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

Thursday, 01 September 2011

BBC News

• Aer Lingus reports six month lossAer Lingus reports an operating loss of almost 28M euros (£24.6M) for the first six months of this year.
• OFT asked to probe car insuranceThe Consumer Council has asked the Office of Fair Trading to examine the car insurance market in NI.
• SNP to back city centre tram lineSNP councillors say they will give their support to moves to build a tram line into the city centre.
• Croydon rail delay payouts urgedThames Water is urged to compensate passengers hit by delays between London and Gatwick Airport after a mains burst earlier this month.

Financial Times

• Aer Lingus shuns quick sale of state stakeThe strategic links provided by the Irish flag carrier to the country and the fractious ties with the unions make a government sell-off unlikely

The Herald

• Trams U-turn as Swinney pulls plug on £72m fundingEDINBURGH councillors are facing a humiliating climbdown on terminating the first phase of the troubled tram project outside the city centre after a surprise decision by the Scottish Government to halt further funding.

The Independent

• Rail link protesters told to start new petition Protesters trying to prevent the construction of a high-speed rail link from London to the Midlands collected more than 100,000 signatures for a petition “ only to be told by the Government that they have to start all over again.

The Telegraph

• Overhaul of plane boarding could see planes loaded fasterAirlines could slash the time taken to get passengers onto an aircraft if they boarded fliers who wanted to sit by the window first, scientists have found.
• Parent fined for carrying child on bikeA cyclist has been fined for carrying his two year old son as a passenger on his bike, triggering fears that other parents could risk prosecution under road safety laws.

Daily Express

• Aer Lingus pins hopes on autumn bookingsIRISH airline Aer Lingus nose-dived to wider first-half losses after a row with unions but said strong autumn bookings should lift annual profits higher than expected.

Birmingham Mail

• Double cycle boost for North Birmingham A MULTI-MILLION pound initiative to promote cycling and walking has been launched in the north of the city.

Birmingham Post

• Chiltern Railways launches premium economy class for Birmingham to London A railway company is to introduce an airline-style

Derby Telegraph

• Shadow minister fears delay to Crossrail will not save city jobs THE Shadow Business Minister has said he is not convinced that the Government's plan to improve Bombardier's chances of winning future rail contracts will rescue jobs in Derby. Ian Lucas made his comments yesterday during a visit to the firm's Litchurch Lane plant, which has already shed 1,400 jobs as a result of missing out on the £1.4 billion Thameslink contract.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Dramatic U-turn by SNP will take trams to city centreThe plan to take the tram to St Andrew Square now looks to be back on after a shock U-turn by the city's SNP councillors.

Liverpool Post

• Eastern Airways pulls out of Liverpool John Lennon airport EASTERN Airways has pulled out of Liverpool John Lennon Airport (JLA) after axing Aberdeen and Southampton links it launched two years ago.
• Virgin train to be named after champion gymnast Beth Tweddle A TRAIN named after champion gymnast Beth Tweddle will be unveiled in Liverpool today.

Manchester Evening News

• Motorists can leave cars in Manchester city centre bays for longer under revision of parking chargesManchester council has revised a proposed overhaul of parking regulations to allow motorists to pay for parking in city centre bays for two hours.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Protesters in new legal bid to scupper bypass for city Opponents of the Aberdeen bypass last night agreed to mount a fresh legal challenge to the road scheme “ and they want taxpayers to fund it.
• Fears mount over plan for north nuclear rail cargoes Opposition is growing to using the railway to carry consignments of spent nuclear fuel from Dounreay to west Cumbia.

Yorkshire Post

• Breakthrough could make plant fuel viableYORKSHIRE academics have helped to make a major breakthrough in developing environmentally-friendly fuels by harnessing energy from plants.

Other Regional Press

• Road repairs planned for main Edgerton and Marsh road A BUSY road linking Huddersfield with the M62 is to be closed from tonight for major roadworks.

