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

Monday, 04 October 2010

BBC News

• Views sought over Greater Manchester transport links People who live in Greater Manchester are being urged to help shape the future of transport in the region.
• Go-ahead for £60m Nottingham railway station revamp A £60m revamp of Nottingham's railway station has been approved by the government.
• Getting you through the Tube strike (the sequel) [blog]If it's another Tube strike, then it must also mean the return of our ace transport duo, Steve Phillips and Tom Edwards.
• Boris Johnson and CBI call for tougher laws on strikes The Mayor of London and the CBI have called for changes to the law governing strikes to make it harder for workers to take industrial action.
• Aberystwyth green travel scheme's £1m boost A project to develop greener forms of travel in Aberystwyth is to benefit from a grant of up to £1m.
• Driving test change introduces 'independent' section Changes to the driving test coming into effect in the UK later will see people following a route "independently".
• Cycling the new London-Paris bike pathStephen Mulvey takes a sneak preview of the Avenue Verte - a low-traffic London-Paris cycle route that may be ready by 2012.
• Second strike halts Tube servicesCommuters in London face another day of severe disruption as a second 24-hour strike over job cuts threatens to cripple the Tube network.

Financial Times

• Ryanair hints at switch to AirbusThe Irish no-frills carrier Ryanair has hinted at switching to Airbus from Boeing for its passenger jets in order to cut fuel costs

The Guardian

• High-speed rail link gets £800m more in state funding Transport secretary defends extra cost and says high-speed rail must cut through the Chilterns despite Tory MPs' protests
• Pass notes No 2,856: The M4 bus lane Conservative transport minister Philip Hammond is to suspend the controversial motorway lane
• TfL to introduce new pay technology Transport for London has confirmed that it plans to introduce technology that would allow passengers to pay travel fares by swiping debit or credit cards

The Herald

• Foreign drivers owe thousands Drivers of vehicles registered abroad have amassed more than £130,000 in unpaid parking fines in Glasgow over three years, it was revealed today.
• Tram row heads for the courts as finance plans start to unravelEdinburgh™s tram managers will this week give the clearest indication yet that their dispute with their contractor is heading for the courts when they confirm that the line will be loss-making if it stops short of the city centre.

The Scotsman

• Latest Tube strike hits capitalCommuters are facing a struggle to get to work as the latest Tube strike hit the capital.

The Telegraph

• BAA sells Naples airport for £130m BAA has sold its stake in Naples airport for €150m (£130m) as part of its plan to focus investment on Heathrow and its other UK airports.
• Boom time about to take off with Airbus in Bangalore What happens in Banaglore? Ask that question in Britain and the average response might well be call centres and outsourcing. The sub-text – UK jobs going to Indian workers.
• Network Rail emerges from the ashes of Railtrack When Network Rail was created in October 2002 from the ashes of Railtrack and in the wake of the fatal Potters Bar train crash, it was supposed to signal the dawn of a new era for train network operations in the UK. But within six months, controversy was raging after five directors shared in a £1.8m bonus pot as trains continued to run late. A year after its inception, losses had ballooned to £233m, a taste of things to come.
• Who is at the wheel of Network Rail? The last Labour Transport Secretary, Lord Adonis, says the moment Network Rail "really got to me" was the weekend, last spring, when they decided to "sever London from Scotland entirely".
• London Underground grinds to a halt Millions of tube passengers will have their journeys disrupted after thousands of unionists walked out on strike over 800 job cuts.

Press Association

• City railway station set for revamp A £60 million redevelopment of a busy city railway station has been given the go-ahead.

Mail Online

• Death rates INCREASED by 20mph zone... and getting rid of cameras reduces accidentsReducing the speed limit to 20mph in all residential streets does not significantly improve road safety, an official report has revealed.
• Tube workers walk out for 24 hours causing huge disruption as Boris Johnson blasts strike as 'politically-motivated nonsense'The Mayor branded the industrial action by the Rail Maritime and Transport union and the Transport Salaried Staffs Association as 'irresponsible'.

London Evening Standard

• Two lines for high-speed rail planThe Government intends to build two branches to the planned new £33 billion high-speed rail network north of Birmingham, Transport Secretary Philip Hammond is due to announce.
• Latest Tube strike hits capitalCommuters are facing a struggle to get to work as the latest Tube strike hit the capital.

Manchester Evening News

• Have your say on future of city’s public transport Commuters will play their part in shaping the future of transport in Greater Manchester when a major consultation starts today.

Metro

• 'Right’ high-speed rail decision welcomed Metro Chairman Cllr Chris Greaves today welcomed the news that Transport Secretary Philip Hammond is backing a high-speed rail network that will include Yorkshire and the Leeds City Region.
• Tube strike 'not a risk to the public'Commuters will not be put at risk during the latest Tube strike, transport bosses insisted, amid union claims that untrained volunteers were being drafted in.

Nottingham Evening Post

• Nottingham Post calls for Government to protect A453 and tram schemes TRANSPORT Minister Norman Baker will today announce a major redevelopment of Nottingham railway station can go ahead – despite £7 million of funding being withdrawn.
• Transport Minister announces go-ahead for £60m station revamp RAIL passengers will see the first signs of a major revamp of Nottingham railway station as early as January. That is when work on a new 950-space multi-storey car park is due to begin – as well as highway improvements in Queen's Road.

Yorkshire Post

• Express line to the Peaks The Cromford and High Peak and Ashbourne to Buxton railway lines closed in the mid-'60s but, on the Bank Holiday of my visit, looked like they had never been busier – with cyclists, of course.

Other News Sources

• HS2 - Cleggy giveth and Cleggy taketh away [blog]Exciting news from the Deputy Prime Minister! Cleggy has been busy twittering the following (several times in fact):
• The future of transport in Greater Manchester Everyone will be able to play a part in shaping the future of transport in Greater Manchester from today (Monday 4 October 2010), when a major consultation begins.
• Green travel on the up Greener transport is on the rise in Merton, new figures suggest. A report released this week claimed the number of bus passengers in the borough had risen by 25 per cent from 2004 to 2008 - and pedestrian journeys had risen by the same propportion between 2004 and now