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

Wednesday, 20 April 2011

BBC News

• Decision due on Cumbria home school transport A decision will be made next week over proposals for a shake-up of home-to-school transport in Cumbria.
• Candidates clash over fuel pricesPoliticians face questions about what they would do to help motorists with rising fuel prices.
• Dispute 'may stop tram schemes'A light rail campaigner criticises the
• Bikers lose London parking appealMotorcyclists calling for an end to £1-a-day parking charges for bikes in central London lose their appeal against Westminster Council.
• Tube users evacuate stuck trainsTube passengers are forced to evacuate trains after a power failure stalled them in tunnels.
• Record-breaking Tube user numbersLondon Underground (LU) carried a record 1.1 billion passengers in the past year, figures show.

Financial Times

• BA chief lets fly at security checksSir Martin Broughton has called for 'security light' lanes at airports for trusted frequent flyers and an end to a one-size-fits-all policy
• Deutsche Bahn Arriva eyes £2bn spending spree Bus and rail group amassed a £2bn war chest to invest in contracts and acquisitions over the next three years
• Ryanair to allow passengers to book seats Budget carrier breaks with one of the key principles of the low-cost airline model by taking limited seat reservations on some routes

The Guardian

• M1 engineers could take a leaf out of Japan's book It took the Japanese just six days to fix a motorway wrecked by an earthquake. Meanwhile, we're still waiting
• In praise of … the M1 The spine of England and a seemingly unavoidable element of any road journey between north and south
• Boris Johnson drops key aide in City Hall reshuffle London mayor drops economic adviser as he announces reshuffle designed to strengthen top team ahead of next year's election campaign

The Scotsman

• Botched road repairs 'cost £70m'Botched streetworks are costing council taxpayers £70 million every year, the Local Government Association (LGA) has said.

Mail Online

• 'Should pilots face same checks as Yemeni students?' BA boss calls for end to airport security misery Yemeni students should face tougher airport checks than frequent flyers, the chairman of British Airways has said.
• Eurostar profits show rail firm's fortunes are firmly on track New figures for Eurostar suggest that passengers have forgiven the rail company for the delays that have affected thousands of travellers over the last two Christmas periods.

Network Rail

• IMAGES OF BROMLEY SOUTH STATION UPGRADE UNVEILED
• NETWORK RAIL AND 3R LAND & PROPERTY SUBMIT PLANS FOR A NEW MIXED USE DEVELOPMENT IN GATESHEAD
• NETWORK RAIL AND 3R LAND & PROPERTY SUBMIT PLANS FOR A NEW MIXED USE DEVELOPMENT IN GATESHEAD

Birmingham Mail

• Travel chaos hits Birmingham buses, trains and roads BIRMINGHAM city centre was hit by travel chaos this evening with bus passengers, rail travellers and motorists all affected by a series of incidents which have caused major disruption.

Birmingham Post

• 72% of Birmingham and Solihull firms back high speed rail link New research shows more than two-thirds of businesses in Birmingham and Solihull are in favour of the high speed rail link (HS2) between London, Birmingham and the north.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Porthmadog bypass 'cuts off villagers from play area' A NEW £35m bypass has cut off parents and children from a popular play area, it was claimed.

Derby Telegraph

• Soapbox Jean Kelsey: Public transport has countless benefits but 2% of drivers can ruin our dayHAVING retired a few years ago, my husband and I were constantly reminded that

Edinburgh Evening News

• Salmond's tram angerAlex Salmond has spoken of his "fury" over Edinburgh's trams project.

Journal Live

• Bosses silent over Newcastle Airport sale claims NEWCASTLE Airport bosses remained tight-lipped last night amid speculation that the whole of the site could be put up for sale.

London Evening Standard

• 'Alpha female' is appointed as Mayor's deputyBoris Johnson appoints an 'alpha female' American transport expert as his first woman Deputy Mayor
• Ministers accused of 'rubbishing' the alternative to HS2Ministers have been accused of stepping up pressure for the high-speed rail link to go ahead by increasing the estimates for an alternative transport link
• Botched road repairs 'cost £70m'Botched streetworks are costing council taxpayers £70 million every year, the Local Government Association (LGA) has said.

