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

Monday, 06 April 2009

BBC News

• UK car sales 30.5% lower in MarchUK car sales fell by 30.5% in March, compared with the same month last year, the latest industry figures have shown.
• City's tram upgrade work beginsWork to upgrade the track for Manchester's tram services is getting under way with some of the city centre stations shut.

Financial Times

• Western line train operator gets back on trackA train operator threatened with being stripped of its franchise 13 months ago is within reach of joining the industry's top performers, after extra rolling stock,...

The Guardian

• Car sales fall 30% despite new March number platesCar sales in Britain haven fallen by more than 200,000 in the first three months of the year, triggering fresh calls from the industry for a car scrappage scheme in this month's budget.
• MPs barred from inquiry into payA parliamentary watchdog has taken the unprecedented step of barring three of its members from an inquiry into MPs' pay and allowances as further allegations about MPs' expenses emerged last night.The committee on standards in public life confirmed the move yesterday as fresh information was published about MPs' claims. It emerged yesterday that the former defence secretary, Geoff Hoon, claimed money from the second home allowance while living in a Whitehall grace-and-favour apartment.And this morning Alistair Darling, the chancellor, was dragged into the controversy over a £9,837 claim for a ...
• We should not fear car tracking project [letter]The introduction of pan-European tracking of every car journey is a sugar-coated pill; any concerns about increasing levels of surveillance will be brushed aside by a technology that promises to be as seductive as our mobile phones

The Herald

• FirstGroup submits planning application for Glasgow depotTransport giant FirstGroup has submitted plans for a new £25m bus depot and west of Scotland headquarters at Cathcart Road on the south side of Glasgow in a bid to raise passenger growth to target levels.

The Scotsman

• 200mph link to London is on the right lines, says rail ministerA HIGH-SPEED rail link could cut journey times from London to Scotland by almost half if given the green light, plans have shown.
• 200mph link to London is on the right lines, says rail ministerA HIGH-SPEED rail link could cut journey times from London to Scotland by almost half if given the green light, plans have shown.
• How's this for a bright idea to cut road deaths: make seat belts fluorescentJIMMY Savile tried with his "clunk-click" campaign, but even a change in the law could not convince motorists to belt up every time.

The Telegraph

• Airport face scanners 'cannot tell the difference between Osama bin Laden and Winona Ryder' Airport face scanners designed to verify travellers' identity against their passport photographs are working at such a low level that they would be unable to tell the difference between Osama bin Laden and the actress Winona Ryder it has been claimed.
• Police using Google Street Viewstyle cars to spy on motorists Police are resorting to vehicles resembling Google's Street View cars to catch motorists breaking the law.

Times Online

• EasyJet chairman to step down earlySir Colin Chandler is to step down early as chairman of easyJet amid suggestions that he has become "fed up" with the protracted dispute with his predecessor Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, the budget airline's founder.
• Boris Johnson's new transport plan a boost for Thames ferry services The River Thames could be returned to its glory days under a plan by the Mayor of London to promote it as an integral transport link, The Times has learnt.
• Jump-start for the green car future Graphic: how electric stations will work
• High-speed rail must be for the people A freedom of information request has revealed enough details about High Speed Two, the Government's proposed high-speed rail line to Scotland, to make a trainspotter's eyes go moist with anticipation. The trains are going to be double-decked and carry 545 people from a station near Wormwood Scrubs to Glasgow in 2 hours 42 minutes. We also know that Booz Allen Hamilton, the consultants employed by the Department for Transport to produce a study, have costed it at £29 billion, with an optional £10 billion add-on to Leeds and York, to be raised through a mixture of ...

Press Association

• Car sales fall despite 09 platesThe motor industry and motoring groups are hoping this month's Budget will be the time the Government announces a car-scrappage scheme, whereby owners are given a financial incentive to swap their old car for a new, greener model. A number of countries have already introduced scrappage schemes, including Germany where the initiative has helped new car sales soar 40% in March 2009.

Reuters News

• UPDATE 2-Aer Lingus chief executive to leave -reportsDUBLIN, April 5 (Reuters) - The chief executive of Aer Lingus , Dermot Mannion, is preparing to leave the Irish airline, The Sunday Business Post reported.

Mail Online

• Council transport boss sacked after claiming £206,000 for his commute A transport boss who cost a cash-strapped council £206,000 a year for a job worth £50,000 has been axed after public outcry.
• The police 'Google cars' out to catch you driving badly The police 'Google cars' out to catch you driving badly

The Sun

• £1.7million property tyc-HoonHOON drew £70k in housing expenses — as he amassed £1.7m property portfolio

Transport Briefing

• CAF wins follow-up order for Northern Ireland trainsNorthern Ireland's Department for Regional Development has signed an agreement to buy 20 new trains with rail operator Translink and Spanish rolling stock manufacturer CAF.
• Crossrail drops access shafts from emergency plansEight access and ventilation shafts planned as part of London Crossrail will not be built after the London Fire Brigade agreed revisions to the evacuation strategy that would be implemented if an emergency occurs in the Crossrail tunnels while trains are operating.
• Transport minister finds cash for Kemble rail studyPlans to redouble a 12-mile stretch of railway between Swindon and Kemble have been thrown a lifeline after the Department for Transport agreed to fund a £2.5m study into dualling the track.
• £25m Stratford Overground rail platforms completedTransport for London has announced an opening date for two new platforms at Stratford station in east London.
• Network Rail hands Newport job to Galliford TryGalliford Try has won a £13m contract from Network Rail to upgrade Newport station in south Wales ahead of the Ryder Cup golf tournament in 2010.
• Chiltern Railways showcases Evergreen 3 rail ambitionChiltern Railways is to hold three public exhibitions this month to showcase its plans to provide a new rail link between London Marylebone and Oxford.
• DfT steps up stand-by plan for bankrupt rail operatorsArrangements for running train operating companies which default on rail franchise payments are being strengthened with the appointment of a stand-by management team that can be parachuted in to run services at short notice.

