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

Friday, 23 July 2010

BBC News

• Train franchises to double under government proposals Train companies could be given standard franchises of 15 years, almost double the current length, the government has proposed.
• Germans hot and bothered by sizzling trains Germany's high-speed trains may be known by the acronym ICE but stifling heat has sparked a furore over Deutsche Bahn's national rail services.
• Airport keen on flights expansionCardiff Airport bosses hope to benefit from Flybe airline's £850m fleet expansion and be able to offer more routes.
• MSP welcomes review of rail lawsHighlands MSP welcomes a review of rail laws which could lead to safety improvements at open level crossings.
• UK car production up by a quarterUK car production increased sharply in June, industry figures show, rising 28.6% on the same month last year.
• Strike ballot of airport workersAirport workers are due to be balloted in a dispute which could cause serious disruption to travellers over the busy August period.

Financial Times

• Siemens raises stakes on ports upgrade Britain must improve its port infrastructure if planned investments in offshore wind power are to happen, the head of one of the biggest wind companies has warned. Peter Loscher, chief executive of Siemens, told the Financial Times that a proposed £60m overhaul of some ports, intended to make them ready for the heavy duty wind turbines under development, was vital if the company was to proceed with building an £80m manufacturing facility that could create hundreds of “green jobs”.

The Guardian

• Electric bikes: Comparing the Meerkat and Wisper prices Like the idea of cycling but can't face the physical exertion? Perhaps the electric bike is for you. But these two wheels are not cheap, so it's best to shop around, says Marc Lockley
• London's transport chief ready to defend capital spending Peter Hendy of Transport for London is lobbying against cuts to his £9bn budget

The Herald

• Upgrade delay to cause years of M8 miseryThousands of drivers on Scotland™s busiest road are facing years more congestion because of continual delays in upgrading it to motorway standard.

The Independent

• Has Boris started a cycling revolution? 'These new bikes are surprisingly nippy'

The Telegraph

• Unprofitable rail services could be axed under Government proposals Rail passengers could see fewer trains under Government proposals to overhaul the industry.
• World's tallest train set built at St Pancras stationFormer British servicemen have built the tallest model railway track in the world at London St Pancras station. At 10ft tall the train track is already attracting much interest from passengers since it was unveiled on Wednesday

Mail Online

• A heron gazing dolefully at an empty pond Some ministries try to save money while meeting genuine public need. Others are a ridiculous waste of cash. Yesterday, for instance, we had flat-palmed assertions from Transport ministers that they could not spend more on roads and railways. Public funds were too depleted.

Belfast Telegraph

• Bombardier upbeat after signing new Qantas dealAircraft manufacturer Bombardier Aerospace has said it is

Birmingham Post

• Urgent talks held to save Staffordshire train service from axe Urgent talks are being held in a desperate bid to save a “vital” train service in Staffordshire from being axed.

Bolton News

• Rail plans ˜a kick in the teeth™ PLANS for inflation-busting train fare increases have been labelled a œkick in the teeth for local commuters.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Passengers stranded as tram works cause city centre gridlock TRAM bosses have been forced to apologise after commuters were left stranded by an early morning gridlock which saw buses log-jammed across the city centre.

Liverpool Post

• Merseyrail Northern Line work due to finish on first morning of Mathew Street festival THOUSANDS of commuters will be forced to take the bus to work after it emerged that a city train line will close for five weeks.

London Evening Standard

• Shampoo on the line stops French trainsThousands of passengers in the south of France were delayed when a high-speed train hit a lorry carrying hair products. “The shampoo made the line slippery,” said rail firm SNCF.
• Rail firms may be stripped of franchise for bad performanceTrain companies will be set tough passenger satisfaction targets in longer rail franchises outlined by the Government today.
• Cycle hire firm is warned: No more delaysThe private firm implementing Boris Johnson’s cycle hire scheme was today warned that further delays in the £140 million project would be unacceptable
• Passenger uproar as Jubilee line misery ’will last all year’Passengers on the Jubilee line face dozens more weekend closures after transport bosses admitted upgrade work is unlikely to finish by Christmas

Manchester Evening News

• 5,000 tram fare dodgers caught in just 4 months More than 5,000 people were caught dodging fares on Metrolink in just over four months, new figures reveal. Almost half of them are being prosecuted through the courts while almost 1,200 of them were juveniles and were issued with warnings.
• Airport goes green (as long as you don't include the flights) Manchester Airport™s plans to become one of the greenest in Europe have got environmental campaigners seeing red. Bosses have unveiled the airport™s first sustainability report “ which sets out how it intends to become ˜carbon neutral™ by 2015 through initiatives like low energy light bulbs and recycling bins.

Metro

• £6,500 Kia Picanto voted UK's most reliable carThe £6,500 Kia Picanto from Korea has come out tops in a test to find Britain's most reliable car, with the Land Rover Discovery 3 footing the table of 26,000 cars.
• Fears train fares could soar by 10% growTransport Secretary Philip Hammond today refused to rule out a train ticket price hike of up to 10%.

Sheffield Telegraph

• Huge Sheffield highways project moves forwardSHEFFIELD has taken another step towards the mammoth job of repairing roads, street lighting and pavements across the city.

