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

Wednesday, 28 July 2010

BBC News

• Transport Committee [video]The Transport Secretary Philip Hammond confirmed the coalition's opposition to a third runway at Heathrow Airport whilst giving evidence to the Transport Committee on 26 July.
• Lara Croft Way opens in Derby A road named after the heroine of the Tomb Raider video games has opened in Derby.
• MP says Kemble to Swindon railway upgrade is in doubt Cheltenham MP Martin Horwood has said the Kemble to Swindon railway line upgrade is in doubt, after he met Transport Minister Theresa Villiers.
• Review of special needs transport charges in Northants Charges for post-16 school transport for youngsters with special educational needs in Northants have been deferred after complaints from parents.
• Electric car subsidy spared cuts by government Motorists who buy an electric plug-in car from January next year will get a grant worth up to £5,000 from the government.
• Review of Metrolink scooter banTransport chiefs in Greater Manchester review their ban on disabled people taking their electric mobility scooters onto trams.
• Electric car subsidy to be savedMotorists who buy an electric plug-in car from January next year will get a grant worth up to £5,000 from the government.

Financial Times

• EU regulators clear United-Continental tie-upThe European Commission has given an unconditional green light to the proposed merger of the US carriers, which if approved by others including the Department of Justice in the US will create the world's largest airline

The Telegraph

• Passengers could face new flight levy to cover airline failures Airline passengers could face a £1 levy on plane tickets to fund a scheme to get holidaymakers home when a carrier collapses.

Mail Online

• RICHARD LITTLEJOHN: End of the war on motorists? You'll be luckyThousands of speed cameras may be decommissioned because of government spending cuts. Safety campaigners are already predicting the move will lead to carnage.

The Sun

• Electric vehicles' £5k Govt subsidy DRIVERS could get money from Govt if they buy an eco-friendly car, The Sun can reveal

Birmingham Mail

• Birmingham business to be invited to apply for 250mph rail line compensation Transport Secretary Philip Hammond announced the government’s scheme to compensate homeowners affected by high speed rail plans will be extended to include commercial properties.

Journal Live

• North East councils face premium for road salt COUNCILS face paying a premium to access a national salt stockpile to cope with another bad winter - although a regional supply could be established.

Liverpool Post

• Transport cash in Merseyside likely to be spent on small road improvements MOST of the transport department’s shrivelling budget is likely to be spent on small road improvements, MPs were told yesterday.

London Evening Standard

• Minister fails to give guarantee on Crossrail extensionsFEARS grew today that the eastern and western extensions of Crossrail may be delayed. Transport Secretary Philip Hammond refused to give MPs a guarantee the £16 billion line will be completed as planned by 2017. He told the Commons transport committee: "The Government's objective is to deliver the whole of the Crossrail route network.

Manchester Evening News

• Poetry in motion as buses get new lines Buses and train stations across Manchester will be used to show work by the country™s top poets. The poster campaign is the idea of students taught by poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy at Manchester Metropolitan University.
• Bosses look at U-turn on tram scooter ban Transport chiefs have agreed to rethink their ban on disabled people taking electric scooters on trams. Dozens of passengers have complained about the policy and eight MPs have signed a House of Commons motion calling for change. Now the M.E.N can reveal the ban is being reviewed.

Nottingham Evening Post

• Councils seek assurances over extra Midland Main Line funding THE city and county councils have written to the Government to reiterate a request for an extra £27 million for improvements to Midland Main Line. A total of £69 million has already been approved to upgrade the rail line but the extra money is needed to cut the journey time to London by train to 90 minutes.
• County council accused of trying to 'destroy' tram extension CAMPAIGNERS have accused Notts County Council of holding up the extension to Nottingham's tram system by failing to give up a strip of land needed for the plans.

The News (Portsmouth)

• Fareham to Gosport bus link proposal set for Supreme Court appealA campaigner fighting against a controversial bus link has won the right to take her case to the highest court in the land.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Transport show that takes you back in timeAn exhibition of photographs opening in Inverness next week will give visitors a glimpse of the different forms of transport used in the Highlands over the past 100 years.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Transport: Increase in injuries to rail passengersThe annual number of injuries to passengers using the railways and the Tube is on the rise, official figures showed today.

Bucks Free Press

• High Speed 2 rail compensation scheme confirmed RESIDENTS whose homes would be affected by plans for a new high speed rail route will be able to apply for compensation, the Government confirmed this week.

