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

Friday, 05 March 2010

BBC News

• Hopeful future for Thameslink rail service Delays, cancelled trains and severe overcrowding - that has been the reality for passengers using First Capital Connect's Thameslink line between Bedford, Luton, London and Brighton.
• Borders to Edinburgh rail link project gets under way The project to reopen a rail line between Edinburgh and the Scottish Borders has officially started. Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson was in Galashiels to cut the first sod and activate the act of parliament which allows the scheme to be built.
• Calls for updated laws to cover mobility scooters Legislation governing mobility scooters should be updated and drivers offered better training, it has been claimed. Members of the Commons Transport Committee were given a list of people in Essex and Norfolk who had been killed or injured in scooter incidents.
• Tree 'avenue effect' to cut speed in Norfolk More than 160 trees are being planted on rural roads in Norfolk in an "experiment" to stop drivers speeding.
• Decision 'soon' on £14m for Poole's Twin Sails Bridge The government has said it hopes to decide "very soon" whether to give £14m to help fund a new bridge in Dorset.
• Figures show rise in Toyota salesToyota car sales held onto their share of their market in Scotland last month, according to the Scottish Motor Trades Association.
• BA lines up 1,000 volunteer crewBritish Airways says 1,000 staff have offered to work as cabin crew if threatened strikes at the airline go ahead.

Financial Times

• Train operators urged to improve punctuality at intermediate stops Train operators should ensure services reach intermediate stops as well as final destinations on time after research shows passengers suffered delays not picked up in official statistics, says a watchdog group.
• Wave of oil tanker deals predictedOne of the sector's key figures says banks' reluctance to lend would force weaker owners to sell out to stronger ones, a process favouring listed companies that could raise capital on public markets
• Maersk battles to contain lossesMaersk's results, including the $2.09bn loss for 2009 in its container shipping division, illustrate the downside of being such a powerful force in world shipping

The Guardian

• No Heathrow direct link in high speed rail plans Instead, airport passengers on the 200mph trains would get a connecting service from Old Oak Common in west London The government is preparing to publish its vision for a high-speed rail network, and is considering a London-to-Birmingham route with no direct link to Heathrow airport.

Times Online

• Korea thrives as scrappage lifts motor sales One in five new vehicles bought under the Government’s scrappage scheme is from a South Korean carmaker.

Mail Online

• How half our 'on time' trains are anything but... Half of the trains the Government says are on time are actually running late, a damning study reveals today.

Belfast Telegraph

• Sales of new cars on the increase New car sales across the UK accelerated again last month — rising 26.4% on the February 2009 total, it was announced today. Related StoriesPre-emptive pensions strike could have been a lot worseNew Euro watchdogs have more bark than bite in CityToyota’s loss not a gain for declining US auto industryEU pours funds into QUB water researchUK house prices hit by stamp duty rise

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Inverness direct access to Heathrow pleaThe UK Government was urged last night to follow through on a clear policy statement supporting the need for regional airports such as Inverness to have direct access to Heathrow.
• Government rules out more funding to fix potholesTHE Scottish Government has ruled out more funding for pothole repairs after residents in one north-east street claimed theirs was the worst road in the country.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Rail firms urged to reveal 'real' punctuality figuresRail companies should publish "real" train punctuality figures, a rail customer watchdog said today.

Carlisle News & Star

• CUMBRIAN FIRM SIGNS £1.3 MILLION DEAL TO SUPPLY SOLAR PANELS TO LONDON RAIL STATION A Cumbrian energy company has clinched a £1.3m deal to provide solar panels for one of Britain’s biggest railway stations.
• WE MUST KEEP WORKINGTON'S TEMPORARY TRAIN STATION THE temporary Workington North railway station should be made permanent and shuttle services between Workington and Maryport continued after road bridges have reopened, commuters said this week.

RailNews.co.uk

• News: ‘Mouthing slogans’ is not enough to achieve seven-day railway, says Adonis The transport secretary Andrew Adonis is warning that ‘mouthing slogans’ will not be enough to achieve a seven-day railway. Lord Adonis told Railnews that the ambition of keeping trains running without engineering disruption is a long way off – but that he intends to keep the pressure on Network Rail to achieve it.
• News: Passenger Focus calls for ‘right time’ railway Passenger Focus is calling for the scrapping of the five or ten minutes margin which is allowed before a train is officially late. Five minutes is applied to commuter services and ten for intercity trains. However, ATOC has responded that it does not need Passenger Focus to remind it that punctuality is important.