The York Press

• York transport chief claims traffic survey was ˜flawed™ YORK™S transport chief has claimed a survey of the city™s traffic network which ruled out congestion charging did not give residents enough choice.

Wales Online

• Wales-London electric link set to hit buffers, hints minister LABOUR should not have announced the £1bn electrification of the London-Swansea route in “cavalier” fashion before the general election, Transport Secretary Philip Hammond said last night.

Other Regional Press

• Gwent councils can bid for train station cash THREE Gwent councils can bid for a share of 21 million to improve their railway stations.

Wall Street Journal

• Alstom To Supply Trams Worth EUR58M In Tunisia PARIS (Dow Jones)--French power and transport engineering maker Alstom (ALO.FR) Wednesday said that it has won a contract worth EUR58 million for the completion and maintenance of Citadis trams for Tunisia's capital city.

Campaign for Better Transport

• Rail franchise consultation goes public22 July: The government has today published the consultation on rail franchising that we and many other organsations have been calling for, allowing members of the public to have their say on the way rail services are run. read more

Railnews

• Government to consider revised High Speed plan UPDATED proposals for a new 400km/h High Speed line from London to Birmingham—and how to extend it to Manchester and Leeds—will be presented to the new coalition government at the end of August. Meanwhile, a major public consultation on the revised plans will begin early in the New Year, Railnews has learned.

Aviation Industry

• Airlines bag big bucks from feesU.S. airlines are world-beaters when it comes to finding creative ways to boost baggage fees, onboard food sales and other revenues that aren't rolled into airfares, financial data show.
• Farnborough International Airshow news Virgin America latest airline to join buying binge Rolls pursues three-strand approach to future technology Embraer order book set to grow with Republic LOI
• JetBlue's second-quarter net income up 50%JetBlue Airways' second-quarter net income rose 50% year-over-year to $30 million from $20 million in the prior-year period.

Green Miscellany

• The electric bicycle that does 60mph, but costs more than a Porsche The competition between manufacturers to build the fastest electric bicycle can seem purely academic to cyclists in Britain where such machines must be registered as motorcycles in order to be road legal, but the recently-launched, German-designed ˜Blacktrail™ is a fascinating insight into the type of electric-assist bike that might one day be commonplace.read more

Other News Sources

• Care home planned for former car parkTRAIN maintenance firm Bombardier has pledged its commitment to the area after agreeing to sell part of its site to a care home operator.
• Hybrid buses take to Oxford’s streets as TfL publishes test data Bus operator Stagecoach has launched the first of a fleet of hybrid buses in Oxford.
• New cycle path links Weybridge and Brooklands A NEW pedestrian and cycle path from Weybridge railway station to Brooklands has been opened near Brooklands Community Park.
• Bus depot gets moving towards a greener future Wind turbine company, North Power Systems, has completed a wind turbine installation at a Transport for London bus garage. The Northwind 100 small scale wind turbine is now installed and generating wind power at the West Ham bus depot which currently houses some 320 buses.
• Rail minister announces franchise reform proposalsRail franchises would be longer, more flexible and provide better value for taxpayers, under proposals set out by Theresa Villiers, the UK government rail minister.
• Hundreds of unadopted roads will finally be maintained by Northamptonshire County CouncilHundreds of unadopted roads across Northampton could soon be cared for, as County Hall looks at a new strategy to deal with a backlog of neglected routes.
• Heathrow bats for British sportWhether passengers want to call it table tennis, ping-pong or wiff-waff, they™ll have an opportunity to pick up a bat and play the classic British sport at Heathrow this summer...
• Better routes to get more people on their bikesNEW and improved cycle routes will be set up in six areas in Woking this year to increase the number of people using bikes.
• New cycle path links Weybridge and Brooklands A NEW pedestrian and cycle path from Weybridge railway station to Brooklands has been opened near Brooklands Community Park.
• More scrutiny for Dover schemeUK SHIPPING minister Mike Penning has reportedly ordered the Dover Harbour Board to hold further public consultations on its scheme to privatise the port.
• Villiers launches rail franchise review The government intends to create
• Pressure for transport funding growsCalls to protect funding for key transport projects are intensifying with Parliament due to break next week and leave the industry in limbo through the summer.
• Speed cameras vote could have domino effectOther parts of England could follow suit after a vote by Oxfordshire County Council to cut funding for speed cameras - but Thames Valley's road safety chief warns Channel 4 News there are
• Baboo, the Geneva-based airline, improves its product offering To make their offer more attractive while maintaining the quality of their service and the originality of their product on board, Baboo is changing its product and will now offer two travel...

News from Europe

• Sofia, Berlin Mull Priority Joint ProjectsThe two capitals will exchange experts and specialists in the sectors of infrastructure, public transportation, and residential construction. Currently, the City Hall is developing a project to purchase 50 new trolleys and modernize the public transportation management system by the use of EUR 50 M from the EU “Regional Development” program.
• Poland set for large transport infrastructure projectsThe Centre for EU Transport Projects will sign six contracts for the support of transport projects through subsidies on Wednesday.