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

Thursday, 30 September 2010

BBC News

• Rail protester to complete walkA campaigner against the proposed HS2 high-speed rail link between London and Birmingham completes her walk.
• Row over disabled parking chargesA row breaks out over plans to charge blue badge holders at council-run car parks in Carmarthenshire.
• Tube station reopens after smellLondon's Victoria Tube Station reopens after an evacuation following reports of an
• BA signs American Airlines tie-upBritish Airways signs a transatlantic tie-up with American Airlines and Iberia worth a combined $7bn (£4.4bn) a year.
• BMW to provide new Saab enginesBMW and Saab-owner Spyker announce that the German firm will provide engines for the Swedish cars from 2012 onwards.

Financial Times

• Airline cartel faces huge EU damages claim The largest-ever European claim for damages resulting from cartel behaviour will be filed in a Dutch court on Thursday by a group of companies, led by Philips and Ericsson

The Guardian

• Merseytravel launches smart cards The passenger transport executive for Merseyside, has launched a public transport card

The Herald

• Airline offers extra services to the Outer Hebrides on SundaysExtra Sunday services between Glasgow and Stornoway have been announced by Loganair for next summer.
• Passenger ferry kept afloat by millions of public cashThe operator of Scotland™s only passenger ferry service to the continent was paid more than £6 million in Government support despite winding up operations after less than two years due to insufficient demand.

The Independent

• Victoria Underground station reopens after 'smell' alert One of the Tube's busiest stations was temporarily closed today after ticket office staff noticed a strange smell.

Mail Online

• How rush hour lasts THREE hours... and how Britain's most gridlocked road is jammed for 92 hours a weekResearch has revealed traffic now becomes 'significant' from as early as 5.30am on major roads and lasts between 2.5 and three hours.

Network Rail

• SCOTLAND™S NEWEST RAILWAY LINE GOES LIVE
• RAIL WORK UNDO BEECHING™S CUTS IN 24 HOURS

Edinburgh Evening News

• Trams given £30m despite dispute with contractorsTRANSPORT bosses have approved a further £30 million worth of spending on Edinburgh's troubled tram project in the last five months, despite an ongoing row with contracto

Liverpool Post

• Port of Liverpool persuades food giant to by-pass southern UK import gateways THE Port of Liverpool’s drive to persuade North West businesses to ship their materials directly to the Mersey, instead of through southern gateways, has achieved its first big success.

London Evening Standard

• Victoria station evacuated after reports of 'pungent smell'Victoria station was shut today as emergency services investigated reports of a 'pungent smell'

The York Press

• No 13 bus route U-turn ˜unlikely™ TRANSPORT chiefs look unlikely to step in to reintroduce part of a York bus service, despite a public clamour for its return.
• University snub to flagship ftr bus THE ftr bus to the University of York may be one of the city™s flagship services “ but the university is now recommending a rival bus to its students, visitors and staff.
• York pupils defy the weather to participate in York's car free day RAIN and cold weather did not deter these young Centurions from getting on their bikes to join in York's second annual car free day.
• Passengers to start paying for Wi-Fi on East Coast trains TRAIN operator East Coast is to start charging standard class passengers for Wi-Fi on its flagship trains from York to London and Edinburgh.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Transport: Busiest roads 'congested for 12 hours a day'Britain's most congested roads are bottle-necked for an average of more than 12 hours a day, it was revealed today.

Yorkshire Post

• Minister lauds £20m bus corridor TRANSPORT Minister Norman Baker has backed a £20m bus scheme in Leeds which he hailed as a real alternative to driving into the city centre.

Carlisle News & Star

• Free teddy bears will mark launch of Carlisle bus service Children who can bear going into Carlisle city centre tomorrow will be sure of a small surprise.

