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

Tuesday, 01 December 2009

BBC News

• Hard shoulder scheme opensA second stretch of a motorway hard shoulder opens for motorists to use during busy times.
• Tube crowds 'at shocking levels'Tube trains are so packed that passengers often have to psyche themselves up to travel, a London Assembly report finds.
• King of the road?New 'superlorry' divides opinion and tests the law
• Card charging changes at RyanairRyanair is swapping the only type of card that can be used to avoid a charge when booking a flight with the airline.

Financial Times

• Carmakers race to secure electric leadGovernments are introducing increasingly stringent regulations covering vehicle emissions so the big players in the automotive industry are embracing electrification.

The Guardian

• Adonis pushes for cheaper, faster east coast railway service Thousands of seats are left unsold every day on one of Britain's flagship routes. The government is considering cutting rail fares between London and Edinburgh after discovering that thousands of seats are left unsold every day on one of Britain's flagship routes.

The Independent

• Thousands face travel chaos as rail lines shut down for Christmas Thousands of rail passengers will be hit with severe delays and cancellations during Christmas and New Year as some of Britain™s busiest lines are disrupted for as much as two weeks.

The Scotsman

• Packed Tubes see ruthless commuteOvercrowding on the Tube has created a ruthless, survival-of-the-fittest mentality among passengers, a report has revealed.

Times Online

• Rail passengers face chaos over Christmas period due to engineering works Passengers hoping to travel from Liverpool St to Stansted Airport and East Anglia will bear the brunt of railway closures planned for the Christmas holiday period, the rail industry announced yesterday.
• Sliding consumer confidence and service sales spark fears of double dipConcerns that the British economy is facing a double-dip recession grew last night as it emerged that businesses in the services sector had suffered a surprise drop in sales and as consumer confidence fell for the first time in more than a year.
• Freight boss takes to road in 60-tonne truck to challenge size limits A superlorry, which is 24ft longer than a bendy bus and as heavy as a fully armoured Challenger 2 tank, will take to the roads for the first time today.
• Carbon must be sucked from air, says IPCC chief Rajendra PachauriDrastic cuts in carbon emissions may not be sufficient to avoid the worst ravages of global warming and the world will need to suck carbon from the atmosphere to avert permanent damage to the climate, according to a leading world authority on climate science.
• As Somalian pirates widen their horizons, the cost of ship insurance is soaringThe cost of insuring container ships to travel through high-risk trading routes off the coast of Somalia has soared in the past year thanks to pirate attacks.
• Rail passengers face chaos over Christmas period due to engineering worksPassengers hoping to travel from Liverpool St to Stansted Airport and East Anglia will bear the brunt of railway closures planned for the Christmas holiday period, the rail industry announced yesterday.

Reuters News

• GM to cut 354 jobs at Vauxhall plantLONDON (Reuters) - U.S. carmaker General Motors plans to cut 354 jobs at its British Vauxhall plant in Luton.

ATOC

• ATOC responds to the Green Alliance report 'The Right Route'ATOC repsonds to report on the environmental benefits of trains

Network Rail

• HARTLEPOOL STATION CANOPY WORK BEGINS
• HARWICH RAILWAY CLEAN-UP NETS SEVEN TONNES OF FLY-TIPPED RUBBISH
• £326M OVERGROUND RAIL UPGRADE STEPS UP OVER CHRISTMASNetwork Rail engineers will be working around the clock this Christmas and New Year as the multi-million pound upgrade of the London Overground rail network moves a step further to completion. The £326m project, which is funded by Transport for London, the Olympic Delivery Authority and Network Rail, has been fast-tracked to ensure completion before 2012 and is being carried out by Network Rail as part of plans to improve rail services in and around the capital.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Christmas crackdown launched on drink driversDRINK drivers are being targeted in the annual Christmas push to make the region’s roads safe.

The York Press

• A19 in Fulford area of York blocked by flooding THOUSANDS of York commuters faced a lengthy diversion this morning after flooding blocked one of the city™s main roads.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• West Yorkshire: No festive cheer for Christmas travellers Public transport in West Yorkshire will grind to a virtual halt during the festive period, bus and train users were warned today.

Doncaster Free Press

• Chaos on the railways after signalling cable cut.WOULD be thieves brought chaos to the rail network after attempting to steal signalling cable in Doncaster.

Sunderland Echo

• Vehicle tracker bought by bus companyVehicle tracking technology developed by a Wearside company will be used by one of Europe's biggest transport firms.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Hourly rail service links Cumbrian communityA new hourly rail service has been launched in Cumbria to connect two halves of a community that have been affected by the recent flooding.Operating free of charge between Workington, a new temporary station dubbed Workington North, Flimby and Maryport until the end of the year, it will have three carriages.The Department for Transport announced it started running today (November 30th) following government backing for an extra train to be leased and will be operated by Cumbria-based DRS for Northern Rail."As I witnessed this week, the recent floods in Cumbria have dealt a devastating ...

Railnews

• News: Trains start running from Workington North A new station has opened on the Cumbrian Coast line today, so that trains can link the two halves of Workington which have been separated by the disastrous floods in the region. The first train left at 05.50, and Workington North was formally declared open at 11.00.

Other News Sources

• First Capital Connect Strike Latest - No Progress On Pay Talks Rail passengers are continuing to suffer on the Thameslink route in and out of London - and there's no sign of respite. Talks between First Capital Connect (FCC) and rail union ASLEF over the pay dispute which has led to drivers refusing to work overtime or on rest days have so far failed to throw up any resolution.
• Truck drivers should not just rely on sat-nav, says FTATruck drivers should not just rely on satellite navigation instructions to make their decisions, but should pay attention to road and bridge signs, according to the Freight Transport Association (FTA).
• FTA: less carbon should mean less dutyHauliers that achieve the lowest carbon dioxide emissions should pay less fuel duty, argues the Freight Transport Association (FTA) in its submissions to the government for its pre-Budget report.
• Transport minister opens England's second hard shoulder running scheme on M6England™s newest hard shoulder running scheme is to be opened on the M6 motorway today by transport minister Chris Mole, a month earlier than planned.
• Iran holding five British sailorsThe Foreign Office confirms that five British sailors, thought to have been accused of straying illegally into Iranian waters, are being held in Iran. Cathy Newman reports.
• Stansted on track for rail boost in time for London OlympicsPassengers flying into Stansted for the 2012 London Olympics will benefit from new and longer trains on the Stansted Express...
• Ryanair to charge for Visa Electron bookingsBudget airline Ryanair has announced that it will start charging customers for paying by Visa Electron from the beginning of next year
• Rail-transit labor issue big factor for sessionMillions more dollars for commuter rail. A new agency to oversee a bullet train. An agreement to spare taxpayers from some major lawsuits. All are part of the proposal for a special lawmaking session ...
• Future Travel rethinks structure ahead of Teletext changesFuture Travel is rethinking the structure of its membership as the wind-down of Teletext™s analogue service hits call volumes
• Somali pirates capture huge tanker taking oil to US Somali pirates have captured a tanker carrying oil...

Other Subscription Services

• Unions lash out at UK ferry operators over payLabour MP Gwyn Prosser has tabled an early day motion in parliament to support RMT claims that some ferry operators are paying crews £2 an hour.