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

Friday, 01 July 2011

BBC News

• Bristol workplace parking levy gets 'mixed reaction' A plan to implement a workplace parking levy in Bristol has received a "mixed reaction". Bristol City Council is considering charging firms a fee for each space and invest the money in transport schemes.
• Toyota exports cars back to JapanCar giant Toyota is to start exporting car parts from its Flintshire plant back to its Japanese homeland.
• VIDEO: Tech Know: Beauty of transport flowEllie Gibson learns how the voyages of trains, planes, tubes, bikes and buses come to life graphically by
• Final push for town traffic viewsPeople in Dumfries are urged not to miss their opportunity to have their say on options to tackle traffic congestion in the town.
• Troubled trams project to go onCouncillors in Edinburgh decide to carry on with the city's troubled trams project - but will have to find another £200m to fund it.
• CCTV of Leeds railway cable theft released Police have released a picture of a man they want to speak to in connection with the theft of five metres of cable from a Leeds railway bridge.

Department for Transport

• Transport StatisticsThe Department for Transport has today published the following Transport Statistics:
• Taking chargeGovernment sets out vision for electric vehicle infrastructureTenth car now eligible for plug-in car grantThe Government™s vision for recharging infrastructure, to support the electric vehicles revolution, has been announced today by Transport Secretary Philip Hammond.
• Dartford-Thurrock River Crossing improvementsPlans to tackle congestion at the Dartford-Thurrock Crossing and invest in major improvements have taken an important step forward as Roads Minister Mike Penning today launched a consultation into proposed charge increases.

Financial Times

• Ministers ask PM to review EU contract rulesTwo ministers urged David Cameron to review EU procurement rules after Siemens won preferred bidder status for a train building contract
• Rail executives 'dissented' over rail reform plansConerns reflect unease in the industry over Sir Roy McNulty's reform proposals and pressure facing train operating companies to slash costs
• Volcanic ash costs Flybe £12mlcelandic volcanic eruption and severe winter weather combine to drag UK regional airline into the red

The Guardian

• Parliament debates new Leeds railway station proposals MP secures parliamentary debate over stalled plans for new Kirkstall Forge station which could help regenerate an area of Leeds
• HS2 has turned me from nimby to true sceptic The well-funded pro-HS2 lobby continues to propagate the falsehood that speed will solve this country's problems
• Strikes having little effect on Britain's airports Operators say passengers are being moved through largely on schedule as UK Border Agency brings in contingency plans
• Vince Cable voices concern over Bombardier in letter to PM Cabinet ministers write to David Cameron following award of £3bn train contract to Siemens of Germany
• Road deaths fall to record low Annual toll drops below 2,000 for first time since records began, but more cyclists killed
• 'Electric highway' policy marks latest coalition U-turn Network of charging points for electric cars would be 'underutilised' says report by Department for Transport

The Scotsman

• Stagecoach founders in line for £13m windfall TRANSPORT group Stagecoach yesterday posted double-digit hikes in sales and profits, triggering a £13 million-plus payout for its founders, freshly-knighted chief executive Sir Brian Souter and his sister, Ann Gloag.

The Telegraph

• Doctor barred from flying after refusing body scan on health groundsAn eye consultant was barred from boarding a flight at Manchester airport after refusing to go through a body scanner in case if gave him a dangerous dose of radiation.

Daily Record

• Edinburgh decides to press on with its tram scheme..now they just need to find the extra £200m to pay for it EDINBURGH councillors last night voted to take the city's £773million tram project as far as St Andrew Square.

Mail Online

• We can't afford to pay for public to charge their electric cars, say ministers The great electric car revolution stalled yesterday as ministers said it was uneconomical to have ’a charging point on every corner'

Network Rail

• BIRMINGHAM BURIES THE PAST AS DEMOLITION MAKES WAY FOR THE FUTURE SOUTH SIDE
• DARTFORD STATION UPGRADE PLANS REVEALED
• A LIGHTER , BRIGHTER CONCOURSE FOR PORTSMOUTH AND SOUTHSEA STATION

Birmingham Post

• David Cameron insists campaigners won't halt high speed rail Opponents campaigning against a planned high speed rail line between London and Birmingham will not be allowed to block the scheme, the Prime Minister has pledged.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Bradford rail users' satisfaction with services falls The district™s train operating companies are managing to maintain service levels but problems of overcrowding and how they deal with delays remain, according to a new survey.

Derby Telegraph

• Government to review how contracts are awarded A LETTER to the Prime Minister has confirmed that the Government will review the way it deals with EU contract law in the wake of the decision not to give the Thameslink contract to Bombardier.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Labour demands heads of Dawe and Cardownie over trams fiascoLABOUR today called for council leader Jenny Dawe and deputy Steve Cardownie to resign over the Capital's trams fiasco.

Liverpool Post

• Flybe confident of developing its UK and European routes FLYBE, the airline connecting Liverpool John Lennon airport with Belfast and the Isle of Man, has made a £4.3m pre-tax loss for the year to March 31.

