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

Friday, 21 August 2009

BBC News

• Unofficial car parks face closure Six unauthorised car pars in Nottingham could be closed after the city council agreed to take enforcement action.
• Support for capital tram company Edinburgh Council has given a vote of confidence to the company set up to oversee the city's new tram system.
• Bike-daqCounting cycles or parking spots to gauge recovery

Financial Times

• Odd couple holding tight for turbulenceIn spite of the agreement, co-operation between Air China and Cathay Pacific Airways still remains to be seen as both airline groups differ culturally from one another
• MIG considers split to boost share priceToll-road operator Macquarie‰Infrastructure Group is considering splitting into two entities, in a move that would underline the end of investment bank Macquarie Group's listed funds model
• Bus and depot sales likely after OFT ruling Some of Britain's largest bus companies could be forced to sell buses or depots after the Office of Fair Trading ruled that a lack of competition in the local bus market may be inflating fares and reducing services

The Herald

• Stagecoach hit by fare probeStagecoach shares lost 4% yesterday as the transport sector suffered another bout of competition worries. Stocks were mixed, however, after the Office of Fair Trading said it would refer the local bus market, excluding London, to the Competition Commission for further investigation.
• Transport chief calls for ticket levy to ease transit troubleA senior transport leader has called for an “event tax” to help pay for buses and trains to take people to major concerts following the heavy demands placed on Glasgow’s public transport infrastructure by the U2 concert and Celtic match in Glasgow earlier this week.

Times Online

• Motorway services are in decline For a certain generation of motorist, the words “Newport Pagnell” or “Scratchwood” are like Proust’s madeleine, instantly conjuring up a host of mental associations: flooded toilets, unemptied ashtrays, cold chips, shrivelled peas. Our relationship with the service station is a window into the national psyche, a case study in our gradual disillusionment with car culture over the past half century.
• Local bus operators face full competition inquiryThe Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has called for a widespread investigation into concerns that the dominance of four companies in local bus services outside London has led to higher prices.

Daily Record

• Ryanair announces eight new routes out of Edinburgh AirportBUDGET airline Ryanair today announced its eight new routes out of Scotland to popular destinations such as Barcelona and Tenerife.

Derby Telegraph

• Network Rail plans to improve journeys for Derby commuters TRAIN passengers using Derby's railway station could get shorter journey times and have more chance of getting a seat if a plan for improving rail services goes ahead.

Liverpool Echo

• Passengers face strike at Liverpool John Lennon airportPASSENGERS at Liverpool John Lennon airport faced picket lines today after last minute strike talks failed.

Nottingham Evening Post

• Thieves cost Network Rail £350,000 FOUR men have admitted crimes estimated to have cost Network Rail £350,000. Matt Hewitt, a former Network Rail procurement manager in Derby, sold stolen signalling cable to a scrap dealer with the help of three friends.

The York Press

• Crossrail funding for a hi-tech future at the University of York A MAJOR industrial company has announced it is to provide £60,000-worth of sponsorship to fund a new course for the computer science engineers of the future at the University of York.

Wales Online

• Drop ’white elephant’ transport projects, says think-tankA NUMBER of “white elephant” transport projects should be scrapped and the money invested elsewhere, an influential think-tank suggested last night.
• Transport needs to move from grid-locked thinkingETTING from A to B in Wales is often a challenging process – sometimes it appears that every- thing from geography to flawed planning decisions decades ago conspire against the traveller. No wonder politicians struggle to get it right.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Ministers' rail U-turn on extra carriagesA PLEDGE to provide more train carriages to ease commuter misery in Leeds is being watered down in favour of upgrading rail lines elsewhere in the country, the YEP can reveal.

Yorkshire Post

• Buses honour rugby legends Big ships are named after famous people but in West Yorkshire our sporting heroes get a bus named in their honour. Bus company Arriva Yorkshire has honoured 13 rugby league legends by naming new buses after them.

