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

Friday, 05 February 2010

BBC News

• Budget airlines to influence plane designThey started out as the poor relations of the aviation industry, but no-frills airlines have thrived during the economic downturn, and emerged as winners.
• Oxford residents plan DIY road upgradeResidents want to redesign their street in a community-led project inspired by other roads in Europe. People in Beech Croft Road, Oxford, believe adding pot plants will slow traffic down. They also want to repaint the road and put in picnic tables.
• First Capital Connect commuters 'intensely frustrated'MPs have called the poor performance of rail services in Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and Sussex "frustrating".
• Gates to go up at Wareham danger crossing New electronic gates are set to be installed at a Dorset railway crossing where pedestrians have been seen risking their lives to cross.
• Plans for big parking permit hike on Isle of WightResidents on the Isle of Wight could face an increase of more than 100% in the cost of a residential parking permit for council car parks.
• British Airways' £50m loss lower-than-expectedBritish Airways has announced it made a pre-tax loss of £50m ($79m) in the three months to December 2009. This was down from the £122m it lost in the same period in 2008 and lower than many analysts had expected.
• Most ScotRail customers satisfied with serviceLatest rail passenger figures show that people who use ScotRail services are among the most satisfied in the UK.
• Why this bus will be taking passengers on the ClydeA bus that runs on roads and on water is to be tested on the Clyde and could replace a scrapped ferry service.
• London Undergound maintenance workers begin strikeLondon Underground maintenance workers are set to stage the first in a series of 24-hour strikes in a row over rosters and outsourcing of work.
• Oxford Street 'should ban buses'Removing buses from Oxford Street could ease congestion in the shopping area, a London Assembly report says.
• Write off: BA pulls graffiti wall amid 'bullying' rowBritish Airways removes a graffiti wall from its headquarters, which union members claimed featured derogatory comments about cabin crew.
• US looks at Prius brake problemsThe US opens an investigation into brake problems in the Toyota Prius, as the carmaker's stream of bad news continues.

Financial Times

• All aboard: Amphibian bus trialIt may look like it has taken a wrong turn but this is one of the first amphibious commuter buses in the world, writes Gill Plimmer . Stagecoach will trial the...
• Tube workers to strike over rostersLarge parts of the London Underground could face disruption today after signal maintenance workers said they would go ahead with the first of a series of 24-hour...
• Abu Dhabi fund to take Gatwick stakeADIA believed to have taken a stake of close to 15 per cent in the airport, which was sold late last year to City Airport owners Global Infrastructure Partners
• Regulator warns on poor train servicePassenger service has 'significant room for improvement' in many areas, the chairman of the UK rail industry's regulator has said
• Union 'not miles apart' from BAThe outlines of a settlement in the dispute between British Airways and its cabin crew are emerging in informal talks between the two sides

The Herald

• Scotrail refutes undermanned trains claimFirst ScotRail has hit back at union claims that it is running undermanned trains and compromising safety, insisting that it has increased the number of guards and ticket examiners on its services.

Times Online

• Rail travellers hit out at delays and ticket prices in surveyMost passengers on the highly subsidised British railway feel they are paying too much to travel and are dissatisfied with the way train companies handle delays.
• We are truly sorry, says Toyota boss as company reveals recall will cost $2bn$One of the most senior executives of Toyota in Britain said that he was œtruly sorry� for how the company had treated its customers as the Japanese motor giant revealed that it expected its global recall of millions of cars to cost $2 billion ($£1.3 billion).
• ˜Amfibus™ gets tryout on the ClydeJames Bond might think it old hat, but a vehicle that can travel across both roads and water is proving to be something of a licence to thrill for Brian Souter, the boss of Stagecoach.

Department for Transport

• Transport StatisticsThe Department for Transport has today published the following Transport Statistics:

Reuters News

• London Underground workers to strike on FridayLONDON (Reuters) - Hundreds of London underground rail maintenance workers are due to carry out a series of 24-hour strikes, starting this Friday, in protest over roster changes and outsourcing of work, a rail union said on Thursday.

The Mirror

• BA set to announce more lossesBritish Airways is expected to report another round of losses as it struggles amid falling passenger numbers and fresh strike threats.

Belfast Telegraph

• British Airways set to announce more lossesBritish Airways is expected to report another round of losses as it struggles amid falling passenger numbers and fresh strike threats.Related StoriesInvest NI toasts Dutch marketTranslink launch money-saving travel cardsThree Irish firms a day go bustKraft set to seal £11.4bn Cadbury dealRepublic helps boost diesel imports into Northern Ireland
• Harbour chief buoyant despite drop in tradeBelfast Harbour today reported a drop in trade for last year, but said it had significantly out-performed other Irish ports.Related StoriesSoftware company’s shares up ahead of takeoverCarbon Trust swells marine firm fundsGalgorm sets new wheels in motionShopping centre will create 300 jobs in community hubNorthern Bank posts massive £100m loss

Birmingham Post

• Birmingham New Street Station project given go-aheadThe transformation of New Street station took a major step forward today as the design was given the stamp of approval by Birmingham City Council’s planning committee.

