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

Saturday, 15 January 2011

BBC News

• Airport's passengers figures dropPassenger numbers at Cardiff Airport fall by 200,000, with the airport blaming a cut in capacity by a low-cost airline and the ash cloud.
• Rail, road disruption with floodsFlooding continues to bring disruption to parts of Wales, while more rain is forecast over the weekend.
• Green dream: Islands go electricThe Aran Islands off the west coast of Ireland are chosen as the perfect testing ground for the electric car.
• Strike begins on two Tube linesA 24-hour strike starts on the Bakerloo and Northern lines as Tube workers walk out in support of two

Financial Times

• London mayor criticised for train driver remarksBoris Johnson was under attack after he suggested signalling new tube systems would mean anyone could be trained as a driver in 'a matter of weeks'

The Guardian

• Lagos's railway of hopeIn the second part of a series on Nigeria, David Smith talks to an investor aiming to transform commuting in its largest cityWhen Danladi Verheijen has to attend an important meeting, he doesn't know whether getting there will take 10 minutes or three hours.
• Rosneft buys 5% of BP in Arctic deal¢ Shares rise as $18bn exchange backed by energy minister Huhne¢ US congressman Ed Markey attacks 'Bolshoi Petroleum'BP last night unveiled a risky gamble to build a new future for itself in the Russian Arctic by agreeing an $18bn exchange of shares with the Kremlin's favourite oil company.The deal to transfer 5% of BP ownership to Rosneft immediately came under attack in America “ currently its most important market “ with one congressman describing BP as

The Herald

• Wintry conditions knock £7m off FirstGroup profitsScotrail operator FirstGroup took a £7 million hit due to December™s harsh winter weather, taking a chunk out of its unexpectedly strong growth on the rails.

The Independent

• Prepare for fuel shortages: union warns of blockades Anger over soaring fuel costs and industrial action by tanker drivers threaten to bring widescale disruption to supplies of petrol next month.

The Telegraph

• Fuel tanker dispute: what is the disagreement about? Len McCluskey, Unite's newly elected general secretary, insists that his tanker drivers are not involved in a conventional pay dispute.

Reuters News

• Can driverless trains solve Tube strike problem?LONDON (Reuters) - Many more trains on London's underground rail system will soon be run by computer, the mayor has warned strike-prone drivers' unions.

Mail Online

• Government divided on petrol prices: Treasury insists it might not be able to afford David Cameron's fuel tax reformThe Prime Minister, who has championed the idea of a 'fuel price stabiliser’, let slip that it could leave the Government with a huge black hole in its books.

The Mirror

• Motorist spent 10 years saving for dream Porsche.. and was banned from road on day he bought it A PETROLHEAD who saved for 10 years to buy an £80,000 Porsche has been banned for speeding – on the day he picked it up.
• Ryanair told it's illegal to fine passengers for not having boarding passes print-out RYANAIR has been told it is illegal to charge passengers who fail to print their own boarding passes before arriving at an airport.

The Sun

• PM faces fuel stabiliser fight with Osborne DAVID Cameron will battle George Osborne over how to ease pain at the petrol pumps

Network Rail

• KING'S CROSS RENAISSANCE ON SHOW
• NETWORK RAIL ISSUES MAJOR DESIGN TENDER FOR CROSSRAIL NORTH-EAST SPUR
• PETERBOROUGH STATION TO UNDERGO £2.5M REDEVELOPMENT

Birmingham Mail

• Birmingham Airport's iconic Maglev sale falls through THE sale of a carriage from Birmingham Airport’s iconic Maglev has fallen through – after the bidder failed to come up with the cash.

Birmingham Post

• Protests won't stop High Speed rail link, insists Birmingham City Council The £18 billion high speed rail line from London to Birmingham should not be derailed by protesters, Birmingham City Council has warned.

