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

Friday, 13 January 2012

BBC News

• 'North-south divide' for bus firmFirstGroup says its bus operations in the north of the country are seeing lower growth rates than the rest of the UK.
• Factory collapse sees road closedPart of a former shirt factory collapses in Londonderry, causing a road to be closed.
• 'Airport City' scheme announcedThe Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne unveils plans for Manchester Airport's £659m development which could create 13,000 jobs.
• MPs attack rising whiplash claimsThe cost of car insurance could be cut if the government restricted the huge number of subjective
• HS2 opposed by PM's father-in-lawThe government's high-speed rail plans, which include Birmingham, will ruin thousands of lives, according to Lord Astor - David Cameron's father-in-law.
• New Spanish flights from airportAn airline's decision to expand its flights from Cardiff Airport to Spain is welcomed as a boost for business and tourism links.
• VIDEO: New river tunnel 'within a decade'A new road tunnel is to be built under the Thames in east London.
• Mayor to promise 'Thames tunnel'Boris Johnson is to promise to a new road tunnel under the Thames in east London as part of a plan to ease congestion problems.
• Hammersmith Flyover is to reopenBoris Johnson, mayor of London, announces that the Hammersmith Flyover in west London, which has been closed for three weeks, is to reopen.

Financial Times

• Disposals hinder FirstGroup™s drive on debtPublic transport group blames weak economy and buyers™ nervousness over regulatory approval for problems unloading its non-core businesses
• AirAsia X to cut long-haul servicesHigh costs and low demand push the low-cost airline launched by Malaysian entrepreneur Tony Fernandes to stop flying to Europe and Delhi a

The Independent

• Rail signal staff plan more strikesRailway signal workers in Scotland are to stage two further strikes in a dispute over career progression, union leaders announced today. Related StoriesMI5 and MI6 expected to be cleared over 'torture'500,000 children in Britain 'unhappy', says new study'Complicity at highest levels', claims Binyam Mohamed500,000 children in Britain 'unhappy,' says new studyWidow died after surgeon's error

Daily Express

• Halfords gets on its bikes to ride slumpMILD weather dented sales of winter car-care products at Halfords. But the chain made up some of the lost ground thanks to booming demand for bicycles.
• BAA Heathrow fearsTHE number of passengers using airports run by BAA recovered slightly last month but the operator warned of threats to growth at Heathrow.

Mail Online

• No-frills airline Ryanair adds 25p to every ticket price to pay for 'eco-loony' green tax schemeThe budget airline, which will bring in the levy from January 17, described the European Emissions Trading System as an 'eco-loony tax'. It said ETS would cost Ryanair passengers between 15million and 20million euros during 2012.

Network Rail

• NETWORK RAIL ANNOUNCES £1.5BN FRAMEWORK AGREEMENTS

Birmingham Mail

• How the HS2 high speed rail link could look in BirminghamTHIS is the first image of how Birmingham’s new high-speed rail link to London could look from high above the city centre.

Birmingham Post

• Midland Conservative MPs continue to oppose HS2 high speed rail plansWest Midlands MPs have vowed to continue fighting against plans for a new high speed rail network with Birmingham at its heart as it emerged a public consultation came out two to one against the £32 billion line.
• HS2 station at Curzon Street in Birmingham will see all of Eastside regeneratedA new high speed railway station will bring wealth and jobs into Birmingham city centre, Transport Secretary Justine Greening has pledged.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Wrexham Industrial Estate Link Road £30m scheme ahead of scheduleA VITAL link road costing more them £30m is ahead of schedule and is set to be fully open by late summer.

London Evening Standard

• Boris vows to fix roads and build new tunnelBoris Johnson has promised to fix London's roads if he is re-elected Mayor - and build a new Thames crossing within ten years

Manchester Evening News

• Manchester's £650m Airport City master plan unveiledA master plan for Manchester's £650m Airport City development was unveiled today as it emerged scores of firms are lining up to move in.