Other News Sources

• MYSTERY SHOPPERS AWARD LIVERPOOL STREET FULL MARKS
• Costain and Skanska win £15m Crossrail job A joint venture between Costain and Skanska has been awarded a £15m contract by Crossrail.
• Revolt by rail passengers as service stops DISGRUNTLED commuters mounted a fightback against train operators when they refused to leave a train being taken out service.
• Rail replacement scheme in review RAIL passengers may have to put up with the ageing intercity trains running between Exeter and London for many more years the Transport Secretary has admitted.
• LCC campaigners have met Transport for London executives to lobby for a Zone 1 BikeGrid. The BikeGrid is a series of east-west and north-south cycle lane-equipped or traffic-calmed routes that provide a cost-effective and complete Zone 1 cycle network taking advantage of spare road capacity.
• Transport for London to renew Metro's morning freesheet rights Transport for London has announced that it intends to award concessions to distribute a free morning newspaper on the London Underground and at various London Bus stations to the Associated Newspapers Limited title Metro.
• Transport initiatives lead action to meet London environmental vision London mayor Boris Johnson has pledged to cut carbon emissions by 2025 and work has already started in one industry ripe for change, explains Andrew Dorrian.
• Merseytravel to establish real time information Merseyside's transport executive is setting up a framework contract for real time passenger information systems
• WORKING WITH PASSENGERS TOWARDS A ‘RIGHT TIME’ RAILWAYPassenger Focus is calling for the rail industry to tell passengers how many of its trains are actually arriving at the station on time. Currently, the industry measures trains as being punctual if they arrive at the final station within five or 10 minutes (depending on journey length).
• City's winter legacy of 32,000 potholesTHE severe winter has taken its toll on Sheffield roads to such an extent that 32,000 potholes have been identified for attention - more than six times the number at the corre
• Rail firm criticised for 'shortening' its trainsA rail operator which serves Northampton has admitted there is "work to be done" after it was named the second worst company for providing overcrowded trains.
• Arriva nears completion of £28m boost for its Liverpool and Merseyside bus fleet TRANSPORT group Arriva is close to completing a £28m investment in 199 new vehicles for its Merseyside routes.
• Audio: Controversial airport expansion plan gets the go-aheadProposals to extend the runway and build a new terminal at a Kent airport have been approved.
• Dover port bosses face the public over privatisation plansDover Harbour Board bosses have given guarantees that the community would benefit from the sale of the port, if it goes ahead.
• M&S extends fleet emissions reduction targetsMarks & Spencer is extending its emissions reduction targets for its delivery fleet, from 20% to 35% by 2015, after achieving the 20% goal two years ahead of schedule.
• Green light for bus fare increaseA PLAN to increase bus fares have been given the green light by civic chiefs.
• £2.25m upgrade for city stationIt™s all change at Queen Street Station with rail and transport chiefs spending £2.25 million on improvements.
• Commission™s Porsche letters under EU scrutinyThe European Commission has come under fire from the EU Ombudsman for failing to produce letters it received from carmaker Porsche AG four years ago when it consulted interested parties on EU legislation to cut CO2 emissions from cars.
• EU plans centralised CO2 auctioning from 2011 The European Commission is considering auctioning emissions permits over centralised platforms from 2011 and might cancel auctions if carbon prices are "abnormally low," according to two leaked documents.
• Brompton child seat makes perfect sense for bicycle commuters The Brompton is popular with city commuters because of the way it can be carried on public transport and then quickly folded and stored under a desk, so it is surprising that there is currently only one supplier of child seats for the bicycle. read more
• Stansted urges business to work together for future successStansted wants to work in partnership with businesses from across the East of England.
• EC backs sale of AlitaliaTroubled airline again hit by strike read more

News from Europe

• DSB buys into German passenger market GERMANY: Danish national railway DSB has acquired 50% stake in Frankfurt-based regional train operator VIAS GmbH, giving it a foothold in the German market which it will use to bid for future operating contracts. Subject to regulatory approval the deal will be completed by May.

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