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

Sunday, 02 January 2011

BBC News

• National Express bus fares riseNational Express West Midlands is increasing its fares across Birmingham, the Black Country and Coventry.
• Sharp rise for petrol and diesel pricesA government fuel duty increase on New Year's Day will put another 0.76p on to both petrol and diesel.
• Rail travellers hit by fare risesRail travellers will see the cost of a train ticket rise by an average of 6.2% as planned rail fare hikes come into force.
• ScotRail set to refund £500,000ScotRail is set to repay £500,000 to season ticket holders who were unable to travel in Scotland's big freeze.
• Emergency crews at NI crash sceneAmbulance crews, fire officers , police and the coastguard are at the scene of a car crash in County Antrim.
• Rail travellers hit by fare risesRail travellers will see the cost of a train ticket rise by an average of 6.2% as planned rail fare hikes begin.
• Price of fuel continues to riseA rise in petrol duty, coupled with the planned increase in VAT, is set to push petrol prices even higher than their current record levels.

The Herald

• ScotRail to refund £500,000 after big freeze travel chaosScotrail is expected to pay at least £500,000 in ticket refunds because of the travel chaos caused by Scotland™s big freeze.
• Motoring organisations cry foul as fuel costs rise againMotoring organisations have called for the Government to cut duty on fuel to boost the economy as further hikes over the next few days put a further 4p on a litre.

The Independent

• Main line rail fares increased by 6.2 per cent Inflation-busting rises in rail and Tube fares take effect today with some mainline season tickets going up almost 13%.

Daily Express

• Fuel hike threat to haulage firms SUCCESSIVE fuel duty rises are threatening the survival of many logistic firms and hauliers and could hinder the recovery, according to the Freight Transport Association.

Mail Online

• Rolls Royce to repair Charles' £250,000 riot car for freeThe Rolls-Royce Phantom VI was hit by paint bombs, kicked and had a window smashed as it was being driven to the London Palladium.

Birmingham Mail

• Birmingham transport chief hits back over gritting claims BIRMINGHAM’S transport chief has praised the efforts of gritters during the recent big freeze and insisted that the city is prepared for any more bad weather.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• More personalised number plates on Welsh roads SALES of personalised car number plates are on the rise – with Welsh words proving particularly popular.
• Fuel prices hit record levels in North Wales MOTORISTS already paying record fuel prices will face further hikes in the next few days.
• Pensioners forked out £120 for taxi after bus ‘delayed’ ELDERLY theatre-goers were forced to fork out £120 for a taxi home after being left stranded when their bus failed to turn up.

Derby Telegraph

• Road's speed limit to be cut following series of accidentsA ROAD where there have been seven accidents involving casualties in the past three years is to have a 50mph speed limit. The B6013 between Oakerthorpe and Buckland Hollow currently has a 60mph limit. But Derbyshire County Council will make it 50mph in the new year after it found there were seven accidents involving injury on the road since 2007. These included five slight injuries, one serious and one fatal. A report written by the council's highways and transport department said two people living on the road objected to the plans because they felt the limit should be lower still. It says:
• Big shoes to fill as Sir John gets ready to leave hot seat at R-RIn March, 2011 John Rishton will take over as chief executive of Rolls-Royce. Here, business editor Robin Johnson profiles Sir John Rose's successor.JOHN Rishton will have a tough act to follow when he takes over the hot seat at Rolls-Royce in March. The current chief executive of Dutch retail group Royal Ahold will take over from Sir John Rose, who announced in September he was retiring after 14 years at the helm of Derby's biggest employer. During Sir John's tenure as chief executive, the company has tripled its revenues and today its civil aerospace division alone boasts a record order book...

London Evening Standard

• Fares hike hits rail passengersInflation-busting rises in rail and Tube fares have taken effect with some mainline season tickets going up almost 13%.

The York Press

• Labour slams report on York™s transport LABOUR councillors have called a report on York™s next Local Transport Plan œseriously flawed�.

Carlisle News & Star

• Carlisle airport bid sees 200,000 passengers by 2025 Carlisle Airport could be handling 200,000 passengers a year by 2025 with an average of five inward and five outward scheduled flights each day.

Reading Evening Post

• Rail bridge replacement ahead of schedule Work to replace the railway bridge over Caversham Road is running ahead of schedule, Network Rail has reported.

Sunderland Echo

• Pothole misery will cost taxpayersTAXPAYERS will be left counting the cost of the bitter winter weather on the region’s roads.

Other Regional Press

• Bid to solve Malmesbury parking woe Residents tired of the lack of parking in Malmesbury have proposed a £60,000 scheme that would see a footbridge providing access to the town™s long stay car park.
• It™s not fare “ anger over rail price hikes HARD-pressed Hampshire rail commuters face inflation-busting season ticket hikes of more than £500 from today.
• Pupils win bikes in challenge WHEN Play4Life launched a national fitness challenge, two Warrington school children stepped up to be counted.
• New spoke to be added to city wheelA cycle path linking a sports centre to Lancaster Canal looks set to be given the go-ahead.

