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

Monday, 24 August 2009

BBC News

• Boy named rail 'director of fun' A train-mad youngster has landed his dream job as "director of fun" at the National Railway Museum in York.
• Train passengers face rail delays Passengers travelling on the Belfast to Dublin Enterprise are facing disruption after part of the rail line near Dublin was damaged at the weekend.
• Axed M4 relief road 'cost £15m' More than £15m was spent on research for a proposed M4 relief road around Newport before it was scrapped as "unaffordable", say the Conservatives. Deputy First Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones axed the planned £1bn route in July, saying its estimated costs had soared.
• MPs urge foreign lorry crackdown MPs are calling for the agency in charge of safety-testing lorries, buses and coaches to be able to tackle unsafe foreign vehicles.

The Guardian

• Minister met BAA chief executive before Climate Camp to discuss tactics A government minister met the chief executive of the UK's largest airport owner in private to discuss how to "limit" the impact of climate change protests directed against the firm, documents obtained by the Guardian reveal.
• Getting America back on track is no easy task Barack Obama's plan to get the US using trains instead of cars may be beyond even his rhetorical gifts
• The romance and reality of bus trips [leeter]I welcome the Office of Fair Trading's (OFT) sudden interest in the long standing lack of competition in most of Britain's deregulated bus market and the consequent higher fares (Bus fares are too steep, watchdog reports, 21 August).

The Telegraph

• New powers needed to curb dangerous foreign lorries Powers to police foreign lorry drivers must be strengthened amid fears continental juggernauts are putting safety at risk, a group of MPs has said.

Times Online

• Lufthansa plots sale of BMI British Midland to Virgin Atlantic German airline may jettison assets after threat of a downgrading by leading credit-rating agencies
• Map from Transport for London shows hottest spots on the UndergroundIt is easy to feel sorry for commuters on the London Underground at this time of year, crammed into stuffy carriages with the temperature rising. But some passengers, it appears, are more deserving of pity than others.
• EasyJet attempts to kill off the airport queue with handheld devicesEasyJet hopes to introduce mobile check-in using handheld devices to reduce queueing at airports.

Daily Record

• Greens fury at 'back door' deal on Scottish motorwaysROAD chiefs want to end chaos on the M8 under Scotland's biggest ever motorway expansion.

Birmingham Post

• Twin towers plan for New Street station shelved due to economic downturnGiant twin towers set to straddle the southern entrance to the redeveloped New Street Station are being shelved due to the collapse in the market for city centre apartments and offices.

Nottingham Evening Post

• Station users 'caught short' by barriers PEOPLE visiting Nottingham railway station but not catching a train risk being caught short because they can no longer access public toilets. New ticketing barriers, opened last week, stop anyone who has not paid for a train fare from accessing the platforms.

Wales Online

• Industry body’s warning over foreign truckers UNSAFE overseas-registered trucks operated by over-tired drivers are giving the road haulage business a bad name and putting motorists in danger, the Freight Transport Association (FTA) says.
• MP’s transport reaction finally arrives – over a month late A BIG well done, first, to John Smith, Labour MP for the Vale of Glamorgan, above, who last week issued a press release setting out his reaction to the Assembly Government’s National Transport Plan.
• M4 U-turn highlights the need for directionODAY’S revelation that £15m was spent on a road that will not now be built underlines the danger of performing a U-turn when the engine has been revving for several years.
• £15m wasted on the road that never wasMORE than £15m of public money was spent on a major motorway-building project that will now not go ahead, it emerged last night.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Calls for Leeds ring road upgradeBusiness in Leeds wants the government to make improvements to the north side of the Leeds outer ring-road to ease congestion misery.

Yorkshire Post

• Business leaders draw up transport 'must list' as spending purge feared BUSINESS leaders have drawn up a list of 29 proposed transport schemes in Yorkshire which they deem too important to axe in advance of an expected purge on public spending after the General Election.

C.N.N.

• 'Green goo' biofuel gets a boostThree years ago many would have dismissed the notion that a significant supply of the world's automotive fuel could come from algae. But today the idea, while still an adventurous one, is getting much harder to ignore.

Railnews

• News: Train operators criticise Which? criticism A report by the consumer organisation Which? — claiming that train passengers are receiving poor advice from rail staff — has itself been called “seriously misleading” by the body representing Britain’s train operators.

Other News Sources

• EEDA’s new value for money man David Hipple will join EEDA on 1 September from the Department for Transport. As former group finance director, he was responsible for the business planning, budgeting and financial management for the delivery of the Department’s £15 billion spend.
• Are bus passengers getting a fare deal? UNLIMITED travel in and around Cambridge for £3.30 - not a bad deal, you might think.
• UK approaching 'transport crisis' A number of “white elephant” projects like high speed rail and a lack of cash are creating a UK transport crisis, a report by independent think-tank Reform has claimed.