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

Tuesday, 08 November 2011

BBC News

• China morning round-up: Railway denies bail-out call China's Railway Ministry - which is heavily in debt - has yet again came under spotlight of Chinese media.
• Isle of Man horse tram passenger numbers up for 2011 Passenger numbers for the Isle of Man horse tram service have increased for a third consecutive year, according to Douglas Borough Council.
• MPs back HS2 high-speed rail linkThere is a "good case" for the government's HS2 high-speed rail link between London and Birmingham and beyond, a committee of MPs has said. The £32bn scheme offers "a new era of inter-urban travel in Britain", the Commons Transport Committee says.
• M8 shut by fire underneath roadA fire underneath part of the M8 in Glasgow closes a section of Scotland's busiest motorway.
• Ryanair sees profits increase 23%Ryanair reports a 23% rise in second quarter profits, and says its full-year results will be better than previously expected.

Financial Times

• MPs to give high-speed rail tentative support Transport committee gives support to proposed link between London, Birmingham and the north but criticises lack of an overall policy
• Turkish Airlines targets return to profitTurkish Airlines, hurt by high fuel costs and weak Turkish lira, hopes its rapid expansion can help it return to operating profit in 2011
• Ryanair: strategy up in the airHopes of a 2012 special dividend “ a repeat of Ryanair's first-ever pay-out last year “ and maybe another one in 2014, seem realistic
• Boeing Dreamliner's woes continueAircraft-maker's flagship 787 Dreamliner hit its first operational glitch barely a week after the wide-bodied jet made its entrance into regular passenger service

The Guardian

• High-speed rail project will boost economy, say MPs The £250m link from London to Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds wins support from House of Commons transport committee
• Northern call to start building HS2 high-speed rail line at both ends Simultaneous construction is seen as bringing economic benefit, although it would doubtless move the focus of environmental protests as well
• Boris's Bus (A Political Journey) Part 33: The Finished Article [blog]It made its debut media entrance on Friday just after noon....

The Independent

• Labour urges a delay on 80mph limit following deadly M5 crashLabour called on the Government last night to consider shelving plans to raise the motorway speed limit to 80mph as police continued to investigate the cause of the M5 crash on Friday in which seven people died.

The Telegraph

• MPs condemn NIMBY attack on high speed rail opponents Opponents of the Government’s plans to run a high speed rail line through the Chilterns should not be condemned as “nimbys”, an all party committee of MPs has said in a report published today.

Reuters News

• China considers shrinking railway investment goal -report China's annual investment on railway construction could fall to about 500 billion yuan ($78.7 billion) a year, retreating from ambitious heights mapped out in a plan for the sector that has struggled with high debts, an official Chinese newspaper said on Tuesday.

Daily Express

• Ryanair's profits take off despite downturnBUDGET airline Ryanair said it had seen

Mail Online

• Stop these Nimby rail battle insults over HS2, Ministers are warnedThe rebuke came from the Transport Select Committee, even as it gave broad support for the £34billion HS2 project.

The Mirror

• Committee backs high-speed rail bidThe Government's HS2 high-speed rail plan has been backed by the House of Commons Transport Committee following its inquiry into the £34 billion project.

ATOC

• ATOC responds to petition against fare risesResponding to the handing over of a petition against rail fare rises by the Campaign for Better Transport, a spokesperson for the Association of Train Operating Companies said: “The Government...

London Evening Standard

• Committee backs high-speed rail bidThe Government's HS2 high-speed rail plan has been backed by the House of Commons Transport Committee following its inquiry into the £34 billion project.

Manchester Evening News

• Firm that runs Metrolink tram network slammed over ’unacceptable’ service The firm that runs Metrolink has been told it must be better prepared for a cold snap after trams failed at the first frost of winter. Bosses at Metrolink and Transport for Greater Manchester blamed ice forming on overhead power lines for the failure of eight tram yesterday.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Transport: North-South rail route requestThe Government should look at the possibility of building the HS2 high-speed rail scheme from north to south rather than the other way round, a report by MPs said today.

Yorkshire Post

• Transport chief’s funding plea as North-South divide widens DESPERATELY needed transport projects in Yorkshire could go ahead if just £7.70 per head was spent per person over five years, a transport chief claimed last night. West Yorkshire transport Chairman Coun James Lewis, the chairman of Metro, called on the Government to address transport funding gaps after new figures revealed London received almost three times more funding than Yorkshire.
• M-way speed may be held down in wake of fatal crashPRESSURE is mounting for a rethink, in the wake of the M5 crash, of a Government proposal to increase the motorway speed limit.

