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

Tuesday, 21 September 2010

BBC News

• County Durham train plant bid put to government A team of business leaders and politicians are set to put the case for creating train-building jobs in County Durham to the government later.
• Road salt stock up before winterStock levels of road salt in Powys are set to rise by 30% to 20,000 tonnes after last winter's big freeze.
• Commuting 'can damage health'A group of scientists has been comparing the amount stress involved in bus and car travel and it's come up with some surprising results.
• Restrictions on new drivers urgedNewly qualified young drivers should be banned from night-time motoring as part of efforts to reduce road deaths and injuries, researchers say.
• Remote Scots to use eco quad bikeAn electric quad bike that is recharged using a hydro scheme is being used by in one of the remotest areas of Scotland.
• 'Ambitious' bus ticket giveawayFirst Group chief executive Sir Moir Lockhead explains why the UK's three biggest bus companies are giving away free tickets
• Flybe cruises through recessionSpecialist regional airline Flybe reports £5.7m annual profits, meaning it stayed in profit throughout the recession.
• Nissan increases China productionJapanese carmaker Nissan increases its vehicle production target for China over the next couple of years.

Financial Times

• High-speed commuter trains: Packing in new passengers At Hitachi Europe’s maintenance depot in Ashford, in the south-eastern English county of Kent, the trains sit on tracks well above the sunken floor, giving excellent, all-round access to the vehicles’ undersides.
• Tube under fire over high upgrade costs The organisation that runs London's underground system has failed to tackle persistently high costs in its line upgrade programme despite promising to take action
• Flybe warns on switch to aircraft levyThe UK's biggest domestic carrier says the proposed change could cripple regional air services, adding pressure to Heathrow and Gatwick and undermining the government's pledge to boost local airports
• Budget airlines race to meet demand in AsiaAsia's V-shaped recovery from the global financial crisis has triggered a boom among budget airlines in the region as carriers position to meet forecasts for rising traffic

The Herald

• Lack of salt could result in chaos on roads this winterScottish motorists could face further chaos on the roads this winter if severe low temperatures are encountered after an official report warned that councils are struggling to replenish their salt levels.
• Flybe aims to increase direct links to EuropeRegional airline Flybe is planning to boost the number of direct flights it offers from Scotland to continental Europe, which could include a Glasgow to Paris route from as early as next summer.

Mail Online

• Huhne says yes to £22bn green tax: Petrol could soar under LibDem minister's drive Energy Secretary Chris Huhne yesterday backed plans for an extra £22billion in green taxes – in a move which could send petrol prices soaring.

The Mirror

• Bus giants give away a million tickets BUS companies are giving away a million free tickets in a bid to cut traffic congestion that costs the economy £11 billion a year.
• Flybe ready to take off with overseas takeover FLYBE is eyeing rival European airlines despite taking a £12million hit in this year’s ash cloud chaos.
• Restrictions on new drivers urged Banning newly qualified young motorists from driving at night, drinking alcohol and carrying passengers of a similar age would save 200 lives a year and result in 1,700 fewer injuries, research suggests.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Riding ban on Saltaire bridge not lifted Bikers will still have to dismount on a bridge after councillors refused to rubber stamp an order allowing cycling over it.

Liverpool Post

• 15,000 visit Wirral Festival of Transport A DISTINCT air of nostalgia graced Birkenhead Park this weekend for the third Festival of Transport.
• KLM keeps four daily Liverpool flights as passenger growth doubles DUTCH airline KLM has revealed it has doubled passenger numbers on its daily route between Liverpool John Lennon airport and Schiphol – and said it will maintain its four daily flights on the service throughout the traditionally quieter winter period.