London Evening Standard

• Tube travellers are deafened with boastful updatesMuch to the Mayor's fury, the notorious PPP contractor, Tube Lines, is demanding a total of 131 full days' closure of the Northern line starting next month, including 21 weekend closures.

Sheffield Telegraph

• Sheffield and the high speed trainTHE development of a new high-speed rail line between London and Scotland is a matter which will affect the future of several major cities in the UK, Sheffield being one of them.

The York Press

• National rail survey shows high passenger satisfaction on East Coast serviceYORK train companies today hailed new figures showing high passenger satisfaction with the services they provide on the East Coast Main Line.
• Plea to Preserve Selby Bus Routes THE loss of bus routes in and around Selby should be halted under new powers wielded by the county council, said the town's prospective MP.

Transport for London

• London Underground condemns planned RMT strike actionUnion announces commitment to strike while talks at ACAS continue. RMT prepared to try to hold Londoners to ransom for more overtime pay.
• Kender Street Triangle improvement scheme to begin this monthLondoners using the busy New Cross Gate area will soon see major improvement work begin that includes the removal of the gyratory system, better crossings and improving the pavement space.
• London's motorcyclists urged to get 'BikeSafe' as TfL boosts training across the CapitalMotorcycling in London is set to get safer with the creation of a new dedicated team of motorcycle safety experts working to reduce motorcycle casualties across the Capital.