Yorkshire Post

• Father-in-law of PM slams HS2 plansDavid Cameron is facing opposition to the Government’s high-speed rail plans from within his own family after his father-in-law warned it would “ruin the lives of thousands”.

Peterborough Telegraph

• Drop in number of road deaths in Cambridgeshire during 2011THE number of deaths on Cambridgeshire’s roads has fallen over the past year – but road deaths in Peterborough have increased by one.

Other Regional Press

• New airport routes bring flights boostGLASGOW Airport is flying high as more passengers jet in and out of Scotland™s biggest city.
• Talks after HS2 ˜snub™ to Scotland Top-level talks planned on fast rail link for ScotsTALKS to bring High Speed Rail to Scotland are to start following a short meeting between the Scottish and UK Transport Ministers in Glasgow.
• Purbeck roadworks cause major delays FRUSTRATED drivers in Purbeck found themselves sitting in miles of queues as workmen began digging up one of the area™s busiest routes for the second time in weeks.
• Purbeck roadworks cause major delays FRUSTRATED drivers in Purbeck found themselves sitting in miles of queues as workmen began digging up one of the area™s busiest routes for the second time in weeks.
• Rail firm says 'get on yer bikes'A train company has donated more than ten bikes to a Bedford based homeless charity. First Capital Connect donated the bikes, which had been abandoned at some of their stations, to the Kings Arms
• A90 to be hit with 10 weeks of roadworksA MAJOR road is due to be hit by 10 weeks of roadworks.

Forbes

• Which Are Better: Electric Cars or Natural Gas Vehicles?EVs or CNGs? The debate has raged for years in alternative transportation. Electric vehicle (EV) advocates claim that the steady improvement in battery technology, the pervasiveness of the grid, and software and services to enable things like high-speed charging will make electrification of at least some portion of the transportation market

Railnews

• New Croydon tram should enter service next month The first of six new trams ordered for London Tramlink should enter service next month, said Transport for London. The first of the vehicles is now being tested in the Croydon area.
• Conservatives hit back at Labour's 'flex' fares claim Claims by Labour leader Ed Miliband that the Coalition government boosted this month's rail fare increases by allowing train operators to bring back the 'flex' -- and increase some fares by as much as 11 per cent -- have been challenged by the publication of a legal agreement which limited the suspension of the flex to just a year.
• Why Network Rail rejected the alternatives to HS2 If the alternatives to HS2 suggested by 18 local authorities opposing HS2 were accepted, stations at Atherstone, Rugeley Trent Valley and Stone would be left without any trains at all, and commuter stations between Leighton Buzzardand London Euston would suffer reduced services. There would also be many more standing passengers on trains south of Northampton. These were among the main findings of a review for the government by Network Rail, which helped confirm transport secretary Justine Greening’s decision to go ahead with HS2 this week.

Aviation Industry

• Air Asia X to withdraw Gatwick flightsCarrier to end services to Kuala Lumpur from March

Other News Sources

• New Thames road tunnel by 2021, says London mayorLondon mayor Boris Johnson has promised that a new Thames crossing will be built within a decade.
• Rail strikes: Passengers hit by 24-hour walk outsMembers of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union will stage strikes on January 23 and January 27.
• High Speed 2: The NCE guideThis week™s decision by transport secretary Justine Greening to go ahead with the High Speed 2 scheme with some modifications to the route is the latest step forward for the mega-rail scheme.
• Herts councils finance London Underground extensionOrder sought to build rail link for Watford
• News from John Biggs: Four wasted years in wait for unfunded river crossing 12 January, 2012 London's wait for a new river crossing has been four years longer than it should have been, thanks to Boris Johnson's short-sightedness, says east London Assembly member John Biggs. The mayor is expected to announce plans for a tunnel between Greenwich and Silvertown at the City of London's annual government dinner. 360-house-thumb.jpg Yes read more
• FTA and Highways Agency on road to working closer togetherA Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by the Chief Executives of the Freight Transport Association and the Highways Agency to establish ...

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