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

Wednesday, 14 November 2012

BBC News

• Smart card tech firm Ecebs sold to Dutch company Smart card technology firm Ecebs has been bought by a Dutch smart token management services provider for an undisclosed sum.
• Denby Transport bids to cut costs with 'super lorry' A Lincoln-based haulage firm hopes a new "super-lorry" will cut costs and help save fuel.
• Fixed speed cameras switched offPlans to switch off all West Midlands fixed speed cameras are an
• Tube drivers balloted for strikeTube drivers are to be balloted for strike action on Boxing Day after rejecting a new offer made by London Underground.
• Mayor discusses airport hub planThe London mayor takes his case for Thames estuary airport to the man charged with reviewing government aviation capacity policy
• Wind linked to Heathrow air noiseA rise in complaints about aircraft noise from Heathrow is partly attributed to the direction of the wind.
• Toyota to recall 2.7 million carsToyota says it will recall 2.7 million cars worldwide due to problems with their steering wheel and the water pump system.

Department for Transport

• Consultation to scrap motor insurance certificates launchedGovernment consultation to scrap the legal requirement to issue certificates and reduce motor insurance red tape issued.

Financial Times

• China aircraft maker receives new ordersWith China set to be the industry™s biggest market over next two decades, Beijing has declared it a priority to develop an indigenous manufacturer
• SAS tops European airline critical listRot for the Scandinavian airline set in a long time ago with it essentially losing money every year for past decade, apart from two years of small profits
• Wrecked rails snarl New Jersey commuteThe storm highlighted the fragility of much of the ageing transport infrastructure that links New York and New Jersey across rivers and sea inlets

The Guardian

• London's transport policy gridlock [blog]As attention has turned again to Tube strikes and fares hikes, debate about the capital's transport issues ignores the bigger picture

The Scotsman

• Scots not popular air passengers, but Welsh bottom of the class in cabin crew survey SCOTS are less popular passengers among cabin crew than English or Irish fliers on UK flights, a new survey has shown.
• Come clean over high-speed Edinburgh-Glasgow rail link cost, ministers are told LABOUR last night demanded to know why ministers had not come clean over the cost of an Edinburgh-Glasgow high-speed rail line since they had previously rejected a scheme because of its £7 billion price tag.

The Telegraph

• Paper motor insurance certificates could disappear under Government proposals Drivers could be spared the legal requirement to keep a copy of their certificate of motor insurance under proposals unveiled by the Government.
• Fares through the roof There is talk of rail passengers having to pay more to get a seat, which will leave ordinary travellers worse off than in 1844
• 'Third class' rail travel could return for first time since 1950s, unions claimA third class of rail travel could be introduced, the Department for Transport has said, triggering claims from critics that the Government was seeking to turn the clock back to the 1950s.

Mail Online

• Return of third class: Rail companies draw up controversial plans to reintroduce another tier of service on trains (so how bad will that be?)The Government has come under attack after a Tory peer Lord Attlee admitted plans for a 'third class' travel option on British trains.
• Pointless road signs banned in British countryside: Ministers warn they could be making roads MORE dangerousTransport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin claims ugly signs are 'sprouting like weeds' and will warn highways bosses to think twice before installing more.

The Mirror

• Speed case MP Chris Huhne in road safety plea The ex-Cabinet minister has backed almost 1,000 ­constituents campaigning for a 40mph limit to be dropped

Network Rail

• Network Rail to consult on plans to improve Manchester™s railwaysPlans to build a viaduct connecting Manchester™s Victoria, Oxford Road and Piccadilly stations are due to undergo public consultation from Tuesday 20 November.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Danger alert after yobs target trains Police have reiterated warnings that lives could be put at risk after yobs again hurled stones at passenger trains from a railway bridge in Bradford.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Delyn MP David Hanson votes to axe fuel duty riseDELYN MP David Hanson has voted to axe the forthcoming increase in the cost of fuel.