Derby Telegraph

• Minister's expenses claims 'in the rules'TRANSPORT Secretary Geoff Hoon has became the latest Cabinet minister to face questions over second-home claims.

Manchester Evening News

• Train station's £4m makeoverLONG-awaited plans to revamp Bolton train station have been revealed. Sketches of the £4m transformation show a modern new entrance, ticket hall and concourse.
• Train station's £4m makeoverLONG-awaited plans to revamp Bolton train station have been revealed. Sketches of the £4m transformation show a modern new entrance, ticket hall and concourse.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Forfar junction to be tackled with traffic banned from crossing A90An Angus road junction notorious for accidents is to be tackled under proposals put forward by the Scottish Government.

The York Press

• Rethink on one-way system at York Station TRANSPORT officials will re-examine a controversial one-way system at York Station “ after councillors backed a rethink without any debate.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• New night bus service for SussexNew night bus services will serve the East Sussex towns of Lewes and Uckfield this summer, it has been announced.Brighton and Hove Buses has revealed that it will extend its N29 bus provision to provide a route from the city centre at 01:00 BST on Friday, Saturday and Sunday mornings.Another new service will be the N69 to Hayward's Heath, leaving at 02:30 BST on Friday, Saturday and Sunday mornings, which will now call at Patcham.Such services could provide extra public access in and out of the city of Brighton and Hove.While Sussex commuters can enjoy extra late night bus rides, a bus service...

Aviation Industry

• Airlines could struggle for credit as loans dry upAmerican Airlines, US Airways Group Inc. and U.S. carriers trying to refinance debt and borrow for new jets may struggle to find lenders and have to pay rates at least double those of two years ago.

Other News Sources

• Train Firm Cuts Its PricesVIRGIN Trains has slashed the cost of rail travel from Crewe to Manchester by almost a quarter.
• Rail boss pledges crusade to tackle eyesore stationA RAIL boss has condemned a North-East railway station as an eyesore and a disgrace. Richard Lungmuss said he would make it a crusade of his to improve Hartlepool railway station.
• Council steps in to stop stranded bus passengersNorth Somerset Council is stepping in to stop passengers being left stranded when First Bus axes two North Somerset villages only services.
• 'Add cycle paths to top grit list' callCYCLING campaigners are again calling on Cambridgeshire County Council to grit more cycle paths during periods of cold weather.
• Airport aid for autistic travellersManchester Airport has launched an information guide to help passengers travelling with autistic children.
• New interactive technology at Aberdeenshire bus stopsAberdeenshire Council has invested in a £1million journey planning project to improve access to public transport throughout the region.
• Rail loop now a key projectTHE passing loop at Beccles Railway Station, which would allow an hourly service to London on the Ipswich to Lowestoft line, looks set to finally become a reality.
• Council’s plan for car park by rail stationTOWN bosses are looking at building a car park on a disused piece of land owned by a rail company.
• BEXLEY & BROMLEY: Mayor Boris criticised over transport fundingBoris Johnson was quizzed about the lack of travel development in outer London by members of the London Assembly at Mayor’s question time at City Hall this week.
• Gas guzzlers lead a used car revivalThe motor manufacturing industry may be heading for meltdown, but the used car trade is booming
• Heat exchangeResearchers have developed a critical part of a hydrogen storage system for cars that makes it possible to fill up a vehicle's fuel tank within five minutes.
• Sainsbury™s to fit new fleet with fuel-safe devicesSainsbury™s is to fit its 343 new trucks with TISS' TankSafe Impregnable fuel security and safety device, in a move to cut diesel spillage and improve its environmental credentials.

News from Europe

• Coming in for a landing, airlines say bio-fuels cut pollution Starting in 2013, up to 100 European airports will take part in a plan to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions over the continent’s airspace by half a million tonnes a year by using a different landing approach and planning the use of bio-fuels, aviation industry groups said. The plan to the use the so-called Continuous Descent Approach (CDA) for landing, where aircraft fly a smooth approach into an airport rather than the classical stepped approach, announced at the Aviation and Environment Summit in Geneva, would reduce carbon output and fuel usage.

Other Subscription Services

• Stagecoach rolls out 'intelligent' safer driving signs across UK coach fleetStagecoach is to roll out unique ’intelligent’ safer driving signs across its 500-vehicle coach fleet as part of a drive to improve safety on UK roads.The move, a first in the UK, follows a successful three-month trial of the TailGuardian™ technology in Aberdeenshire in Scotland and has been welcomed by the national road safety charity Brake.