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

Monday, 12 September 2011

BBC News

• Rail minister sends positive signals on East rail plans Rail Minister Theresa Villiers is optimistic about plans for a new multi-million pound railway station in Cambridge.
• Chatham Waterfront Bus Station to 'transform transport' The opening of a new bus station in Medway next month will transform public transport in the area, the council has pledged.
• Cross Country contract may save Derby Bombardier jobs Jobs at Derby-based trainmaker Bombardier could be safeguarded if a bid to upgrade a fleet of UK trains goes ahead, the government has said.
• Bus driver complaints on the riseA Freedom of Information request reveals an increase in complaints against bus drivers
• Call to tackle rail cable theftA transport company urges the government to introduce tough new measures to tackle the increase in cable theft from the railways.
• Cities hold 'biggest' bike eventCycling events taking place in Glasgow and Edinburgh and between the two cities are billed as
• Volkswagen & Suzuki in engine rowRelations between Volkswagen and Suzuki are dealt a blow after the German carmaker accused Suzuki of breaching contracts.
• Carmakers fear sales might weakenFollowing a year of strong car sales, the industry gathers at the Frankfurt motor show amidst fears about the future.
• Great Western train naming honour The Great Western Society has had a train named after it by operating company First Great Western.
• Middlesbrough's Transporter Bridge shuts for repairs Middlesbrough's Transporter Bridge, one of only two operating in the UK, has closed for six days for maintenance.

Financial Times

• EU's aviation scheme hits turbulenceThe date that the aviation sector will become part of the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) is drawing closer and as the start date nears, voices of protest are growing louder

The Herald

• Floating piers help keep roads clear of lorriesSPECIALLY designed floating piers are helping to stop timber-carrying lorries churning up single-track roads in the Highlands.
• Souter in clampdown call over rail cable theftsTHE chief executive of Stagecoach called for a tough new measures to tackle the growing problem of cable theft on railways.

The Independent

• Ray of hope for staff at Bombardier plant More than 1,400 jobs at the train-maker Bombardier's plant in Derby could be saved by a Department for Transport (DfT) contract to supply a new fleet of rolling stock.

The Telegraph

• BA ready to bid for BMI to expand at Heathrow British Airways is ready to throw its hat into the ring in an auction for Lufthansa-owned BMI, the second biggest operator at Heathrow airport.
• Bombardier jobs at risk despite £120m lifeline Hundreds of jobs at the Bombardier train factory in Derby are still at risk despite Government efforts to provide a £120m stop-gap order to save the plant.

Daily Express

• HOPES RISE OF £120M DEAL TO HELP SAVE BOMBARDIER HOPES were growing last night that train maker Bombardier could land a lifeline £120m Government contract.
• BMI is put up for saleLUFTHANSA is putting its loss-making BMI airline in the departure lounge less than three years after taking the controls.

Mail Online

• Commuters catching the bus 'walk nearly 300 miles per year' between their homes and the officeThe distance constitutes an average of 0.8 miles each day to and from bus stops between their homes and offices, according to the study of journeys across Britain.

The Mirror

• Rescue hope for doomed UK trainmaker BombardierBOMBARDIER could be saved from closure if it lands a lucrative deal to upgrade an existing fleet of trains. Around 1,400 jobs were feared lost at Britain’s last remaining trainmaker following the recent controversial decision to award an extensive contract for the new Thameslink route to German firm Siemens instead.

Northern Echo

• Southern councils bid to block rail link A WATCHDOG has been urged to investigate after councils in the South set aside £1m of taxpayers’ cash to fight plans for high-speed rail links from London to the North

Yorkshire Post

• Tom Richmond: Who will speak up for the poor rail passengers? AS a Left-wing union leader, Bob Crow’s demands for railway employees may be unaffordable – and the RMT’s repeated strike action unpopular with commuters. I’m the first to admit that I despair at many of his demands.
• Public coffers raided to fight rail linkCOUNCILS in the South-East have been accused of a “disgraceful misuse” of public funds for using more than £1m of taxpayers’ money to fight Government plans for high-speed rail.

Bucks Free Press

• Revealed: the odds that HS2 will go ahead BOOKIES believe HS2 will go ahead – but probably not until after a new runway is built at either Heathrow, Gatwick or Stansted airports.

Other Regional Press

• Downham: Rail ticket office fears played down [Lynn News]RAIL passengers have expressed fears for the future of ticket office services at Downham’s station after it emerged the site was on a list of potential closures.
• Airport rail link hopes run high [The Reading Chronicle]RAIL chiefs are drawing up ambitious plans for a direct Reading to Heathrow rail link with four high-speed trains an hour.
• Lidington demands answers from HS2 minister [Bucks Herald]THE government has responded to a question by Aylesbury MP and HS2 opponent David Lidington – asking why a high speed rail line is allowed to be built through protected Chilterns countryside.
• SNAPPED ... bike theft girl captures suspect on cameraA suspected bike thief was captured on camera by his victim hours after the theft.
• Authority puts cash behind climate change projectsMore than 200,000 has been spent on 20 climate change projects saving a council around 100 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year. In the last year, the two projects that received the highest grants of 20k

Other News Sources

• Bombardier in line for a £120m deal TRAIN-maker Bombardier is set to be handed a government lifeline in the wake of its failed bid to produce trains for the Thameslink project.
• £120M DEAL TO SAVE TRAIN JOBS HUNDREDS of jobs could be saved at Britain's last trainmaker after the Government offered the factory a possible lifeline.