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

Tuesday, 09 March 2010

BBC News

• South Yorkshire bus link plans take step forward Plans are progressing for an £80m scheme to improve bus links between Sheffield and Rotherham.
• Bath Two Tunnels path work gets under way Work has begun on a £1.9m scheme to create a four-mile long cycle and walking path between Bath and Midford along a disused railway line.
• Penzance's Battery Rocks recommended for ferry terminal Councillors in Cornwall have given their final recommendation for where a controversial passenger and freight ferry terminal should be sited.
• Disputed rail link making tracksThe first length of new tracks are laid on the controversial £330m Glasgow to Edinburgh, via Airdrie and Bathgate, rail route.
• Aer Lingus delays profit figuresAer Lingus, the Irish airline, has delayed plans to unveil its results Tuesday after cabin crew rejected a cost-cutting proposal.
• Toyota rejects electronics fearsToyota rejects claims that faulty electronics could be behind its worldwide recall of more than eight million cars.

Department for Transport

• Green lorry training proposal to cut carbon emissions A new proposal to encourage more lorry drivers to take eco-driver training could save up to 3 million tonnes of CO2 over five years and £300 million in fuel costs, according to Transport Minister Paul Clark.

Financial Times

• Aer Lingus delays full-year figuresThe former state airline postpones the release of its annual results as it holds an emergency board meeting following the rejection by key workers of its €97m cost-cutting programme
• Severe weather hits Stagecoach revenuesAlthough the transport group's revenues were affected by the unusually severe UK winter, overall profitability remains in line with management expectations
• HHLA considers cutting capacityWith container volumes down by as much as 33% last year, the Hamburg shipping operator hopes to temporarily close Tollerort, its smallest terminal, in response to falling demand

The Guardian

• Cycle superhighways: a poor review A pair of pilots for Mayor Johnson's forthcoming dozen cycle "superhighways" were announced last June and promised to be complete by May of this year.
• Canals boss floats plan for 'aquatic National Trust' British Waterways chairman Tony Hales says fear of cuts is behind move to leave state control

The Herald

• Recession and winter weather fail to knock Stagecoach off trackRevenues at Perth-based transport group Stagecoach have been hit by the harsh winter weather but overall trading at the group remains in line with management expectations.
• Forth bridge concern focused on fundingAs politicians weighed up official proposals to build another road bridge across the Forth last week, the consensus in Government and business circles was that the new crossing was essential.
• Takeover bid boosts Forth Ports positionInvestors yesterday piled £131m on to the stock market worth of Forth Ports, the Scottish ports-to-property takeover target, suggesting the City believes rival Peel Group and its consortium partners will almost certainly up the ante.

The Independent

• £120m of taxpayers' money to fund new tram services Tram services are to be extended across Greater Manchester with £120 million of taxpayers' cash funding two new extensions to the Metrolink system, it was announced today.

The Scotsman

• 'Snow delays will not hit railway deadline' NETWORK Rail said yesterday it was "absolutely confident" of completing a new £300 million Edinburgh-Glasgow railway line on time despite work being halted for three weeks by snow.
• Stagecoach revenues getting back on track TRANSPORT group Stagecoach yesterday signalled light at the end of the recessionary tunnel, telling investors its UK rail revenues have edged up with a gradually improving economy.

The Telegraph

• King's Cross to Beijing in two days on new high-speed rail network Passengers will be able to travel by train from King's Cross to Beijing in just two days on trains that travel almost as fast as aeroplanes under ambitious new plans from the Chinese.
• Snow gives Stagecoach's bus wing £5m profits chill Snow and rain on both sides of the Atlantic has put a £5m dent in profits at Stagecoach's bus wing.

Times Online

• Toyota chief promises to build better carsAkio Toyoda today promised the Japanese Prime Minister that his company would build better cars while he tried to reassure investors that car sales in America would begin to recover.
• Iberia's staff angry over plan for new airline paying lower wagesIberia risks clashing with its staff over plans to launch a new airline in November that would pay crew lower wages.

Network Rail

• MAKING TRACKS: FIRST RAILS LAID ON AIRDRIE-BATHGATE PROJECT
• WEST HIGHLAND LINE BACK ON TRACK

Bolton News

• Old carriages to relieve rail misery EXTRA trains from Oldham could be used to ease Bolton™s overcrowded trains, a government minister has announced.

Liverpool Echo

• Next stop for tram investment? Merseyside, please! NO ONE on Merseyside who cares about the economic and social well-being of the North West should begrudge Greater Manchester its £120.9m tram extensions.
• Liverpool workers must pay to park, says Government report WORKERS must be forced to pay to park in Liverpool and other big cities to end the congestion nightmare, a shock Government study has warned.

Manchester Evening News

• Trams extension back on track in £26m deal Plans to extend the Metrolink to Wythenshawe and Manchester Airport are back on track with a £26m funding deal.
• Manchester Airport 'to be as busy as Heathrow' Manchester Airport will double the number of flights it handles and become as busy as Heathrow is today, the government has predicted. According to the official forecast, there will be 449,000 take offs and landings at Manchester by 2050 – up from 213,000 in 2005.