Sheffield Star

• Leaders express desire for High Speed Train to stop here City leaders are intensely lobbying the Government to make sure the planned High Speed Rail network has a stop in Sheffield rather than at new South Yorkshire Parkway station.

Yorkshire Post

• Biofuel flights offer greener holiday hopesThomson Airways is to fly customers on sustainable biofuel in what is thought to be the first UK flight of its kind.

Bucks Free Press

• Attorney General would 'almost certainly have to resign' to oppose HS2BEACONSFIELD MP Dominic Grieve says he would œalmost certainly have to resign as Attorney General if he were to vote against High Speed 2.

East Anglian Daily Times

• East Anglia: National Express recovery plans on trackTRANSPORT group National Express said today its recovery plans were on track, with the first three phases of its strategy having been completed successfully during the first half of this year.

Peterborough Telegraph

• MP Jackson in British identity call for UK visitorsPeterborough MP Stewart Jackson has called for the Union Flag or a portrait of the Queen to be put up at airports and other entry points to the UK

Other Regional Press

• New Chairman for Transport AuthorityCllr Lewis became Chairman of a newly Labour-controlled West Yorkshire Integrated Transport Authority at a meeting in mid-June.
• Huddersfield Royal Infirmary consultant grounded after refusing “naked” body scan at Manchester Airport: What do you think? A DOCTOR who refused to go through the ’naked’ body scanners at Manchester airport was banned from boarding his flight.
• ScotRail blames weather for drop in customer satisfactionSome of the worst winter weather in decades has been blamed for a drop in customer satisfaction levels among ScotRail train passengers.
• Campaigner blasts 'bogus arguments' against HS2 Some people opposing the HS2 high-speed rail project are in a “very, very privileged position economically” while some benefiting from the £33 billion scheme are not, MPs were told.
• Cabinet minister in quit threat over HS2 A Cabinet minister has been challenged to quit over her opposition to a new rail line cutting journey times between London and Birmingham.

Aviation Industry

• Edinburgh Airport Gears Up For Busiest WeekendEdinburgh Airport is preparing itself for what could be its busiest weekend ever. It is estimated that 130,000 passengers will pass through its doors this weekend averaging over 32,000 passengers per day.
• Bikes fly free on Jet Blue in JulyIn addition, New York-based JetBlue Airways has partnered with NBC Sports Group and Versus, the exclusive U.S. television home of the Tour de France, to offer exclusive live coverage to passengers during flights.
• Singapore Airlines to Pay U.S. Nearly $50 Million Fine for Cargo Price FixingSingapore Airlines Cargo on Thursday pleaded guilty and agreed to pay a $48 million criminal fine for its role in a conspiracy to fix prices in the air transportation industry, the U.S. Justice Department said.
• The Interview: Virgin Atlantic's Corneel KosterABTN speaks to Corneel Koster, Virgin™s director of operations, safety and security, about the importance of business travel, the future of airport security and how managing cargo compares with passengers

Other News Sources

• Edinburgh trams: Council votes for £773m St Andrew Square planCouncillors voted to continue the line as far as the city centre after five hours of debating on the topic.
• Cambridgeshire busway moves step closer to openingGuided buses will begin running on The Busway from Monday to prepare for the opening of the 26km track on Sunday 7 August, Cambridgeshire County Council said yesterday.
• Businesses to kick-start electric vehicle roll out Businesses will be at the heart of the government's strategy to have tens of thousands of electric vehicles (EV) on the UK's roads by 2015 and could even profit from employees' recharging on their premises.
• EU public procurement rules 'should be simplified'Rules affecting people in public sector procurement jobs in the European Union (EU) are too complicated and could be simplified to allow small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) better access to tenders, a new report claims.
• Shift to SUVs holds back car CO2 reductionsThe EU has published new data showing a decline in the average CO2 emissions of new cars in 2010 of 3.7% (1). But the data also shows that the average weight of cars has risen by 28kg or 2% as carmakers increasingly market SUVs and so-called crossover vehicles (2). Had weight not increased, the CO2 reduction would have been 5%, or one third better say Transport & Environment (T&E), the EU sustainable transport campaigners.
• EU: CO2 Emissions From New Cars Continue Steep Descent In 2010Average CO2 emissions from new cars in the EU dropped by almost 4% last year, the second biggest annual fall ever recorded, a database published today by the European Environment Agency shows.
• Scottish Government Unveils Ambitious Plans To Meet 30% Of Energy Demand From Renewables By 2020Scottish Energy Minister Fergus Ewing unveiled an ambitious plan to meet 30% of the country's energy needs from renewable sources. This target is 10% higher than the EU 2020 targets of 20% and double the UK's target of 15%.  
• The nagging concerns over railWhile the business travel industry is welcoming what appears to be a rail renaissance, the route ahead is beset with difficulties, reports veteran travel journalist Stanley Slaughter

News from Europe

• CoR supports EU transport plans for 2050, but urges concrete measuresThe FINANCIAL -- EU plans for a greener and more competitive transport sector by 2050 need more concrete interim targets and adequate funding.