Transport for London

• New cameras have the brains to crack down on congestionNew image recognition technology helps TfL to smooth traffic flow by picking up traffic hotspots.

Aviation Industry

• Eight Airlines Set to Buy Synthetic DieselSeattle-based Alaska Airlines and seven other carriers have agreed to buy up to 1.5 million gallons per year of renewable synthetic diesel fuel for use in ground-service equipment at Los Angeles International Airport, the Air Transport Association announced Tuesday.

Other News Sources

• WE’LL BOUNCE BACK AFTER LOSING STOBART FREIGHT DEAL, SAYS FIRM A RAIL firm chief says his company is pursuing new business after losing a major freight contract with the Stobart Group.
• Blackfriars station construction work due to begin Construction work is due to get underway on a project to build the country's first railway station spanning a river.
• Smart cards proposal boosts UK transport's green credentials Government proposals to introduce ’smart ticketing’ nationwide could signal the end for paper tickets and encourage more people to use greener transport. The Government has today announced plans to use technology in UK stations and on buses to allow mobile phones and bank cards to be used as ’swipe and go’ cards in place of paper tickets.
• London Heathrow has busy monthLondon Heathrow had their third busiest month in July, according to BAA. The number of passengers that flew into and out of Heathrow rose to 6.48 million which is a 0.9% increase on July 2008. Long-haul flight passenger numbers were down by 2.4% but even this was good news compared with June when numbers were down 5.9% [...]
• Eco car benefits are 'exaggerated'Can 'eco cars' live up to their hype? A new report suggests that the savings might not be as high as manufacturers claim
• BP sweet on biodieselBP and US group, Martek Biosciences, are to assess the commercial viability of converting sugars into diesel for use in the biofuels market.
• BAE to supply bus propulsion systemsBAE Systems is to provide propulsion systems for up to 500 hybrid electric buses recently ordered by King County Metro Transit in Seattle.
• Bank holiday travellers face airport strike miseryGroundstaff at Manchester Airport have voted in favour of a strike which will take place next week over the peak August Bank Holiday weekend.
• Freighter 'pirates' interrogatedFreighter 'pirates' interrogated

News from Europe

• Deutsche Bahn Profit Falls 52.6 Percent Deutsche Bahn, Germany's state-owned rail company, earned less than half the profit of a year ago due to "massive declines" in rail, ocean and air cargo volume. Earnings before income taxes shrunk 52.6 percent to $946 million in the six months to June 30 from $1.99 billion in the year-earlier period on revenue 14 percent lower at $20 billion.
• New tunnel will barely ease road freightThe completion of a new rail link through the Swiss Alps will not significantly reduce the amount of freight transported by road, an environmental group has warned
• Germany jumps in the race for viable electric car Forget that they're cramped, have a limited driving range and outstrip the average consumer's pocketbook. The race is on to create a viable electric car. Germany — home to brands including Volkswagen, Porsche and BMW — became the latest country to fast track development of electric cars, the government approving a plan Wednesday that aims to put 1 million of them on the road by 2020.
• Efficient Unmanned Public Transport Systems A European research project has developed technologies that pave the way for highly efficient unmanned public transport systems in our cities. In our congested cities it is hard to imagine that private cars and taxis could ever be replaced by a public transport system that provides a personal, door-to-door service. But this is exactly the long-term vision of Michel Parent who directs the R&D program into automated transportation at the French National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Control (INRIA).
• The New Terminal at Barcelona Airport has an Environmentally-friendly Design to Accommodate 30 million AnnuallyBarcelona’s new Terminal T1 recently debuted at Barcelona Airport solidifying its position as one of Europe’s top ten airports. Native son Ricardo Bofill, has designed a sleek sword-shaped structure that is flooded with natural light from its floor-to-ceiling glass walls. Some 100,000 passengers a day will pass through the 5.8 million square-foot terminal which is expected to welcome 30 million a year.