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

Thursday, 23 October 2008

BBC News

• Hundreds enter bus design contestA competition to find a design for a new Routemaster bus has received around 700 entries.
• Sandite [video]An explanation of how Sandite helps to keep the rails safe
• Lincoln rail link to London [video]Lincoln's long-awaited direct rail link to London will have longer journey times than other services in the area.
• Locals could derail freight plansVillagers in Glenboig, near Coatbridge, have voiced concern at plans to build one of Europe's biggest rail freight terminals on an old landfill site.
• Brown defends congestion questionGordon Brown has defended the question to be used in the referendum on plans for a congestion charge in Manchester.
• MPs rebelling over climate billThe government is facing a backbench rebellion over plans to exclude aviation and shipping from UK greenhouse gas targets.
• Boeing strike eats into profitsBoeing's continuing battle with its plane assembly workers leads to a sharp decrease in profit.
• Economic troubles hit air trafficAirline passenger traffic falls because of economic slowdown for the first time in 25 years, says the Association of European Airlines.

Financial Times

• United Airlines slips into lossThe US carrier says that higher fuel costs have caused it to swing to a quarterly net loss, with the credit crisis forcing it to mark down the value of some fuel hedges
• Private jet operator to file for administrationEuropean Business Jets runs out of funding in an early sign of the tightening market for private jet travel. Barclays, its main bank, is to appoint receivers
• Boeing profits hurt by strike actionBoeing's profits fell heavily in the third quarter under the impact of the seven-week strike, which has halted all deliveries of commercial aircraft since early September
• Lufthansa only bidder for Austrian AirlinesVienna's hope of selling its controlling stake in the struggling flag-carrier hit turbulence when its shares plunged after a solitary bid from the German airline
• S Korea to change shipbuilder accounts rulesThe financial regulator is amending accounting rules for shipbuilders and exporters to prevent their financial statements from being undermined by the plunging value of the Korean won

The Guardian

• Faster than a bullet - the 1,000mph carBritish engineers have unveiled plans for the world's first 1,000mph car, a muscular streak of gunmetal and orange designed not to break the world land speed record but to shatter it.Bloodhound SSC, named after the British cold war supersonic air defence missiles, will attempt to beat the existing record by more than 250mph.The £12m car is to be announced today by Lord Drayson, the science minister. Working from an aircraft hangar in Bristol, the team's engineers have been working on the project in secret for the past 18 months. Calculations suggest the car could reach 1,050mph, fast...

The Telegraph

• Zebra crossing road deaths trebleThe number of people killed on zebra crossings in Britain trebled last year it has emerged.

Times Online

• Passengers at risk from track design flawA design flaw found in thousands of places on the country’s rail network is putting passengers at risk of a catastrophic derailment similar to the Potters Bar and Grayrigg disasters, according to a secret analysis by rail safety inspectors.
• Britain's Bloodhound car could reach 1,000mph It will be faster than a speeding bullet: a pencil-shaped car powered by a jet engine and a rocket, roaring across a desert at 1,000mph.

Mail Online

• Lost property? Only a third of items are returned while station staff pocket the rest, says consumer watchdog Dishonesty among railway staff is rife, according to an undercover study by Which? Two-thirds of station staff failed to contact owners when lost property was handed in.

Transport Briefing

• TfL considers ditching Oyster brand for new systemTransport for London is examining options for replacing the current Oyster smartcard with new ticketing systems operated through mobile phones or bankcards, the London Assembly heard this week.
• BAA finishes Glasgow Airport phase one and two workThe first phase of Glasgow Airport's multi-million pound terminal extension opened to passengers on Tuesday (21 October).
• Airtrack rail link moves to second public consultationHeathrow Airport owner BAA has begun a second stage of public consultation on Airtrack, the project to improve overground rail connections to the airport.

Birmingham Post

• Police back to patrol Birmingham car share lane on A47Police have resumed patrols along Birmingham’s car sharing lane and are again handing out £60 fines to motorists.
• Centro has £4m in failed Icelandic bankThe West Midlands regional public transport authority Centro has admitted having £4 million invested in a subsidiary of failed Icelandic bank Landsbanki.
• Direct flights from Birmingham to Philadelphia start next yearDozens of cities in the US will be opened up to businesses and tourists in Birmingham next year with the launch of a new air link to Philadelphia.

Manchester Evening News

• Power failures cause train chaosRUSH hour commuters faced rail chaos early today as scores of services were hit by cancellations and delays because of power failures.
• Brown quizzed on congestion chargeGORDON Brown was urged to scrap Greater Manchester's controversial congestion charge scheme during Prime Minister questions.

Metro

• Say goodbye to rail lost propertyIf you leave something on the train this morning, dont count on getting it back even if its handed in.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• £8.5m bonus row at Newcastle Airport settledA STORM erupted today over a secret deal to settle a dispute over huge bonus payments to two former airport bosses.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Grieving mum angered by Hoon™s remarksTHE mother of a north-east teenager who died after being struck by a car when she stepped off a school bus has condemned the UK Government for dismissing new safety calls.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Leeds Bradford Airport boss John Parkin agrees out-of-court settlement in dispute with former employerTHE CHIEF excutive of Leeds Bradford International Airport has reached an out-of-court settlement with his former employer over a £6m High Court case.
• Leeds train station ready to go automaticTHE £1.6m automatic ticket gate system at Leeds City Station is on the verge of opening for business.

