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

Wednesday, 19 September 2012

BBC News

• Ely bypass: Council selects 'value for money' route A £30.7m bypass cutting through Cambridgeshire countryside has been chosen by a council despite claims it would spoil the view of a cathedral.
• MP anger at unclear parking signsA MP is calling for a law change to stop motorists receiving fines because of
• Bike hire plan still in slow laneFigures for Scotland's first bike hire scheme show it has averaged less than 20 rentals a week since it was launched two years ago.
• JAL returns to the stock marketJapan Airlines shares rise modestly on its re-listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, more than two years after it filed for bankruptcy in one of Japan's biggest corporate failures.

Department for Transport

• More local decisions for transport schemesTransport Minister Norman Baker has confirmed that more decisions on major transport schemes will be taken at a local level.

Financial Times

• BAE merger goes beyond shareholder interestThere is definite merit to the proposed landmark merger of the defence and aerospace businesses, which must meet a series of criteria

The Guardian

• Working lives: tackling the transport problem Often neglected in favour of quick fixes, transport is one issue that won't go away for local government, and it needs to be tackled now
• Campaigners welcome EU plan to limit crop-based biofuels for transport The European commission signals a major shift in biofuel policy with plans to cap the use of crop-based fuel
• EU transport chief calls for common rail standards Siim Kallas vows to push ahead with reforms requiring national rail networks to open up to competition
• 'High value' air passengers may get fast-track passport checksUK Border Agency working on plans for priority passport lanes for rich travellers at Heathrow and other British airportsThe UK Border Agency has disclosed that it is working on plans for fast-track passport lanes for rich travellers at Heathrow and other British airports so it can avoid a repeat of the two-hour queues witnessed this year. Brian Moore, the departing head of the UK Border Force, told MPs that

The Herald

• BMI to launch two daily Bristol flightsBMI Regional is to launch a twice-daily flight between Aberdeen and Bristol at the end of October after its purchase by an Aberdeen-based consortium from British Airways owner IAG.

The Telegraph

• Centro slams London Midland for ticket office closures TRANSPORT chiefs have reacted angrily to a reduction in staffing levels and ticket office opening hours at West Midlands railway stations.
• Ministers consider fast track immigration for wealthy passengers Rich travellers could be fast tracked through immigration at Britain’s airports, the outgoing head of the Border Force has told MPs.
• Cowboy clampers threatened to hold three year old child hostage Cowboy clampers threatened to take a three-year old girl hostage unless her mother paid a ransom to free her car, according to the AA.

Press Association

• HS2 consultation branded a shambles The consultation process around the Government's flagship high-speed rail project, which will run from London to Birmingham, has been questioned by campaigners opposed to the £32 billion scheme after it emerged hundreds of responses were omitted from the original analysis.

Mail Online

• Ryanair is 'courting disaster' by flying planes with near-empty fuel tanks to cut costsSpanish pilot union leaders accused Ryanair of ‘operating on the very limits of legality’ in the way it fuels its planes. The airline denies any wrong-doing and insists its planes are safe.

Birmingham Post

• HS2 consultation slammed as 'shambles' by former Cabinet ministerThe consultation process around the Government's flagship high-speed rail project, which will run from London to Birmingham, has been questioned by campaigners opposed to the �32 billion scheme after it emerged hundreds of responses were omitted from the original analysis.

Journal Live

• North East Councils unite to protect rail servicesNEWCASTLE'S non-stop train services to London could be under threat as the Government seeks to offload the East Coast service.

Liverpool Echo

• Tax payers could be ’held to ransom’ by West Coast line railway deal, says Rosie CooperRAIL passengers on the Liverpool to London line risk being “held to ransom by Dick Turpin” because of a flawed franchising system, ministers were told.

London Evening Standard

• Trains and Tube hit by delays Thousands of mainline commuters into Victoria, London Bridge and Blackfriars suffered a second successive day of delays.

Manchester Evening News

• Metrolink to take 12 old trams out of service in bid to end delay misery Twelve of Metrolink™s oldest trams are about to be taken off the track in a bid to improve the reliability of services. Their withdrawal by the end of this month marks the beginning of the end for the old blue and grey vehicles, which began riding the rails when the network opened in 1992.
• Greater Manchester MP calls on government to re-think 'cattle truck' plans for West Coast Main LineWorsley and Eccles South MP Barbara Keeley said in a parliamentary debate she has had years of bad experience with FirstGroup in her constituency.

Sheffield Star

• Sheffield council fine with loss of £11k parking moneyMONEY lost by Sheffield Council from written-off parking and bus lane fines has now risen to as much as £30,000 over the last year.

The York Press

• New move to beat traffic congestion TRANSPORT chiefs in York were today launching a travel œrevolution which is aimed at changing the way people get around the city.
• Locomotive arrives at National Railway Museum THE sister locomotive of the world-famous Mallard has arrived in York ahead of a œfamily reunion next year at the National Railway Museum.

