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

Monday, 19 July 2010

BBC News

• Cycle superhighways launched in London London's first two cycle superhighways have been officially opened. The pilot lanes run from Merton, south London, to the City and from Barking in the east to Tower Gateway.
• David Cameron to launch Tories' 'big society' plan Mr Cameron's stated aim is to transfer power from the state to individuals by allowing communities and voluntary groups to help run public services.
• Railway tunnels handed to cycle charity Sustrans Two disused railway tunnels near Bath have been handed over to the cycling charity Sustrans.
• Work starts on park-and-ride at Bristol Parkway station Work is due to start on a new park-and-ride for South Gloucestershire.
• Loughborough schools given cash for bike shelters Three schools in Leicestershire have been given cash to encourage pupils to cycle to school.
• Tram man calls for political gutsThe man in charge of Edinburgh's tram project said leaders must have the courage to support public infrastructure projects.
• CAA helping Goldtrail travellersThe Civil Aviation Authority is working to bring home thousands of holidaymakers stranded in Turkey and Greece after the collapse of tour operator Goldtrail.
• Dreamliner lands at FarnboroughBoeing's flagship 787 Dreamliner lands at Farnborough for its first appearance at an international air show.

Financial Times

• Challenges stack up for diverse sector If the aerospace industry played by the same economic rules as other businesses, this month’s Farnborough air show would be a much more gloomy event.
• Hanjin prepares container shipping assaultOne of Asia's biggest shipping companies has said that a Spanish terminal it opened last week will be a
• Stagecoach chief eyes the road aheadThe transport company founder has emerged recently as a bargain-hunting investor in companies that are struggling because of the economic downturn
• Investors losing out,warns SouterInvestors are adopting an overcautious approach by failing to put money behind good companies that need equity because of the recession, said Brian Souter, chief executive of Stagecoach

The Guardian

• Historic 'railway on water' returns to Leeds for waterfront festival For the first time in nearly 30 years, the historic Tom Puddings will return to Leeds as part of this year's Leeds Waterfront Festival celebrations.

The Independent

• Spiralling premiums push rise in uninsured drivers Soaring car insurance premiums threaten to price thousands of young and low-income drivers out of the market and spark a sharp rise in the number of uninsured vehicles on the roads, say motoring industry experts.

The Scotsman

• Pay-as-you-drive scheme urged by MPA "truly radical" pay-as-you-drive scheme for Britain's motorways should be introduced to help the country switch to a low-carbon economy, a senior Tory MP has sai

The Telegraph

• Privatise roads to meet green pledges, MP tells Cameron David Cameron should privatise Britain’s motorways and introduce wholesale road tolling in order to meet his green pledges, according to a senior Tory MP.
• Rail commuters 'face 10pc rail fare hikes' under government spending plans The Department for Transport (DfT) wants to allow train operators to charge 10 per cent for season and saver tickets in a bid to reduce the government's £5 billion rail industry subsidy. Train companies are allowed to raise fares by one per cent above the level of next month's retail price index, the measure of inflation already at its highest since 1991.
• David Cameron launches his Big Society Local communities will get the power and money to run bus services, set up broadband internet networks and take over neighbourhood recycling schemes under a mass transfer of power from the state to the people, David Cameron will announce on Monday.
• Tim Yeo: More radical steps are needed to tackle climate change Not long before the election a post on Conservative Home suggested that “80-90%” of our party are “just not signed up” to the climate change agenda. This was backed up by a poll of candidates in the 250 most winnable seats, with candidates being asked to rank 19 different policy priorities in order of importance. Britain’s carbon footprint came bottom.
• The 'bewildering' council road signs Councils have been accused of wasting hundreds of thousands of pounds on new "welcome" roadsigns signs featuring slogans which range from the banal to the bewildering.
• Fears for road safety as lights switched off on motorway Motorway lights are being switched off at midnight across the country, raising safety concerns.

Daily Express

• Boeing wins £4.7bn order from EmiratesBOEING yesterday stole the thunder from arch-rival Airbus ahead of this week's Farnborough air show in Hampshire with a big order from Emirates.

Journal Live

• MP calls for study into car subsidy plan COALITION ministers considering whether to dump a £5,000 incentive for electric cars have failed to assess the regional impact of such a move, it has emerged.

London Evening Standard

• Pay-as-you-drive scheme urged by MPA

Manchester Evening News

• Travel firm collapse grounds 500 holidaymakers at Manchester Airport Hundreds of holidaymakers arrived at Manchester airport today to be told their flights were cancelled after the collapse of a tour operator.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Transport plan delays fuel fears for future Delays to transport projects in the north-east are jeopardising Scotland’s future economic prosperity, high-profile business leaders are warning.

The Shields Gazette

• Bus firm is on board with eco championSOUTH Tyneside transport staff are just the ticket when it comes to being environmentally friendly.

Rail-News.com

• New report shows sustainable transport is better for jobs than motor industryA new report, launched today (Monday July 19th) shows there are now over 450,000 jobs in sustainable transport industries in the UK. It also finds that investing in more sustainable transport modes (like rail) creates more direct and indirect jobs than investing in less sustainable modes (like the motor industry). With transport slated to take a big hit from public spending reductions the report highlights what could be at stake for jobs as transport budgets are re-shaped.

Railnews

• Rail 'creates more jobs than road transport' MORE jobs would be created by reducing car use and encouraging a switch to rail travel, according to a new report published today. The findings. commissioned by pteg, the Campaign for Better Transport and Sustrans from researchers Ekosgen, show that 100 direct rail jobs support 140 ’indirect and induced’ jobs, while 100 direct motor industry jobs support only 48 other jobs.

Other News Sources

• Eurotunnel Says It Won't Make 2010 Profit Without Fire Insurance Payments Groupe Eurotunnel SA, operator of the undersea rail link between England and France, said its first-half loss widened on higher financing costs and delayed insurance payouts linked to a 2008 tunnel fire.
• Lichfield MP calls for high-speed rail line plan to be scrapped Lichfield’s MP has urged the Government to scrap plans for the HS2 high-speed rail project.
• Swindon is hotspot for railway crimes SWINDON is a hotspot for rail crime involving young people, new figures from Network Rail suggest.
• Rail provider to increase number of train seats to the county's coast THE county's main rail provider has upped the number of seats on services to the Lincolnshire coast in a bid to drum up more trade.
• Transport secretary invited to see the A27 bottleneck at Arundel Transport secretary Philip Hammond has been invited to visit the A27 bottleneck at Arundel.
• Works to hit Tube and Overground services at weekend CHECK before you travel is the warning from transport chiefs as another weekend of disruption on the Tube network and London Overground services due to improvement works is revealed
• SNP MSP urges Government to back £300m Subway scheme The Scottish Government is being urged to back plans to modernise Glasgow’s Subway system. SNP MSP Bob Doris is calling on Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson to support a £300 million scheme by the Subway’s operator, Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT), to upgrade stations, track, trains and tunnels to secure its future.
• Pay-as-you-drive scheme urged by MPA "truly radical" pay-as-you-drive scheme for Britain's motorways should be introduced to help the country switch to a low-carbon economy, a senior Tory MP has said.

News from Europe

• Foreign firms steam into Poland's rail track market As much as zł.30 billion (mostly from EU funding) could be spent on railway track investment in Poland over the next three years.
• New transport minister of Czech sets competition in railway as top priorityCTK reported that Mr Vit Barta new transport minister of Czech wants to introduce competition in railway transport, reduce prices for the construction of motorways and improve safety on roads.