Campaign for Better Transport

• Three weeks till we learn what's to be cut29 September: In three weeks time we'll all learn what the cuts will be to public spending when the Government's spending review is published. We've written to George Osborne after we met with him to tell him what we think he needs to support and what can be cut. read more
• New online resource for anti-roads groups28 September: Enterprising campaigners fighting road building have had their campaigns featured on the Guardian's new planning website. read more

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Transport minister vows to negotiate on trailer height plansProposals being considered by the European Commission to restrict the height of trailers to four metres will be debated, the UK's transport minister has insisted.Speaking to website RoadTransport.com, Mike Penning explained that the European Union (EU) plans to standardise new-build semi-trailers.The minister insisted that "the government will negotiate strongly to achieve the best outcome" for the country, adding: "Any such proposal seems to go beyond the Commission's remit to simplify existing legislation."His comments to the portal come af...

Transport Focus

• Price and More Spaces are Key Issues for Passengers When Parking At The StationCar-park prices, a better chance of finding a space, the machines to pay your parking fee and safety after dark are what passengers want to see improved at station car parks.

Aviation Industry

• BA, American, Iberia agree joint businessBritish Airways said Wednesday it has inked a transatlantic joint venture with American Airlines and Iberia that is worth a combined $7 billion in annual revenues.
• Air France sued for price fixingHUNDREDS of European companies, led by Ericsson and Philips, are to sue Air France-KLM and Martinair for more than 500 million euros for fixing freight prices, their lawyer said on Wednesday.
• Bombardier touts CSeries, CRJ1000 progressBombardier Commercial Aircraft President Gary Scott said the CSeries program is œgoing quite well, noting that the manufacturer just œfinalized the Joint Definition Phase and [is] now in the Complete Product Definition Phase.
• Ethiopian Airlines set to join Star AllianceEthiopian Airlines was officially invited to join Star Alliance Wednesday, and aims within 12 months to become the group™s third member on the African continent following EgyptAir and South African Airways (ATW Daily News, July 22). ET™s integration, under the mentoring of Lufthansa, will begin œshortly.

Other News Sources

• Hope for rail campaign CAMPAIGNERS calling for the reopening of the railway line from Portishead to Bristol were given hope on Saturday when a passenger train made its way into Portbury using the route proposed for a commuter service.
• Norman Baker MP champions cause of cramped commuters A LOCAL MP has championed the cause of cramped commuters and successfully campaigned for more carriages on a busy train service passing through Polegate.
• Rail travellers celebrate bridge news COMMUTERS look set for a double bridge bonus to ease travelling traumas in 2011, says the Witham and Braintree Rail Users' Association.
• Buckinghamshire County Council Challenges Transport Secretary On HS2 PlansTransport Secretary Philip Hammond is in no doubt about the overwhelming opposition in Buckinghamshire to plans for the High Speed 2 (HS2) rail link through the Chilterns, following talks with Buckinghamshire County Council Cabinet members Valerie Letheren and Martin Tett.
• Protesters' fury after HS2 meetings in Vale switched at last minute High speed rail protesters are fuming after meetings set to be attended by transport minister Philip Hammond were rearranged at the last minute.
• MP fears Maghull patients travelling to hospital will suffer over cuts to transport funding A £10m cut to Merseytravel funding will leave transport links to hospitals “dangerously inadequate” according to Sefton Central’s MP.
• 500 SIGN ULVERSTON STATION PETITION A PETITION with more than 400 signatures has been sent to rail bosses as part of a campaign to regain round-the-clock disabled access to a station platform.
• Updated health and safety signage for railway station A railway station in Croydon will put up improved health and safety signs as part of a renaming development. Smitham Station will become Coulsdon Town to make its location clearer to visitors, yourlocalguardian.co.uk reports.
• Rail station car parks 'too expensive'Only 10 per cent of rail passengers believe station car parks offer value for money, a survey shows.
• National Express Dundee and sQuid to offer smart card travel ticketingNational Express Dundee, part of the National Express Group of companies, is launching the first smartcard pay-as-you-go service for bus travel in Scotland.