Manchester Evening News

• Fuel protest go-slow ’to bring motorways to standstill’ A huge ˜go-slow™ protest over the cost of fuel is set to bring motorway traffic to a halt across Greater Manchester. Up to 1,000 vehicles will be involved in the protest on Sunday, May 8, say organisers.
• Fuel protest go-slow ’to bring motorways to standstill’ A huge ˜go-slow™ protest over the cost of fuel is set to bring motorway traffic to a halt across Greater Manchester. Up to 1,000 vehicles will be involved in the protest on Sunday, May 8, say organisers.
• Campaigners accuse Metrolink of 'cynical action' after Woodlands Road stop is closed evenings and weekendsProtesters fighting to keep open a Metrolink station have criticised a move to shut it at evenings and weekends “ as a new stop opens nearby. Tram bosses have opened the new stop at Abraham Moss in Crumpsall, north Manchester, saying it will help boost regeneration and improve access to the school and community complex.

Northern Echo

• Rail hub could create 150 jobsDERELICT land in the region could become the site of a new railway maintenance hub if plans are shown the green light. Network Rail, the company that owns and operates the countrys rail network, and 3R Land & Property have submitted a planning application to develop a brownfield site on Askew Road, Gateshead that could create about 150 jobs.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Hard-core bikers scorn our road laws, says safety chief A hard core of motorcyclists believe they are above the law and that speed limits do not apply to them, a road safety chief has claimed.

Other Regional Press

• '3,000 trees face chop if HS2 goes ahead' THIS thicket of 3,000 trees stands to be completely demolished to make way for a cutting for the HS2 railway.
• Weymouth's transport system: Shake-up causes chaos ANGER is growing over changes to Weymouth’s transport system with drivers claiming the shake-up is causing chaos.
• MP wades into row about high speed rail AN MP is supporting plans to build a railway line through the Chilterns despite opposition from rural campaigners. The ’High Speed 2’ line would offer a 39-minute route between Birmingham and London.
• Council demonstrates commitment to A5/M1 link roadThe A5/M1 link road took an important step forward yesterday when Central Bedfordshire Council reached an agreement to make 5million available to the Department for Transport to fund the project. The

Campaign for Better Transport

• Cable cars can kill off old road schemes19 April: The London Mayor, Boris Johnston, has just announced that construction of a cable car across the Thames between Greenwich Peninsular and the Royal Docks will begin in the summer. We can claim some small credit for this as the scheme was first proposed by expert witnesses whom we had introduced to the public inquiry on the Thames Gateway Bridge. read more

Global Rail News

• Groupe Eurotunnel reports ˜strong growth™ for first quarter of 2011Groupe Eurotunnel has reported a 24% growth from the first quarter of 2010 in revenue, to a total of €179.2 million. This surge has been powered ...
• Russian Railways visits University of PortsmouthIn a week long stay at the University of Portsmouth™s Business School, 30 members of Russian Railways™ (RZD) senior management have recently taken part in a ...
• Annual Rail Safety Summit 18th May 2011This year™s annual Rail Safety Summit is taking place on Wednesday 18th May 2011 at Holywell Park Conference Centre, Loughborough University. Focusing on safety across the ...
• Southeastern High Speed Services to take spectators to The OpenSoutheastern today announced that it will be running special, direct High Speed services to take passengers to and from The Open at Royal St George’s. “Whenever ...
• BtP issue warning after stone throwing takes train out of serviceBritish Transport Police officers are sending a warning after safety fears emerged over stones being thrown at trains. Following an incident at the weekend in Kettering ...
• Greengauge 21 ˜confirms the case™ for HS2 & East Midlands linkGreengauge 21 today published a Position Statement on the HS2 proposals for a new high-speed railway line between London and the West Midlands as an early ...
• Business ˜overwhelming™ in its support for HS2Businesses in Birmingham and Solihull are ‘overwhelmingly in favour’ of the high speed rail link between London, Birmingham and the north, new research reveals today. A ...
• Network Rail submits plans for new maintenance centreNetwork Rail and 3R Land & Property have today submitted a planning application to develop on a brownfield site on Askew Road, Gateshead “ creating jobs ...
• Scotland calls for rail journey time upgrades to capture air marketTransform Scotland has called for journey time upgrades so that rail can capture a greater market share of travel from aviation. The transport alliance was responding to the ...
• Improvements for Whitlock™s End station set to beginExtension work worth more than £500,000 to expand Park and Ride at a busy commuter railway station near Birmingham is set to begin. The £577,000 expansion ...
• Images of Bromley South station upgrade revealedNew images have been released showing how Bromley South station could look following a radical makeover which will bring long-lasting improvements for the tens of thousands ...
• First Capital Connect helps to train Guide DogsFirst Capital Connect, in a drive to further assist disabled passengers, has recently been working with a Luton based dog trainer to help guide dogs familiarise ...
• 400,000 people expected to travel by train for Royal WeddingUp to 400,000 people are expected to travel by train into central London on the day of the Royal Wedding, according to estimates by the Association ...

