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

Saturday, 11 December 2010

BBC News

• Snow curbs BAA passenger numbersBAA says last month's cold weather meant passenger numbers across its six UK airports rose less than expected.
• Insurers 'charge for snow tyres'Some motorists who fit winter tyres to their car to cope with snowy conditions are being charged higher insurance premiums, it is claimed.

Financial Times

• Godman to quit Rentokil's City LinkThe managing director of the company's City Link unit is to resign from his position, with Alan Brown, group chief executive, to take the helm until a successor is found
• Flybe shares surge on first day of tradingHalf of the funds raised by the Exeter-based airline will be used to provide the group with capital to help it fund its aircraft fleet expansion programme
• Balfour Beatty wins £110m Tube contractUK's largest construction group will repair and maintain miles of ballasted track along six lines on the London Underground system during the five-year upgrade project

The Herald

• £300m rail link from Airdrie to Bathgate will openThe £300 million Airdrie-Bathgate rail link “ the longest stretch of track built in Scotland in more than a century “ opens tomorrow.
• HGVs may be forced into using snow tyres in winterHeavy goods lorries may be forced to fit winter tyres after many of the long tailbacks over the last two weeks were blamed on jack-knifed juggernauts.
• Snow spoils party as Stagecoach staff wave off chairmanStagecoach waved goodbye to chairman Sir Robert Speirs after more than 15 years on the board, including eight as chairman, when it unveiled its latest financial results this week.

The Telegraph

• Payouts worth millions over high speed rail line Owners of homes blighted by the planned high-speed rail line about to be unveiled by ministers will be in line for millions of pounds in compensation.
• Plane makes emergency landing on main road A light aircraft pilot escaped with ''not a mark on him'' after making an emergency landing on a main road, the ambulance service said.
• High-speed rail link: opinions are divided Some call the planned high-speed rail line an eye-sore while others claim the benefits will completely transform the UK's transport network. Here are those for and against the plans.

Daily Express

• BAA's numbers soarAIRPORTS operator BAA said the
• Flybe set to expand after £284m floatSHARES in budget airline Flybe reached for the skies yesterday as the company made its stock market debut.

Mail Online

• Petrol prices set to hit record £1.22 a litre but oil giants deny claims of profiteeringIt means every gallon of fuel now costs £5.53½. And filling up the average family car comes to a hefty £60.88.

The Sun

• Rocketing fuel prices QUADRUPLE whammy as cost of gas, leccy, petrol and heating oil goes through the roof

Birmingham Mail

• Plane lands on main road in Warwickshire A main road in Warwickshire was closed today after a light aircraft made an emergency landing on it.

Bristol Live

• Passengers jumped at chance to travel on free Bristol bus servicePASSENGERS jumped at the chance to travel on Bristol's new free bus service. FreeBus made its first journeys yesterday, on a route connecting Temple Meads, Cabot Circus, Broadmead and the city centre. The temporary service has been set up as a non-profit, charitable organisation aimed at improving public transport in the city. The double-decker bus quickly filled up for its maiden journey at 11am outside Temple Meads station, where people were quick to grasp the chance to take a free ride into the city centre. For many, it seemed too good an offer to be true as they boarded the hired 1990 Leyl...

Metro

• Tube strike to hit Bakerloo and Northern Line on December 17-18A fresh walkout by workers on the London Underground is set to cause fresh disruption to commuters using the Tube.

The News (Portsmouth)

• Sailors get stuck in to help snow relief effortSAILORS from aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious got stuck in to help the snow relief effort in Edinburgh.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Stewart Stevenson under increasing pressurePressure is mounting on Stewart Stevenson as opposition parties consider whether or not to put down a motion of no confidence in the transport minister.
• Big freeze fails to derail new £300m railway linkA new railway line that will almost double the number of trains between Scotland™s two largest cities is expected to open on schedule this weekend, despite some work being held up by the weather.

