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

Friday, 24 September 2010

BBC News

• Charity calls for London bike hire scheme helmets A charity has called for bike helmets to be included in London's cycle hire scheme after it emerged six people had been injured since it began.
• Colchester bus station kiosks to get creative makeover Inventive uses for two disused kiosks at Colchester bus station are being sought for a creative arts project.
• Disused railway bridges in Luton to be demolished Six disused railway bridges in Luton and Dunstable are about to be removed.
• Aldwych Tube station tours recreate the Blitz [video]Aldwych underground station has reopened to the public, recreating its WWII use as a shelter from the Blitz.
• Council votes to abolish speed cameras in Norfolk Councillors have voted to get rid of speed cameras in Norfolk in a bid to save £1m.
• Can we afford new high speed north-south rail line? [video]Hilary Wharf, who campaigns against the planned the HS2 line, explains why she thinks the business case for it does not stack up before Transport Secretary Philip Hammond explains why he backs the project.
• Public meetings over TrawsCambria buses plan A series of public meetings allowing people a greater say in how the TrawsCambria bus service is run have started in Ceredigion.
• Plane diverted over smoke smellPilots who smelt smoke in the cockpit of a plane carrying 231 passengers are forced to land at Manchester Airport.
• Avis ups bid for Dollar ThriftyCar hire company Avis Hertz ups the ante against rival Hertz in the billion-dollar bidding war for Dollar Thrifty.
• Carmakers in migrant cap warningThe government's planned cap on migrant numbers could hurt the UK's car manufacturers, the industry's trade body warns.

Department for Transport

• Transport StatisticsThe Department for Transport has today published the following Transport Statistics:

Financial Times

• Train protest threatens to derail CDU Stuttgart, one of Germany’s richest cities, is roused each morning by two steel-clawed diggers gouging ever more stonework from the flank of its imposing railway station. Trucks edge out of a double fence and cart off 90-year-old rubble through lines of police and past a sign tied to a tree: “Mappus resign”.
• BA merger with Iberia a step closerBritish Airways takes a significant step towards sealing its merger with Iberia after the Spanish airline approved BA's plan to tackle its multibillion-pound pension deficit

The Guardian

• Virgin's can-do driver stays on private track Tony Collins, chief executive of Virgin Trains, wants innovation to transform the railways, especially if it is driven by the private sector
• Blitz tour offers glimpse of Aldwych tube station as bomb shelter Guided trip will allow people to see station, closed for last 16 years, where thousands took shelter from German bombs

The Herald

• Car-free zone to encourage youngsters to walk to schoolScotland™s first vehicle exclusion zone for schools is to be pioneered in Glasgow to help reduce traffic accidents and encourage children to walk.
• Rail chiefs accused over fatal crossingRail managers did not properly understand the risks posed by a level crossing where three people died after a train hit their car and had failed to act on safety recommendations, accident investigators have found.

The Independent

• 70 years on, Aldwych station offers a glimpse of the Blitz One of the lost and reputedly haunted stations of the London Underground reopens briefly today to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Blitz.

The Telegraph

• Fake Twitter bus account confuses passengers Pranksters who created a Twitter account posing as a bus company have confused passengers by announcing fake cancellations and warning that overweight travellers would be charged double.
• BA merger closer after Iberia backs pension plan A merger between Iberia and British Airways moved a step closer after the Spanish carrier said it had decided not to exercise its right to cancel the deal over BA's pension deficit.
• First Group - the Lockhead years An era in British transport is drawing to a close with the retirement of Sir Moir Lockhead as chief executive of FirstGroup – the bus and rail company he built over 21 years. Taking over will be former London Underground boss Tim O'Toole.
• UK car production jumps by 37.7pc Car production rose in the UK by 37.3pc in August, delivering a boost to the economy after a surprise fall the previous month.
• Bmi to take on British Airways with daily flights to Libya Bmi is poised to launch a daily service to Libya in a move that will see the airline go head-to-head on the route with rival British Airways.
• Number of careless driving convictions falls The number of drivers prosecuted for careless driving has fallen dramatically since speed cameras were introduced, a Government-sponsored study has found.

Mail Online

• Speed cameras 'don't stop REAL danger motorists' despite 300% increase during Labour government Despite bringing an almost 300 per cent increase in fines, speed cameras do nothing to curb reckless driving, damning road safety reports revealed yesterday.

The Mirror

• UK car makers motoring ahead BOOMING exports have helped UK car-makers motor ahead, with almost 78,000 vehicles rolling off production lines last month.

Birmingham Post

• Loans for big city transport schemes back on the agenda More than £500 million could be raised to pay for a series of ambitious transport schemes in the West Midlands after Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg announced radical reforms to rules on council borrowing.

Derby Telegraph

• On track for 'fantastic' gateway to city PASSENGERS at Derby's railway station will be able to watch it transform even further over the next few months as it undergoes a £500,000 refurbishment.

Liverpool Post

• Public to be consulted over busy Sefton road A PUBLIC consultation will take place in a bid to reduce congestion on one of Merseyside’s busiest roads.
• Business secretary Vince Cable praises “world class” car plant BUSINESS secretary Vince Cable said the decision on whether Ellesmere Port would build Vauxhall’s new electric car was a commercial one and not up to the Government.