Aviation Industry

• Qantas CEO Joyce says unions' demands will 'kill jobs'Qantas CEO Alan Joyce slammed the unions representing the airline's engineers, pilots and baggage handlers, telling ATW that they are conducting a
• Lufthansa Cargo considers additional cargo JVs with LH Group carriers Lufthansa Cargo Chairman and CEO Karl Ulrich Garnadt said the Austrian Lufthansa Cargo joint venture launched last year, through which LH and subsidiary Austrian Airlines jointly market and manage the two carriers' cargo capacity (ATW Daily News, Feb. 25, 2010), has been successful. The airlines integrated handling and distribution in Austria while freight activities in all other countries fall under LHC management.
• Ryanair to trial reserved seatingNo-frills carrier Ryanair plans to trial pre-booked seating on its flights from Dublin and Gatwick to Malaga

Other News Sources

• Greengauge 21 confirms the case for a national HSR networkGreengauge 21 today published a Position Statement on the HS2 proposals for a new high-speed railway line between London and the West Midlands as an early contribution to the Government consultation currently underway.
• M1 motorway blaze was started deliberately, say fire chiefs London fire brigade says investigation into scrapyard fire that closed the M1 motorway has been handed over to police
• Assembly warns of uncertain future for London™s street trees 19 April 2011 London™s street trees help green urban areas and enhance people™s quality of life, but they face an uncertain future because of funding pressures, a new London Assembly report warns today [1]. Branching Out, by the Assembly™s Environment Committee, finds that since it first highlighted the importance of street trees to the capital four years ago[2], numbers have held up, partly thanks to the Mayor™s Street Trees programme, which is on course to deliver an extra 10,000 trees in priority areas [3]. ...
• Mayor strengthens his top team 19 April 2011 The Mayor of London Boris Johnson has today announced a number of changes to strengthen his top team that will take him through the 2012 Games and beyond. Isabel Dedring is to become Deputy Mayor for Transport, to ensure that the unprecedented investment in the network the Mayor has secured delivers a better and more reliable service for Londoners. Daniel Moylan will increase his time commitment as Deputy Chairman of Transport for London from two to four days a week, ...
• Birmingham Airport to get 'leading high street brands'Birmingham Airport will soon be offering its passengers the chance to shop at additional high street fashion brands.As part of the travel hub's terminal redevelopment, it will welcome an Accessorize, JD Sports, Next and Superdry to its departure lounge this summer.Outbound passengers will be able to have a new shopping experience at the airport as a result of the opening of these shops and a new 19,000 square foot walk-through duty free area, which is being opened this month."We’re delighted to have attracted such major names. Our development strategy is all about improving the ...
• Landfill sites set to harvest biofuel crops Growing biofuel crops on landfill sites will soon be a reality as Waste Recycling Group (WRG) looks to generate renewable energy from former rubbish dumps.
• Business travel is increasing, but so are costsThis year travel managers will need to mitigate a hankering for more business travel with an unwelcome rise in costs