The York Press

• York Station set for cycling revampMORE than half a million pounds is to be spent on two new cycle routes to improve access to York Station.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Leeds mum's anger at bus ban on wheelchairA mum has hit out at a bus firm after a driver refused to allow her disabled daughter on because he thought her wheelchair was a pram.
• Pirate ship that's choc full of funThis sea-themed chocolate creation is certainly making waves - but careful, a passing pirate might cast his eye on the tasty treasure stashed inside!
• Rail chiefs hit back as holidays strike loomsRail chiefs have hit back at plans for strike action by hundreds of Northern conductors over a Christmas bank holiday pay and conditions row.

Other Regional Press

• New rail timetablesThe Winter/Spring National Rail timetable starts on Sunday 12 December 2010 and runs until Saturday 21 May 2011.
• Transport row flares over SPT opt-out callA Scots council is pressing ahead with plans which could see it opt-out of Strathclyde Partnership for Transport.
• Enforcement checks catch drink-driversAlmost 300 vehicles were stopped on Friday night as Bedfordshire Police step up their drink-driving crackdown.Assisted by ANPR cars, local Bedford Safer Neighbourhood Teams and special constables,

Railway Gazette

• ONCF to buy 14 Duplex high speed trainsMOROCCO: Alstom Transport is to supply national railway ONCF with 14 Duplex high speed trainsets for Tanger “ Casablanca services under a contract worth ˜nearly €400m™.The contract, signed in Tanger on December 10, foreshadows the opening of Morocco™s first high speed line between Tanger and Kénitra in December 2015. This 200 route-km section is the first phase of the planned Tanger “ Casablanca high speed line. From 2015, the double-deck dual-system Duplex trainsets will operate at 25 kV AC on the high speed line at a maximum speed of 320 km/h and between 160 km/h and 220 km/h on ONCF™s ex...
• ONCF to buy 14 Duplex high speed trainsMOROCCO: Alstom Transport is to supply national railway ONCF with 14 Duplex high speed trainsets for Tanger “ Casablanca services under a contract worth ˜nearly €400m™.The contract, signed in Tanger on December 10, foreshadows the opening of Morocco™s first high speed line between Tanger and Kénitra in December 2015. This 200 route-km section is the first phase of the planned Tanger “ Casablanca high speed line. From 2015, the double-deck dual-system Duplex trainsets will operate at 25 kV AC on the high speed line at a maximum speed of 320 km/h and between 160 km/h and 220 km/h on ONCF™s ex...

Aviation Industry

• FAA To Order 757 Fuselage Inspections After Holes and Cracks FoundAviation regulators will order tougher inspections of hundreds of Boeing 757 planes worldwide, after a recent in-flight incident that left a hole in the fuselage of an American Airlines plane, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.
• Stansted suffers after low-cost airlines snub UKStansted airport has been hit hard by low-cost airlines taking their business to other airports, BAA's latest figures confirm

Other News Sources

• Shipowners urge IMO to adopt overweight container rule Overweight containers are putting lives at risk, creating higher operating costs, higher cargo liability claims at sea, and on the road, says the World Shipping Council (WSC) and International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) in a joint declaration. They urge the UN's International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to set legally enforceable rules for weighing before loading to prevent risk of stacks collapsing and damaging safe ship operations and personnel through the supply chain. The organisations criticised outdated guidelines taken from a 2008 report Safe Transport of Containers by Sea, Guidelines o...
• Alternative fuel cars will outsell petrol by 2020, states poll
• Hydrogen bus unveiled in London Transport for London (TfL) unveiled its new hydrogen bus to members of the media today (December 10).
• Petrol price hits record highThe price of petrol has hit a record high averaging 121.76p per litre. Channel 4 News has been speaking to a rural businessman about the crippling effect of soaring fuel costs.

Other Subscription Services

• Pirates seize boxshipEU Navfor confirms hijacking