London Evening Standard

• 'More air traffic through Heathrow would ruin quality of hundreds of thousands of lives'Relaxing restrictions on Heathrow™s existing runways would destroy the quality of life of hundreds of thousands of people, the Government™s aviation commission was warned today.
• Tory MPs try to speed up airport crisis review Tory MPs today urged David Cameron to speed up an inquiry into airport capacity to end the œblight of uncertainty hanging over west London.
• One in three commuters changed journey into work during OlympicsA third of people changed their travel habits during the London 2012 Games which helped with the smooth running of services.
• Rail plan review needed: SalmondAn urgent review of high-speed rail is needed to ensure the services come further north, the Scottish First Minister has said.

Manchester Evening News

• Manchester Airport unveils plans to win back millions of passengers from London with new routesBosses say they want to introduce direct services to major cities like Bangkok, Los Angeles and Beijing.
• West Coast Main Line Pendolino trains get a 2 million-mile serviceThe Pendolino trains which ply the West Coast Main Line are undergoing their third major overhaul “ a 2million-mile service. Paul Taylor reports.

Metro

• Women drivers 'could be forced off the roads' by insurance price hikeA quarter of women drivers could be priced off the roads by new equality laws that ban lower insurance premiums based on gender. Women “ statistically safer than men “ could see costs rise by at least 25 per cent with bills rising to £400 (Picture: PA) Some 13 per cent of female motorists believe they will not be able to afford any rise, while 11 per cent think they will have to sell their car, according to  a survey.More than a third said they will have to cut living costs to cover higher premiums and five per cent will need to borrow money, according to a survey by uSwitch.com published Wedn...
• Aixam Coupe S: The car you can drive at 16... but at 28mphIt might not impress Jeremy Clarkson and co on Top Gear but this car will go down a treat in the schoolyard. The Aixam Coupe S can be driven by 16-year-olds on a moped licence (Picture: SWNS) It might not impress Jeremy Clarkson and co on Top Gear but it will go down a treat in the schoolyard. The Aixam Coupe S looks like a compact city car, and at £9,999 it certainly costs as much. It is classed as a ˜light quadricycle™ and can be driven by 16-year-olds. With a top speed of 45kph (28mph) it puts the brakes on would-be boy racers but it beats the school bus and can be driven with a moped ...

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Council coalition split on bypass, claims SNPA FRESH row has erupted over support for the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route after a city MSP accused the council™s deputy leader of œscaremongering over the cost of the project.

The York Press

• City centre streets to be car free for longer YORK™S historic city-centre streets are set to become pedestrianised zones for ten-and-a-half more hours a week in a council trial.

Other Regional Press

• Laser danger warning after bus driver blindedA bus driver was temporarily blinded when yobs shone a laser in his eye while he was parked at Greyfriars Bus Station.

Global Rail News

• The Fourth DimensionFrederick Francis became a statistic at the age of 36. His was one of 1,032 lives taken by Britain™s railways in 1879. Back then, where trains went, death too often attended. Struck at just 10mph, Francis lost a boot, found later by the engine driver with his foot still in it. His left leg was [...]
• Alstom handed Sao Paulo infrastructure contractAlstom has won an infrastructure contract worth 40 million euros for the second phase of the new metro Line 4-Yellow in Sao Paulo. The second phase is expected to be completed in the first half of 2015. About 13 kilometres long, the metro line four includes 11 stations and will carry about one million passengers [...]
• Doughnut-shaped viewing gallery design for Grand Central stationDesigns for a doughnut-shaped viewing gallery above New York’s Grand Central station have been submitted as part of an initiative to ‘re-imagine’ the tired public spaces around the iconic transport hub. Three proposals have been put to the Municipal Art Society (MAS) in response to the ‘The Next 100′ campaign, which was launched by the [...]
• Consultation series to consider Ordsall Chord projectPlans for a new viaduct connecting Manchester’s Victoria, Oxford Road and Piccadilly rail stations are to come under scrutiny at a series of consultation events this month. Between November 20-28, exhibitions will be held around Manchester and Salford. Network Rail has said the new section of track, known as the Ordsall Chord, would allow faster [...]
• Class 66 contract underlines strong year for EMDLLeading UK rail engineering and technology company EMDL is celebrating after signing a 10-year contract with GB Railfreight earlier in the year to maintain its fleet of Class 66 locomotives – the company™s first full-maintenance contract. The company, which has an annual turnover of nearly £50 million and employs 140 staff, exclusively provides all post [...]
• Transport Minister visits Bristol Temple MeadsSecretary of State for Transport Patrick McLoughlin has visited Bristol Temple Meads station this week – one of the transport hubs at the centre of the Government’s rail investment plans. The Transport Minister toured the station, which will play a key role in the electrification of the Great Western Main Line, and viewed the location [...]

