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

Thursday, 19 January 2012

BBC News

• Metrolink apology over failuresGreater Manchester's tram chiefs blame a series of
• Transport concern over wind farmsRepresentatives of about 50 firms meet to raise fears of transport gridlock in Powys due to wind farm developments.
• Air chief among two dead in crashOne of the two people killed after a light aircraft crashed into a Powys mountain is named locally as the manager of the nearby Mid Wales Airport.
• Extra Heathrow terminal for GamesHeathrow is opening a temporary Games Terminal for athletes as part of its strategy to cope with increased passenger numbers during the Olympics.
• OFT to probe islands' fuel costsFuel prices and supply on the Western Isles are to be investigated by the Office of Fair Trading.
• Meeting to hear nuclear rail planHighland councillors are to be given a presentation from the NDA on the movement of nuclear fuel from Scotland to England by rail.
• Smugglers' war 'could take years'The fight by the authorities to stop the smuggling and laundering of fuel could take two decades, according to the environment minister.
• End for West End parking chargesBBC London's Tom Edwards reports on the scrapping of West End parking charges
• TfL rejects 'Olympic storm' studyLondon 2012 Olympics travel chiefs strongly deny new research suggesting the opening weekend of the Olympics will create a
• Train strike ballot over 'sickie'Train drivers are being balloted on strike action in support of a colleague who was disciplined for going to a football match after calling in sick.
• AUDIO: 'The time is now' for London airport expansionBAA's Colin Matthews and Mayor of London Boris Johnson react to the news that the government is consulting on plans to build an airport in the Thames Estuary.
• Thames Estuary airport consideredControversial plans for a new airport on an island or peninsula in the Thames Estuary will be included in a formal consultation on UK aviation.
• UK hydrogen cars project launchedA joint initiative between the UK government and 13 companies has been launched to try to make hydrogen-powered cars a commercial success.
• Dove design for BA Olympics planeBritish Airways planes will be repainted in a dove design to mark the London 2012 Games.

Department for Transport

• Plug-In Car Grant extended to vansVan buyers will be able to receive 20% - up to £8000 - off the cost of a plug-in van, Transport Minister Norman Baker and Business Minister Mark Prisk announced today.

Financial Times

• Westminster drops off-peak parking chargesVictory for coalition of business leaders, night workers, clergymen and actors over ˜tax on nightlife™
• Heathrow to build Olympics terminalThe £20m plan to ensure smooth running during the games is its highest-profile test since the bungled opening of Terminal 5

The Guardian

• Tories almost built 'Boris island' style airport 40 years ago In the early 70s, Edward Heath's government planned a new airport off the Essex coast
• Boris Island airport: don't fasten your seatbelt yet We shouldn't laugh at grandiose ideas just because they're a bit mad. But you have to wonder about the cost-benefits
• UK Border Agency row should not affect targeted passport checks scheme An MPs' inquiry into the relaxation of border checks last year has found a 'highly troubling' lack of supervision and advocates reform of the border force
• Does London need a new airport? The government is poised to announce a consultation on a new airport in the Thames estuary. Do we need it? Polly Curtis, with your help, finds out.
• 'Boris Island' airport plan grounded over Johnson's briefing to TelegraphNo 10 tells London mayor he has killed off estuary airport plan by handing gift to Lib Dem opponents of schemeDowning Street told Boris Johnson on Wednesday that he had killed off any moves towards an airport in the Thames estuary ahead of the next general election after an announcement by the London mayor was seized on by the Liberal Democrats.David Cameron and George Osborne, who have become alarmed by growing business anxiety about their opposition to expanding Heathrow, had indicated they were warming to the idead of a new airport which would assume Heathrow's role as a hub.But Johnson was...

The Herald

• New bus lane crackdownMOTORISTS who use bus lanes in Scotland's three biggest cities will face fines of around £60 after councils were given the powers to crack down on drivers who ignore the law.

The Scotsman

• £50m transport fund under fireA £50 million green transport fund announced by the Scottish Government yesterday was attacked by environmental groups who said it confirmed spending on walking, cycling and switching freight from road to rail would be cut.

The Telegraph

• Heathrow could close airlines warn Heathrow’s future could be in jeopardy if a new hub airport is built in the Thames Estuary, leading airlines warned.
• An idea that must finally take flightTelegraph View: If Britain is to build trade links with emerging economic powers, it must stop dithering and commit to airport expansion.

