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

Thursday, 11 August 2011

BBC News

• Virgin Atlantic 'pleased with results' [video]Sir Richard Branson's airline, Virgin Atlantic, soared into profit last year despite the disruption caused by Iceland's first volcanic ash cloud.
• Cross-border ticketing in reach, says SilverRail CTOSilverRail Technologies is the company behind a global passenger rail ticket distribution platform.
• Rail passengers warned to behavePolice warn rail passengers to behave after reports of anti-social behaviour on a Saturday night service.
• Fans' plea over matchday trainsCardiff City Supporters' Trust urges Arriva Trains Wales to reconsider a decision to stop trains calling at Ninian Park station before and after home games.
• Live updates for motorway driversLive journey time updates are introduced along the whole of the motorway linking Glasgow and Edinburgh.
• Bus cuts 'threat to vulnerable'Vulnerable groups, such as young people and the disabled, are being disadvantaged by cuts to bus services in England, says a committee of MPs.

Department for Transport

• 8800 extra spaces for busy trains on key routesSpace for up to an extra 8,800 rail passengers is being created on key commuter services in Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield and Newcastle, Rail Minister Theresa Villiers announced today.

Financial Times

• Tiger to resume internal Australia flightsBan on Singapore-based budget carrier, imposed five weeks ago on safety grounds, has been lifted by the aviation regulator
• China applies brakes to high-speed railIn its first public move since July's high-speed rail crash Beijing has halted the production of some bullet trains curbing the ambitious transport programme
• Virgin Atlantic warns on tough year aheadThe carrier reports an £18.5m pre-tax profit to end of February but says faltering consumer confidence threatens an already difficult trading environment

The Scotsman

• 'Challenging' time for bus industryThe English bus industry is facing its greatest financial challenge for a generation, a report by MPs has said.

The Telegraph

• Motorway lighting switch off triggers safety fears Lights are to be turned off on one of Britain’s busiesst tretches of motorway, despite fears from motoring groups that safety could be put at risk.
• Bus passengers face cuts and fare rises, MPs warn Bus passengers are facing above inflation fare rises and loss of services because of Government spending cuts, an influential committee of MPs said in a report published today.

Daily Express

• Virgin Atlantic flies back into the blackVIRGIN Atlantic soared back into the black last year helped by a recovery in business travel and strong demand for Caribbean holidays.

The Mirror

• Euro MP Brian Simpson says Government could still award Thameslink contract to Bombardier THE Government could still award the Thameslink contract to Bombardier, a senior Euro MP claimed last night.
• Bus cuts have left elderly stranded say MPs By JASON BEATTIE, Political Editor CUTS to bus services have left huge numbers of old people stranded, say MPs.

ATOC

• ATOC responds to report about how people get to the station In response to the Passenger Focus report ‘Getting to the railway station’,...

Airwise News

• Only option for rail deal is to take it to high court [Letter]AS I see it – and I'm pretty sure many others in the Midlands do too – this Government needs to be positive and stop messing about with the Bombardier problem.

Belfast Telegraph

• 'Challenging' time for bus industry The English bus industry is facing its greatest financial challenge for a generation, a report by MPs has said

Derby Telegraph

• Coalition 'must listen to reason' on Bombardier THE Government has been accused by a leading Euro MP of refusing to listen to reason following its decision to overlook Bombardier for the £1.4 billion Thameslink rail contract. Brian Simpson, chairman of the European Parliament Transport Committee, said the Department for Transport was being "incredibly stubborn" by not listening to options that would allow it to review the decision to award the work to German firm Siemens.
• Why did cabinet fail to visit plant while in city? [letter]SO Siemens had already invested 50 million euros in trains for Thameslink. Why were they so confident that they would get the contract?
• It will be one of our worst days if Bombardier closes [letter]IN 1834, the then Prime Minister Robert Peel issued his Tamworth manifesto. He said: "I reserve the right to put the interests of my country before the interests of my party."
• Here's a man who should know THE argument that the European Union rules compelled the Government to award the Thameslink contract to Siemens rather than Bombardier now looks flimsier than ever. No less a person than the chairman of the European Parliament Transport Committee says it would be perfectly entitled to rethink its decision – and it was being "incredibly stubborn" in not doing so.
• Excuses continue to flow in row over Thameslink THANKS to some excellent investigative journalism from the Derby Telegraph, a list of fines given to Siemens in recent years for using illegal methods to help them obtain contracts made very interesting reading.
• Euro MP speaks out in Bombardier row THE Department of Transport is being "incredibly stubborn" over the Bombardier contract row, a leading Euro MP has claimed.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Tories refuse seat on tram committeeTORY councillors have become the latest to say they will not sit on a committee set up to oversee the tram project.
• Tram chief's pay-off kept secret until next yearTHE details of money paid to the former chief executive of the tram project will not be published until next year, it has emerged.

