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

Saturday, 05 March 2011

BBC News

• Car boy, 5, hurt by thrown stoneA five-year-old car passenger is taken to hospital with serious facial injuries after a stone is thrown from a bridge on the A55 near Bangor.
• Another train strike on rugby dayDrivers working for Arriva Trains Wales (ATW) are to stage a fresh 24 hour walk out on 12 March, coinciding with Wales' next Six Nations fixture in Cardiff.
• Islanders' fuel deal moves closerPlans to cut the cost of petrol on a number of remote UK islands move forward as the European Commission receives a request for permission from the government.
• Numbers up at Derry AirportThe number of people using City of Derry Airport increased by more than nine per cent last month.
• VIDEO: Busted: disabled Blue Badge fraudBBC London's Paul Curran goes out in London to see what happens to drivers who misuse the disabled badges of family and friends.

Financial Times

• Huawei nears clearance on Tube dealChinese telecoms group close to winning clearance to supply London Underground with mobile phone network in time for 2012 Olympics
• Unions win key legal ruling on strikesThe Court of Appeal has lifted injunctions brought against two rail unions in a landmark move that labour officials say could pave the way for further industrial action
• Eurotunnel plunges to €57m lossProfits at the tunnel operator collapsed in 2010 as a result of a dispute with insurers over payments following a 2008 rail fire, which disrupted services for five months

The Herald

• Anger at plan for park and ride fees MOTORISTS have reacted with dismay after it emerged it could cost about £250 a year to use Scotland™s largest park and ride facility.
• Tram firm ran up £30,000 bill on rent for consultantsEDINBURGH™s tram company has been attacked for paying over £30,000 in rent for homes for consultants working on the project.
• Court ruling to fuel misery for UK pensionersTHE European Court of Justice™s ruling on the pricing of insurance this week could deal a further future blow to Britain™s already struggling pensioners.

The Independent

• Eurotunnel fire sparks ultimate insurance fight When a fire closed the Channel Tunnel in September 2008, the struggling operator Eurotunnel no doubt consoled itself with one thought: its insurers would pay up. More than two years and a half years later, however, Eurotunnel remains embroiled in a legal battle with the train operators that use its infrastructure between Britain and the Continent.
• Petrol prices and cuts likely to fuel protestsFuel prices and cuts to public services are the issues most likely to spark public protests in Britain, according to research.

Daily Express

• Oil price fuels share boom THE revolutionary atmosphere in North Africa and the Middle East may have cast fresh doubt over the global economic recovery.
• Takeover talk lifts Forth Ports FORTH Ports sailed higher -yesterday on the back of renewed takeover talk.
• Eurotunnel boosts trains for OlympicsBOOMING demand for travel from the Continent to the London Olympics has encouraged Eurotunnel to bring back one of its mothballed passenger shuttle trains.

The Sun

• Brits seize Libyan '£100m' money ship A SHIP packed with '£100million'of Libyan money has been seized and escorted into a British port

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Fuel cheaper in Hebrides and Scilly Isles than parts of North Wales FAMILIES in North Wales have been snubbed over plans to help some rural areas with the soaring price of fuel.

Journal Live

• Chancellor is urged to extend fuel price cut CHANCELLOR George Osborne is under pressure to slash the tax on fuel for remote areas of the North East after island communities were promised a 5p cut.

Liverpool Post

• Edge Lane roadworks mean single carriageway for a year, say Liverpool City Council ONE OF the main routes out of the city will be reduced to just a single carriageway for about a year the council have confirmed.

London Evening Standard

• Strike victory for rail unions: Commuters face more walkouts after landmark rulingLondon commuters face a crippling wave of transport strikes after a landmark legal ruling

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Metro menaces caused chaos after thefts PLUNDERING a key rail route, these three cable thieves caused travel misery for more than 15,000 commuters.

Nottingham Evening Post

• Government's rail plans are biggest-ever failure for this country's trainsDave Thornhill, chairman of the Notts Campaign for Better Transport, on the need for the Midland Mainline to be electrifiedWE may have invented the railways in Great Britain, but we have had great problems with

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Moray aims to carve out role in space tourist raceMoray could soon have a starring role in the space tourist race after the concept for a Lossiemouth centre was unveiled yesterday.

Blackpool Gazette

• Anger at resort rail link delayRAIL firms bidding to supply Blackpool’s London rail link are split over the decision to postpone the scheme.

Sunderland Echo

• Bus crash driver™s accidental deathA BUS driver died after a coach veered onto the wrong side of the road, an inquest was told.