Other News Sources

• Birmingham New Street work to start this yearWORK on transforming dowdy Birmingham New Street is set to start later this year, after the City Council planning committee approved Network Rail's ambitious £600 million plans for the hub. When the scheme is completed in 2015, passenger capacity will have been doubled.
• London Midland 'most improved'London Midland, ordered to improve its performance last year by the government, is the most improved rail operator in the country, according to figures released this morning.
• Deutsche Bahn Builds U.K. Rail Business With Streetcar ContractDeutsche Bahn AG, Germany’s state- owned train operator, expanded its reach in Britain’s privatized rail market with a seven-year contact to run streetcars in northeast England.
• Icomera Delivers Integrated Advertising for In-Vehicle Wi-Fi Hotspots Icomera, the world's leading provider of cellular broadband gateways, has launched a new service that brings advertising to mobile Wi-Fi hotspots on trains and buses, and enables hotspot operators to generate revenues by offering targeted messaging to their customers
• Two largest packages awarded on Crossrail early worksCostain and Skanska joint venture and Carillion bag major contracts from civils framework
• 83% of Great Britain’s passengers satisfied but train companies need to improve on delaysThe majority of passengers (83%) across Great Britain are satisfied with the overall service they receive on the railway, the National Passenger Survey has revealed today.
• Crossrail advised on station plansCrossrail’s planned integration with London’s Paddington Station has received qualified support from the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (Cabe).
• Future bleak for tube companyLONDON ASSEMBLY Member Brian Coleman told a meeting on Monday he fears Tube Lines will go down the pan the same way as Metronet. The Barnet councillor was at a meeting on transport issues organised by Conservative parliamentary candidate Chris Philp for the residents of West Hampstead, who are suffering heavily during the weekend closures of the Jubilee line
• Container shipping market looks much better The prospects for the container shipping market are looking much better than 12 months ago, as both volumes and rates have been rising recently and the increases
• Siemens is setting new standards in automatic number plate recognition Sicore is the new-generation ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) camera system designed by Siemens Mobility to read number plates automatically, thus ensuring positive identification of motor vehicles. Sicore caters to a wide range of application in the areas of parking space monitoring and security, vehicle speed and journey time measurement, as well as toll collection. Its implementation, however, is always subject to the data privacy laws of each individual country.The tremendous significance of automatic number plate recognition systems for traffic control is only gradually being re...
• Somali pirates hijack Libyan cargo shipNairobi, Feb 4 (IANS) Somali pirates have hijacked a Libyan cargo ship with 17 crewmembers on board, an official said Thursday.
• £50m of public money goes on the busesBUS operators in South Yorkshire are paid almost £50 million of public money each year to fund free concessionary travel, run tendered services and in fuel grants, The Star ca
• Tyne & Wear contract signing triggers government fundsUK: Transport Minister Sadiq Khan confirmed a £580m funding package for the Tyne & Wear Metro on February 3, the day after DB Regio Tyne & Wear Ltd signed a contract to operate the network on behalf of regional transport authority Nexus from April 1. Government funding was conditional on operations being put out to tender. The £580m includes £350m for the 11-year 'Metro: all change' renewal and modernisation programme, plus £230m in operating subsidy over nine years. The contract runs for seven years with an optional two-year extension. Nexus will continue to own the metro and set far...
• First class commute SWITZERLAND: A first class area with 20 leather seats, reading lights and power sockets is included in the 14 low-floor ABe4/8 'Diamant' EMUs which Stadler is supplying to BDWM Transport. They will operate on the metre-gauge Bremgarten - Dietikon line, which forms Zürich S-Bahn route S17. There are also 84 standard seats in the 37·5 m aluminium-bodied three-section articulated units, which will run at up to 80 km/h. The first vehicle will enter service in April, and the full fleet will be operational by mid-2011.
• Let There Be Lights: LED Traffic Signals Causing AccidentsLong-lasting, energy-efficient LED traffic lights can cause traffic accidents after heavy snowfalls.
• Bus project freeze liftedHampshire County Council has been given the go-ahead to begin work on a £20 million bus route development despite a pending appeal amid fears for local wildlife.
• Heathrow emission controls criticisedLondon Assembly members have blasted government environmental safeguards for runway expansion at Heathrow Airport as confused and unfit for purpose.
• Mayor sets top rate for Crossrail leviesLondon businesses with premises valued at more than £55,000 will pay the maximum contribution to Crossrail, London mayor Boris Johnson has announced.
• Airport car park expansion planned at Leeds BradfordLeedsBradford Airport car parking is to be expanded by some 1,000 spaces thanks to a new £1 million contract. As part of an overall investment of £28 million to improve passenger experience at the travel hub, the airport car park at Leeds Bradford Airport will be enhanced by civil engineering company Hewlett. "The improvements form part of the preliminary stages of the airport's plans ... to provide business and leisure passengers with state of the art facilities and enhance their experience whilst travelling," said Rob Hudson from the Leeds-based company. April 30th is the...
• You sold out GlasgowJohn Swinney™s budget axe has finally fallen on the Glasgow Airport Rail Link.
• Concern over Aberdeen night parking chargesTRANSPORT bosses today asked councillors to think twice about a parking shake-up for Aberdeen.
• New bicycle unbrella you wear on your head A new type of umbrella that you wear over your head claims to protect a cyclist™s head, face and shoulders from rain, wind, snow and extreme cold.read more
• High-speed rail 'more important than airport expansion' High-speed rail networks 'could reduce CO2 emissions'.
• Smaller firms will not have to pay Crossrail levyThe Mayor of London has unveiled plans to exempt up to 4,000 of the capital's smaller businesses from a proposed levy that will be used to fund the Crossrail project by riaisng the rateable value threshold to more than £55,000.A levy of 2p per pound is planned for firms and areas of the city that will benefit most from the cross-London rail link will be expected to pay more, according to Boris Johnson.Over 80 per cent of businesses in London will not pay a supplement for the infrastructure project, with the Crossrail Business Rate Supplement (BRS) payable from April 2010 and contribut...
• Government: UK will miss 2010 CO2 reduction targetsFebruary 4: We keep telling the Government that building new roads will make it harder to reduce CO2. Well guess what: yesterday they admitted that we are going to miss our 2010 targets for greenhouse gas reductions. read more
• MPs stand up for train passengers4 January: 59 MPs of all parties have called for rail fares to be reviewed. The MPs showed their support for our campaign by having their photo taken with Train, our mascot. read more
• Children™s Mybus fares to be raised Many children who use the Mybus yellow bus scheme to get to secondary schools across the district are facing an increase in fares.
• Prime Minister mocks Birmingham MP over 41 bus route queryGORDON Brown has mocked a Birmingham MP who complained about cancelled bus services in the city,
• New pay-as-you-visit lounge opens at StanstedA pay-as-you-visit business lounge for travellers flying with Ryanair has opened at Stansted.
• Stakeholders comment on aviation strategy processA report by Ipsos Mori has been published on the UK™s airport strategy.  The report investigated stakeholders view on the Air Transport White Paper (ATWP) process and its suitability as a framework for the development of the sector.  The report did not look the contents of the ATWP so views were not sought on what we [...]
• TRAIN COMPANIES SHOW THEIR COMMITMENT TO IMPROVING CYCLE-RAIL TRAVELInnovative schemes that improve services for rail-cycle passengers have been lauded. The National Cycle Rail Awards, which are sponsored by the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC), celebrate the groundbreaking work being done by train companies, associated industry groups and individuals across the country to encourage the combined use of cycle and rail travel.
• CUSTOMER SATISFACTION WITH RAIL TRAVEL REMAINS AT RECORD HIGH, NEW SURVEY SHOWSThe publication of the National Passenger Survey shows that more than four in five people are satisfied with rail travel.
• Southwest Airlines CEO says 2010 revenue could top company's 2008 recordLast year Southwest Airlines shrank for the first time ever. Now the CEO says it could rebound with record revenue in 2010.
• SIA completes "green" test flightSingapore Airlines has completed a test flight employing a number of eco-friendly measures, achieving a 6 per cent fuel saving and a reduction in carbon emissions of more than 33 tonnes. read more

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