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

Thursday, 07 April 2011

BBC News

• Bus regulator condemns firm bossThe traffic commissioner issues a damming report into the activities of south Wales bus operator Clayton Jones, and withdraws his company's licence.
• AUDIO: Borders railway link gets mixed responsePlans to reopen about 30 miles of railway between Millerhill near Edinburgh and Tweedbank receive a mixed public response.
• Tories pledge Severn tolls freezeThe Conservatives say they would freeze the tolls on the Severn bridges for car drivers, in an assembly election pledge.
• VIDEO: Tube station unveils video artCommuters at Liverpool Street can now see a video about art on the underground, which features a London-based artist who went to Antarctica for inspiration.
• VIDEO: Crossrail dig unearths skeletonsArchaeologists surveying the ground at Liverpool Street station in preparation for Crossrail tunnelling have unearthed hundreds of skeletons on the site of a historic mental health hospital.
• Plan for 'better high-speed rail'Environmental charities have formed an alliance calling on the government to reconsider its approach to a London-to-Birmingham high-speed rail line.
• Pilots 'suffer cockpit fatigue'One in five pilots suffer from fatigue in the cockpit at least once a week, a study seen by the BBC suggests.
• China ups fuel price to new highsChina increases the retail price of gasoline and diesel to record highs after a rise in global crude costs.

Department for Transport

• England to benefit from over 500 green busesGovernment funding of over £46 million will see 542 new low carbon buses on roads across England by March 2012, Transport Minister Norman Baker announced today.

Financial Times

• Easyjet reports 12% jump in passengersThe budget carrier became the third airline this week to report a jump in monthly passenger figures as European carriers continue to show signs of improvement
• Case study: Porter Airlines Porter Airlines shows how companies can differentiate themselves in ways that rivals can't copy. Bob Deluce launched his low-cost carrier into a saturated US marketplace

The Guardian

• Sleep in or work from home: minister's plans to ease rush hour Transport minister says 'it is crazy these days for people to go to work when work can come to people' The transport minister, Norman Baker, wants to dramatically reduce rush hour in the capital and across the country by convincing companies to let people work from home, come in late, or set up satellite offices that will create commuting routes which go against existing traffic.

The Herald

• New car sales figures show signs of turning the cornerSCOTTISH car showrooms have welcomed encouraging signs that they have turned the corner on a downturn in sales after new registrations went up by 4% compared with 2009.
• Stagecoach orders 20 additional buses in £3.8m dealSTAGECOACH has said it will buy an additional 20 Enviro 400 hybrid diesel-electric buses from Alexander Dennis in Falkirk in a deal worth £3.8 million.

The Independent

• Safety fears follow Tube flooding Rail union leaders today called for an urgent review of safety procedures after claiming that an internal report into a flooding incident at a Tube station in London showed it almost ended in "disaster".
• Road to nowhere: Victory has proved to be hollow for the opponents of Heathrow's third runway When the Coalition Government scrapped Heathrow airport's proposed third runway (R3), there was, naturally, much rejoicing in the village of Sipson. For this was the community that had been doomed to be bulldozed to make way for the concrete and asphalt. A "victory" party was thrown in the King William IV pub. After years of anxiety, villagers – in a campaign that made national headlines – had won a famous victory. The village had been "saved". Or had it?
• One in five airline pilots suffers fatigue One in five airline pilots suffers from fatigue in the cockpit at least once a week and their abilities are compromised as a result, a study suggests.

The Telegraph

• New car sales tumble as 11-plate fails to draw buyers Sales in March, with new 11-plate cars available, totalled 366,101 - a 7.9pc drop on the March 2010 figure, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said.
• Oliver Letwin 'was arguing there should be more airport capacity in the north' when he made Sheffield commentsOliver Letwin was trying to argue there should be more airport capacity in the north rather than the south of England, when he allegedly said people from Sheffield should not take cheap package holidays, according to Government sources.
• Business leaders call for private toll roadsPrivate companies should be brought in to build a network of toll roads and high speed lanes to tackle congestion, a leading business figure has said.
• Long-haul pilots fell asleep at controlsTwo pilots fell asleep on a flight it has emerged, as a study revealed that one in five have has complained of fatigue.

Press Association

• Railway job losses 'a hammer blow' Union leaders have described news of fresh job losses among rail contract workers in depots including London Waterloo as a "hammer blow" to the industry. The Rail Maritime and Transport union said it had been told that Thales will axe 80 jobs, blaming "business challenges" and a cut in orders.

Daily Express

• EasyJet flying highEASYJET provided more evidence of a recovery in European air travel by posting an uplift in passenger numbers in March.
• Rolls-Royce presses on with £2.8bn Tognum bidROLLS-ROYCE and car giant -Daimler yesterday refused to sweeten a €3.2billion (£2.8billion) offer for Tognum as they formally launched their takeover bid for the German engineer.

