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

Friday, 23 March 2012

Cogitamus

• Road Tolls – a Sensible but Doomed Idea?By Garvan Walshe, Director, Cogitamus Limited A speech on infrastructure at the Institution of Civil Engineers. Hardly the occasion for a media firestorm. Yet this reasonable little paragraph in the Prime Minister’s speech on Monday created just that: “Now, road tolling is one option, but we are only considering this for new, not existing capacity.  For example, we™re looking at how improvements to the A14 could be part-funded through tolling.  But we now need to be more ambitious.  We should be asking ourselves, ˜Why is it that other infrastructure™ ” for example, water ” ˜is fund...

BBC News

• Rail links 'critical' for Gatwick Airport Gatwick Airport needs better rail links if it is to compete with Heathrow, a new report says.
• Lincoln rail line bridges 'being planned' Two footbridges could be built over the rail line in the centre of Lincoln, Network Rail has confirmed.
• Passenger seeks ash cloud payment from Ryanair An Irish passenger whose flight was cancelled because of the volcanic ash cloud is a step closer to getting compensation.
• Trust created for historic busesFirstGroup creates a trust to restore its historic vehicles
• Next phase of tram works to beginThe next phase of Edinburgh's city centre tram works is due to begin this weekend, with new traffic diversions introduced.
• Day trippers touring M25 by coachA coach-load of day trippers takes a 117-mile tour of the M25 motorway, dubbed by frequent users as

Financial Times

• IAG offers more slots in bid for BMILufthansa and IAG raise the pressure on Brussels to approve the deal by warning that BMI could face closure if an in-depth investigation were conducted
• Airline call for Olympic priority rebuffedCAA tells airlines a call for their scheduled flights to be given priority over smaller aircraft would be difficult to execute and legally questionable
• Ryanair set back in volcanic ash caseECJ advocate-general says the airline should have paid for the room and board of a passenger who was stranded in Portugal for a week
• Europe™s airline brew must find a way to lose some frothToo many airlines are competing for not enough airport capacity, but worst of all is the failure of governments to unify air traffic management

The Herald

• Anger at refusal to scrap fuel duty hike planMOTORING organisations have warned of further hardship for 34 million UK drivers after George Osborne's decision to plough ahead with a fuel duty hike in August.
• Blow for Ryanair in volcano cash fightRYANAIR has lost the latest round in its legal battle to avoid paying for hotels, meals and drinks for passengers disrupted by delayed flights during the Icelandic volcano eruption in 2010.
• Environmentalists enraged by BP's new project in North SeaENVIRONMENTAL groups have condemned BP's move to drill a new deep water oil well in the far reaches of the North Sea.
• ScotRail dividends 'add 7% to cost of fares'RAIL travellers could be paying 7% less for their fares if ScotRail had not paid out millions in dividends to shareholders, MSPs have been told.
• First will restore historic busesHISTORIC buses dating back as far as the 1930s from around the UK are to be restored to working order and preserved by First Group.
• More diversions for tram worksANOTHER year of diversions for tram works in the west end of Edinburgh come into force this weekend.
• Demand may derail hopes of extra trainsTHE number of new passenger trains travelling between London and Scotland following completion of a high-speed rail route in England will be limited by constraints on the existing network, planners have found.

The Scotsman

• Virgin just the ticket but ScotRail lagging behind, say travellersVIRGIN Trains is Britain’s best-loved rail operator, according to a passenger survey by a consumer watchdog.
• Shipping firms use floating armouries to deter piratesPrivate security firms are storing their guns aboard floating armouries in international waters so ships that want armed guards for East Africa’s pirate-infested waters can cut costs and escape laws limiting the import and export of weapons.

The Telegraph

• Southeastern is poorest train company, Which? findsSoutheastern, the train company that transports 570,000 passengers in London, Kent and East Sussex each week, has been voted the UK's worst train company, according to consumer magazine Which?.

The Mirror

• Poor track record: Furious passengers slam expensive and overcrowded trainsBizarre pricing systems and packed carriages top the list of complaints in a poll of more than 4,000 travellers published today

ATOC

• Train companies respond to Which? passenger satisfaction surveyResponding to a survey by Which? on customer satisfaction with train companies, Michael Roberts, Chief Executive of the Association of Train Operating Companies,...

Birmingham Post

• Transport secretary pledges to 'remove barriers' to Birmingham Airport expansion Birmingham Airport’s campaign to expand has received a major boost after Transport Secretary Justine Greening said she wanted to “remove barriers” which prevented it growing.

