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

Friday, 01 June 2012

BBC News

• Newport transporter bridge closure concern The Newport Transporter Bridge is set to end its life as a full time working bridge and will instead become a tourist attraction for six months a year.
• Cornwall Council warns cuts threaten road safety Cornwall recorded its lowest number of road deaths last year but budget cuts could affect road safety, the council has warned.
• Bristol allotment owners object to bus route bridge plans Allotment owners in Bristol have pledged to oppose plans to concrete over their land to build a new bridge serving a bus route to the city centre.
• Free wi-fi Tube stations namedSome of the first London Underground stations that will receive free wi-fi over the summer are announced.
• Car insurance market faces probeThe car insurance industry is set to be scrutinised by the Competition Commission, after the Office of Fair Trading calls the sector

Department for Transport

• Transport Statistics: Road conditions in England: 2011The Department for Transport has today published the following Transport Statistics:
• Passengers views sought on new rail franchise for London and the SouthPassengers across London, the South East, Sussex and the South Coast are being asked for their views to help shape a major new franchise for train services across their area, Rail Minister Theresa Villiers announced today.

Financial Times

• TPG and US Airways look at American tie-upThe private equity group and the rival carrier are in talks over a joint bid for AMR Corp, according to people familiar with the situation

The Guardian

• Liquids ban should not be lifted next year, say UK airports British airport operators claim plans to scrap limits on liquids in hand luggage by 2013 will cause chaos and confusion
• Liquids ban should not be lifted next year, say UK airports British airport operators claim plans to scrap limits on liquids in hand luggage by 2013 will cause chaos and confusion
• First Capital Connect raises cost of carnet tickets by 11% Travellers buying off-peak packs of tickets between Stevenage and London see price rise from £60 to £66.50

The Independent

• Jubilee: The MPs with a loco idea for Liz's Tube line It's not just the media getting into a frenzy over this weekend's jubilee. Our representatives in Parliament seem pretty excited too. Six Labour MPs have tabled an Early Day Motion, proposing that London Underground's Jubilee line be renamed the

The Telegraph

• Town that scrapped traffic wardens welcomes them back after enduring car chaosA Welsh town that became the envy of motorists elsewhere in Britain when it scrapped its traffic wardens has welcomed them back after the move resulted in congestion and parking chaos.

Mail Online

• No minister! Jeremy Hunt cycles into more trouble as he risks £3,000 fine by running red light and ignoring TWO no entry signs as he bikes home (and he didn't even bother with a helmet)In just 13 minutes and two miles of peddling the beleaguered Culture Secretary was snapped breaking the law several times as he wobbled home from work near Downing Street.
• 'Don't lift liquids ban': Airport bosses fear increased security risk along with 'chaos and confusion' if rules are relaxedThe Airport Operators Association has written to Transport Secretary Justine Greening calling for a delay until the technology is fully fit to do the screening for liquid explosives.

Liverpool Post

• Cruising’s little and large come to Liverpool with visits of Caribbean Princess and Ocean CountessTHE potential future of Liverpool’s cruise market was evident to all with the visit of one of the largest cruise liners, Caribbean Princess.

Metro

• Car insurers pushing premiums up by £225m each year, fears OFTCar insurers are facing scrutiny amid claims practices are flawed and push up premiums by £225million a year. Insurers methods for calculating premiums may be flawed, says the Office of Fair Trading (Picture: Alamy) The sector may be referred to the Competition Commission over allegations that the cost of replacement car hire and repairs following accidents was artificially high. Insurers of at-fault drivers were powerless over the way repairs are carried out, leaving them at the mercy of the other party, the Office of Fair Trading said. The system, described by the OFT as dysfunctional, inf...
• Jubilee travel chaos expected as strikes and railworks set to go aheadJubilee revellers could find themselves in a right royal mess over the bank holiday weekend thanks to traffic jams, rail and road repairs and street closures. Crowds of jubilee well-wishers will clog up transport over the long weekend (Picture: Grant Falvey/LNP) About 2,500 rail replacement buses will double some people™s journey times as work hits 14 of Britain™s main 23 rail operators. Some of the 500,000 people coming into London for the Queen™s diamond jubilee celebrations will be hit. And drivers will have to contend with an estimated 13million vehicles on the roads in some of the busie...

Northern Echo

• Rail legend pulls into York ahead of celebration of Britain's rail heritage ONE of the steam-belching legends of the railways pulled into York under its own power yesterday to join the biggest ever celebration of Britain™s rail heritage.