Other Regional Press

• Penning - Dartford toll increase will happen soon Transport minister Mike Penning has assured motorists a planned 50p toll increase at the Dartford Crossing is still going ahead.
• Bedwyn Train Passengers Group fears rural service will be downgraded A RAIL passengers’ pressure group has appealed to service users to lobby their MP over threats to the Bedwyn to Paddington service. This week Karina Nicholson, a spokeswoman for the Bedwyn Train Passengers Group (BTGP) said she was not satisfied with a response from transport minister Theresa Villiers.
• Bike safety campaign launched by CalderdaleROAD safety chiefs have urged cyclists to lighten up their bikes.

Campaign for Better Transport

• Pupils and parents hit by school bus cuts 07 November: Congestion during the school rush hour already causes havoc in many communities, and is set to get worse as many councils plan cuts to school buses. read more
• We [CBT] take the Fair Fares message to Downing StreetJenny Agutter of Railway Children fame joined us this morning in presenting the Fair Fares Now petition to Number 10 Downing Street. Ironically, delayed trains meant that Jenny and several journalists almost didn’t make it – which happens far too often and is just one of the things commuters tell us makes them so angry about more massive fare rises.
• ˜Growing Places™ fund will fuel car dependence7 November: The £500 million Growing Places Fund from DCLG looks like yet another policy to encourage car-based developments. read more

Global Rail News

• Bedford railway sidings pave way for first 12-carriage trainsNew railway sidings that will help First Capital Connect (FCC) operate its first-ever 50% longer 12-carriage trains, at the same time providing vital extra jobs, were ...
• Eurotunnel signs agreement with European horse transporterEurotunnel is developing its horse transport service by joining forces with a new carrier ‘in view of competitions to come and especially the World Equestrian games ...
• ScotRail adds train simulator to its fleetScotRail has added another train simulator to its fleet. This time around, the simulator is not based in a sprawling cavern underneath Glasgow Central station but ...
• ˜Massive transport funding gap™ between London & the rest of the countryNew public spending figures released by the Treasury show transport spend in London is now ’nearing triple the spend in the North of England and West ...
• Purley station wins at the National Cycle Rail AwardsSouthern has walked away from the National Cycle Rail Awards with a win in the Best Station Travel Plan Measure for Cycling category for Purley station™s ...
• Developing Pan European high speed rail infrastructure a ˜key factor for economic growth™Frost & Sullivan research associate Shyam Raman comments on EU Transport Commissioner™s interest in a greater interoperability on Europe™s high speed rail networks. In a recent ...
• Railway Children star hands rail fares petition to Downing StreetA petition with more than 11,000 signatures calling for fairer rail fares was handed in to 10 Downing Street this morning (7 November) by Railway Children ...
• Japan looks at high speed freight servicesJapan is looking at the possibility of introducing high speed ‘cargo bullet’ trains for use on lines shared with Shinkansen services. The 33 mile long Seikan ...
• Virgin Trains backs fight against cable theftVirgin Trains has thrown its weight behind the fight to tackle cable theft, appealing to the public and politicians to get tough on criminals who steal ...

Railnews

• Transport Committee backs plans for High Speed Rail MPs on the House of Commons Transport Select Committee have given their support to the building of a High Speed line between London, the Midlands and the north of England. But they are doubtful about the level of detail about the project which has been provided so far, and believe that many of the environmental claims which have been made for HS2 'do not stand up to scrutiny'.

Aviation Industry

• Glasgow Airport donates £11,000 to school eco programmeGlasgow Airport has renewed acquaintances with an innovative environmental project, which will teach children about their carbon footprint.
• Ryanair profits up 20%O'Leary plans to ground up to 80 aircraft this month, despite a leap in earnings
• Virgin expands on North American routesFlights from Vancouver to London will launch in time for the Olympic Games; capacity added on San Fran flights
• Management Solutions Forum: deal or no deal?Senior travel buyers call for greater clarity and trust when negotiating supplier deals: more than 50 buyers debated with suppliers and agents at the Management Solutions forum in central London.

Other News Sources

• RMT London Taxi Branch takes protest to TFL and Trafalgar Square on day of actionLondon taxi driver members of specialist transport union RMT will be holding a day of protest next Wednesday (9 November) over attacks on the licensed taxi trade.
• Rail union protest over EU privatisation driveRMT members will be protesting tomorrow (Tuesday November 8) at 10am outside the Department for Transport and the European Commission London Office against moves to expand its model for rail privatisation which has caused havoc in Britain and across the continent with no democratic mandate to do so.
• Virgin cleaners step up fair pay fight with new 48 hour strike and demand meeting with Sir Richard Branson350 CLEANERS employed by Carlisle Cleaning and Support Services on the Virgin West Coast Mainline contract are to strike for another 48 hours in a fight for a living wage and have demanded a face to face meeting with Virgin chief Sir Richard Branson.