London Evening Standard

• Boris: I can cut rail fares and crowding on suburban lines Boris Johnson today promised to cut fares if he wins control of London’s suburban railways.
• Heathrow Express strike threat ends A dispute over disciplinary action against two workers on the Heathrow Express has been resolved, ending the threat of fresh strikes.
• Downton inspires high tea at 35,000ft Virgin Atlantic is offering afternoon tea at 35,000 feet with finger sandwiches, scones and cakes to give Upper Class passengers the full “British experience”.
• Jubilee line hit by failure on eve of new service Jubilee line commuters have again suffered huge disruption — days before the new 30-train-an-hour peak-time service is due to start on Monday.
• Key aviation paper delayed for rethink A key government paper on the future of UK aviation has been delayed amid speculation that the number of flights in and out of Heathrow could increase.

Sheffield Telegraph

• Rail link boostPOLITICIANS and the business community this week welcomed the Government’s commitment to improving the rail link between Sheffield and Manchester.

Wales Online

• Business minister prepared to work with embattled Cardiff AirportBusiness Minister Edwina Hart today held out the possibility of cooperation with under-fire Cardiff Airport but stressed it would have to provide more investment.
• Cardiff news: Admiral executive opposes rail spur to Cardif AirportA prominent businessmen is involved in a campaign to stop a direct rail link to Cardiff Airport.

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• First glimpse of haulage firm™s planned £5m centreThis is the first glimpse of a planned £5 million building that could be constructed by an expanding haulage firm.

Other Regional Press

• Transport minister Norman Baker praises community volunteers A government minister praised Norwich’s volunteers yesterday at the launch of the Norfolk Community Transport Association.
• Huddersfield University student Rachel Smith designs future car lookA STUDENT has designs on the look of our future cars.
• Bus pilot extendedA LIFELINE village bus service is set to be extended – but organisers are relying on support from the community.

Global Rail News

• Rail stride for walking festivalThe Settle-Carlisle Walking Festival looks like being a huge success this May. Everest mountaineer, Alan Hinkes OBE (left), will start two guided walks from Garsdale station on Friday 4th May, during the week long Settle-Carlisle Walking Festival. The festival lasts from 1st to 7th May. ˜The May 4th walks are Wensleydale Railway™s contribution to the [...]
• Weatherley launches Weather EyeHove MP, Mike Weatherley has launched Southern™s Eyewitness safety initiative at Hove railway station. Mr Weatherley joined Southern Rail staff to launch the low-level crime reporting system which operates by email. Passengers using services between Hove and Warblington along Southern™s West Coastway route can report suspicious behaviour in confidence. The scheme is based on a [...]
• RMT & London Underground talks ˜collapse™The RMT has said that talks with London Underground aimed at resolving a dispute over Olympic ‘reward and recognition’ have ‘broken down’. The union said that LU ‘are demanding that staff be prepared to work anytime, anyplace, anywhere at the drop of a hat, even attempting to force staff to work in safety-critical roles in unfamiliar locations [...]
• Loco naming honours Battle of BritainOne of East Coast™s record-breaking locomotives, 91110, will be named ˜Battle of Britain Memorial Flight™ on 2nd June. The RAF™s Battle of Britain Memorial Flight preserves fully operational Spitfires, Hurricanes and several bombers. The loco naming will be staged under a fly past at York at the start of the Railfest 2012 celebration organised by [...]
• Rail pioneer catches the last train from MechanRail depot maintenance specialist, Mechan, is bidding farewell to one of the most influential members of its management team, following a 49-year career in the transport industry. Sales and technical director, Graham Cofield, is retiring after 23 years with the Sheffield manufacturer, during which time he played a key role in shaping the firm™s current [...]
• Atkins wins design contract for major rail upgrade in StockholmAtkins has been awarded a major design contract for the Mälaren Line Project in Sweden. The project will increase capacity on the rail network in the greater Stockholm region. The contract, which has been awarded by the Swedish Transport Administration, will include the planning and design of new tracks, a new commuter rail station, improved track [...]

London TravelWatch

• London TravelWatch Board meeting 27 March 2012London TravelWatch's next meeting in public is its Board meeting on Tuesday 27 March
• London TravelWatch Board Meeting London TravelWatch's board meeting: Open to all. Links to related documents

Aviation Industry

• Government delays release of airport expansion plansCoalition pushes back publication of strategy for increasing capacity until the summer

Green Miscellany

• PM wrong to rule out charging on existing roads The Prime Minister has made a big mistake by ruling out road user charging on existing strategic roads, according to the Environmental Transport Association (ETA).read more
• My bicycle™s been stolen “ what happens now? If you™ve been unfortunate enough to have a bicycle stolen, you™ll remember the feeling; disbelief as you stare at the empty space, anger at the ne™er-do-wells who are now riding your pride and worry over how quickly the bike can be replaced.read more

Other News Sources

• Virgin Trains tops first ever Which? train survey Survey finds mixed picture for rail services across the country