Bristol Live

• Transport chiefs to check out Nottingham's tram systemTRANSPORT chiefs from the Greater Bristol area have been invited on a trip to Nottingham to examine the city's acclaimed tram system. Campaign group Transport for Greater Bristol Alliance (TGBA) has organised the visit to the East Midlands to show bosses what could be achieved in Bristol if an ultra-light rail system was introduced. Ian Crawford, the group's secretary, said Nottingham was chosen because it boasted a good example of an integrated transport system, with buses, trains and trams running in harmony. He said:
• 180 objections to council's favoured bendy-bus routeMORE than 180 people have objected to the £48 million bendy-bus scheme from Ashton Vale to Temple Meads. Funding for the bus rapid transit proposal hangs in the balance, but the number of objections means that if it is approved by the government a public inquiry is likely. The 189 objections submitted to the Department for Transport have not been made public and according to the DfT are not expected to be until any inquiry is held. But the Evening Post is aware of a number of organisations that have submitted statements of opposition to the proposals, including Friends of the Avon New Cut a...

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Fuel price increases 'bleeding families dry' in North Wales FUEL price rises are “bleeding families dry” as the cost of filling a family car soared to £97.

Liverpool Echo

• Merseyside petrol prices CHEAPEST unleaded is 123.9p/litre at Asda Hunts Cross, Morrisons Belle Vale and Shell Maghull; then 124.9/litre at garages including Shell Aigburth Road, Shell Aintree and Sainsbury's Rice Lane. Cheapest diesel is 128.9p/litre at garages including Shell Bootle, Shell Aintree, Shell Fazakerley, Morrisons Belle Vale, Sainsbury's Rice Lane and Asda Walton.

London Evening Standard

• Hope of petrol price cut for motoristsFuel prices could be cut under government plans to share the proceeds of rises in the value of oil, David Cameron hinted
• Boris Johnson in historic talks with unions as Tube drivers call off royal wedding strikeBoris Johnson attempts to rebuild his relationship with Tube drivers after welcoming their decision to abandon plans for a royal wedding day strike

Metro

• Boris Johnson discusses driverless Tubes in face of more strikesBoris Johnson has raised the prospect of driverless tubes as Londoners face further strikes on the London Underground in the coming months.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Councils get £15m extra for winter Councils are to share an extra £15million to cover the impact of the recent Arctic weather on Scotland™s roads.
• Airport user numbers badly hit by weatherWintry weather is being blamed for airports in the Highlands and islands losing more than 10,000 passengers in December, compared with last year.
• Council may need cash reserves for roads saltingHighland Council might have to use money from its reserve fund towards the cost of gritting and salting during the recent severe weather.
• Rail passengers warned to expect disruption Rail passengers are being warned to expect disruption while work is carried out to upgrade the track between Aberdeen and Dundee.

The York Press

• Fresh look at 20mph speed limit COUNCIL chiefs in York will take a fresh look at including views on 20mph speed limits in the city within a blueprint for its transport future.

The Shields Gazette

• Cracking up as road worsensRESIDENTS on a South Shields estate are cracking up over the state of a road.

Other Regional Press

• Bus, rail firm™s profits slide £7m in big freezeGlasgow™s largest train and bus operator has said that last month™s severe weather cost the firm £7m.
• Decision due on 20mph zonePlans to introduce a 20mph zone on roads near two schools in central Watford will be discussed next week.
• Call for Warminster town bike path link A new cycle path that was supposed to have been adopted in 1981 to link Warminster Business Park to the town, could soon become a reality.
• Chance to take advantage of car share scheme MOTORISTS in Burnham and Highbridge struggling with increases in fuel duty and VAT are urged to take advantage of a free car sharing service.
• Factory teams up with F1 legend for prototypeA motorsport factory is weeks away from completing a prototype for a £300,000 racing car after teaming up with Formula 1 team McLaren. CRS Racing signed a deal last year to design the model based on McLaren's new MP4-12C supercar. It plans to build, sell and support 15 of the cars in the first year of production, from its factory at Bardon Hill, near Coalville. As part of the development programme, McLaren and CRS will use the prototype to compete at a limited number of European GT races in 2011 against the likes of the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 and Porsche 911 GT3. CRS Racing has a pedigr...
• Bredon bus battle beginsPeople in the Bredon could lose their only bus services, under cost-cutting plans.
• Drive to boost road safety POLICE are meeting parents and children at every school in Abingdon in a bid to improve road safety.
• Park and ride plan could end the jams TRANSPORT chiefs are looking at whether a park and ride car park near Bicester Village could resolve traffic problems for the designer outlet centre.

