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

Monday, 04 January 2010

BBC News

• Bridges shut for railway upgradeThree road bridges over rail routes around Winchester are being rebuilt as part of £71m freight transport upgrade.
• Flights take off again at airportInverness Airport is now operating normally after days of disruption due to the freezing weather and heavy snow.
• Virgin Trains staff begin strikeVirgin Trains ticket office staff have gone on strike, affecting a stations on the West Coast Main Line, including Stockport.
• Ticket machines hit by fraudstersEvery ticket machine on the Docklands Light Railway network in London had to be replaced because of coin fraud.
• Airport body scans on way - PMFull body scanners are coming to UK airports, starting at Heathrow, and the US has announced tighter air screening rules.
• Bid to back electric car industryThe Scottish government is urged to take action to maintain the country's position in the electric car industry.
• Minister in pledge on grit stocksScottish councils have sufficient supplies of road grit to see them through the cold snap, the finance minister pledges.
• Japan Airlines state loan doubledJapan's government doubles the offer of state-funded credit to troubled Japan Airlines to 200bn yen ($2.2bn; £1.3bn).
• 'Puerile' Ryanair attacked by OFTBudget airline Ryanair is accused of being

Department for Transport

• Campaign warns drivers of the consequences of speeding A £1.4m THINK! campaign to highlight the devastating consequences of speeding for drivers as well as victims starts today.
• Rail passengers asked for views on tram services Rail passengers will be given a chance to have their say on proposals to introduce a new tram offering a regular service between Watford and St Albans with the launch of a consultation today.

Financial Times

• VistaJet appoints rival to oversee growthSwitzerland's VistaJet has appointed a senior figure from rival operator, NetJets Europe, as it moves to expand its presence in the global private jet market
• UK airports to get full-body scannersTravellers using British airports will be forced to go through full-body scanners as soon as practicable, BAA, the airports operator, announced yesterday after Gordon...

The Guardian

• Ticket office strike to hit west coast rail serviceHundreds of ticket office staff will strike today on one of the UK's busiest rail lines.
• Ticket office strike to hit west coast rail serviceHundreds of ticket office staff will strike today on one of the UK's busiest rail lines.
• Brown gives go-ahead for full-body scanners at Britain's airportsFull-body scanners are to be introduced at Britain's airports after Gordon Brown gave the go-ahead for the technology in a move which pre-empted his own urgent review of airline security.

The Herald

• Safety fears as drivers warned salt running outMotoring organisations have called for urgent action after council officials warned salt and grit needed to treat many of Scotland™s icy roads during the longest winter freeze in 20 years have reached critically low levels.
• Air travellers can expect more security delaysAir travellers will have to brace themselves for more delays and longer check-in times after the Prime Minister indicated that airport security was being ramped up in the wake of the latest transatlantic terror attempt.
• Drive to support electric vehiclesManufacturers and environmentalists are urging the Scottish Government to do all it can to preserve Scotland™s industry lead in the development of electric vehicles.

The Independent

• Rail ticket staff in 24 hour walkout Thousands of passengers face ticket disruption on one of the country's busiest rail lines today as 200 Virgin booking-office staff stage a 24-hour strike.
• Trials to be held for 'road trains' on motorwaysYou are speeding along the motorway at 70mph and the driver of your car is reading a newspaper while keeping half an eye on a television and making a phone call. But fear not: you can just sit back and relax because you're in a
• 'Puerile' Ryanair under attack by OFT chiefBritain's top business regulator has accused Europe's biggest airline, Ryanair, of

The Scotsman

• Councils 'claim £1.9bn on parking'Councils reportedly raked in £1.9 billion in parking fees and fines last year, with some doubling the amounts they raised from motorists.
• Ticket office staff begin strikeHundreds of ticket office staff will walk out on strike on one of the UK's busiest rail lines.

The Telegraph

• Airline passengers face body scanners and double searches Airline passengers face double searches, profiling and tests for explosives following attempt to bring down jet on Christmas day.

Reuters News

• BAA to introduce full-body scanners at HeathrowLONDON (Reuters) - British airport operator BAA said on Sunday it would move quickly to install full-body scanners at London's Heathrow airport after the failed Christmas Day attack on a U.S.-bound plane.

London Evening Standard

• Tighter security at UK airportsGordon Brown has signalled a major tightening of security at UK airports, with passengers facing the prospect of full-body scans.
• Councils 'claim £1.9bn on parking'Councils raked in £1.9 billion in parking fees and fines last year with some doubling the amounts they raised from motorists, it has been reported.
• Ticket office staff begin strikeHundreds of ticket office staff will walk out on strike on one of the UK's busiest rail lines.