Manchester Evening News

• Metrolink trams pull in to MediaCityUK station for first time The first trams arrived at the new Metrolink station at MediaCityUK this morning as the new service went into operation.
• Manchester Airport's Terminal one evacuated... again A section of Manchester Airport had to be evacuated after a fire alarm was accidentally set off. Passengers and staff had to leave a zone of Terminal One for 20 minutes shortly after 6pm tonight while officials dealt with the incident.
• Experts quell fears over airport's naked scanner radiation Radiation from full-body scanners at Manchester Airport should NOT be a ˜barrier™ to air travel, says a new report. Scientists from the Health Protection Agency have been testing the controversial X-ray device amid concerns it could pose a threat to passengers™ health.

Metro

• 'Brits? They™re not fit to work' blasts Dutch bossA ferry boss landed himself in hot water when he described Britons wanting jobs on his ships as ˜fat and covered in tattoos™.

Northern Echo

• An important day for the North-East I do not interfere with the format of The Northern Echo without good reason. But tomorrow's edition is a special paper to mark an important day for the North-East. A delegation of business leaders and politicians will travel to London tomorrow to present the case for bringing train-building back to the home of the railways.
• Rail platform for a bold future The IEP – or InterCity Express Programme, to give it its full title – has the potential to bring hundreds of millions of pounds to the North- East and create thousands of jobs.
• Fill our field of dreams with jobsWELCOME to our Back on Track supplement. Copies of it are today going down to the House of Commons with a delegation from the North-East to impress upon Transport Secretary Philip Hammond the benefits of bringing train building back to the North-East, the birthplace of the railways.

The York Press

• Plan passed to remodel Holgate junction to end York Station ’bottleneck’ NEW signals which are aimed at easing the pressure on a busy York railway junction have been given the green light by planners.

Yorkshire Post

• High-speed London rail link 'could give £62bn boost to Yorkshire' A HIGH-speed London rail connection to Leeds and Sheffield would boost the region's economy by more than £62bn and should be built as soon as possible, according to a new report.

Other Regional Press

• Work to start on one of Huddersfield's worst roads today ONE of the worst roads in Huddersfield is to undergo a massive revamp.

Campaign for Better Transport

• Cut road schemes, not welfare20 September: The Confederation of British Industry has proposed slashing welfare to fund road (and rail) schemes. Have they lost their marbles? read more
• MPs support more freight being carried on the railwaysA parliamentary motion recognising the importance of getting freight off the roads and onto the railway has already attracted great cross-party support from MPs “ but we need your help to make the most impact. read more

Rail-News.com

• Car users urged to take the trainFor next Wednesday’s Town Without My Car Day Arriva Trains Wales are asking commuters, who would normally use their car, to take the train instead.
• Better access for Alton passengersPassengers using Alton station are benefitting from better access and facilities, following the completion of a £150,000 joint improvement scheme by South West Trains working in partnership with the Department for Transport, East Hampshire District Council and Hampshire County Council.
• UK and Japanese prime ministers in talks over train orderDavid Cameron and Naoto Kan, Japan’s prime minister, have had discussions regarding the IEP project, with the Japanese prime minister urging Mr Cameron to help save the £7.5 bn contract that will see a train building plant constructed in the UK.

Railnews

• Transport secretary hears fresh plea to keep IEP MOVES to save the £7.5 billion Intercity Express Programme are being stepped up, as a delegation of business leaders from the north east of England meets the transport secretary Philip Hammond to urge him not only to continue the project, but to place the Hitachi assembly plant in their region.
• Japanese PM trying to save Intercity Express THE prime minister of Japan is reported to be making a last-ditch attempt to retrieve the £7.5 billion Intercity Express Programme, by urging David Cameron to intervene.

