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

Tuesday, 10 April 2012

BBC News

• High speed Alpine rail link causes deep Italian rift High in the valleys that wind up from Turin towards the French border, a small army of police and paramilitary carabinieri are dug in, braced for the next round in a 22-year-old battle that pits local traditionalists, grass roots activists and global environmentalists against big business, the European Commission and the Italian government.
• Epsom and St Helier NHS offers free electric car charging Hospitals in Surrey and south London are to offer free charging for electric cars as part of a scheme being set up by Transport for London (TfL).
• German drivers offered free public transport Motorists in the German city of Leipzig are to be offered free public transport this week in a bid to cut congestion.
• Birmingham needs 'jobs and chutzpah'The aim is to use public and private investment to increase the size of the city core by 25%, overhaul transport links and create a "walkable" city centre with first class facilities, a new park and 5,000 additional homes.
• P&O bans 'lewd' ski trip Manchester university students P&O has banned 200 Manchester students after staff and passengers complained about their "wholly unacceptable" drunken behaviour on a ferry to Calais.

Financial Times

• Heathrow night flights proposedAirline says it can cut noise levels by flying A380 superjumbos into airport on steeper-than-normal descents, and landing them part way down runways
• Transport and logistics set for M&A boomUPS™s purchase of TNT Express has already made the value of deals announced in the first quarter steeply higher than in the same period last year
• Mayoral candidate backs noise reductionSiobhan Benita, the only contender calling for a third Heathrow runway, thinks smarter handling of newer jets could cut opposition to the idea

The Guardian

• Italy's high-speed train line under the Alps gathers pace After 20 years of protest against the tunnel, excavation for the TAV rail scheme is due to begin in the Susa valley near Turin
• Boris's Bus (A Political Journey) Part 37: Promises, Promises Boris's manifesto promise (page 27) to have 600 of his new model buses operating on London's streets "by the end of my second term as mayor," can be usefully evaluated by comparing it with the pledges he's made about introducing earlier types of diesel-electric "hybrid" buses during his first term.

The Scotsman

• Railway track workers to strike Dozens of railway track renewal workers are to go on strike this week in a row over shifts.

The Telegraph

• Olympic-hit businesses in court move Scores of small businesses are planning a class action lawsuit against the organisers of the Olympics over planned road closures and security restrictions which they claim will put hundreds of jobs at risk.
• Threat to canal holidays as drought bitesExclusive: Holidaymakers planning canal trips across parts of the Midlands and the south face measures that will force them to avoid travel along many attractive routes.
• Curbs planned on motorists who abuse prescription drugsMotorists who get behind the wheel while impaired by prescribed drugs will face prosecution under new laws to be unveiled by ministers next month.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Council rules out creating bus group to replace FirstMIDLOTHIAN Council will not set up its own bus company to replace services lost by First’s cutbacks, it emerged today.

Manchester Evening News

• Bus lane cheats punished by only two Greater Manchester councils in last three yearsCheating motorists who use bus lanes to skip traffic jams may have got off unpunished “ because councils have not been enforcing the rules. Figures obtained by the M.E.N. show only two town halls in the region have handed out fines to drivers breaking the rules in the last three years. Manchester council issued 111,180 tickets to so-called ˜bus-lane bandits™ between 2009-2011. Bury council issued 14,093.
• Failed tram stops Metrolink services on south Manchester and Altrincham linesMetrolink services on the South Manchester and Altrincham lines have been temporarily suspended. The stoppage began at around 10.40am after a tram broke down at Trafford Bar and passengers have been told they can use tickets on the alternative 263, 85 and 86 bus services.

The York Press

• Cyclists challenge bid to change Clifton Green junction THE scrapping of a cycle lane at a controversial York junction is to be challenged by three of the city™s councillors.

Wales Online

• £172m blitz on Wales' damaged road network due to beginThe biggest roads maintenance programme in living memory in Wales is about to swing into action, in an attempt to stem compensation claims and money wasted on short-term patching up.

Blackpool Gazette

• Passengers furious as station shuts “ days after supertram launchTHE supertram launch has fallen flat for residents who have found their nearest station shut.

Other Regional Press

• Warning at dawdling over rail freight hub COUNTY councillors are being urged to continue to support any potential rail hub scheme for South Holland before major employers choose to go elsewhere.
• Rail groups on track to complete Norfolk Orbital Railway Born from the Industrial Revolution, it was a system that, in its heyday, helped bring to life Norfolk’s countryside for tourists and commuters alike.
• Rail signals get £350m boost A £350m investment in new signals on the Great Western main line Rail route marks the next step in a programme which could eventually see trains as far away as Cornwall controlled from Oxfordshire.
• Concerns over safety on roadResidents have raised new fears about the safety of children crossing a busy Preston road.

Aviation Industry

• British Airways owner eyes Tap as next targetIAG boss Willie Walsh confirms interest in Portuguese carrier

Other News Sources

• Transport drives emissions upBridging the gap between the EU™s climate change goals and the pollution from transport is a huge challenge.