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

Friday, 22 October 2010

BBC News

• UK rail network 'at risk' from climate changeChanges to the climate could pose a "serious threat" to the UK rail network, scientists have warned.
• Big rises for small comforts on London transport? [blog]So the word's out. Here are the headlines on what fares you'll be paying from next year...
• Spending Review: Minister agrees Reading rail revamp An £850m revamp of Reading railway station has been confirmed in the Spending Review but other schemes are still in doubt.
• 'Severn tolls hitting firms hard'Welsh MPs hear concerns from businesses and haulage firms about the impact tolls on the Severn crossings are having.
• London travelcard 74% price rise Day travelcard users on London's Underground and buses face price rises of up to 74% from 2011, it is revealed.
• Fiat profits on industrial salesItalian industrial group Fiat reports a jump in profits, after surging industrial equipment orders offset sluggish car sales.
• Toyota makes another car recallToyota announces another recall, this time of some 1.5 million cars involving Avalon and other models due to brake and fuel pump defects.

Department for Transport

• Transport Spending Review Press NoticeThe Government is committed to reducing the deficit, facilitating long-term, sustainable growth and tackling carbon emissions. In the Budget, the Chancellor pledged to make the tough choices that will allow us to maintain investment in new and existing infrastructure that will support a growing economy, while eliminating the structural deficit over the lifetime of the Parliament.

Financial Times

• Airbus chief calls subsidy row an ˜absurdity™Tom Enders lashes out at the ˜absurdity™ of the prolonged aircraft subsidy row between his company and Boeing, its US rival, saying both sides had taken state aid

The Guardian

• Tube passengers face more misery due to cracked rail on Jubilee line Line part suspended throughout rush hour in what unions say has been a 'week of chaos' on the Underground
• Eurostar to operate newer, greener fleet by 2014 Plans for Channel Tunnel high speed rail cars could have large impact on European transportation emissions

The Independent

• London Underground 'reduced to chaos' London Underground travellers suffered fresh delays and disruption today because of cracked and defective rails, continuing a week of

Mail Online

• Homeowners told they can help clear snow without fear of prosecution this winter Homeowners and shopkeepers will be able to clear away snow from their pavements without fear of prosecution by 'health and safety' bureaucrats, Transport Secretary Phillip Hammond will announce today (FRI) following a report into last winter's snow fiasco. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1322731/Homeowners-told-help-clear-snow-fear-prosecution-winter.html?ito=feeds-newsxml#ixzz1349kVxoL

The Mirror

• How spending review affects transport: Fares soar, services slump Save Our Services - how spending cuts affect you Commuters face 20% price rises in the next four years after George Osborne allowed train companies to hike fares 3% above the inflation rate.

Birmingham Post

• Relief for Birmingham as Midland Metro is spare the axe Birmingham’s vision to bring the Midlands Metro through the city centre will be turned into reality after the scheme was spared the axe.
• Birmingham bus routes face uncertain future, says National Express Birmingham-based bus firm National Express said that it could not guarantee the future of services in the city – despite announcing increased profits.

Edinburgh Evening News

• SNP prepares to stop battle against tramsThe SNP group on the city council is preparing to drop its opposition to the tram project, it is reported today.

Liverpool Echo

• Transport Secretary Philip Hammond to be quizzed on green light for Mersey Gateway and rail electrification TRANSPORT Secretary Philip Hammond is to be grilled by Commons watchdogs over fears that both the Mersey Gateway crossing and rail upgrades out of Liverpool could still be stymied.

Manchester Evening News

• Spending review: TransportTrain fares are set to rise by nearly a third as passengers are forced to pay for extra carriages, writes Dean Kirby.

Metro

• Bad weather 'threatens Britain's railways because of climate change' Climate change could wreak havoc on Britain’s railways as extremes in temperatures cause widespread mudslides and subsidence, experts have warned.

Northern Echo

• Hope of rail jobs amid cuts gloomOn the day deep cuts in public spending were revealed, Vince Cable gives the North-East cause for optimism.

The York Press

• Plight of York Jarvis ex-rail workers raised by York Central MP Hugh Bayley THE plight of former York Jarvis workers who are still on the dole has been raised in the House of Commons by York Central MP Hugh Bayley.

Wales Online

• Electrification still possible if it’s done cheaper MINISTERS are examining whether electrification of the London-Swansea rail line can be delivered at a cheaper price in the wake of yesterday’s Spending Review.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Spending cuts: Leeds trolleybus hangs in balanceThe future of the £250m Leeds Trolleybus network is today hanging in the balance after it was left off a list of major transport schemes to win Government funding.

Other Regional Press

• Dorset spending cuts: Rail fare increase slammed WEYMOUTH railway campaigner Andy Hutchings has slammed the government™s plan to hike rail charges over the next three years.
• Middleton residents join HS2 plan battle RESIDENTS of Middleton in north Warwickshire have joined the fight against the HS2 high speed rail line plan they claim would devastate their community.

The Economist

• A Franco-German train tiff Ils ne passeront pasON DECEMBER 7th 1835 the Adler, a steam engine built by a British father and son, George and Robert Stephenson, puffed its way between Nuremberg and Fürth in Bavaria, marking the birth of the German railway system. On October 19th, a century and three-quarters later, the Germans repaid the compliment. Deutsche Bahn’s sleek high-speed train, the ICE 3, slid into London’s St Pancras station, the first German train to pass through the Channel tunnel, which links Britain to continental Europe.

Campaign for Better Transport

• Train fares hit hard “ time to fight back!October 21: The axe has finally fallen, and unfortunately it™s not good news for train fares. read more

Railnews

• News: New trains uncertainty goes on after Spending Review Speculation about orders for new trains has been continuing, in spite of the Comprehensive Spending Review speech by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. A new edition of Railnews Focus is now available which reports on the winners and losers so far.

Other News Sources

• Runnymead and Weybridge Phillip Hammond MP dismisses 'malicious' Channel 4 Dispatches programAn MP has dismissed as "malicious" claims he structured his financial affairs to reduce his tax bill. Much of Philip Hammond’s estimated £7m wealth comes from his company Castlemead, which builds luxury homes and care homes.
• Leaders welcome Merseyside transport boost Chancellor George Osborne has given a huge boost to infrastructure projects in Merseyside and Cheshire with confirmation that the £431m second Mersey crossing between Runcorn and Widnes will go ahead. He also approved the £100m upgrade of rail lines between Liverpool, Manchester, Preston and Blackpool.
• New Pullman train set for first passengers THE Great Central Railway’s brand new Pullman train will welcome its first official passengers tomorrow (Friday, October 22).
• Station project survives cutsTHE £850m upgrade of Reading Station and railway network is one ray of good news among the spending cuts.
• UK road and rail projects escape the axe in long-dreaded spending cutsImprovements to vital transport arteries can go ahead as Whitehall agrees the industry is vital for future growth
• Spending Review: London Gains Transport Funding But Fares To Go Up & London Councils Worried About SchoolsLondon has gained billions of pounds funding in transport infrastructure from the spending review announce,ent. However, Londoners would be paying transport fares that are 2% higher than the inflation rate from January 2011 and the Transport for London budget has been slashed by £2.2 Billion.