Campaign for Better Transport

• Our Fair Fares Now campaign is off to a flying start2 January: We™re launching our new campaign this week, as commuters returning to work face massive fare hikes of up to 12.8%. read more

Railway Gazette

• Fehmarn Belt tunnel preferred EUROPE: Femern A/S is recommending an immersed tunnel rather than a cable-stayed bridge as its preferred option for the Fehmarn Belt fixed link to replace the train ferry between Germany and Denmark, the Danish project promoter announced on November 30. A 17·6 km tunnel up to 40 m deep would present fewer construction risks as it would not be pushing the limits of the technology to the same extent as a cable-stayed bridge, which would need free spans of 724 m, the largest ever built for combined road and rail use. Financially, there is little difference. A bridge design by Cowi/Obermeyer is c...
• News in BriefGenesee & Wyoming has completed its A$334m acquisition of FreightLink, giving it control of the 2 200 km north-south railway linking Tarcoola with Alice Springs and Darwin. Completed in 2004, the Alice “ Darwin route cost A$1·2bn to construct, of which the state governments contributed A$475m and FreightLink A$900m. The UK Department for Transport has approved Network Rail™s plans for upgrading the Felixstowe “ Nuneaton route to accommodate more and larger intermodal trains. Due for completion by 2014, the work includes loading gauge enhancement, resignalling and the construction of a n...

Transport for London

• Reminder that new fares for all TfL services will come into effect from Sunday 2 January 2011Fares increase kept to the minimum needed to protect transport investment and frontline services. All free and concessionary fares protected in full.

Other News Sources

• Bombardier Transportation has been awarded a contract from Railpool Bombardier Transportation has received an order for the supply of a total of 36 BOMBARDIER TRAXX locomotives from the German leasing company Railpool GmbH (Railpool). The contract amounts to approximately 120 million euro ($157 million US). The delivery of the first locomotives is planned for July 2011. All of the vehicles are planned to be in service by November 2013.With this new order, Bombardier extends its leading position in the electric locomotive market. Through today, more than 1,450 TRAXX locomotives have been sold. With homologations in 18 European countries they enable highly flex...
• Council discusses recast railway package At the December Transport Council, Ministers of the 27 Member States also held a discussion on the recent proposal of the Commission to recast the first European railway package which aimed to establish a single European railway area. The ministerial debate, based on questions submitted by the Presidency, showed that the publication of national rail infrastructure development strategies is generally seen as an appropriate instrument to stimulate sustainable investments in the sector. Another major point in the discussion was the introduction of different track access charges based on noise pe...
• Mega transportation projects in Thailand.Thailand is working on a series of transportation projects which will greatly improve domestic and international connectivity of the country. Five high-speed train projects, which are collaborations w
• Somali pirates seize Algerian cargo ship in Indian OceanSomali pirates have seized an Algerian-flagged and owned cargo ship with an international crew in the Indian Ocean, the European Union anti-piracy force said on Sunday. The MV Blida was pirated appro
• Fog Closes Houston Ship Channel OvernightAccording to a Bloomberg report, Houston Ship Channel pilots halted boarding inbound and outbound vessels overnight after fog reduced visibility on the approach to the largest U.
• World's Largest Shipyard Expects 54% Order Boost in '11Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world™s largest shipyard, expects to boost orders 54 percent in 2011, driven by new ship and offshore demand, according to a recent report on Bloomberg.
• Crimes down at East Lancashire railway stations MORE than 600 crimes, including sexual offences, robbery and violence, have been committed at railway stations in East Lancashire over the past four years.
• John Biggs slams Mayor's 44% bus fare increaseEast London Assembly Member John Biggs AM has condemned Mayor Boris Johnson™s latest above-inflation fare hikes, which come into effect on Sunday, as continued evidence of his lack of concern for ordinary working Londoners. Following last year™s 20% fare rise, single bus fares will rise by yet another ten pence to £1.30 for a pay-as-you-go journey. A weekly bus pass will go up from £16.60 to £17.80.  Single one zone tube fares including zone 1 will also cost an extra ten pence, at £1.90. ...
• £95 million New Year fuel tax headache for industry condemned by FTAThe Freight Transport Association has condemned the latest increase in fuel duty planned for 1 January 2011 as a New Year™s present from the ...
• Air traffic levels from hubs such as Gatwick Airport have 'recovered'Passengers have been told that air traffic levels from travel hubs such as Gatwick Airport have "fully recovered".Latest figures released by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) showed that air travel across the globe has now hit a level four per cent higher than early 2008's pre-recession peak.Traffic results for last month revealed that the number of travellers had grown by 8.2 per cent year-on-year, only a slight reduction on October's ten per cent figure."Growth is slowing towards normal historical levels in the five to six per cent range," Giovann...
• BAA begins enquiry after disruptions at Heathrow AirportBAA has launched a winter resilience enquiry to help it learn from recent events at Heathrow Airport.Colin Matthews, BAA's chief executive, announced an external international panel of experts had been appointed for the task and will be led by Professor David Begg.The members of the panel come from airlines and travel hubs across the globe and will look at how intemperate weather conditions are planned for and recovered from."This enquiry is a powerful statement of BAA’s intention to respond quickly to recent events ... The board will ensure that the full resources of the compan...