Doncaster Free Press

• Airports must pay for policingROBIN Hood Airport will have to foot the bill for its growing security costs under Government plans to ease the burden on the police.

Northants Evening Telegraph

• Rail users gloomy at timetable changesPassengers have been promised more seats on London-bound trains from December.

Sunderland Echo

• Secret deal over Newcastle airport millionsA secret deal involving millions of pounds of public cash has been agreed between airport bosses and their former chief executive.

The Shields Gazette

• Fury over multi-million deal furyA SECRET deal involving millions of pounds of public money was last night agreed between Newcastle Airport bosses and their former chief executive.
• Firm is helping more people ConnectA TRANSPORT group has doubled its workforce after getting on the road to contract success.

Forbes

• Dry Bulk Shippers Foundering Commodities shipping lines are battling to keep their heads above water as day rates fall below costs.

Washington Post

• Obama, McCain oppose gas tax hike; road needs loom WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Although proponents say an uptick in gasoline taxes would provide billions for badly needed U.S. infrastructure development, neither Barack Obama nor John McCain would likely support it if elected president.
• Chrysler executive downplays talk company for sale DETROIT -- Reports that Chrysler LLC is being shopped for sale by its owners are just speculation, a top Chrysler executive said Wednesday night.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• BA World Cargo continues to cut fuel surchargesBritish Airways (BA) World Cargo has announced a further reduction in its cargo fuel surcharges in response to falling oil prices.The carrier has reported that its fuel index has dipped below the level-18 threshold for the second week in a row.The changes will take effect from November 3rd when fuel surcharges on BA World Cargo flights will drop to £0.60 per kilo, down from a current rate of £0.69 per kilo set on October 2nd and a peak of £0.87 a kilo at the end of July this year.Adam Carson, BA World Cargo senior manager of revenue management, said: "As a r...

Railnews

• News: First contract for £425 million Reading project WESTINGHOUSE Rail Systems, part of Invensys Rail Group, has won a contract that will kick start Network Rail’s ambitious £425 million plan to modernise and remodel the Reading station area.

Aviation Industry

• Your views on UK road signs?Transport Minister Rosie Winterton has instigated the biggest review of British road signs for 40 years.
• National Express optimises website to boost online salesNational Express has increased online coach ticket sales by over 14% using content optimisation software.

Green Miscellany

• Green cars are too expensiveMotorists are being charged too much for green cars and would have to drive some low-emission cars up to the equivalent of three times around the world to recoup the additional cost, according to a report published today.

Other News Sources

• Bus scheme fraud checkFRAUD officials are investigating Selby District Council's concessionary bus pass scheme to catch out those misusing the system.
• Hauliers in no hurry for biofuelsOperators appear to be following the government's lead by adopting a lethargic approach to the roll-out of biofuels. Last week, new Transport Minister Andrew Adonis unveiled a consultation to take forward the key findings from the Gallagher Review, including the proposal that the rate of increase of the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) be slowed to reach 5% by 2013-14, rather than the original timeframe of 2010-11
• UK hauliers face a £13k per truck disadvantagehe Department for Transport (DfT) is sticking its head in the sand if it believes UK hauliers do not face much higher operating costs than their European counterparts, the Road Haulage Association (RHA) has claimed after seeing the government's response to the House of Commons Transport Committee's Freight Report 2007/08
• Grocers beat mileage targetMore than 53 million journey miles have been removed from UK roads since IGD’s Efficient Consumer Response (ECR UK) initiative on the Sustainable Distribution project started last year, smashing the 48 million mile target. That is the equivalent to removing 900 trucks from the roads or an annual saving of 26 million litres of fuel.
• Go-Ahead says trading in line with expectationsBus and rail operator Go-Ahead Group said on Thursday its first-quarter trading had been in line with expectations despite the worsening economic climate.
• TNT finds electric vehicles a winnerTNT says it's first batch of Smith Electric Newtons have been such a success that it will consider taking on more alternatively-fuelled vehicles in the future.
• Continental launches tacho data analyserTwo new products from Continental aim to make handling tachograph data easier.
• Town votes out fixed-point speed camerasSwindon has become the first town in the UK to do away with fixed-point speed cameras. The nine-strong cabinet of the Tory-run council voted unanimously in favour of withdrawing from the Wiltshire and Swindon Safety Camera Partnership.
• DLR's new Woolwich stationDLR's new Woolwich station
• Wireless IFE in focus with Bluebox on A380 mock-upAirbus has commissioned Bluebox Avionics to provide its wireless in-flight entertainment system for inclusion in the A380 demonstration mock-up in Hamburg,...
• Five-bladed propeller completes testing on Fairchild MetroGermany's Regional Air Express has completed flight-testing of MT-Propeller's five-bladed prop for the Fairchild Metro and expects to receive European Aviation...
• French phase-in plans for car CO2 opposedAn attempt by Dutch government officials to throw out a Franco-German deal that would delay stricter CO2 rules for carmakers gathered 'wide-ranging support' among EU environment ministers, government sources told EurActiv.

EIN News Subscription

• Rail work was successRAIL bosses have declared the first phase of a £300 million project to upgrade the Bathgate-Edinburgh line a success.

Other Subscription Services

• Widdows warns worst is yet to come for box tradesNOL boss says liner sector in for a relatively unpleasant 18 months to two years.