Metro

• Full body scanners at UK airportsGordon Brown announced a major tightening of security at UK airports today, insisting it was 'essential' to respond to new terrorist methods.
• Virgin rail staff strike over cutsHundreds of ticket office staff will walk out on strike on one of Britain™s busiest rail lines.

Nottingham Evening Post

• All aboard as county councillors return to tram committeeFIVE Notts county councillors are due to be appointed to a city tram committee – even though the authority has refused to pay for a line extension.

Bucks Free Press

• Anger at 305 bus service cuts at public meetingSEER Green residents joined together yesterday to protest against the changes to their bus service which some say will leave them isolated.

Peterborough Telegraph

• Warning! dirty road signs aheadCouncils spend thousands of pounds on road signs but some authorities rarely clean them, it has been revealed.

Other Regional Press

• All change on Gwent rail lines MAJOR improvement works carried out over the Christmas and New Year periods have begun to change and improve the rail landscape and infrastructure in Gwent.
• New buses will be a tonic for patients PATIENTS and visitors travelling to the John Radcliffe Hospital will get a double boost tomorrow when two new bus routes are launched from Oxford park-and- ride sites.

Railway Gazette

• Urban rail news in brief - January 2010The EU Regional Operational Programme will provide 85% of the 162m zloty needed for MPK Czestochowa's tram expansion. The project involves construction of a 4·5 km double-track line with nine stops for around 98·7m zloty. Seven new low-floor trams will be acquired for 63m zloty. On December 15 Metrolinx purchased the lower portion of Canadian National's Newmarket subdivision in Toronto for C$68m, giving the transport authority ownership of the 96 km corridor between Toronto and Barrie used by GO Transit commuter services. CN will continue to serve five freight customers on the route. A $136m,...
• Moving TGVs remotely FRANCE: SNCF has put into service an automated shunting robot to manoeuvre trainsets on and off the underfloor wheel lathe at its TGV maintenance depot in Lyon, which opened earlier this year. A second unit has also been installed in one of its Paris TGV depots. Developed by Windhoff, the self-powered machines can move trains with a gross weight of up to 500 tonnes. Unlike earlier designs, the robot is self-propelled using a rack guideway between the rails, rather than a static motor and haulage rope. Its compact profile allows it to run back and forth underneath a train as required. The robot...

Aviation Industry

• Looking passengers in eye best airport security, Israeli expert saysCanada could provide safer and less expensive aviation security by focusing on the behaviour of passengers instead of investing resources in increased baggage searches and new scanning technology, says a leading Israeli airport security expert.
• Full-body scanners to be put in British airportsPrime Minister Gordon Brown says full-body scanners will be introduced in Britain's airports in the wake of the failed Christmas Day bombing attempt of a U.S. airliner.
• Colgan is again tightening fatigue rulesColgan Air, which operated the Continental Connection flight that crashed in Clarence last February, is once again getting tougher on pilots who say they are too tired to fly.

Other News Sources

• Rail engineering regulator decorated in New Year's honour listChris Bolt, the man formerly responsible for regulating railway engineering jobs, has been given the Companion of the Order of Bath (CB) in the New Year's honours list
• Recession wipes out post-concessions bus patronage growth in PTE areasThe latest quarterly patronage statistics for bus and light rail services in Great Britain, published by the Department for Transport, show that the onset of the economic recession has driven bus patronage in the major English conurbations down to record lows. As a result, services in these areas have lost all the gains in passenger numbers [...]
• Salmond gives PM 'last opportunity' to transfer powersFirst Minister wants Gordon Brown to hand over powers on drink-driving limits, speed limits and airguns before UK general election.
• 'Action needed' to maintain electric car industry leadAlliance of business and environmental groups call on Government to 'do all that it could' to increase tak-up of electric vehicles in Scotland.
• Motorway 'gateway' to get traffic lightsTraffic lights will be installed at a busy motorway junction in an attempt to cut congestion.
• Scheme of the Month - Beauty and the Bike, Darlington Young cyclists in the North-East are taking to the big screen as part of an innovative scheme to get more girls riding bikes. A media group in Darlington decided to tackle the issue of why the UK has the lowest number of young women cycling anywhere in Europe, and the result is the 40-minute documentary film, [...]
• Personality of the Month - Lord Andrew Adonis, Secretary of State for Transport What is your job or other main activity that involves cycling? Secretary of State for Transport “ but I also cycle for leisure. How long have you done that? Secretary of State for five months; leisure cycling since I was a child. Where do you live? Islington, North London. What most encourages you about cycling where you live? New 20 mph zones [...]