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

Wednesday, 01 September 2010

Cogitamus

• Cogitamus praised in new account of Heathrow campaignThe Cogitamus team is praised in a new book entitled “Victory Against All The Odds: The story of how the campaign to stop a third ...

BBC News

• Private toll roads 'no solution'Private toll roads are not a cost-effective answer to traffic problems, the government is warned by transport campaigners.
• Seatbelt action targets childrenA Day of Action by police is targeting parents who do not make their children wear seatbelts in cars.
• Ryanair pulls out of Belfast CityRyanair is pulling out of Belfast City Airport from 31 October, the airline has announced.
• Warning over Heathrow noiseResidents are warned runway repair work at Heathrow Airport will mean extra noise for some.
• Talks held to avert Tube strikesTalks aimed at averting strikes by thousands of London Underground workers in a row over jobs are to be held.

Financial Times

• Virgin Atlantic to launch £10m ad campaignThe UK airline is to nearly double its advertising spending this year on a drive focusing on 13 important markets due to start just weeks after it reported the worst losses in its 26-year history
• JAL considers setting up budget airlineJapanese carrier may use part of a $350bn capital injection from the government to create a low-cost arm as it seeks to rebuild its business after declaring bankruptcy in January

The Herald

• UK businesses hindered by poor roads and EU rules, says BPI chiefEuropean regulation and a failure to improve the road network is continuing to strangle business in the UK, with no improvement in sight under the Coalition Government, a leading company chairman has warned.

Belfast Telegraph

• Double-dip fears wane as consumer confidence liftsThe prospect of a double-dip recession may have been held off after consumer confidence in the British economy improved in August for the first time in five months, a research group said today.Related StoriesHydebank giving young offenders the chance to go straight ... up the ladder of successUlster Bank Business Achievers Awards: Bank on being the bestTime to stamp out cross-border mail delays, says Michelle GildernewHarvey Norman to sponsor Belfast Giants ice hockey teamHouse prices fall as experts point to ‘erratic’ signs
• Investment is the key to stability of economy The Bank of England should hold interest rates at 0.5% and consider pumping more money into the British economy to ensure a stable recovery, a leading business group said today. Related StoriesHydebank giving young offenders the chance to go straight ... up the ladder of successUlster Bank Business Achievers Awards: Bank on being the bestTime to stamp out cross-border mail delays, says Michelle GildernewHarvey Norman to sponsor Belfast Giants ice hockey teamHouse prices fall as experts point to ‘erratic’ signs
• Bombardier parent signs $62m deal for aircraft The Canadian parent company of Bombardier Belfast has sold a number of aircraft to Egypt in a multi-million dollar deal. Related StoriesHydebank giving young offenders the chance to go straight ... up the ladder of successUlster Bank Business Achievers Awards: Bank on being the bestTime to stamp out cross-border mail delays, says Michelle GildernewHarvey Norman to sponsor Belfast Giants ice hockey teamHouse prices fall as experts point to ‘erratic’ signs

Carlisle News & Star

• Cumbria transport grants could be cut Cumbria could be hit by a double whammy of transport funding cuts “ while other areas look set to benefit.

Daventry Express

• A361 to be closed on FridayTHE A361 between Daventry and Banbury will be closed to traffic while roadworks are carried out.

Washington Post

• Car sales and consumer spending up, but experts not convinced of trend At first blush, a government report released Monday appeared to offer hope to the nation's struggling auto industry: New-car sales in July fueled an uptick in consumer spending, which had been wheezing for three straight months.

Campaign for Better Transport

• Our report shows M6 Toll fails to deliver31 August: Councils across the UK are discussing toll roads as a way of delivering unaffordable bypasses, read more

Railnews

• News: Urgent talks planned to save through Scottish trains The Scottish government is trying to intervene following suggestions that daytime through trains between London and stations north of Edinburgh could be axed. Transport minister Stewart Stevenson is reported to be preparing to hold urgent talks with the DfT in London during September.

Transport for London

• London Underground welcomes RMT and TSSA leaderships' agreement to ACAS talksLondon Underground (LU) has today welcomed the agreement by the leaderships of the RMT and TSSA unions to meet them for talks at the conciliation service ACAS, to discuss how to avoid unnecessary strike action.

Green Miscellany

• Lynzi gets electric - tales from my journey on the electric bike | It™s a love hate relationship Things I love about riding my electric bikeread more

