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

Saturday, 23 April 2011

BBC News

• Manchester Victoria station to get £20m new roof Plans to install a new £20m roof at Manchester's Victoria Station have been unveiled.
• Heathrow braced for a million travellers over Easter [video]This weekend will be one of the busiest of the year for Britain's airports.
• Crackdown on railway trespassers in East Midlands British Transport Police are cracking down on youngsters playing on railway tracks across the East Midlands during the Easter break.

Financial Times

• Eddie Stobart to raise £115m Road haulage group to raise £115m in a share placing as part of a restructuring of the business that will allow it to develop property assets
• Air traffic control lapses raise alarm over fatigueDespite the clamour after unsettling incidents involving air traffic controllers, the solution could be as simple as allowing them brief naps during breaks to refresh their concentration

The Guardian

• Turning the railway station into an airport [letter - Diane Bouzebiba, Amadeus Rail)While the EU proposals to reduce carbon emissions from transport by 60% over the next 40 years could be considered ambitious (EU could ground short-haul flights in favour of high-speed rail, 18 April), it's true that travellers are starting to see rail as a genuine alternative to some short-haul flights, principally because of its environmental benefits.

The Herald

• Islanders in a last-ditch effort to find lifeline for community ferry A CAMPAIGN to save the world™s last sea-going paddle steamer will be launched next week after the company behind the Clyde-based Waverley said it would make its last sailing this year unless an urgent injection of funds could be found.
• Blow to Garl as sites soldLABOUR hopes of reinstating the Glasgow Airport Rail Link (Garl) have suffered a fresh setback after it emerged that some of the land it was to be built on has been sold.

The Independent

• Cycling charity chief is knocked off bike by vanThe head of the charity responsible for the Britain's National Cycle Network is recovering in hospital after being knocked off his bike by a van.

The Scotsman

• Scots set to save on rail fares RAIL fares are set to rise faster in England and Wales than in Scotland from next year, saving Scottish commuters up to £750 over the next four years, it has been claimed.

The Telegraph

• Parents 'illegally' insuring their children More than half of parents taking out car insurance for their sons and daughters are unwittingly breaking the law in a bid to cut the cost of premiums.

Belfast Telegraph

• UK car production outstrips last year UK car production showed an increase last month but is set to be hit soon by manufacturing cutbacks by earthquake-affected Japanese companies. Related StoriesUp to 40 new jobs unveiled as fashion retailer locates in cityInnova launches £5m cross-border R&D planRed Sky’s ex-boss says row could cost 450 jobsBankruptcy for two more developersNew planning law will see raft of superstore projects, claim opponents

Birmingham Mail

• Birmingham Airport set to tender for runway extension project BIRMINGHAM Airport has agreed to go out to tender for its runway extension and is confident the £65 million project will be completed by the end of 2014.

Birmingham Post

• New images of Birmingham's high speed rail station revealed New images of the high speed rail station at Curzon Street in Birmingham have been released.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Living under Bridge's shadow IT'S the most expensive civil engineering project ever carried out in Scotland and one of the most costly bridges ever constructed anywhere.

London Evening Standard

• Happy Easter! Six lines hit as Tube faces shutdown after day of chaosHuge sections of London's transport system will shut down over the four-day Easter break, it emerged today.

Manchester Evening News

• Community’s windfall from noisy Manchester Airport planesSome £2.6m has been handed out by the airport™s community trust fund with fines from loud planes contributing to the pot. Any group within a 10-mile radius of the airport can apply for a grant.

The York Press

• York bids for £4.6m transport money COUNCIL chiefs in York have lodged a bid for £4.6 million in Government cash to boost cycling and other transport schemes in the city.
• York bids for £4.6m transport money COUNCIL chiefs in York have lodged a bid for £4.6 million in Government cash to boost cycling and other transport schemes in the city.
• York railway museum™s £21 million facelift scrapped A £21 MILLION pound project to transform the Great Hall at York™s National Railway Museum (NRM) has been abandoned in the wake of Government cuts.

Yorkshire Post

• Business leaders back rail link calls MORE than 100 business leaders from across the North have declared their support for plans to build a high-speed rail network linking London to Yorkshire.

Blackpool Gazette

• Trams back on PromenadeBLACKPOOL’S famous trams were back in service today as the new tourist season got into full swing for Easter.

Other Regional Press

• Busway handover welcomed but there is more work to doCritics of the guided busway have given a cautious welcome to the route’s handover to Cambridgeshire County Council and hope it can be opened in August.
• Guided bus finally handed over Contractors BAM Nuttall have completed the busway project today and handed over the route to Cambridgeshire County Council.
• Rail costs ’must not hit road budget’ The Borders railway, due to be completed in 2014, must not be allowed to suck money away from improving roads and maintaing bus routes, according to John Lamont, the Conservative candidate for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire.
• Government rejects Wolverhampton station funding plea Hopes of securing funding for a £154million new railway station in Wolverhampton have been dashed after the Government refused to force train companies to pay for it.
• Broadband more important to the Borders than new rail link - claim BETTER broadband would do more than the railway to attract new jobs to the area, according to a local business leader.
• Birds cause delays at Luton airportThere were delays and problems today at London Luton Airport with two incidents caused by birds on the runway.

Global Rail News

• Network Rail installs Edinburgh™s Waverley Station™s new roofOne year on from the start of the project, Network Rail has installed the first of 28,000 panes of glass into Waverley Station™s new roof. Part ...
• London TravelWatch objects to London Midland ticket office proposalLondon TravelWatch has written to the Government objecting to London Midlands™ proposals to change ticket office hours at its stations. The independent watchdog for transport users ...
• Eurostar reports an 8% surge in Easter weekend bookingsEurostar, the high speed passenger service between the UK and mainland Europe has reported an 8%1 surge in outbound bookings for Easter bank holiday weekend, compared ...
• Deutsche Bahn and Siemens agree ICx orderThat the supervisory board of Deutsche Bahn has approved an order for up to 300 ICx long-distance trains from Siemens. In a statement made today, Deutsche ...

Other News Sources

• Swindon Station plans 'still on track' A £1.75m plaza at Swindon railway station is still on course, despite being behind schedule.
• Hong Kong rail operator apologises over media threat HONG KONG — Hong Kong's government-owned rail operator has made a public apology after its media consultant threatened local papers with pulling out advertisments if they ran negative reports.
• Philip Hammond MP: RIP for Airtrack - but what's next? PEOPLE in Egham and across the constituency will be breathing a sigh of relief at the announcement that BAA has abandoned the Airtrack project. BAA's decision is the right one,
• Sub-contract on European train order could net billions for Bombardier MONTREAL — Bombardier has signed on as a sub-contractor to German rail firm Siemens AG in a deal valued at up to seven billion euros, or $10.2 billion U.S..