London TravelWatch

• Event gives the people of Harrow the chance to hop on board the Mayor™s new bus to discuss local transport issuesLondon TravelWatch, the watchdog for transport users in London, held a successful transport users™ engagement event in Harrow town centre on Saturday 10 November following similar events in Tooting, Stratford, Croydon and Romford held over the last few years. The event provided an opportunity for local people to see the Mayor™s ˜New bus for London™ for themselves and a chance to discuss transport issues in Harrow.
• Latest London Overground landmark shows the benefit of rail devolution says passenger watchdogAs the London Overground celebrates its fifth birthday, London TravelWatch has welcomed the landmark and called for the Government to devolve the running of suburban London railways into the Transport for London (TfL) network so that even more passengers can benefit from improved services.

Railnews

• DfT crisis deepens as union appeals to Europe The growing crisis at the DfT over the West Coast franchise collapse and an apparent stalement over rolling stock procurement has taken a new turn, because the DfT now also faces a challenge under European law. The RMT said its solicitors are petitioning the European Commission with an allegation that procurement rules are being broken.
• Goodbye to unloved London rail landmark Demolition has started of an unloved London landmark -- the concourse at the front of King's Cross station. It was built in the 1970s as a 'temporary' structure, and has finally been supplanted by the new western concourse which opened in March.
• New High Speed plan for Scotland High Speed trains could be operating between Glasgow and Edinburgh by 2024, following a decision by the Scottish Government to examine the development of such a link independently of the project to build HS2 south of the border. It is said that a line linking the two main cities in the central belt could be worth as much as £25 billion to the Scottish economy, and discussions will now take place between key parties.

Aviation Industry

• Ryanair calls for ETS to be scrapped Ryanair has called for the EU™s emissions trading scheme to be scrapped completely because it will unfairly penalise European airlines. The EU yesterday (November 12) decided that it would postpone the introduction of ETS for all flights that start or end at non-EU airports for one year. But all flights between airports within the 27 EU member countries will still be included in ETS as planned, with airlines having to submit permits for their 2012 carbon emissions from April 2013. Ryanair said that ETS œincreases the costs of European aviation, making it anti-competitive, while doing nothing ...

Other News Sources

• High speed rail can be delivered by ˜northern accord™FM says Government and north of England could work together to start link.
• News from John Biggs - Inflation Busting Fare Rises under Boris Boris raises fares fifth year in a row Londoners' wallets will be hit with another inflation-busting fare increase - as Transport for London (TfL) last week announced travel costs in the capital will soar by 4.2 per cent on 1 January 2013. This means Boris Johnson has overseen a 26 per cent increase in fares since he became Mayor of London in 2008.  No read more
• Boris fares raises hit Hammersmith and Fulham residentsBoris raises fares fifth year in a row   Londoners' wallets will be hit with another inflation-busting fare increase - as Transport for London (TfL) last week announced travel costs in the capital will soar by 4.2 per cent on 1 January 2013. This means Boris Johnson has overseen a 26 per cent increase in fares since he became Mayor of London in 2008. ...