Mail Online

• This is your captain sleeping: How exhausted pilots snooze at the controls (and two of them even had a nap at the same time)Nearly half of easyJet pilots surveyed said they were suffering from significant fatigue and a fifth reported that their abilities were compromised in flight.

Birmingham Mail

• Passengers miss out on £90million new fleet of trains because of LondonMidland rail row with drivers A £90 million new West Midland train fleet could sit gathering dust because of a bitter row between drivers and the region’s biggest operator.

Birmingham Post

• New London Midland train fleet faces being unused due to drivers dispute A £90 million new train fleet could sit gathering dust because of a bitter row between drivers and the region’s biggest operator.
• Train fares set to rise four times faster than wages The price of train tickets on routes around Birmingham are set to rocket by four times the rate of wage rises in the next year, transport campaigners warned.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Rail firm pays £2k to schools after trains cancelled TWO schools are to get a cash payout from train operators after pupils were left stranded by a line closure.

Derby Telegraph

• Labour MP writes to PM over Tory pothole e-mail CITY Labour MP Chris Williamson has written to the Prime Minister asking him to censure the Conservative group on Derby City Council.

Journal Live

• Train firms making a comeback to win Tyneside to London customers RAIL companies have made a comeback in the fight to win the most customers between Tyneside and London.
• Train firms making a comeback to win Tyneside to London customers RAIL companies have made a comeback in the fight to win the most customers between Tyneside and London.

Liverpool Post

• Easyjet passenger growth continues EASYJET recorded an 11.9% increase in passenger numbers during March.

Manchester Evening News

• New Manchester Airport car park investigated over claims it does not have planning permission Manchester Airport is being investigated after claims it started to build a car park without planning permission. Bosses began extending their shuttle park on Moss Lane, Wilmslow, last month but now Cheshire East council is examining whether the work is legal.

Yorkshire Post

• York rail jobs under threatUnion leaders have described news of fresh job losses among rail contract workers as a “hammer blow” to the industry.

Other Regional Press

• Coventry and Warwickshire rail station cutbacks slammed by watchdog THE UK’s transport watchdog has criticised plans to cut ticket office opening hours at rail stations across Coventry and Warwickshire.

Campaign for Better Transport

• Contentious claims on congestion6 April: Transport for London, the Mayor™s agent, is now poo-pooing its own forecast, made only last year in the Mayor™s Transport Strategy, that congestion on the roads would grow 14% by 2031. read more

Freight on Rail

• Key rail freight route expanded Freight on Rail welcomes the completion of the gauge enhancements 1 on the rail route between Felixstowe and Nuneaton opening up the route for higher volumes of long distance low carbon rail freight traffic.

Global Rail News

• Rail plans signal progress on Salisbury “ Exeter lineA major plan to modernise the signalling infrastructure on the Salisbury – Exeter line is being unveiled today by Network Rail. The £20m scheme will significantly ...
• NXEA™s Bob Barnes celebrates 50 years on the railwayNational Express East Anglia™s Robert Barnes has retired after working for more than half a century in the rail industry. The Ilford depot based technician, known ...
• Union Pacific to invest $400m in New Mexico rail facilityAmerica’s largest railroad network, Union Pacific, is going to construct a new rail facility in New Mexico. Construction will begin in June and is expected to ...
• Melbourne puts Alstom™s latest X™Trapolis trains on the railsMelbourne’s Metro put Alstom’s latest X’Trapolis trains on its network at the end of February, 2 months ahead of schedule. œThe X™Trapolis trains are the safest, ...
• 24 states apply for high speed funding in USSince an additional $2.4 billion was made available by the Department of Transportation for high speed rail projects, over 90 applications from 24 states have been ...
• East Midlands to ˜reap rewards™ of HS2Transport Secretary Philip Hammond has said that the East Midlands’ position at the heart of the proposed high speed network will allow residents to ‘reap the ...
• DB freight train arrives from China into Duisburg after 10,300km journeyA container train from Chongqing in China arrived on the evening of 4 April into Duisburg, Germany after travelling for 16 days. The DB Schenker freight ...

Railnews

• HS2 trains ’should be slower’, urge green campaigners A NEW alliance of green campaigners is urging a rethink on the route and nature of HS2, accompanied by suggestions that if a new line is built, its trains should be slower than the government has proposed.

Aviation Industry

• We are listening, Easyjet CEO tells buyersEasyjet is open to discussions with business travel buyers and managers, Carolyn McCall told delegates at the ITM Intelligence Conference

Other News Sources

• Rail contractor Thales announces 80 job losses in latest hammer blow to rail industryA further hammer blow has been delivered to the rail industry today with the news that the contractor Thales is to cut 80 members of staff from its workforce adding to hundreds of jobs already slashed from the tracks - making a mockery of Government claims to be investing in rail infrastructure
• Electric charging points switch on in MK