Campaign for Better Transport

• A stark warning for urban buses 31 August:  New figures show that one in five big city buses could be gone by 2014, at a cost of £68 million to the economy as our roads become more congested. read more

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Motorists 'continuing to drive after reaching points ban threshold'Thousands of drivers have argued that they need to be able to use a vehicle and have been permitted to do so, despite amassing 12 penalty points.Ordinarily reaching this threshold is supposed to result in an automatic ban, but data from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) indicates more than 10,000 people have held onto licences by pleading exceptional hardship, around four in ten of the total.However, the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) director of policy and research Neil Greig has hit out at the number of people being permitted to continue driving with 12 or more points, in...

Global Rail News

• South West Trains awards CCTV contractSouth West Trains has awarded a contract to ‘R2P’ Rail & Road Protec to provide the ‘saloon and forward facing’ CCTV for their class 158 and ...
• Docklands Light Railway extension opensWith just under a year to go to the London 2012 Paralympic Games the fully accessible Docklands Light Railway (DLR) Stratford International extension opened today. The ...

Railway Gazette

• Docklands Light Railway opens to Stratford International UK: A 5 km extension of London's Docklands Light Railway driverless light metro from Canning Town to Stratford International opened on August 31. The route is intended to meet the growing demand for public transport in Lower Lea Valley area of east London, and also provide access to 2012 Olympic Games venues. The £211m project involved the rebuilding of an 'underutilised' railway for automatic operation and the construction of a new line between Stratford station and Stratford International, which is served by domestic passenger trains on High Speed 1. The project includes four new and three c...

Aviation Industry

• World™s safest airlines namedBritish Airways and Continental Airlines are among the ten safest airlines to fly with, according to a new report
• The Interview: Air Europa's Colin StewartABTN speaks to Colin Stewart, Air Europa™s UK general manager, about future plans for Madrid™s second largest airline.

Other News Sources

• Chiltern Railways introduces ’premium economy’ class for trainsChiltern Railways is introducing an airline-style ’premium economy’ class on services between London and Birmingham.
• Dubai Aims to Topple Heathrow as World™s Busiest AirportDubai International Airport is set to become the world™s second busiest international air hub in the next few months, placing it behind London Heathrow, currently the world™s busiest airport. The Dubai airport is currently only the fourth busiest airport in the world, but forecasts by the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) suggest that it [...]
• Back on track? Edinburgh trams will now go to St Andrew Square after SNP change of heartSteve Cardownie has said SNP councillors will vote for the city centre option after government funding was pulled from the project.
• Chiltern Rail launches premium economyNew seating will be added when it speeds up its mainline London-Birmingham services on September 5
• Heathrow Airport 'will burst at the seams'Heathrow Airport may require a new runway if it is to continue welcoming millions of passengers through its doors every month.A new report from the Department for Transport has noted that Gatwick and Stansted Airports are also at risk of reaching full capacity by 2030 unless additional space is provided.In 2030, 335 million people per annum will use the UK's airports, while 20 years later this figure will have risen to 470 million, it predicted.If no new runways are built, from 2040 onwards, growth will only be seen at the country's regional airports.Heathrow Airport has two runways th...
• Birmingham Airport Appoints New Environment ManagerBirmingham Airport is delighted to announce the appointment of Kirstin Kane to the position of Environment Manager. Having joined the Airport in 2000, Kirstin, from Solihull, is certainly no...
• Highways and housing bear brunt of local government cutsHighways and housing are among the areas cut most savagely by local authorities, new government statistics showed today.
• RMT warns of new jobs assault on UK ferries as Stena confirms plans to axe Holyhead/Dun Laoghaire servicesMARTIME UNION RMT warned today that the UK ferry industry faces a fresh wave of assaults on jobs and services as the economy tilts towards a double-dip recession and operators seize the opportunity to axe and curtail routes to protect their profits.
• UK govt considers no new runways before 2050A new UK government report has set out a number of options for reducing the carbon footprint of aviation, including not building any new runways anywhere...
• Rail link protesters told to start new petitionProtesters trying to prevent the construction of a high-speed rail link from London to the Midlands collected more than 100,000 signatures for a petition – only to be told by the Government ...