Press Association

• MPs' concern over aviation changes Proposed changes to aviation regulation must not jeopardise security or harm small airports' viability, MPs have warned.

The Mirror

• Hand luggage liquids ban set to end next year thanks to new scannerTHE end of liquid restrictions in hand luggage at airports could be in sight thanks to a scanner that can safely screen amounts over 100ml.
• London 2012: Heathrow unveils special terminal for OlympicsHeathrow Airport has revealed the design of the new Games Terminal for the London Olympics.
• Costa Concordia: Captain drove ship 'like it was a Ferrari', says former skipperCosta Concordia captain Francesco Schettino skippered the giant liner like a Ferrari driver, a colleague claimed yesterday.

Belfast Telegraph

• Ryanair expansion to create 1,000 jobsLow-cost airline Ryanair is to create more than 1,000 jobs this year as it expands its fleet and bases around Europe.Related StoriesRelief as inflation plunges to 4.2% after prices warIrish firms fear rating downgrade by agencyOrigin takes bigger bite of feed marketExceedingly big cuts at Mr KiplingPeople worried about sick days

Bristol Live

• Bristol Evening Post published Airport sees slight rise in passenger numbersArticle
• Bristol Evening Post commented Bristol councillors unite to call for better local rail serviceArticle

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Rail passengers from North Wales hit by double delayRAIL passengers were hit with a double delay after a signalling problem saw their train first re-routed to another line – then sent back after another train broke down.

Journal Live

• easyJet bases bigger plane at Newcastle AirportTHE UK's largest airline has announced plans to increase its capacity on eight of its routes by stationing a bigger plane at Newcastle Airport.

Liverpool Echo

• Liverpool John Lennon airport passenger numbers almost back to pre-downturn levelsPASSENGER figures at Liverpool John Lennon airport are almost back to pre-downturn levels.

London Evening Standard

• I'll take the tube to 2012 venues, vows British Olympic chief Colin MoynihanThe head of Britain's Olympic team has thrown down a challenge to other VIPs by saying he will take the Tube to the Games
• 'Build a new Tube line to cope with HS2 crowds'Boris Johnson will demand the Government funds a new Tube line if he is to back fully the high-speed rail project

Manchester Evening News

• Labour’s shadow transport secretary backs campaign for Northern HubA campaign to win funding to improve the heavily-congested rail network around Manchester has won the backing of Labour™s shadow transport secretary.Merseyside-based MP Maria Eagle visited the city to show her support for the Network Rail™s £560m plan to boost the network, known as the Northern Hub.
• Salford Quays litter issue back as clean-up ship sinks The shoreline and water near the BBC™s new headquarters is littered with rubbish again “ after the boat that keeps the area clean sprung a leak and sank. Nearby Merchant™s Quay has filled with debris after the Salford Quays Water Witch “ a dredger run by Manchester Ship Canal owners Peel Ports “ went down.
• Metrolink commuters hit by yet more delays as tram fails at PiccadillyA failed tram at Piccadilly has caused yet more delays on the Metrolink system during the Wednesday evening rush hour.

Northern Echo

• Transport Minister applauds North-East electric vehicle industry SLUGGISH sales of electric cars will not stall the North-East's drive to lead the low carbon transport revolution, industry leaders and ministers have said. Fewer than 900 applications for the Governments £5,000 grant towards an electric car were made last year; prompting fears that motorists are reluctant to switch from petrol and diesel-powered models. Thousands of jobs in the region depend on electric vehicles becoming a success.
• Osborne confirms Hitachi high-speed train plant is on trackCHANCELLOR George Osborne today confirmed that plans to bring a high-speed train manufacturing plant to County Durham were on track.

The York Press

• ˜Clever travel™ ideas unveiled A £4.6 MILLION scheme aimed at improving transport and easing congestion in York has been unveiled.

Wales Online

• Ditch Thames Hub airport before it kills Welsh economy, warns Rhodri MorganThe Welsh economy will suffer a major blow if proposals for a new airport in the Thames Estuary get the go-ahead, former First Minister Rhodri Morgan has warned.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• New rules ˜could cost 500 Leeds cab jobs™Cabbies in Leeds are spearheading a national petition against a proposed deregulation of the trade which they say could cost hundreds of drivers their jobs and reduce the quality of service in the city.