Wales Online

• First Minister to discuss airport strategy at crucial ministerial meetingCarwyn Jones will today join fellow first ministers at Downing Street to discuss strategies to revive the UK economy and the controversial issue of aviation policy.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Tracking down bike thieves: CCTV issued of Leeds railway station suspectThis is one of dozens of suspected bike thieves being sought by British Transport Police (BTP).

Yorkshire Post

• Local control of transport hailed
 as end to ’cap in hand’ pleading Councils and business leaders will be handed unprecedented control over spending on new local transport projects under landmark proposals outlined by the Government.

Bucks Free Press

• Packed meeting about HS2 tunnelling MORE than 150 people crammed into a village hall on Sunday to listen to a member of the Chilterns Conservation Board speak on what it says is the only acceptable solution if HS2 goes ahead.

Peterborough Telegraph

• Cyclists pedal to power ˜motion™ picture at parkAn innovative approach to promote cycling will see a travelling outdoor cinema, powered by bicycles, dot up all over Peterborough this week.

Other Regional Press

• Railway electrification could land county taxpayers with a bill COUNTY taxpayers could end up footing the bill for work to electrify railways through Oxford.
• New flights to take off from Aberdeen AirportAN AIRLINE is set to launch a new route from Aberdeen next month.
• Get on yer™ bikes for mobility weekA cycle-powered cinema, commuter challenge, free Dr Bike checks, and bicycle security marking will all be taking place to mark European Mobility Week 2012.

Global Rail News

• Europe™s transport leaders give opening address at InnoTrans“More has to be done if rail is to achieve its full potential,” said European Commissioner for Transport Siim Kallas at the InnoTrans opening ceremony. During the event’s opening address, Kallas said the Commission was aiming to push ahead with an ambitious 32 billion euro investment programme in transport infrastructure around Europe. Kallas said the [...]
• Thales awarded Nanjing Airport rail link signalling contractThales has been awarded a 33 million euro contract to supply a state-of-the-art signalling system for the Nanjing airport rail link. The 35.8km line will become a vital link for Nanjing in 2014 when the city host the Youth Olympic Games. The city is planning to open four new lines before the Games, with a [...]
• InnoTrans 2012 gallery: Day OneA collection of images from day one of the world’s biggest rail show.
• Bombardier picked to supply Saudi Arabian high-speed train componentsBombardier has signed contracts worth 281 million euros with Talgo SA to develop and supply components for 36 high-speed trains for Saudi Arabia. Talgo, which is a member of the Al Shoula consortium, led by the Spanish railway operator RENFE and the railway infrastructure company ADIF, was recently contracted by the Saudi Railways Organization to [...]

Railnews

• MPs to debate West Coast controversy MPs will debate the ePetition calling for the West Coast decision to be reversed later today. The next Intercity West Coast franchise was awarded to FirstGroup just over a month ago, but the decision has triggered opposition.
• MP attacks 'Dick Turpin' rail operators The House of Commons has heard that taxpayers have been 'held to ransom' by 'Dick Turpin' rail operators who have surrendered their franchises unexpectedly. The accusation came from Labour MP Rosie Cooper at the start of a Westminster Hall debate on the award of the Intercity West Coast franchise to FirstGroup.

The Business Desk

• Transport role for LEPs LOCAL enterprise partnerships will be given a say on major transport schemes under new proposals from the Government.

Aviation Industry

• AMR expects about 4,400 job cuts, warns 11,000American Airlines spokesman Bruce Hicks said Tuesday that fewer than 40 percent of those getting notices will lose their jobs.
• Bmi Regional unveils first new routesCarrier announces services for its first season as an independent company

Green Miscellany

• The bicycle helmet that phones for help if you crash A new bicycle accessory that automatically phones for help in the event of a crash has joined the arsenal of high-tech devices now available to cyclists worried about their safety. The ICEdot Crash Sensor is an aftermarket device that fits onto any cycle helmet and works in tandem with an app. The system is able to detect motion, changes in forces and impacts.read more

Other News Sources

• Siemens opens urban development center – the Crystal – in LondonSiemens will open its first center for sustainable urban development in London on September 19th 2012.
• Missing link for busy bus laneA MISSING link in one of the town's busiest bus lanes looks set to be filled - providing "enormous" benefits to passengers.
• Cambridge Airport welcomes business and general aviation leaders to BGAD1218 September 2012 “ The UK Business and Aviation Day 2012 (BGAD12) is today being held at Cambridge Airport and is already being hailed a success by organisers and delegates alike. Over 400 delegates have attended today™s event in order to network with 46 exhibitors from the aviation and motor industry, sealing its position as one of the most important events in the business aviation calendar.
• Shell Springboard: Win up to £40,000 for the UK™s next big low carbon ideaNow in its eighth year, Shell Springboard is on the lookout for the UK's next big low carbon idea, ready to award a financial boost of up to £40,000, no strings attached*, to nine of the country's most innovative small green enterprises.