Other News Sources

• North Yorkshire truckstop plans delayedThe Secretary of State's decision to call a Public Inquiry into plans for a truckstop in North Yorkshire means drivers are facing a 12-mile detour to park until a decision is reached.
• Cheaper travel for ferry users extended A pilot scheme of cheaper ferry fares for all Western Isles routes to the mainland is to be extended for a further year. The Road Equivalent Tariff (RET) scheme has reduced ferry fares by up to half for all users and was introduced on routes in October 2008. Earlier this year, emerging evidence reported an increase in travel and local businesses are working with Highlands and Islands Enterprise to maximise the benefits of the scheme, which will now be extended until spring 2012. Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson said: read more
• Ryanair to Close Belfast City BaseRyanair today announced that it would close its Belfast City Airport base at the end of the current summer schedule on Sunday 31st October 2010, following the airports confirmation that the public inquiry into the promised runway extension will be further delayed, thereby delaying yet again the launch of Ryanair low fare flights from Belfast [...]
• Toll roads are no answer to congestion, says campaign groupThe M6 toll road has been œa costly failure according to a new report from Campaign for Better Transport (CBT).
• Network Rail completes Airdrie-Bathgate track layingNetwork Rail completed track laying on the new 24km stretch of railway between Airdrie and Bathgate last Friday, making it the longest domestic passenger railway with new stations to be built in Britain for a century.
• Minister: Iran, China to Sign Deal on Major Railway Project in SeptemberIranian Minister of Roads and Transportation Hamid Behbahani announced that Iran and China are schedule to sign a final deal in mid September on the construction of a multi-billion-dollar railway line linking Iran's western provinces.
• Study Touts Jobs from High-Speed Rail Project in CaliforniaA long-awaited statewide high-speed rail system could get Southern California on track toward the creation of hundreds of thousands of jobs and a $701million boost to payrolls, according to a study released Thursday.
• New Technology going live in North WestState-of-the-art motorway message signs have been switched on by the Highways Agency along the M6 in Cumbria and are being installed in Lancashire this week, providing earlier warning of incidents and bad weather to drivers using the motorway. The eight large, distinctive square overhead signs in Cumbria are the first motorway signs anywhere in the [...]
• New environmentally-friendly truck tyresThe introduction of its new environmentally-friendly truck tyre for the European market and an extended tyre service range means that Bridgestone will provide a particularly strong message for vehicle fleets at the Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung (International Automobile Exhibition) from the 23rd to 30th September 2010. The topics of environmental responsibility and economy have also been taken [...]
• RHA welcomes re-opening of road toll debateThe Road Haulage Association has welcomed the Campaign for Better Transport report, which has once again highlighted the issue of road tolls and the long held RHA view that neither public nor private road tolls are a guaranteed revenue earner. In 2009, road users contributed nearly £50 billion to Treasury coffers, said RHA Head of [...]
• Toll roads are no answer to congestion, says campaign groupThe M6 Toll in the West Midlands has been a costly failure and the Government should not rely on them to solve transport problems, according to a new report released today by Campaign for Better Transport. Earlier this year Transport Secretary Philip Hammond signalled an interest in using tolls to pay for future road building [...]
• Carriageway improvements for M40 near High WycombeA major scheme to improve the carriageway of the M40 between junction three and junction four near High Wycombe will begin next week. The scheme, which is due to start on 6 September 2010, will see the carriageway resurfaced, bridges waterproofed, and road studs installed to improve safety. Once this work is completed, the route [...]
• Travel advice for busy SeptemberDrivers across the North West are being urged to get into the habit of checking traffic conditions before they travel “ with a busy month ahead on the region™s events calendar. The Highways Agency says events at Manchester Airport, Blackpool and the Pope™s visits to Birmingham and Glasgow are all likely to put extra traffic [...]
• Council considers car lease schemeCOUNCIL bosses are considering leasing cars to its employees.
• Cyclists to be given freedom of the capital at Mayor of London's Sky Ride 31 August 2010 Boris Johnson will be joined by Sir Chris Hoy, Kelly Brook and tens of thousands of Londoners as the Mayor of London™s Sky Ride returns this summer Boris Johnson was joined by Kelly Brook today (31 August) to launch the Mayor of London™s Sky Ride and unveil changes to an extended 15km route that will allow cyclists to take in more of the capital™s most iconic sights than ever before on traffic-free roads. kellyboris2.jpg Yes ...
• Edinburgh Airport to get Jet2 service to BudapestEdinburgh Airport is to receive a new service to Budapest next summer courtesy of Jet2.From April 21st, the low-cost airline will be running three flights a week to the Hungarian city with fares starting from £29.99 one-way including taxes.Jet2 will also be increasing the number of services it operates between Edinburgh Airport and Majorca due to a rise in demand.Some 15 destinations are now available from the Scottish travel hub with Jet2, including the recently added cities of Geneva and Salzburg.Summer holiday destinations available from the airport include Faro in the Algarve, Ibiza,...

Other Subscription Services

• PPM rail cars lift Stourbridge line numbersMore than half a million passenger journeys have been made on the Stourbridge Junction-Stourbridge Town Parry People Mover shuttle since it launched in mid 2009.Two lightweight Class 139 rail cars...
• Network Rail works up rail reopening schemesWales is pushing ahead with a programme of rail enhancement schemes amid signs of a mounting discrepancy with England where non-essential transport schemes are facing cutbacks.A senior member of...
• Oldham loop line railway bridge dismantledA landmark bridge that formed part of the Oldham Loop line has been removed as part of the Metrolink phase 3a extension project.When it opens in 2011, the tram line will make use of the former rail...