Other Regional Press

• Maniac drivers caught on cameraSee is the terrifying moment a devil-may-care driver risked his life at a level crossing.
• Swanage one step closer to rail reconnection COUNTY officials have made history by agreeing in principle to help fund the £3million needed to reconnect Swanage to the mainline rail network.

Campaign for Better Transport

• We need to talk about toll roads27 July - Councils have developed an obsession with replacing failed road schemes with privately-funded tolled roads. Let's hope this love affair is swift and fleeting. read more

Aviation Industry

• Lobbying lands fairer air dealsREGIONAL INCENTIVES: Around 5300 Wellingtonians who regularly fly to regional airports could benefit from Air NZ's loyalty scheme.
• Air France-KLM returns to profitEurope's biggest airline group reported a net profit in its fiscal first quarter of euro736 million compared with a net loss of euro426 million in the same period a year ago.
• Aircraft & Engines Jetscape leased one E-175LR to Royal Jordanian for eight years beginning in October. Curtiss-Wright Controls said it will provide the flap track assembly for the outboard and inboard flap system on 737-800s under a contract with Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The assemblies will be manufactured at Curtiss-Wright's facility in Shelby, N.C. beginning in 2012.
• FAA proposes $230,000 safety penalty against Continental
• Vueling Airlines posts €13.5 million profit in second quarter Vueling Airlines reported second quarter net income of €13.5 million ($17.5 million), a more than fourfold increase over a €3 million profit in the year-ago quarter, when it was still a standalone company. Vueling, which merged with Clickair last year, attributed the improved net profit in to its "cost reduction program and the capture of merger synergies." The LCC said the negative EBIT impact of April's European airspace closures was “in excess” of €1 million.
• Unite threatens legal action against BA over staff travel The Unite union representing British Airways flight attendants confirmed it will take BA to court over its decision to remove travel concessions from cabin crew who took part in the past strike actions. “After careful consideration, Unite believes that management’s action breaches European human rights legislation. It also believes that this sanction, which has impeded the resolution of the long-running dispute, was taken without proper disciplinary procedures being followed,” it said. 
• United, Continental name merged management team, wins EC approvalUnited Airlines and Continental Airlines yesterday announced the executive management team for the merged carrier and it will not include UA President John Tague or UA CFO Kathryn Mikells.
• Singapore Airlines CEO to step down Singapore Airlines CEO Chew Choon Seng has signaled that he will step down soon, according to a Bloomberg report yesterday. “It’s at the mercy of the board, but I am getting on in years,” Chew, who turned 64 yesterday, told Bloomberg after a shareholders' meeting in Singapore. "I should move on.”
• Air Berlin CEO calls joining oneworld ˜next logical step™ Following Air Berlin™s disclosure Monday that it intends to join oneworld, CEO Joachim Hunold said yesterday the move is
• Air France KLM reports €736 million first-quarter profitBoosted by a €1.03 billion capital gain from the sale of its 23.1% stake in Amadeus, Air France KLM Group posted a net profit of €736 million ($953 million) for its fiscal first quarter ended June 30, reversed from a €426 million deficit in the year-ago period.

Other News Sources

• Hammond: flight-only "one of the options" for Atol reformBringing flight-only sales under the Atol consumer protection scheme is one of the options being considered by the government.
• RMT demands Government inquiry into unrecorded rail accidentsRAIL UNION RMT today demanded an urgent Government investigation into evidence obtained by respected trade magazine RAIL that hundreds of serious accidents have not been reported sparking union fears that a culture of non-recording of incidents is rife at Network Rail and is directly linked to the senior management bonus culture. The evidence was obtained by RAIL in an in-depth interview with Director of Rail Safety Ian Prosser.

News from Europe

• EC stepping up pressure EUROPE: Last month the European Commission announced it was referring 13 member states to the European Court of Justice for ’failing to correctly implement various parts of the basic EU legislation’ in the First Railway Package, aimed at opening up the market for competition.
• Higher funding agreed SWITZERLAND: The Federal Transport Ministry has accepted that a higher level of funding will be needed to maintain the intensively-used national network in good condition.
• European doubts on full body scanners Nearly half (45%) of European travel buyers said their travellers were "concerned" about full body scanners now being installed in airports around the world, according to an Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) survey.