Yorkshire Post

• Action stations for a new transport interchange in Leeds [letters]WELCOME the plan to bring HS2 to Leeds. A strategic site for the station would be underground in the vicinity of the disused Carlsberg Tetley site and which might eventually allow for the present city rail and bus stations to be closed with local trains also being put underground to serve this new “Southbank” transport interchange.
• North™s MPs united over rail plansTHE Government has faced cross-party calls to find the money for a major rail scheme to boost the economy of Yorkshire and the rest of the North after being told the entire project would cost the same as the revamp of one London station.

Carlisle News & Star

• Publish damning Carlisle Airport report or it will look like cover up - claim Carlisle City Council is under increasing pressure to release the full, unedited version of a report into its handling of plans to redevelop Carlisle Airport.

East Anglian Daily Times

• East Anglia: Commuters get chance to put their views to rail bossesTHERE is still space available at a meeting taking place this Saturday’s which gives rail travellers the chance to put their views to industry bosses.
• Essex: MP backs plans for Thames Estuary airportAN ESSEX MP is backing controversial plans for a new airport in the Thames Estuary, saying it is “long overdue”.

Other Regional Press

• £40,000 boost to valleys bus services A NEW bus route will be launched linking Blaenau Gwent to Torfaen, after a local operator pumped £40,000 into the venture.
• Cutting £10 million off cost of Northampton™s new railway station ˜will not harm building™THE MAN leading plans to build a new railway station in Northampton has insisted that even though efforts are being made to reduce the cost of the building, the quality of the project will not be cut.
• Transport Minister celebrates in Nottingham NET Phase Two go-ahead Transport Minister, Norman Baker MP congratulates the city on securing NET Phase Two.
• UK & World News: PM 'interested' in Estuary airportThe Government is getting
• UK & World News: Heathrow prepares for 'busiest day'The day after the Olympic closing ceremony - August 13 - is set to be the busiest 24 hours in Heathrow Airport's history.
• Online petition secures bus station pleaA bus station campaigner will go face-to-face with city leaders in his crusade to save the iconic landmark.
• Villagers stranded by bus cutsA PENSIONER is considering selling her home after village residents were left stranded by budget cuts.
• The future is green for Scots busesBUSES in Scotland will become greener with a funding boost worth £2m, Transport Minister Keith Brown said.
• Video: Giant hole closes Aberdeen city centre roadWORKERS were today trying to repair a massive hole which closed part of an Aberdeen city centre road.
• Tanker defies authority of port A CHEMICAL tanker which inspectors described as the worst ship they had ever seen left Weymouth Bay despite being told to stay put.
• Bus routes in Dorchester facing axe A SERIES of bus routes in and around Dorchester face the axe after its operator announced it was withdrawing the services.
• Company behind HS2 to launch second public consultationFOLLOWING the government’s go-ahead for the controversial HS2 rail line through Warwickshire, the company behind it has announced a second public consultation.

