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

Monday, 17 September 2012

BBC News

• Aberystwyth new road link and bus service launched A new circular road route linking Aberystwyth University and the National Library of Wales has opened, along with a new bus service.
• Corwen's railway station plan halted over funding A planned train station at Corwen in Denbighshire has been put on hold because of a lack of funding.
• Skye airstrip study set to get Highland Council funds Highland councillors will be asked to agree to a £5,000 contribution to a £15,000 study into the potential for a scheduled air service from Skye.
• Heads of the Valleys walking and cycle path completed A new seven-mile (11km) walking and cycle path linking Merthyr Tydfil and Pontwalby in the Neath Valley has been completed.
• Alasdair Gray Glasgow subway mural set to be unveiled Renowned Scottish writer and artist Alasdair Gray's latest work is set to be unveiled on the back wall of a refurbished Glasgow subway station.
• Highland gritters to relay road temperatures in winter Devices fitted to gritters will give Highland roads staff "real time" information on road temperatures and how much salt the vehicles spread.
• VIDEO: Road charge proposal for lorriesForeign trucks driving on British roads could be charged up to £1,000 a year under government proposals designed to help domestic hauliers.

Financial Times

• Business losing confidence in strategyBritish business is fast losing any remnant of confidence in the government’s infrastructure strategy even though investment in transport, telecommunications and energy has been at the heart of its growth plans since it came to power two years ago.
• Drive to raise motorway speed limit easesThe plans for an 80mph limit on English and Welsh motorways are under consultation thanks to the previous transport secretary™s plans to boost the economy

The Guardian

• The Tories are giving us distractions, not actions Rather than build for our future, the coalition government has resorted to making endless promises that never bear fruit

The Herald

• Underground artist Gray unveils panoramic mural in SubwayThe largest public mural by the renowned Scottish polymath Alasdair Gray has been unveiled in Glasgow at one of its busiest underground stations.

The Independent

• Getting infrastructure on road is key to recovery – business chiefs Business leaders have urged the government to "get on with it" over improvements to the UK's infrastructure, including the highly controversial third runway at Heathrow, in order to salvage the economy.

The Scotsman

• £100k prize fund for green transport ideas PIONEERS of green transport are being invited to bid for a pot of money totalling £100,000 to turn their ideas into reality.

The Telegraph

• Mayor orders consultants to study options for Heathrow London Mayor Boris Johnson has hired consultants to examine alternative uses for Heathrow as part of his commercial case for developing a new £50bn hub airport in the Thames Estuary.
• A letter to our new transport minister - Jim French, chairman and chief executive of FlybeLeading aviation CEO calls on Patrick McLoughlin in an open letter to boost regional economies with some joined-up thinking.
• Give us action not talk, CBI tells Chancellor The Government needs to get on with it and deliver vital transport and energy projects, the CBI says in a report published today that shows business confidence in UK infrastructure is falling.
• Passengers face delays as rail engineering works returnRail passengers hit by engineering works and signal failures as Olympic honeymoon comes to abrupt end.
• Biofuel target will add £35 every year to the cost of running a carDrivers will be forced to pay an extra £35 a year due to a European climate change target, a report by Oxfam has found.

Press Association

• System 'blocks new infrastructure' Nearly all company chiefs think the planning system is a barrier to delivering new infrastructure, according to a survey. As many as 48% reckon government changes to the system will make no difference.

Daily Express

• GET BUILDING, WARN BOSSES BUSINESS leaders have urged the Government to accelerate its plans to build more homes and roads – and kickstart the economy.

The Mirror

• Backseat survivor: TV experiment finds it's safer to sit near the rear in case of jet crashA Boeing 727 jet slams into the desert, the front end breaks off and it grinds to a halt in a cloud of dust.

This is Money

• Legal delays on the line...Virgin Trains' fury as officials stallVirgin Trains has accused the Government of deliberately delaying a decision on the West Coast Main Line by refusing to ask the High Court to speed up a crucial hearing.

London Evening Standard

• Safety 'paramount' in speed plansTransport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin says the safety of the roads will be his overriding concern when considering plans to raise the motorway speed limit to 80mph.

Manchester Evening News

• Welcome to a year in the life of Manchester Airport...Manchester Airport had one of its busiest and wackiest summers ever “ with almost 6.5m passengers travelling through the terminals.

Northern Echo

• Bus driver's contest success A BUS driver from Hartlepool is celebrating success for the first time in the regional Bus Driver of the Year competition.

Wales Online

• UK Government 'would block plans for publicly-owned trains in Wales' The UK Government appears to have quashed plans for a publicly-owned train operating company in Wales, by rejecting Scotland’s similar proposals.

Yorkshire Post

• Leaders express fears over lack of transport spending Businesses are calling on the Government to improve transport links amid fears that no improvements will be seen over the next five years. Responses from 568 business leaders during June and July identified transport infrastructure as the area of greatest concern, according to a new CBI/KPMG survey.

Lancashire Telegraph

• East Lancashire's railway stations officially the best in the county RAIL stations in East Lancashire are among the brightest and most welcoming in the county - and that's official. Campaigners from Lancashire Community Rail Partnership launched a competition earlier this year to find the most attractive platforms in the county.

Plymouth Herald

• Bid to get drivers out of cars and on a trainCAR users are being urged to take the train for the international car free day.

Other Regional Press

• Transport shake-up is leaving parents in lurch Parents have been left fuming at a lack of suitable bus transport to get their children to school, according to a school governor.
• UK: CBI survey calls for greater Government urgency over infrastructure VITAL infrastructure improvements in sectors including transport, energy and water are not happening quickly enough, according to new survey conducted by business lobbying group CBI and chartered accountants KPMG.
• UK & World News: Safety 'paramount' in speed plansTransport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin says the safety of the roads will be his overriding concern when considering plans to raise the motorway speed limit to 80mph.

Freight on Rail

• Foreign lorry road user charging too little too lateIn response to reports today that the Government is pressing ahead with time based lorry road user charging for all HGVs, Philippa Edmunds, Freight on Rail Manager, issued the following comments:- “Whilst we support the principal of introducing a lorry road user charging system to charge foreign lorries for using UK roads to ensure fairer arrangements for the UK haulage industry, the current charge of up to £1000 a year for foreign hauliers is not high enough to improve competition for UK road haulage. It will also be expensive for the Government to administer and will place extra administrative burdens on UK hauliers. Foreign registered vehicles only make up around 6% of HGV vehicles miles in the UK”. Furthermore, we believe it is a missed opportunity to create a more comprehensive system which could reduce freight's environmental footprint, improve working standards, road safety and helps support modal shift, where appropriate. Most European countries introduced a similar system about ten years ago and now operate more integrated and sophisticated systems.”

Aviation Industry

• LONDON CITY AIRPORT READY TO HELP FREE UP CAPACITY AT HEATHROWLondon City’s CEO Declan Collier told Airport World that LCY could help free up capacity at Heathrow by taking on some of its short haul and regional traffic.

Other News Sources

• UN ruling on Edinburgh trams dataResidents in Edinburgh have won a ruling by the United Nations in Geneva that the city council was in breach of an international agreement on access to information regarding the tram scheme in the Scottish capital.
• Hitachi appoint Seaham-based firm to supply railway overhaul Hitachi and Merchant Place Developments have appointed County Durham-based Business & Enterprise Group to seek out specialist equipment suppliers.