leaders straight in the eye and told them to back Crossrail as he battles on to save the £16bn project.
• London transport needs sorting out for 2012, says IOC LONDON — The 2012 London Games are on track but organisers must sort out the city's transport problems to ensure athletes get to their events on time, Olympic chiefs said Thursday.
• DAF offers EEV on all enginesThe entire engine range from DAF Trucks is now available as EEV (Enhanced Environmentally friendly Vehicles), following the upgrade of the 6.7-litre PACCAR GR.
• FTA says new road mirrors will cut HGV cyclist deathsThe Freight Transport Association says it is convinced that the use of 'Trixi' safety mirrors at road junctions in London will improve cyclists' safety when they ride alongside HGVs.
• Anger over £1.3m speed fine cameraA speed camera in Dorset, which brings in £1.3 million a year in fines despite there being only one serious injury in 11 years, has provoked the anger of a campaign group. Updated on 08/07/2010 09:56:41. © RAC breakdown cover and car insurance.
• Infra-red cameras may boost safetyA German research firm has created infra-red cameras that it claims can make driving at night safer. Updated on 08/07/2010 13:29:36. © RAC breakdown cover and car insurance.
• Contractor blamed for Cambridgeshire's busway woesAn œincreasingly intransigent contractor is being blamed by Cambridgeshire CC for the lengthy delay to the opening of the world™s longest dedicated busway.
• Vital Broads swing bridge is repairedA failed swing bridge which had been restricting boating on the southern broads has been repaired.
• Crossrail looks to supply chain as it pledges to use CompeteForCrossrail will be looking to engage more with second and third-tier contractors as procurement gathers pace on the £15.9 billion project.
• MSP’s fury over airport drop off fees As BAA continues with its plans to introduce a £1 drop off fee for people arriving by car at Edinburgh Airport, a Scottish MP has launched a campaign against the decision.
• HRG to trial mobile travel technologyHogg Robinson Group (HRG) has announced a technology partnership with Sabre to trial its mobile application Tripcase. HRG, a global travel management company (TMC), is trialling the mobile technology with a number of clients in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia.
• Solar plane completes first 24-hour flight A solar-powered plane has flown for more than 24 hours, using only the sun's energy.