Aviation Industry

• Qantas passengers, crew sue manufacturers over 2008 pitch-down events More than 70 passengers and crew who were aboard a Qantas A330 that suffered air data inertial reference unit spikes in October 2008 are suing Airbus and Northrop Grumman over the incident (ATW Daily News, March 9, 2009).
• Flybe plans European expansionFlybe announced a profit before tax of £6.8 million for the financial year ended March 31, as it confirms plans for expansion in continental Europe.read more

Other News Sources

• Armchair spotters train lens on rail line With images of anorak-clad enthusiasts stood on windy platforms, trainspotting has never been regarded as the coolest of pastimes.
• Bombardier Transportation Selects Wind River Platforms for Safety Critical Certified Display on London UndergroundWind River, a world leader in embedded and mobile software, today announced that leading train manufacturer Bombardier Transportation has selected Wind River VxWorks 61508 Platform and Wind River Linux for its latest standards-based HMI410 Train Information System.
• Final Leg Of London Underground To Be Completed Transport for London (TfL) and Network Rail (NR) have announced the final phases of re-signalling work on the London Overground network.
• Boris Johnson resurrects mobile phone plan for London Underground London mayor Boris Johnson has announced plans to install a mobile phone signal in the capital's underground train network in time for the 2012 Olympic Games.
• Osborne urged not to cut Crossrail GEORGE Osborne must protect Crossrail and other vital infrastructure projects in the government spending review, industry chiefs urged today.
• Minister To Walk High Speed Rail's Proposed Route In Northamptonshire Philip Hammond MP, Secretary of State for Transport, will on the 22nd September 2010 be walking the route with engineers.
• Park-and-ride scheme plans on hold Plans for a park-and-ride scheme serving Hereford have been put on hold by councillors after cuts in the local transport budget.
• Ryder Cup to have lasting transport legacyThe Welsh Assembly Government has invested over £9.5m to improve the local road infrastructure around Newport and improve access to the event.
• Security advice on offer for cyclists at Chester Station tomorrow OFFICERS from the Chester Neighbourhood Policing Team are taking action after a number of cycle thefts at the city’s railway station.
• High speed train service wins national award The high speed train service to St Pancras has been recognised at the National Rail Awards.
• MP calls for rail contract to go to Bombardier at Crewe EDWARD Timpson is urging the Government to re-think plans to give a major rail contract to a Japanese company and instead give the work to Crewe-based Bombardier.
• Edward Timpson MP Backs Crewe's Bombardier Plant In Parliament CREWE and Nantwich MP Edward Timpson spoke in Parliament last week about railways and the Inter-city Express Programme (IEP).
• Pothole hell residents in 'worst road' claim A ROAD that has been badly deteriorating for more than five years is being ignored by the county council, despite having at least 50 potholes and gullies running along it, residents have claimed.
• Birmingham Airport hotels 'offer wide range of options'Birmingham Airport hotels offer a wide range of styles and prices, it has been claimed.Writing for News Broadcast website, Rebecca Jackson said that Birmingham Airport is one of the UK's largest, making it the starting point for many tourists with departures to and arrivals from multiple destinations around the world.She explained that there has been an increase in people using airport hotels as way of ensuring a "timely arrival and a stress free departure"."There are a number of Birmingham Airport hotel options available to the travelling consumer or business person," ...
• Bristol Airport expansion gets green lightBristol Airport is set for a multi-million pound expansion after the government decided not to block the planning application approved by the local council.Communities and local government minister Eric Pickles has chosen not to call in the £150 million project after it had previously been approved by North Somerset Council.The decision endorses the recommendation of the council's planning officials and is a "vote of confidence" in the local authority's consultation process, Bristol Airport said in a statement.It is though the project will double the size of the airport...
• Happy birthday Dublinbikes Dublin's much-praised public bike hire scheme - Dublinbikes - celebrated a successful first year last week.
• Reliance on green transport ''not necessary" A transport expert has claimed that relying too much on sustainable methods of travelling defeats the object of living in the city.

News from Europe

• Deutsche Bahn considers UK rail link German railway operator Deutsche Bahn has confirmed it will test its high-speed ICE-3 train in the Channel Tunnel as it considers expanding its European services.
• Commission sets out measures to improve rail services The European Commission has adopted a proposal to provide better rail services for passenger and freight users by: increasing competition on the railway market; strengthening the power of national regulators; and improving the framework for investment in rail.