Liverpool Post

• MPs slam bus cuts in Liverpool HARSH cuts to bus services are preventing people from taking up jobs, visiting sick relatives, shopping and going to college, a stinging report by MPs warns today.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Bus route changed to make it safer for pupils on way homeA Highland school bus route has been changed after concerned parents complained about their children having to cross four lanes of fast traffic to get home.
• Moray drivers vent their fury over long A96 holdups at FochabersMoray motorists have been hit by major delays after a set of traffic lights was installed as part of a £31million road scheme.

Yorkshire Post

• MPs warn of threats to rural prospects by bus service cutsCUTS to rural bus services will further isolate vulnerable people in the countryside, MPs are warning
• Bridge debt sale proposal could see crossing tolls cutTHE Government is being asked to consider radical plans to sell the Humber Bridge debt that could see tolls slashed to £1.50 for a single journey by car.
• MPs line up to oppose high-speed rail planA CONSERVATIVE transport think tank has blasted the Government’s high-speed rail plan, branding it “flawed” and warning it will split the party.

Blackpool Gazette

• First tram ready to roll into townTHE first of Blackpool’s fleet of 16 new supertrams will arrive in the resort next month for their worldwide launch.

Carlisle News & Star

• Bid to keep Carlisle railway viaduct fences in place for three more years Temporary steel security fences to keep walkers off Carlisle™s disused Waverley railway viaduct may be left in place until 2014.

Other Regional Press

• MP rejects EDM over cost to the taxpayer A TORY MP has vowed not to sign an Early Day Motion (EDM) calling on the Government to review Bombardier’s loss of a £1.4 billion train-building contract. Conservative backbencher Heather Wheeler, the MP for South Derbyshire, said that she will not sign EDMs ’out of principle’ because of the cost to the taxpayer.
• Potty plan?Small potholes on Kent's major roads will no longer be repaired under new rules.
• £20m vision for south side bus depotA £20m retail and cinema development will create 400 new jobs in one of Scotland™s most deprived areas while safeguarding hundreds of others.
• Transport police step up patrols on Warwickshire railways BRITISH Transport police officers are stepping up patrols in trouble hotspots to stop youngsters playing on railway tracks this summer.
• Motorway lighting switched off to reduce pollutionMotorway lighting will be permanently switched off and removed on sections of the M1 motorway in Bedfordshire, reducing carbon emissions and light pollution. The Highways Agency has announced that the

Global Rail News

• Rail policeman slams riot ˜failure™A special constable with the British Transport Police – who is also MP for Monmouth – has slammed the politically correct culture which has stopped effective ...
• 8,800 extra spaces for rail passengers on key routesSpace for up to an extra 8,800 rail passengers is being created on key commuter services in Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield and Newcastle, Rail ...
• Appeal for information after cable crime costs rail network £82,000British Transport Police (BTP) is appealing for information after an attack on the East Coast Main Line caused over £80,000 worth of damages to the rail ...
• East Midlands Trains provides support for community showEast Midlands Trains is gearing up to support this year™s Ashfield Show, which will take place on Saturday 13 August at The Lawns Pleasure Ground in ...
• Northern Rail to introduce more carriagesPassengers with Northern Rail are set to benefit from the introduction of more carriages in December to help ease overcrowding. The Department for Transport (DfT) today ...
• Network Rail opens gates of Whitemoor Yard depotNetwork Rail is opening the gates of its Whitemoor Yard depot in March this Sunday, giving local people the chance to find out more about the ...
• TramForward welcomes Minister™s tram commitmentTramForward has welcomed Transport Minister Norman Baker’s commitment to trams during his interview on BBC Radio 4′s Face the Facts on Monday. The Minister emphasised the ...
• London 2012 Games transport website launchedA one-stop travel shop that enables London 2012 spectators to plan their routes a year ahead of the Games before booking their travel has been launched. ...

Aviation Industry

• Air travel body spearheads legal battle over APD refundsAirlines have treated the tax œas an additional revenue stream, making it difficult to get refunds, claims the ATAB

Other News Sources

• Legal wrangle rolls on as guided buses run at lastMuch-delayed guided bus system takes passengers two year late
• 09/08/2011 - EU funds rail improvements in Finland
• 08/08/2011 - Report on the Strategic Transport Technology Plan public consultation
• 09/08/2011 - Major Air Traffic Management project receives EU support