Northern Echo

• Bus service may face chop after being rescuedA COUNCILLOR fears a supported bus service, which campaigners spentmore than a year trying to save, could be facing the axe again.

Sheffield Star

• Rail firms are on trackTWO train companies serving South Yorkshire have won gongs at the National Rail Awards.

Wales Online

• Electrification could help spark Valleys into new life WE will have to wait until the Comprehensive Spending Review next month to see if plans to electrify the Great Western main line from London to Swansea are given the go-ahead.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Leeds free buses under threatFree city centre buses, child concessionary fares and late night buses could all be scrapped or reduced as part of a multi-million pound cost-cutting drive by West Yorkshire&#

Northants Evening Telegraph

• Kings of the road star in TV seriesEddie Stobart truck drivers from the county will be shown at work in a television documentary series which starts on Channel Five tonight.
• Massive changes to the busiest junctionWork to overhaul the county's busiest junction is set to get under way next month.

Reading Evening Post

• U-turn over Shinfield Road traffic lights People power has forced a U-turn on the hated Shinfield Road traffic lights.

Other Regional Press

• Cuts could have huge impact on transport networkIntegrated Transport Authority to consider report highlighting potential effect on services.
• Brake leads call for lower speed limits A CALL for lower speed limits in our town and village centres was made today by a Huddersfield road safety group.
• Huddersfield’s Free Town Bus could face axe HUDDERSFIELD’S popular Free Town Bus could be scrapped.

Campaign for Better Transport

• Boris hopes to dump commitments to reduce traffic23 September 2010: Mayor Boris Johnson's London Plan is currently under examination in public. We've been putting the case to the planning inspector conducting the examination that the Plan has to do much much more to reduce traffic levels across London. read more

Rail-News.com

• Closer cooperation on rail transport between France and RussiaOn 21 September at InnoTrans 2010 the President of the French rail company SNCF, Guillaume Pepy, and Wladimir Jakunin, his opposite number in the Russian rail operator RZD, signed a far-reaching joint venture agreement.
• £500,000 scheme to further improve Derby stationEast Midlands Trains and Network Rail have announced the start of a £500,000 scheme to bring even more improvements to Derby station.

Railway Gazette

• InnoTrans expects record visitor numbersINNOTRANS: Even before the final day of the trade fair, InnoTrans Exhibition Director Matthias Steckmann told InnoTrans Daily that his conclusions were extremely positive: ˜We expect to have received more than 100,000 trade visitors from more than 100 countries, which would constitute an increase of roughly 20% in comparison to 2008.™ Many exhibitors had reserved special praise for the calibre of the fair™s visitors, Steckmann added, ˜so that all involved are very well satisfied™. Not only was there a record number of visitors, but the size of the exhibition area had also smashed all records. ...

Green Miscellany

• Pedal-powered plane flaps its wings like a bird A pedal-powered ornithopter is the most beautiful, environmentally benign, but physically demanding way to travel by air. read more

Other News Sources

• EU unveils passenger data sharing proposals In a move to fight terrorism, Brussels proposed yesterday (21 September) a set of guidelines on the exchange of passenger data with countries outside the European Union. Meanwhile, the European Parliament has approved a bill that requires airlines to give families prompt information on air crash passengers.
• Chance to comment on train firm's staff SOUTH West Trains, which operates regular daily services through South Devon, is inviting its customers to put it to the test.
• New disabled access unveiled at station MORE than £150,000 of wheelchair access work was unveiled at Alton railway station on Friday.
• Batley Bus Station closure fears BATlEY bus station could close if government spending cuts are as bad as Metro bosses fear.
• No plan to replace town’s bus station FEARS have been raised Colchester’s bus users will not get the 21st-century services they need when the town’s bus station closes.
• New campaign launched for Maghull North railway stationA new railway station is needed not only to serve the proposed new prison, but also for staff and visitors to the present HMP Kennet prison.
• Huge hike in parking charges at Hounslow West tube station CHARGES have rocketed by 80 per cent at the Hounslow West tube station car park, sparking anger among some users.
• Minister leaves high speed train protesters with little hope THE transport secretary failed to win over people living near the planned 250mph rail line when he was confronted in Coventry.
• It Seems HS2 Will Happen! Mix96 Speaks To The Man Making The Final Decision Hopes that the government will drop the plans for high speed trains because it's too expensive have been dashed.
• Residents urged to leave cars at homeResidents and workers in York are being urged to leave their cars at home one day next week for the city's second car free day.
• Angry Sussex commuter poses as rail boss online A hacked-off commuter has taken matters into his own hands - by tackling fellow passengers' complaints himself online.
• East Sussex council criticised over transport scheme Parents face charges of £600 a year to send their children to school.
• Brighton and Crawley bus firms up for national award Brighton and Hove Bus Company is hoping to make it two-in-a-row after being shortlisted for the prestigious City Operator of the Year in the 2010 UK Bus Awards.

News from Europe

• Airline seat checks being ordered after safety row Airlines may be ordered to check tens of thousands of aircraft passenger seats made by Japanese manufacturer Koito Industries (6747.T) after a scandal over questionable safety data, European and U.S. authorities said on Thursday.