Other Regional Press

• Former Hollyoaks actor Paul Danan denies railway chargeA FORMER Hollyoaks actor denied a charge of unacceptable behaviour at a Comet country train station when appearing at Stevenage Magistrates’ Court yesterday (Thursday).
• Cyclists get to see the truckers' point of view TRUCKERS drove home a hard-hitting road safety message by steering a lorry into Oxford™s Radcliffe Square.
• Coventry MP in bid to lead Commons revolt against HS2 rail plan COVENTRY MP Geoffrey Robinson is seeking to lead a Commons revolt against the £32 billion HS2 rail plan.

Railway Gazette

• Houston buys Siemens AvantosUSA: Harris County Metropolitan Transit Authority on February 24 allocated up to $83m to purchase an additional 19 Siemens S70 Avanto light rail vehicles, supplementing its existing fleet of 18. The 29 m long 70% low-floor cars will be part of a 180-unit option on a base order of 77 S70s which Utah Transit Authority authorised in the spring of 2008. The unusually large option was designed to be spread among other transit networks, allowing them to acquire new equipment at a lower price than they could obtain individually. Harris County MTA sought quick delivery from Siemens in order to qualify...

Aviation Industry

• Olympic Air to pull out of LondonGreek carrier Olympic Air will drop its flights to London Heathrow and Gatwick from March 27

Other News Sources

• Winter tyres alliance to boost winter resilience efforts A strategic voluntary alliance, brought together to focus on the part winter tyres can play in keeping Scotland moving during severe weather, will help boost Scotland™s resilience efforts said Transport Minister Keith Brown yesterday. The Minister was speaking after hosting a meeting of the Alliance in Edinburgh on 22 February 2011 that includes representatives from the insurance industry, tyre manufacturers and distributors and driving organisations, both public and commercial. Transport Minister Keith Brown said: read more
• Transport Minister - Air Passenger Duty must be devolved now Transport Minister, Keith Brown, has today called for Air Passenger Duty (APD) to be devolved now. Mr Brown said: œDespite recommendations by the Calman Commission on Scottish Devolution to devolve Air Passenger Duty, Westminster has yet to acknowledge the need to devolve responsibility now. read more
• Car sales resilient after scrappage boost endsNew car sales dipped less than expected last month, with 63,424 vehicles registered
• Low-carbon finance scheme set up to facilitate 'green growth' The Carbon Trust and Siemens are to provide finance worth up to £550m over the next three years for UK businesses wishing to invest in energy-efficiency equipment.
• Boost for campaign to reopen Fife rail lineA survey finds more than 80% of people in Newburgh support plans to reopen the town's derelict station.
• ETS Distribution reduces lorry accidents by 30%Loughborough-based ETS Distribution says it has recorded 30% fewer road accidents involving its trucks, since it introduced a new safe driving programme for its staff.
• Joseph Rice ceases trading due to soaring fuel pricesOne of Britain's oldest haulage firms Joseph Rice and Sons has cited the crippling cost of fuel as the major factor behind its collapse this week.
• Blackwall tunnel upgrade to be complete one year earlyWork to improve the safety provisions in the Blackwall tunnel will be completed this December “ one year ahead of schedule.
• Companies sought to transform the Olympic Park after the London 2012 GamesOpportunities have been advertised for contractors to transform the Olympic Park after the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
• Edinburgh facing £500m grant pay-back clauseTransport Scotland director warns Edinburgh City Council may be faced with a half billion pound bill if tram project is not completed
• UK union organises fourth strike ballot at UK airlineA UK union is organising the fourth strike ballot in two years at a UK airline as a cabin crew dispute continues to rage.
• Friday Focus: Size really does matter to MaerskThe biggest story of the year so far has been Maersk Line's US$1.8 billion order for ten 18,000teu ships. IFW's report attracted more than 3,500 hits. Why have these ships have attracted so much attention, what sort of impact will they have on the supply chain, and will containerships get any bigger? asks Damian Brett
• Shipping lines face squeezed margins as oil price hardensDeclining rates add to fears that carriers could soon be operating at a loss
• DSV UK road arm sees turnover and profit riseDSV has recorded a 7.5% increase in turnover within its UK road transport division in 2010, to DKK (Danish Kroner) 1.648bn (£174.6m).
• Avis courts TMCsTravel management companies are missing out on revenue opportunities from the car rental industry, according to Avis

Other Subscription Services

• Liverpool-Manchester rail electrification site-ready Network Rail says it is ready to start work on site for the electrification of the Manchester to Liverpool railway line.Following government approval for the project last year 7251, the...