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

Friday, 30 December 2011

BBC News

• Station fully reopens after workBirmingham's New Street railway station fully reopens after work on a footbridge over the Christmas period as part of its £598m redevelopment.
• Parking tickets Welsh 'success'A campaigning Gwynedd councillor says he is delighted after an operator agrees to make car parking penalty tickets available in Welsh.
• Railway station access to improveRailway stations at Dyce, Shotts, Newton, Rosyth and Dunblane are to share £9.5m of funding to improve accessibility.
• Son sues over rail crossing crashNetwork Rail is being sued by the son of a couple killed when their car collided with a train at a level crossing in Caithness.
• Blue badges change to fight fraudNew measures to crack down on abuse of the disabled
• VIDEO: Campaigners happy at kerb changesDouble yellow lines are being added to dozens of road junctions in central London so drivers cannot park alongside dropped kerbs, a council says.
• London bus fares 'rising fastest'London bus fares have risen by almost twice as much as those in other English cities since Boris Johnson became mayor, according to Ken Livingstone.
• UK rail commuters 'paying more'London rail commuters pay up to 10 times as much as some European counterparts for season tickets, a transport pressure group says.
• Iberia pilots strike hits flightsSpain's Iberia cancels more than a third of its flights as pilots hold a one-day strike over plans for a new low-cost airline.
• China 'to withdraw' car supportChina says it will withdraw support for foreign investment in the country's car industry to help domestic carmakers, according to state media.

Department for Transport

• ** STRICTLY EMBARGOED UNTIL 00:01 ON 30 DECEMBER 2011 ** Blue Badge fraud crackdown for new yearNew badge œas secure as a banknote says Minister

Financial Times

• China allows huge Valemax ship to dockBrazilian group, the world™s largest iron ore producer, takes a big step towards its goal of controlling all its shipping to the Asian country
• AMR to be removed from NYSEShares in the bankrupt parent company of American Airlines will be removed from the New York Stock Exchange from the first week in January
• Alexander Dennis withdraws Optare approachScottish bus manufacturer drops tentative takeover approach after India™s Ashok Leyland says its Optare stake is not for sale ˜at any price™

The Scotsman

• Airline chiefs unite in call on UK to scrap passenger dutyBRITAIN’s airline bosses have banded together in a renewed call for an abolition of the “injustice” of airline passenger duty (APD) when aviation businesses enter the new European Union emissions trading scheme (ETS) in the new year

The Telegraph

• M25 coach tour proves a surprise hitA Sussex-based coach tour operator has announced a second date of a day-trip around the M25, the 117-mile motorway orbiting London.

Daily Express

• Bus giant ends offerBUS MAKER Alexander Dennis has abandoned its brief interest in challenging India's Ashok Leyland for control of rival Optare.

Mail Online

• Season ticket 'rip-off': Rail fares are TEN times higher in UK than in EuropeThey come as passengers brace themselves for a fresh round of fare rises of up to 11 per cent from Monday, and against a background of worsening train punctuality.

The Mirror

• Blue Badge parking change announcedMeasures to crack down on drivers who abuse the disabled parking system will come into force from January 1, the Government has announced.
• UK commuters 'pay more for trains'Some UK rail commuters, facing 6% average fare rises next week, are already paying almost 10 times more for their season tickets than their European counterparts, according to new figures.

London Evening Standard

• Iberia scraps flights during strikeSpanish airline Iberia has cancelled more than a third of its flights due to a strike by pilots fearing job losses when company planes are diverted for use by Iberia's planned new budget carrier.
• UK commuters 'pay more for trains'Some UK rail commuters, facing 6% average fare rises next week, are already paying almost 10 times more for their season tickets than their European counterparts, according to new figures.
• Blue Badge parking change announcedMeasures to crack down on drivers who abuse the disabled parking system will come into force from January 1, the Government has announced.

Manchester Evening News

• Calls to scrap ’air taxThere were renewed calls for the government to scrap its controversial ’air tax’ today, ahead of airlines joining an EU-wide scheme to reduce carbon emissions.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Station at Dyce to be made more accessible for disabledVital access work is to be carried out at a busy commuter railway station on the outskirts of Aberdeen.
• Victims™ son to sue Network Rail over fatal accident at level-crossingAn Inverness man whose parents and an uncle died in a horrific level-crossing accident in Caithness plans to sue railway company Network Rail so that their deaths will not have been in vain.

Yorkshire Post

• New Blue Badge design targets abusers of disabled parkingMeasures to crack down on drivers who abuse the disabled parking system will come into force from January 1, the Government has announced.

Other Regional Press

• Motorists to benefit from new laser technologyMotorists could benefit from shorter motorway closures after crashes when new 3D laser scanning technology is rolled out. Bedfordshire Police Authority has been awarded funding to the tune of 158,270
• M62 traffic jam times to be cut by using 3D 'video camera' after crashes: Find out how hereHIGH-TECH laser scanning equipment will help reduce motorway closures after a crash.

Aviation Industry

• AMR falls after hours on delisting newsThe bankrupt parent company of American Airlines, AMR Corp., saw its shares fall further into penny stock territory after the New York Stock Exchange said it would delist the stock.

Green Miscellany

• An electric trailer to push your bicycle The drawback with electric bicycles is that they can be a little heavy to pedal long distances without the help of the motor and too expensive to buy in addition to a good conventional bicycle. Enter the Ridekick, a small electric trailer that hitches to almost any type of bicycle to push it at speeds of up to 19mph and costs £450. read more