New Scientist

• Crystal sieves could make oil sands greenerNaturally occurring crystals could help scrub greenhouse gases from fossil fuels
• Car batteries run on relativityThe lead-acid batteries that power car starters get about 80 per cent of their voltage from relativistic effects on electrons zipping around lead nuclei

Washington Post

• Toyota: Rising yen could force production shifts TOKYO -- Toyota's president acknowledged that shifting production abroad may be inevitable to ward off damage from a rising yen, a reversal of course for the Japanese automaker.

Railway Gazette

• Flywheel railcar to operate demonstration commuter service UK: A lightweight diesel railcar with flywheel energy storage is to operate a demonstration commuter service on the Mid-Hants heritage railway in southern England for four weeks from January 24. The Parry People Mover PPM50 will provide a peak commuter service from Medstead & Four Marks to Alton, where there is an interchange with South West Trains services to London. There will be five services in each of the morning and afternoon peaks, Monday to Friday. The PPM50 has space for 20 seated and 30 standing passengers. It uses a flywheel to store energy, permitting the use of a smaller dies...

Green Miscellany

• Fair-weather cyclist getting back in the saddle “ London Bike Show! By my own admission I am a fair-weather cyclist; my daily commute has returned to the car as I am not brave enough to attempt my 16-mile ride in England™s winter months. I still use my bikes for the odd short trip, but over all my cycling has stooped to an all time low!read more

Other News Sources

• Study: piracy costs up to $12Bn per yearPIRACY costs the international economy at least $7-12Bn a year, according to a new study released by UK think-tank Chatham House. Study: piracy costs up to $12Bn per year
• Housing demand puts brake on road project A NEW affordable housing complex can be built in Wickham, despite £100,000 of road improvements falling through.
• Relax, unwind and chill out at Gatwick™s travel spa* New passenger lounge to open in Gatwick™s North Terminal ahead of the 2011 summer season * Travel spa facility open to all passengers for the first time at Gatwick Passengers flying through Gatwick™s North Terminal this summer will be able to enjoy full-on pre-travel pampering in the new No.1 Traveller Lounge. With its travel [...]
• Eurostar reports strong growth in 2010 with sales revenue up 12% compared with 2009 Eurostar, the high-speed rail service between the UK and mainland Europe, today announced a continued increase in overall sales revenue in 2010 compared with 2009. Sales revenue for the year is up 12% on 2009, from £675.5m to £760m. This uplift is due to the continued recovery of the business market that has been a trend through the year as well as growth in the overall number of passengers choosing high-speed rail over plane for short-haul travel in Europe.Healthy growth in business revenuesDuring the year the business market has performed well reflecting the bounce-back in business activity...
• Bus drivers take the wheel as light rail reaches the Holy CityUzi Ovadia, a bus driver until nine months ago, will be among the most important people of the new year in Jerusalem. Starting this summer, Ovadia and 50 of his colleagues will be sitting in the drive
• Lifeboat supporters in Sussex issue cry for help Volunteer lifeboat supporters have issued a cry for help.
• RMT announces strike dates after massive majority vote for action over breakdown of industrial relations at Docklands Light RailwayTRANSPORT UNION RMT today announced 48 hours of strike action on DLR between 03.59 hours Thursday 20th January 2011 and 03.58 hours Saturday 22nd January 2011 in a dispute with Serco Docklands over the following issues: -
• Scotland receives salt deliveriesSalt supplies in Scotland have been boosted with the delivery of 4,000t of salt for use on roads in the north east.
• Who will be the next boss of Crossrail?Following the dramatic news that Crossrail chief executive Rob Holden has quit after less than two years in the job, NCE wants to hear your views on who will be his replacement.
• Gloucester Man Struck by Train at Salem DepotA 26-year-old Gloucester man suffered knee and leg injuries yesterday after he was struck by an incoming MBTA commuter rail train at Salem Depot.