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

Friday, 07 October 2011

BBC News

• First UK-built bamboo bike unveiled The first UK-built mountain bike made out of bamboo has been unveiled at a major cycling exhibition.
• High speed rail benefit claimed [video]The proposed high speed rail line planned to run from London to Birmingham could improve services on local commuter routes, Network Rail claim.
• Select committee ends interest in Bombardier decision The Transport Select Committee has said it will not look any further at a decision to deny Derby train maker Bombardier the Thameslink contract. The transport minister and Bombardier bosses attended a hearing in September after the government picked Siemens as its preferred bidder.
• Assessments offer to OAP driversMotorists aged over 60 are being offered driver assessment courses in a bid to cut the number of road crashes in north Wales.
• Coach company in administrationA Gwynedd coach holiday company goes into administration after 93 years in business, with 12 jobs set to be lost.
• Airport runway's official openingA £10m extension of Aberdeen Airport's main runway is officially opened, well ahead of schedule.
• Flybe flight to Liverpool is axedThe Flybe service from George Best Belfast City Airport to John Lennon Liverpool is being axed at the end of the month.
• Work on rail line begins earlierWork on the rail line between Coleraine and Londonderry is to begin sooner than planned so it is ready for much of Derry's year as City of Culture in 2013.
• Qantas buys 110 Airbus aircraftEuropean aircraft maker Airbus strikes a deal worth US$9.5bn (£6.2bn) with Australia's Qantas for 110 jets.
• Bus service reforms put forwardProposals to open up the bus market to more competition are published by the Competition Commission.
• EU airline emissions cap 'legal'Plans to include any airline landing or taking off on EU territory in an emissions trading scheme are legal, an adviser to Europe's top court has said.

Financial Times

• Blow to US airlines in emissions fightForeign carriers will have to pay for their carbon pollution in the EU, an adviser to the bloc™s top court has found, in a setback to a legal challenge from US airlines
• Oyster-style tickets proposed for regional busesCompetition Commission recommends local transport authorities encourage competition in the regional bus market
• Iberia to launch low-cost airlineThe Spanish flag carrier hopes to boost profits and compete on short and medium-haul routes with budget airlines led by Ryanair and EasyJet

The Herald

• Work to start this month at new bridge HQWORK on creating the headquarters for the £1.5 billion Forth Road Bridge will soon start in South Queensferry in preparation for the main construction programme next year.
• Aberdeen runway extension opensA £10 million runway extension, which will allow long-haul flights to depart from Aberdeen Airport, is open eight months ahead of schedule.
• Bus operators ˜need more competition™BUS companies should be permitted competition-friendly co-operation, a Competition Commission inquiry led by former Royal Bank of Scotland chief economist Jeremy Peat has concluded.

The Telegraph

• Bus users paying higher fares due to lack of competition Competition watchdogs should keep a keen eye on even the smallest acquisition by one of the big five bus operators due to their dominance of the industry, a UK regulator has said.

Daily Express

• Halfords pedals ahead as bicycle sales surgeHARD pressed motorists are leaving their cars at home and getting on their bikes - helping Halfords counter falling sales in car maintenance products.

ATOC

• Book your train tickets now to help cut the cost of Christmas travelPeople looking to cut the cost of Christmas can from this week take advantage of cheap Advance rail fares for travel during the festive season....

Birmingham Mail

• £10 million Birmingham Airport tower latestTHE skyline is rapidly changing at Birmingham Airport – with a new £10 million Air Traffic Control Tower developing at a rate of up to 13ft a day.

Journal Live

• Newcastle Airport invest in new runway clearing fleetAIRPORT chiefs have unveiled a £250,000 investment in their specialist snow team to keep air traffic moving through the North East this winter.

Yorkshire Post

• Oil giants begin High Court bid to seize control of Humber portTwo multinational oil giants have launched a High Court bid to seize control of a key Humber port site following a bitter multi-million-pound dispute over rents and ownership which they claim could threaten the security of the UK’s fuel supply and 1,000 local jobs.

Bucks Free Press

• Bats could prove 'showstopper' for HS2BATS could prove to be œa showstopper for High Speed 2 “ halting the plans in their tracks “ Government advisers have said.

Burnley Express

• Should the maximum speed limit on motorways be raised to 80 mph?VOTE NOW!

Other Regional Press

• Town railway station would boost Skelmersdale regeneration ONE issue most people will agree that is holding Skelmersdale back is the lack of a railway station. West Lancashire Council has been in negotiations with the railways authorities over setting up a station in the town centre.

Global Rail News

• Russian Railways and British Government sign Memorandum of UnderstandingOn 12 September 2011, during Prime Minister David Cameron’s visit to Moscow, Russian Railways and the Government of the United Kingdom signed a Memorandum of Understanding. ...
• Euston joint control room points to way forward for rail industryA new control room at Euston station has opened as part of a collaborative effort from Network Rail, London Midland and Virgin Trains. The project marks the first time that a joint control room has been built from scratch, with both train operators and Network Rail contributing to the design so that the control room delivers what each party needs.
• Planning trains and track together could cut hundreds of millions from cost of Britain™s railways, says industryHundreds of millions of pounds could be saved on Britain™s next generations of trains if the rail industry works together even more closely to plan them, ...
• Russian Railways plan to increase investment in 2011Russian Railways president Vladimir Yakunin held a conference call to release the company™s results for the first 9 months of 2011. Vladimir Yakunin said that following ...

Aviation Industry

• Edinburgh Airport seeks Routes to GrowthA team from Edinburgh Airport is returning to the Capital having met more than 20 airlines and putting Edinburgh™s case to them at the 17th World Route Development Forum in Berlin last weekend.
• Aberdeen Airport runway extension openingIt has become one of the North-East best kept secrets. Almost eight months ahead of schedule Aberdeen Airport runway extension has today been officially opened.
• Airlines fear Heathrow profitabilityAirlines are increasingly worried about their ability to operate effectively from Heathrow, a new survey has revealed
• Openskies to drop Paris-WashingtonJust 18 months after the route was launched

Green Miscellany

• Electric car scheme launched in Paris Following the success of the city™s mass cycle hire scheme, Velib, Paris this week began trials of an electric car club equivalent. read more