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

Wednesday, 22 September 2010

BBC News

• Funding 'limits' transport plans for Oxfordshire Oxfordshire's transport needs for the next 20 years have been set out at a county council meeting.
• MP positive after County Durham train-plant meeting [video]A team of business leaders and politicians have put the case for creating train-building jobs in County Durham to the government.
• Metrolink tram service suspendedMetrolink services are suspended on the Eccles line after a tram was derailed at Harbour City.
• Staff 'cannot give medical help'Rail firm staff gave no medical assistance to a man who collapsed because they were not allowed to, it emerges.
• Talks resume to avert Tube strikeTalks intended to stop another round of Tube strikes by London Underground (LU) staff are due to be held in London.
• Airlines 'to make $8.9bn profit'Air industry body Iata sharply upgrades its forecast for the sector and says airlines will make an $8.9bn profit this year.

Financial Times

• Hitachi stepping up efforts to refocus Hitachi, the Japanese technology group, is accelerating a shift away from consumer electronics and toward large-scale infrastructure such as railways and nuclear power as it considers spinning off its US-based computer hard drive business.
• Iata triples forecast for global airline profits Airlines are expected to make a net profit of $8.9bn this year amid an unexpectedly strong economic performance in the wake of the global financial crisis, says the International Air Transport Association
• Lufthansa expected to name new chiefChristoph Franz set to replace Wolfgang Mayrhuber at the top of one of Europe's largest airlines

The Guardian

• Beyond Frankfurt - the Rhine Valley The new high-speed rail link between London and Frankfurt will open up the Rhine and Mosel valleys to British holidaymakers. Simon Tisdall explores the region's castles, cuisine and its famous wines
• Rail progress for Britain and Europe [letters]The news that we might get high-speed trains from London to Frankfurt is welcome (Auf Wiedersehen jet: Frankfurt by train, 20 September) but why do we have to wait until 2013? Surely the summer of 2012 would be a much better time to introduce this for visitors to the Olympics? Your article seems to assume that the users of such a service would all be business people, heads down to their laptops. For me the advantage of the train is that the journey itself is worth experiencing.

The Herald

• Drivers of polluting cars to pay more for permitsEdinburgh is set to become the first council in Scotland to charge œgas guzzlers more to park.
• 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.

The Scotsman

• Hands off CalMac, warns firebrand Bob Crow Maritime union bosses fired a warning salvo at the Scottish Government last night to keep their hands off lifeline ferry services – or face possible strike action.

The Telegraph

• FirstGroup chief Sir Moir Lockhead to retire, ex-Tube boss Tim O'Toole to take over Sir Moir Lockhead is to retire chief executive of FirstGroup after 21 years and put former London Underground boss Tim O'Toole in the driving seat at the bus and train operator.
• Sandwiches banned from TfL boardroom to save cash Sandwiches have been banned from the boardroom of the organisation which runs London's transport system to save money.
• Cost of parking tickets set to soar The cost of a parking ticket is set to soar across the country as cash-strapped town halls put pressure on the Government to increase the amount they can raise in fines.
• Electric van fitted with 1960s spaceship alarm An electric van is being fitted with an array of sound effects, including the noise used for spaceships in 1960s science fiction films, to alert pedestrians.
• High speed 'Superbus' to be unveiled The prototype of a 155mph "Superbus" is to be unveiled in Germany by Delft University of Technology.

Mail Online

• London to Frankfurt by train for as little as £49 - train giant to spark price war with new high-speed route Western Europe's network of cities got one step closer for UK tourists yesterday with the announcement of plans by Deutsche Bahn (DB) for new services between London and the German city of Frankfurt.

ATOC

• Passenger Rail - the Way Forward - leaflet
• Focus railways more on needs of passengers -Proposals to make the railways more focussed on the needs of the passenger and to ensure value for money for the taxpayer are being set out today by train companies.

Network Rail

• TEMP STATION TRIUMPHS AT RAIL AWARDS
• APPRENTICES BEGIN THREE YEAR TRACK TO SUCCESS

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Bus stop gift from Metro helps care home residents with memories A new bus stop sign is taking residents at a Bradford care home on a trip down memory lane.

Liverpool Post

• Easyjet links Liverpool with French ski resort of Grenoble EASYJET has launched a new winter route from Liverpool John Lennon airport to Grenoble in south east France.

London Evening Standard

• 200mph train from London to Frankfurt arriving in 2013A high-speed train service between London and Frankfurt could start running in three years, it was revealed today.
• TfL boss bans free sandwiches for board meetingsTransport for London commissioner Peter Hendy bans free sandwiches in the latest money-saving measure at the cash-strapped organisation

Manchester Evening News

• Experts quell radiation fears over Manchester Airport's 'naked' scanners 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.
• Eccles Metrolink line shut as tram hits lampost in Salford Quays A tram on the Eccles line has crashed into a lamp post following a suspected points failure. About 40 people were on the service at the time of the incident, which happened just after the Harbour City stop at around 5.30pm today.