Newcastle Journal

• Stagecoach train performance on track TRANSPORT firm Stagecoach said it is seeing light at the end of the recessionary tunnel after rail revenues improved in line with a slight upturn in the economy.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Leeds road pricing u-turn as £2 billion fund is axed Ministers have abandoned their bid to tempt Leeds City Council into adopting road pricing and axed a huge £2bn fund for public transport projects.

Bucks Free Press

• MP's praise for Bucks pothole gangs AN MP today hailed road repair gangs in south Bucks as an œemergency service after seeing them in action.

Carlisle News & Star

• WEST COAST MAIN LINE COST-CUTTING CONCERNS RAISED Railways chiefs have expressed concern over a cost-cutting exercise on the West Coast Main Line which will result in the loss of 1,500 maintenance jobs – including 50 in Carlisle.

Railnews

• Manchester Metrolink to grow again TWO further extensions to Manchester Metrolink have been authorised by the DfT, and talks are underway on the construction of another new line which would bring trams to Manchester Airport.
• News: New £15m entrance for Leeds station is approved, but some doubts remain Plans for a new £15 million entrance to Leeds station have been approved by the city’s Planning Committee, but one councillor has slammed the idea as a ’white elephant’. Metro and Network Rail are developing a new southern entrance which will allow people to get in and out of the station from both sides of the river Aire around Granary Wharf.

Aviation Industry

• New study will highlight Glasgow Airport's economic importanceA major new study examining the economic contribution of Glasgow Airport is underway in a bid to highlight the importance of aviation to Scotland's economy

Other News Sources

• Manchester Airport launches project to enhance Sense of Place UK. Manchester Airport has launched a major project to enhance the Sense of Place for arriving passengers. It has asked members of the public to submit their own photographs of the people and places of the Greater Manchester area, and the best will go on permanent display in Terminal 1’s new Arrivals zone, which opens this summer.
• China Express, new train service from Beijing to LondonChina is spending £480 billion to expand its domestic railway network which will include links to Europe that will see 19,000 miles of new railways across China, and eventually trains travelling to Kings Cross.
• Letter: Does MP support rail competition? Letter: Re a quote from our MP on April 10, 2009 in response to a Virgin Trains proposal for routes to London from Shrewsbury, being shelved. Daniel Kawczynski, MP for Shrewsbury, said it was “very important” WSMR was supported, but he believed in “open competition”.
• South West Trains "using bad weather to justify salami-slicing Elmbridge services" Train operator South West Trains (SWT) has drawn sharp criticism for its plans to shut ticket offices at quieter train stations during the weekends.
• GMITA approves first steps towards Airport Metrolink line Significant steps towards extending the Metrolink network to Manchester Airport are to take place this year.
• East End kids cycling to school scoop top transport award A PROJECT to encourage more children to cycle to school in London's East End has picked up a top transport award.
• New look Hainault Station 'cracking example' of Mayor Boris's vision THE new-look Hainault Station is a "cracking example" of the improvements London mayor Boris Johnson wants in the capital's transport system.
• South Cambridgeshire Rail Users Group Targets Parking Improvements SAFE parking at stations in Crow Country is top of the agenda for a new rail users group. The Meldreth, Shepreth, and Foxton rail user group met for the first time last month, with 18 people, including commuters, students, and older residents, attending
• Norwich rail campaign steps up So far it has only been available to sign online, but now a petition for better train services will be available to sign in person at three-day event in Norwich.
• Work starts on London Road Railway Bridge Repair work has started on London Road Railway Bridge to preserve the longevity of the bridge.
• High speed could be expensive distraction from existing railwayTowards the end of this month, we will get the government’s White Paper based on the work by the HS2 team which will set out a route between London and Birmingham down to the last few inches. Everyone apparently wants a high speed line. The Tories, the Libdems and belatedly Labour have all embraced the idea. Environmentalists say it will be green, the CBI says it will be good for the economy and the unions reckon it will create jobs.
• Green light for Metrolink extensionsThe Department for Transport has given the green light for new Metrolink extensions in Tameside and South Manchester.
• End of bus wars good news for passengers
• Peel involved in consortium bidding for Forth PortsA consortium whose members include Trafford-based Peel Group has launched a £612m takeover bid for Forth Ports, owner of Tilbury and Grangemouth docks.
• Funding confirmed for Metrolink extensionsThe Government has approved £121m for two extensions to the Metrolink tram service.
• London Ashford Airport gets go ahead for £25m expansionLondon Ashford Airport has received planning permission from Shepway District Council for its £25 million expansion scheme on Romney Marsh in Kent.
• Government to spend £120m on further Manchester tram expansionThe Government has committed £120.9 million of funding to the two further extensions on the Manchester Metrolink tram system.