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

Tuesday, 25 January 2011

BBC News

• Free bus passes 'should be cut back to help young' People aged over 65 should have their free bus passes scaled back so that the funds saved could allow young people to get to college, a Somerset MP has said.
• Weston-super-Mare MP calls for M5 junction improvements Weston-super-Mare's MP says plans to improve the town's junction with the motorway should be given priority.
• Vandalised Yate Railway Station shelters repaired Shelters at Yate Railway Station have been repaired following a spate of vandalism.
• Do you get one of the UK's most overcrowded trains? A Freedom of Information request has found that all of the top 10 most overcrowded trains (PDF) are those going into and out of the capital. It probably won't surprise the commuters who use these services but it might be interesting what the train operators are trying to do to alleviate the problem.
• Moving hire bikes around harming other cyclists... Another day, another Freedom of Information response lands on the desk here at the Mind the Gap blog. This request reveals that in six months since the bike hire scheme launched, the trucks that move the hire bikes around have been involved in 24 incidents.
• £4.8m fund for major road repairsMajor routes in Wales are to be upgraded under a £4.8m road improvement plan.
• Railway museum to close its doorsA museum dedicated to the railway heritage of Pontypool is closing due to financial pressures.
• New ten car fleet for ministersThe Northern Ireland Executive is to buy ten new ministerial cars at a cost of almost £200,000.
• Shortfall 'may hit road safety'Road safety in London will be hard to maintain owing to budget constraints, the London Assembly warns.
• Two Britons dead in Moscow blastA BA flight from London Heathrow lands at Moscow Domodedovo airport shortly before an explosion occurs.
• Fears over BMI route being axedBusiness leaders have expressed concerns following reports that the airline BMI is poised to axe its Glasgow to Heathrow route.
• New airline group begins tradingShares in International Consolidated Airlines Group - formed by the merger of BA and Iberia - rise on their first day of trading.
• Toyota holds on as top carmakerToyota beats General Motors to end 2010 as the world's largest carmaker despite suffering a series of recalls and safety issues.
• Greece to sue Siemens for briberyThe Greek government indicates it will take legal action against German industrial firm Siemens for allegedly bribing officials.

The Herald

• Catch 22 situation over tram funding ˜breaches™Government funding for Edinburgh™s crisis-hit tram line is unlikely to be stopped even if the project is found to have breached its grant conditions by shortening the route, Transport Scotland has admitted.
• Alloa hailed ˜best connected™ town for new businessThe businessman who owns Alloa Athletic Football Club claims investment in roads and rail has made the former industrial town that fell on hard times the best connected place for business in Scotland.

The Telegraph

• French row could derail Eurostar's expansion Plans to run direct rail services from the UK to Germany, Switzerland and Holland have been threatened by a row over the next generation of Eurostar trains.
• Plane diverted under RAF escort after disturbance on board Jets escort airliner to Stansted after passenger made threats.
• Moscow airport attack: timeline of attacks in Russia A suspected suicide bomb attack kills at least 31 people at Moscow's Domodedovo airport. The following is a timeline of big attacks on Russian soil over recent years:

Reuters News

• Deals and strikes loom for IAG after BA-Iberia mergerLONDON (Reuters) - International Airlines Group, formed from British Airways and Iberia, began its first day of trading Monday with unresolved issues, such as industrial unrest, facing it.

The Mirror

• Manchester school offers pupils chance to train as airline cabin crew A SCHOOL is offering students the chance to train as airline cabin crew.

ATOC

• Train companies and football clubs join forces to save fans time and moneyIt can be easier, cheaper and more environmentally friendly for football fans to travel to see their team play this year, thanks to a new partnership between The Football League and train companies....

Network Rail

• IMPROVEMENTS AT WELLINGBOROUGH STATION GIVE PASSENGERS A LIFT AND SPEED UP JOURNEY TIMES

Edinburgh Evening News

• Engineering director latest to leave tram projectAN engineering director is set to become the latest person to leave the tram project.
• Tram bosses seal deal with contractor after secret talksTRAM bosses have reached an agreement with one of their contractors after secret mediation talks were held between the two parties.

Journal Live

• Slaley villagers fight to keep drivers off rural 'roads' A ROW 240-years in the making will be brought before a Secretary of State as villagers fight plans to use narrow bridleways as public roads.

Metro

• 10 years of Class 333 trains Sixteen trains that carry tens of thousands of passengers every day between Leeds, Bradford, Ilkley and Skipton, have celebrated their 10th birthday.

Northern Echo

• Disabled stranded after service axed A DISABLED pensioner says she has been left isolated and depressed after a transport link was cut because of financial constraints.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Transport chiefs still not on board with bid to restore Kintore Station Transport bosses insisted yesterday that no decision had been reached on a new railway station at Kintore – though Aberdeenshire councillors meeting this week will be told early construction of a single-platform facility is unli

The York Press

• Anger at changes to Selby train services RAIL passengers are warning of tough times ahead for Selby area jobhunters and employees if Northern Rail goes ahead with proposed changes to rush-hour services from May.
• Free bikes for schoolchildren on council's agenda TRANSPORT chiefs in York are to look at whether hundreds of pupils in the city could be given free bikes to help them get to school.

