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

Monday, 02 May 2011

Financial Times

• Freight customers shift to train travel High fuel prices for trucks, growing road congestion and increasing environmental concerns are gradually pushing some of the UK’s highest-profile freight customers to shift traffic on to trains, according to senior logistics and rail executives.

The Guardian

• Three years of Boris: Mayor Johnson's record on transport Three years ago today Londoners elected their first Conservative executive Mayor. Boris Johnson's headline manifesto pledges in what he correctly termed "the Mayor's biggest area of responsibility" were distinguished by populist promises tailored to please Outer London voters and quite a lot of wishful thinking, yet guided by a very Conservative self-belief that practical management measures would be more effective than radical re-thinks. Those pledges were as follows:
• AA asks European Union to investigate oil market manipulation The AA is to ask the European competition commissioner to investigate whether oil and petrol markets are being manipulated as Shell reports first quarter profits up 40%, making its global profits stand at nearly £2m per hour.

The Herald

• Trams body faces being thrown off the job EDINBURGH’S trams body could be stripped of its key responsibilities for the project over fears about its performance.
• Trains to cost £230m extraTHE cost of acquiring 38 new ScotRail trains for the west of Scotland has more than doubled after officials admitted their original figures were £230 million short of the true price.

Belfast Telegraph

• Threatened New York air route reprieved, but future is uncertain Northern Ireland’s only transatlantic air route has been saved — for the time being. The popular Continental service from Belfast to New York (Newark) — which is worth around £20m to the local economy — had been threatened by the huge increase in Air Passenger Duty (APD) introduced by the Treasury last November.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Bumper tourism weekend in North East Wales BEAUTY spots and holiday parks have reported their busiest weekend so far this year, with thousands of tourists flocking to the area.

Derby Telegraph

• Japan rail contract is a missed chance for UK [letter]IN March I sent the following letter to Transport Minister Philip Hammond and MPs Margaret Beckett, David Miliband and Alistair Darling. So far, no one has had the courtesy to reply with any reason for the award of a major rail contract to Hitachi in Japan:

Journal Live

• Newcastle duo get on their bikes to inspire CYCLING teachers Mark Outterside and John Vyle are getting on their bikes – to help their pupils do the same.

Sheffield Star

• Old South Yorkshire trains now safe after modifications modifications have been made to old trains in use around South Yorkshire after concerns about their safety. Operator Northern said its fleet of bus-style Pacer trains, which date back to the 1980s, has undergone the work after they were deemed unsafe in 1999 when a carriage was almost demolished when hit by an express train at 50mph.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Rail buffs hope housing firm leaves track at Cruden Bay Developers behind plans for 216 homes in a Buchan village have been urged to protect a former railway line near the site for possible future reinstatement.

Wales Online

• Extra trains for Fishguard – which has no station for them to stop at RAIL passengers fear an experimental train service could flop because the station it is meant to serve does not exist. Just before the last Welsh Assembly Government was dissolved, Deputy First Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones announced three years’ funding for “extra train services to Fishguard”.

Carlisle News & Star

• North Cumbria road closed after tree crashes onto car High winds brought a tree crashing down on a car in Brampton, blocking the road.

Other Regional Press

• The last stop for rural railways, warns campaignersThe Government threatens severing rural communities' railway links if it adopts modernisation plans which would see train fares rocket and some services facing the axe, campaigners are warning. Former chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority, Sir Roy McNulty, has outlined a string of proposals designed to slash staff numbers and decentralise Network Rail, leading to its possible break-up. Campaigners fear the Government axe will spell the end for small branch lines – described as
• Blitz in Wiltshire on off-road drivers Ministry of Defence Police have been out in force on Salisbury Plain to tackle the problem of vehicles illegally driving across the Defence Training Area.
• The last stop for rural railways, warns campaigners The Government threatens severing rural communities' railway links if it adopts modernisation plans which would see train fares rocket and some services facing the axe, campaigners are warning.
• MP demands faster trains to London EASTBOURNE MP Stephen Lloyd has met with rail bosses at Southern as part of his campaign for a faster service to London. Mr Lloyd, accompanied by Belinda Fordham and Ray Chapman, from the East Sussex Rail Alliance, met with senior directors from Southern.
• Bus campaigners call for action from MPs after Bath survey ​Campaigners in Bath have sent the results of a survey of 235 bus users to MPs investigating the impact of public spending curbs on transport services.

Aviation Industry

• Allegiant quarterly profit drops on higher fuel costsAllegiant Travel Company, parent of the airline, reported earnings of $17.2 million for the first quarter, down 24.1% compared to income of $22.6 million in the year-ago period in large part owing to a 38% rise in fuel costs.

Other News Sources

• Heathrow 'risks losing status a major hub'Senior executives at the airport's owner, BAA, say Heathrow will lose traffic to rivals in Paris, Amsterdam and Madrid unless a third runway is built
• The wheels are falling off at BAA's hubHeathrow couldn't cope with snow and now it's struggling with a lack of revenue-enhancing opportunities, immigration queues and airlines' scheduling