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

Friday, 04 May 2012

BBC News

• London to test 'smart city' operating system An operating system designed to power the smart cities of the future will be put through its paces in London.
• VIDEO: Green: Heathrow queues 'unacceptable'Immigration minister Damian Green has admitted that waiting times for people to pass through immigration at Heathrow in April are
• Heathrow queue time target missedThe UK Border Force failed to meet its target for processing Heathrow arrivals from outside the European Economic Area in April, BAA says.
• BMI Baby to be grounded, says IAGBMI Baby, the budget airline, will be grounded from September, with some routes being stopped from next month, owner IAG says.

Financial Times

• Heathrow passport control misses targetImmigration officials at Heathrow missed their performance target in April for dealing with passengers who live outside the EU
• Aer Lingus boosts profits forecast˜Encouraging start™ leads Irish airline to predict strong revenue growth in long-haul will compensate for costlier fuel
• Lufthansa to cut 3,500 jobsEurope™s largest airline by revenue hit by higher fuel costs but expects 2012 operating profit ˜in the mid three-figure million euro range™
• Lufthansa: off the controlsWhat lies behind the German flag carrier™s numbers is a lot of bad news and a bit of good

The Guardian

• Spain must halt rail expansion, says expert Spain's investment in high speed rail and airport expansion is threatening its economic recovery, says economics professor
• Bmibaby to close after owner BA fails to find buyer Loss-making airline which employs 470 staff is to be grounded this September
• Official waiting time figures reveal scale of Heathrow chaosNew figures published as home secretary, Border Force and airlines discuss how to deal with next week's one-day strikeOne in four of all non-European passengers arriving at Heathrow's Terminal 5 during April had to wait longer than the target time of 45 minutes to get through passport control, according to official airport figures.Airports operator BAA said the worst delays happened on Monday, when non-European passengers arriving at Terminal 4 were forced to wait three hours to get through passport control.The disclosure of the true scale of the chaos that passengers at the airport have endur...

The Herald

• Passenger increase on ScotRailSCOTRAIL is carrying nearly one-third more passengers than in 2004 after recording the eight successive year of growth, the firm said yesterday.
• Tramworks wreak havoc on city centre shoppingEDINBURGH'S notorious tramworks have caused a catastrophic collapse in the number of shoppers visiting the city centre.
• Passengers voice their anger over Clyde ferry breakdownHUNDREDS of residents have been left facing lengthy bus detours after a Clyde ferry service introduced only a month ago suffered the latest in a series of breakdowns.

The Independent

• Thousands have holiday plans wrecked as Bmibaby announces shut downTens of thousands of British holidaymakers have seen their summer travel plans wrecked by the announcement that the low-cost airline, Bmibaby, is to shut down.Related StoriesMay prepares for border staff strike as chaos hits Heathrow
• May prepares for border staff strike as chaos hits Heathrow Passengers arriving at Heathrow Airport this week endured waits of up to three hours to have their passports checked, official figures showed yesterday “ twice as long as the Government previously insisted.Related StoriesThousands have holiday plans wrecked as Bmibaby announces shut down

The Scotsman

• First-class is last word in luxury – and all on a lunchtime flight SEATS with massage functions and seven-course meals on Royal Doulton fine bone china are among features of Emirates’ first-class cabins.
• Scottish routes axed as airline Bmibaby faces closure LOSS-MAKING airline Bmibaby is expected to close in September after new owners failed to find a buyer. However, there appeared to be more hope for Aberdeen-based BMI Regional, with “progress” made with a potential buyer, believed to be business consortium Granite Aviation.
• Thousands of drivers escape ban despite 12 penalty points NEARLY 300 motorists in Scotland are still driving legally despite clocking up enough penalty points to be banned, figures published today show.

The Telegraph

• Low-carbon transport on show The EcoVelocity show in London highlights all the latest low-emissions cars.
• May to ease airport passport controlsTheresa May is considering relaxing passport controls to ease serious queues at UK's borders in embarrassing about-turn.

The Mirror

• The waiting shame: Heathrow passengers had to queue for up to THREE hours, new figures showThe agency failed to meet its Heathrow passport control targets almost every day last month, BAA figures reveal

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Railway firm plans new Bradford to London link Bradford is to get an extra direct daily rail link to London if plans by train operator Grand Central get the green light.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Allotment holders lose the plot over tram work floodsANGRY plot holders have hit out at the city council after tram works left dozens of allotments flooded.
• New bus lane cameras ˜causing road chaos™NEW bus lane cameras intended to crack down on motorists cutting through the Greenways are causing traffic chaos, critics claimed today.

Journal Live

• Newcastle Airport boss 'deflected' key question on bonusTHE Newcastle Airport boss who secured himself a multi-million pound bonus when the airport was re-financed avoided questions about how much he stood to gain from the deal, a court has heard.

Liverpool Echo

• Vauxhall group makes $300m first quarter loss in EuropeCar giant General Motors, (GM) parent group of Vauxhall, revealed its European division which includes the Ellesmere Port Astra plant made a loss of $300m in the first quarter of the year.

Liverpool Post

• Cammell Laird is preferred bidder for multi-million pound ferries contractMERSEY shipyard and engineering firm Cammell Laird is set to build its first complete vessels in almost 20 years.

Northern Echo

• Metro railway workers to be balloted on strike after pay talks hit the buffersWORKERS on the Tyne and Wear Metro are being balloted on strike action in a dispute over pay.

Yorkshire Post

• Copper cable thief paralysed rail systemA major train route through Yorkshire was paralysed after a copper thief cut through live cabling which he later weighed in for only £26.

Blackpool Gazette

• Blackpool turns to island for busesTRANSPORT chiefs in Blackpool have turned to the Isle of Man in order to boost the resort’s bus fleet.
• All aboard for a hike in faresTICKETS for rail passengers are set to rise as the country enters another recession.

Other Regional Press

• Trio of twins launch new buses at Crow Nest Park A TRIO of twins had park visitors seeing double this week when they helped a bus company welcome the latest additions to its fleet.
• Rail firm deny plan to shut ticket office THE rail company responsible for making the decision whether to shut a ticket office at a Doncaster train station has denied closure in the near future.
• Number of rail bidders whittled down The Department for Transport has narrowed down the number of companies bidding to run Wiltshire’s railways to just four.
• Low fare airline bmibaby to close LOW fare carrier bmibaby is set to close later this year, threatening the loss of hundreds of jobs and the ending of its flights.
• UK & World News: Low fare airline bmibaby to closeLow fare carrier bmibaby is set to close later this year, threatening the loss of hundreds of jobs and the ending of its flights.

The Economist

• Lonesome highway People are travelling less often, particularly by car. But Britain has not become a nation of hermits

Aviation Industry

• 'Too Fat To Fly' Passenger Sues Southwest Airlines For 'Discriminatory Actions'Kenlie Tiggeman, the overweight passenger who garnered national attention last May after she claimed a Southwest gate agent told her she was

Other News Sources

• Rail trips should come on the NHSAN unlikely title entered the best selling books list recently. Called Bradshaw's Guide it is a facsimile of a handbook to the railways of Britain, first published in 1863.
• When Time Is Tight, Get PreferredAccess With US AirwaysUS Airways (NYSE: LCC) is now offering its customers the option to breeze through the airport and onto the aircraft with PreferredAccess. US Airways' customers checking in online can now...