Global Rail News

• ˜Recycling revolution™ at c2cc2c™s Group Station Manager Cassie Sutton has set in motion a recycling revolution at the Essex and East London train operator. Over the last few months Cassie has been working diligently to roll out a new and comprehensive recycling scheme at all c2c managed stations, as well as London Fenchurch Street. This new initiative means [...]
• Planning application submitted for new railway station in ChelmsfordCountryside Properties and its development partner, L&Q, have revised their outline planning application for a new railway station in North East Chelmsford. The proposals represent a major addition to the sustainable transport infrastructure of both the town and the county. The application complements proposals for a new neighbourhood at Beaulieu Park, with up to 3,600 [...]
• RMT rejects ˜derisory™ Olympic Tube pay offerThe RMT has rejected a ‘derisory’ Olympic pay offer from London Underground. The union said is has also ‘agreed to step up the pressure for a deal that properly rewards the additional workload and pressure that staff will need to carry throughout the Olympics period.’ The union has already agreed a £600 additional payment for [...]
• Top cop awarded QPMBritish Transport Police Federation Chairman, Inspector Alex Robertson, has been awarded the Queen™s Police Medal in the New Year™s Honours List. Alex Robertson, from Glasgow, joined BTP in 1978 and became Chairman of the BTP Federation in 1999. Alex has had a distinguished 33-year police career. He was Scottish Area Secretary within the BTPF and [...]
• Tipping the ScalesNeil Scales is quitting his job as chief executive of Merseytravel and heading for Australia and a new career as ceo of TransLink, the public transport authority in Brisbane, Queensland. Mr Scales has spent 15 years at Merseytravel and takes up his new post in March. ˜It was a hard decision to make and one [...]
• BTP appeal for information following cable theftBritish Transport Police (BTP) officers are appealing for information after cable was stolen from a railway line in the Winchfield area. The theft was discovered by a Network Rail engineering team and is suspected to have taken place over the past week. Police attended and it was discovered that 18 cables, each around two feet [...]
• RMT to ballot for strike action on Heathrow ExpressThe RMT have confirmed they are ‘balloting for strike action and action short of a strike’ on Heathrow Express from tomorrow over the ‘unfair dismissal’ of a driver member. The union also said the ballot was over a ‘campaign of harassment and victimisation against an RMT representative.’ The RMT said their representative Liaqat Ali has been [...]
• Bombardier wins tram order in Essen, GermanyThe Essen Transport Authority (EVAG) has ordered 27 BOMBARDIER FLEXITY Classic trams from Bombardier Transportation. The contract is valued at approximately â‚¬72 million ($94 million US). The first two vehicles will be delivered in August 2013 and the rest will arrive in Essen from March 2014. The Essen Transport Authority transports about 330,000 passengers per day and [...]
• East Coast gives passengers chance ˜to chat with top team™Train operator East Coast is offering passengers and stakeholders a new opportunity to put questions, comments or suggestions about its services directly to its key decision makers. Any aspect of East Coast™s service will be open for discussion during a new series of online live forums, which will give passengers and stakeholders the chance to [...]

Transport for London

• Clean sweep at coach and bus stationsTransport for London (TfL) has awarded a greener cleaning contract for Victoria Coach Station and dozens of bus stations in the Capital.

Aviation Industry

• Estuary airport would be an environmental disasterThe Government™s draft policy for UK aviation in March will include a proposal for a Thames Estuary airport, according to press reports today. But for the Government to refuse a third runway at Heathrow for environmental reasons and then to support the building of a new airport in the Thames Estuary would defy all logic. [...]
• 'Boris Island' airport will be considered - CameronProposals for Thames airport set for formal consultation
• Easyjet steps up corporate drive with FCm dealNo frills carrier also targets Scottish and Northern Irish market with 'Heathslow' adverts

Other News Sources

• Vehicle charging at Harwich InternationalHutchison Ports has installed an electric vehicle charging point at Harwich International Port which can be used by the public as well as for its own electric vehicles
• RMT rejects 'derisory' tube Olympics pay offerTUBE UNION RMT today rejected a 'derisory' Olympics pay offer from London Underground and agreed to step up the pressure for a deal that properly rewards the additional work load and pressure that staff will need to carry throughout the Olympics period.
• RMT begins balloting for strike action on Heathrow Express over sacking of driver and victimisation of activistRAIL UNION RMT have confirmed that balloting for strike action and action short of a strike on Heathrow Express will begin tomorrow over the unfair dismissal of a driver member and over a campaign of harassment and victimisation against an RMT representative.
• Government to launch consultation on Thames Estuary airportA consultation will be held over proposals to build a new airport in the Thames Estuary, it was reported today.
• New Panel To Sharpen Focus On Aviation ConsumersConsumers will be better represented in aviation regulation after an announcement today from the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) that it is setting up a Consumer Panel. The Panel represents a...
• Air France started trading on Bluenext, the international exchange for the environmentBluenext and Air France are pleased to announce that Air France started trading on Bluenext spot as trading member on January 12th becoming the 108th member of Bluenext. From January 1st 2012 ...
• New Airbus aircraft list prices for 2012Airbus has increased the average list prices of its aircraft by 3.9 per cent, except for the A320neo Family price which rises by an average of 6.1 per cent. The new pricing is effective from...
• Flybe statement on Government consultation over proposed new Thames Estuary AirportFlybe's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Jim French comments: “Flybe supports any infrastructure investment that improves connectivity for the British travelling public and will respond...
• Bumper Summer Ahead For Knock as Ryanair Announces Record Advance Sales to The Sun Ryanair today (18th Jan) announced record advance bookings on its summer sun routes from Knock Airport, which are 20% up on 2010 and look set to deliver a bumper year for Ireland West Airport,...