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• Children playing chicken on M6 Toll roadChildren have been playing œchicken� on the M6 Toll road, prompting a warning from police that they are risking their lives.

Blackpool Gazette

• Tram returns for door repairsONE of Blackpool’s new trams has had to be returned to Germany for repairs.

Other Regional Press

• Minister announces consultation over franchise to run trains between King’s Lynn and London Transport Minister Theresa Villiers today announced plans for a consultation on the combined Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern rail franchise.
• MP chuffed by new signs at railway station Signs in Saffron Walden’s local train station finally feature the town’s name following a three-year campaign.
• Crystal Palace train station upgrade pictures releasedFIRST images of the revamped Crystal Palace railway station have been released by Transport for London (TfL).
• Network Rail given permission to replace historic Loughor viaductRAIL engineers can get to work on the centrepiece of a £40million project that will see reconstruction of an historic wooden bridge linking Swansea and Llanelli.

Campaign for Better Transport

• Campaigners countrywide gear up to fight new roads31 May: With road plans proliferating, new groups are springing up to oppose them while established campaigns are keeping up the pressure. read more

Global Rail News

• RMT won™t strike on East Midlands TrainsThe RMT has withdrawn its ballot for industrial action at East Midlands Trains. East Midlands Trains said their updated company pension deal will now be put forward to the RMT’s executives for their consideration, with a ‘strong recommendation for approval’. The RMT ballot has now ‘been declared void by the RMT and therefore no industrial [...]
• National Rail Enquiries ranked top on TwitterNational Rail Enquiries has been named as one of the UK™s top brands for its use of Twitter in this year™s Social Brands 100 report, published by social agency Headstream. The report ranked UK brands on how effectively they engage with their customers through social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter. National Rail Enquiries [...]
• Leading role for Rail AllianceThe Rail Alliance is delighted to be associated once again with the RailStaff Awards and will be co-sponsoring the 2012 Event. Its Chief Executive, Colin Flack will be hosting the evening. The Rail Alliance joins Network Rail and London Underground as the high profile supporter of the RailStaff Awards 2012. Says Colin, ˜We at the [...]
• Network Rail supports RailStaff Awards 2012Network Rail is supporting this year™s RailStaff Awards at the International Convention Centre in Birmingham. The RailStaff Awards brings together men and women working in all areas of the industry highlighting a spirit of co-operation, openness and transparency that reflects the core values of Network Rail. This year™s event is especially relevant as the rail [...]
• Gatwick Express sees 17% passenger increaseGatwick Express has reported a 17% increase in passengers in the past year, which the operator says ‘demonstrates that the service continues to attract air passengers away from road and other rail services’. Alex Foulds, Development Director for Southern Railway which runs Gatwick Express, said: “Considering the context of a 6.9% rise in airport passengers [...]
• MSPs praise ScotRail apprenticeship schemeMSPs have praised ScotRail™s modern apprenticeship scheme, which helps young people gain experience and employment opportunities. Maureen Watt MSP, Convener of the Scottish Parliament™s Infrastructure and Capital Investment Committee, and Neil Bibby MSP described ScotRail™s Modern Apprenticeships in customer service as a ‘pioneering project to boost young people™s skills’. The MSPs™ comments followed a tour [...]
• First stage of Waterloo railway station work nears completionRail passengers should see reduced congestion at Britain™s busiest railway station as the first stage of a £10m improvement project at Waterloo nears completion. Commuters passing between Waterloo and Waterloo East stations will now be able to use four new escalators connected to a 220-metre balcony which runs almost the full width of the station. [...]

Aviation Industry

• Qantas dismisses talk of Emirates buyQantas Airways has grown its share of Australia's international passengers for the third straight month as chief executive Alan Joyce slapped down speculation about Emirates buying a stake in his airline.

Other News Sources

• News from Caroline Pidgeon: Explosives report confirms the utter folly of ˜Boris Island™ plans 30 May, 2012 Caroline Pidgeon, leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, commenting on the Department of Transport™s report into the survey carried out on the SS Richard Montgomery ship which was wrecked with 1,400 tons of TNT explosives inside it, and is located near to where the proposed ˜Boris Island™ airport would be situated, said: "The threat of this cargo ship being blown sky high by any construction work needed for an airport in this location is a risk not worth taking. The devasation and chaos caused by an explo...