Wales Online

• Business leaders in plea over rail-link electrification A LETTER calling on the Transport Secretary to press ahead with the electrification of the South Wales mainline has garnered 132 signatures. A host of Welsh business leaders, including the chief executive of Wales’ biggest listed business have all signed up calling on Philip Hammond to give the go-ahead for the electrification of the line to Swansea.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Bridgework hits Leeds bus link - for 3 years Bus services to a Leeds village face being disrupted for up to THREE YEARS because a railway bridge over which they pass has been ruled unsafe.

Yorkshire Post

• Locals want to be in the driving seat in the Dales People in the Yorkshire Dales are bidding to take over managing their local bus services as routes face major cuts. Mark Holdstock reports.

Sunderland Echo

• New price hike fuels go-slow city protestDRIVING instructors staged a go-slow protest through the city against ever-increasing petrol prices.

Other Regional Press

• Southeastern passengers to have no say on train operator franchise Thousands of Kent’s rail travellers will not have a say on whether under-fire operator Southeastern should have its franchise renewed for a further two years, it has emerged.
• Derailed train hangs in the balanceENGINEERS will be unable to move a derailed maintenance train until the weekend.
• 2,600 tickets in a year on Huddersfield’s top five streets for parking fines THE Examiner can today reveal the Huddersfield roads named as Kirklees Council’s top cash generators.
• HS2 rail protest banners vanish in night BANNERS put up by protesters fighting plans for the HS2 high speed railway line have disappeared overnight.

Campaign for Better Transport

• Devon slashes services to find cash for Kingskerswell Bypass24 January: There's a whiff of desperation in the air, as Devon CC slashes £54 million from its annual budget but promises another £21 million for the Kingskerswell Bypass. read more
• Heysham M6: cost savings don't add up24 January: Forgive me for writing another blog about major scheme business cases. But something is rotten in the county of Lancashire. read more

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Growth in green car popularity forecast for 2011Eco-friendly vehicles will become more popular during 2011, one expert has predicted.Head of communications at the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership (LowCVP) Neil Wallis stated green vehicles will play a growing role in the market during the coming 12 months.He noted such cars can help to reduce the cost of driving by pushing down fuel use and cutting the amount of tax motorists have to pay."Also, access to areas like the congestion zone in London is cheaper or low cost for greener cars," Mr Wallis added.According to the LowCVP representative, people will start to realise the &a...

Railnews

• News: Network Rail warns of ’tough’ Welsh reopening plan A feasibility study into the prospect of restoring passenger services on part of a disused branch line on the Isle of Anglesey starts this week, but Network Rail has warned that bringing trains back will be ’tough’. The branch from Gaerwen Junction to Amlwch was closed to passenger traffic in December 1964, and the line has been mothballed since 1993.

Aviation Industry

• Adria Airways concludes bailout, names new CEO Financially beleaguered Adria Airways said it successfully concluded negotiations to acquire much-needed liquidity (ATW Daily News, Jan. 11). According to a statement from the state-owned airline, "the funds represent the basis for a serious and fundamental restructuring of the company." Adria acquired the cash injection by selling ordinary shares in Adria Airways Tehnika to PDP. It is expected that a similar agreement will soon follow with Aerodrom Ljubljana.
• Trading starts in joint BA-Iberia sharesShares in the newly merged British Airways-Iberia company started trading this morning, as the International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG)
• Glasgow Bmi loss is œgreat concernA Scottish travel chief has warned that the loss of Bmi™s Glasgow-London Heathrow service would lead to a BA monopoly on the route and an inevitable increase in air fares
• Bomb at Moscow airportScores dead at Domodedovo aiport

Other News Sources

• UK's first hydrogen ferry project given go ahead Bristol Hydrogen Boats, a consortium formed between No 7 Boat Trips, the Bristol Packet, and Auriga Energy Ltd, is set to demonstrate the hydrogen-fuelled ferry for six months in Bristol Harbour from June 2011.
• Flights Coaches group makes £3m acquisition BIRMINGHAM-based transport group Rotala has acquired Preston Bus Ltd in a £3.2m deal from rival Stagecoach.
• Stagecoach sells Preston Bus for £3m BUS giant Stagecoach has announced that it has sold the Preston Bus company to Midlands operator Rotala for £3m in cash.
• Transport company FirstGroup leads gains in travel and leisure sectorhe FTSE 100 was up 0.81 percent to 5,943.85 in London, while the FTSE 250 added 0.35 percent to 11,573.4. The travel and leisure sector was mostly higher, led by transport groups as FirstGroup (LSE: FGP) turned in the best performance in the sector, adding 3.25 percent, followed by a 3.22 percent gain for National Express Group (LSE: NEX), while hotels and restaurants operator Whitbread (LSE: WTB) gained 3.08 percent.
• Boris wants fuel duty stabiliserLondon mayor Boris Johnson has made the case for a fuel duty stabiliser, pressuring the government ahead of this spring's Budget.
• Piezo fuel injectors may improve aircraft efficiency Researchers at Bath University are developing technology for more efficient ˜lean burn™ aircraft engines that will have a lower environmental impact, thereby helping to meet emissions targets for the airline industry.
• Pothole repair fund 'will be short'Pothole repair funding faces a £165 million shortfall across England, a council lobbying group has warned. Updated on 24/01/2011 13:41:54. © RAC breakdown cover and car insurance.
• Councils face £165m roads maintenance funding gapCouncils in England face a £165 million funding gap to repair roads damaged by extreme weather conditions, local authority leaders have said.