Metro

• Night ban on new drivers ˜a lifesaver™Banning newly-qualified drivers from night-time motoring, drinking any alcohol or carrying any of their peers could save up to 200 lives a year, researchers have claimed.

Northern Echo

• £660m vision that would help put region Back On Track Campaigners believe the InterCity Express Programme (IEP) is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for the North-East. Joe Willis looks at the case for train building to return to the birthplace of the railways.
• The time is right to bring train building back home - By Phil Wilson MP for Sedgefield THE link between the railways and County Durham is historic. In September 1825, Locomotion No 1 travelled along a railway from Shildon to Darlington only a few hundred metres from the proposed Hitachi factory, which I hope will build the next generation of trains.
• Amazon is just the job for Hitachi PATIENCE, perseverance and partnership played a key role in getting a global rail company to choose Newton Aycliffe as a preferred site to build nextgeneration trains.
• Hitachi - new train bid on the table HITACHI has tabled a new bid to build the next generation of InterCity trains with Newton Aycliffe still at its heart, the North-East delegation meeting the Transport Secretary learned today.

Nottingham Evening Post

• Campaigner claims victory in Sunday trains battle A CAMPAIGNER is claiming victory after it was announced that all Sunday trains on the Robin Hood line will stop at Bulwell from December 12.

Carlisle News & Star

• National award for team that built rail station after Cumbria floods The team which built Workington™s temporary railway station when last year™s floods devastated the town has won a top award in the National Rail Awards.

Chester Standard

• Cyclists to be given advice on how to reduce bicycle theftCYCLISTS will have a chance to learn how to stop themselves from becoming victims of theft at an event next week.

Other Regional Press

• Scots flights boostRegional airline Flybe is planning to boost the number of direct flights it offers from Scotland to continental Europe.
• New hope for return of off-peak rail services to Nuneaton TRAIN travellers in Nuneaton have had their hopes lifted that off-peak services could be restored.

Railnews

• News: ATOC sets out plans for radical Network Rail reforms Train operators have made a determined bid to take control of the rail network. The Association of Train Operating Companies is proposing a progressive breakup and privatisation of Network Rail, accompanied by a transfer of many responsibilities, including train regulation, to private sector train operators.

Green Miscellany

• Car Free Day Tomorrow I have three places I need to be tomorrow – I’ll be walking to all of them.read more

Other News Sources

• Wheels not coming off new trams Metrolink bosses deny that Oldham’s new £2 million trams are being damaged by Greater Manchester’s old railway lines before they reach the borough next year.
• Last railway ticket office changes finalisOPENING hours at Farncombe railway station’s ticket office are being slashed, but the threat of lunchtime closing at Virginia Water has been lifted following a review by Transport Secretary Philip Hammond.
• Stafford’s station car park set to open The new three-storey car park at Stafford Railway Station is expected to be open within the next two to three weeks.
• Lockhead hands over to O'Toole at FirstGroup Moir Lockhead, the veteran chief executive of FirstGroup, is to retire next March after twenty one years in charge of the bus and train group. His replacement will be his current deputy Tim O'Toole, previously the managing director of London Underground and before that president and chief executive of US rail network operator Consolidated Rail
• Campaigners to have their say on HS2 CAMPAIGNERS are expected to be out in force in Brackley tomorrow, Wednesday to make their voice heard over the potential impact of the HS2 rail link plans.
• Unite urges Transport Secretary to support Hitachi's high speed train bid Unite regional secretary, Davey Hall along with a delegation from the Chamber Commerce and Durham County Council will meet with Phillip Hammond, Secretary of State for Transport today (Tuesday, 21 September) to urge the government to support Hitachi's bid for the £7.5bn Intercity Express Programme (IEP).
• Last railway ticket office changes finalised OPENING hours at Farncombe railway station’s ticket office are being slashed, but the threat of lunchtime closing at Virginia Water has been lifted following a review by Transport Secretary Philip Hammond.
• Norbert Dentressangle and Caledonian Logistics invest in fleets Norbert Dentressange has invested in specialist service vehicles; Palletways member, Caledonian Logistics, has expanded and upgraded its fleet. read more
• Veolia launches UK's largest fleet of gas-fuelled vehicles The country's largest fleet of biomethane gas powered waste collection trucks has gone into service this morning (September 21).
• Air France, KLM and their partners successfully complete migration to Amadeus' Altea Inventory SystemAir France and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, one of the world's largest airline groups flying more than 71 million passengers annually, and Amadeus, a leading travel technology partner and...