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

Saturday, 15 May 2010

BBC News

• Train 'narrowly misses' tractorAn Aberdeen to Inverness train narrowly misses colliding with a tractor at a railway crossing at Forres in Moray.
• Crewman rescued from Forth vesselA Russian crewman is rescued by lifeboat from a ship in the Firth of Forth after an accident on board his vessel.
• Cameron shuns police outrider useDowning Street has confirms that the Prime Minister has decided not to use motorcycle outriders.
• Dealer fined over clocked vehicleA County Tyrone car dealer who sold a former police patrol car with a false mileage reading has been fined £3,500.
• Government in Crossrail pledgeNew transport secretary Philip Hammond pledges his commitment to the Crossrail scheme under the new coalition government.
• Woman is stripped of travel passA west London council denies a woman with learning disability a free travel card, saying her IQ is too high.
• SPT management set for shake-upThe communications chief at Strathclyde Partnership for Transport leaves before his post goes in a management shake-up.
• Drink driver hit woman and pramA driver who struck a grandmother as she pushed a baby in a pram admits being three times the legal alcohol limit.
• Spain's Iberia trims its lossesSpanish airline Iberia, which is merging with British Airways, cuts its quarterly losses by 44% after a rise in its passenger revenues.
• Tube moneyWhat can Moscow Metro teach London Underground?
• Obama: No more cosying up to oilBarack Obama vows to end the
• Sir Stelios plans Easyjet revoltEasyjet founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou resigns from the budget airline's board to lead a shareholder revolt.
• BA in legal action to stop strikeThe airline will go to court to prevent a cabin crew strike - the transport secretary expresses surprise at the move.

Financial Times

• BA cabin crew support for strike dwindles ahead of latest actionSupport for a strike among British Airways cabin crew is dwindling ahead of a series of five-day stoppages, which start on Tuesday and threaten to disrupt thousands of...
• BA will ask court to halt strike actionBritish Airways is to seek a court injunction to block the 20-day cabin crew strike due to start on Tuesday that threatens to disrupt thousands of flights booked for school holidays and the World Cup in South Africa
• BA draws up plan to defy strikeBritish Airways is to mount a complex contingency plan to limit the effect of a five-day cabin crew strike but tens of thousands of passengers are still likely to be unable to fly each day
• Iberia narrows quarterly loss to €52m A 21 per cent drop in its fuel bill and a slight pick-up in passenger demand throughout the quarter helps the Spanish flag-carrier reduce its first-quarter loss sharply
• EasyJet founder quits board of airlineCompany founder declares open warfare on the airline he founded 15 years ago by becoming a 'shareholder activist' to fight its plans to keep expanding its fleet of aircraft
• OFT to probe infrastructure services pricingThe Office of Fair Trading is to launch a competition probe into the impact of changes in ownership on industries such as energy, transport, ports and communications

The Guardian

• BA plans legal strike preventionInjunction over illegal balloting was successfully used by Network Rail in its attempt to stop a strike by the RMT, the railworkers union, last monthBritish Airways announced today it is to take legal action in a bid to prevent a series of stikes by the company's cabin crew.Unite,the union representing cabin crew, voted on Monday for a series of five-day walkouts due to start on 18 May, 24 May, 30 May and 5 June. The walkout threatens to disrupt the journeys of nearly 2 million BA passengers and includes one walkout scheduled for the school half term.The ongoing bitter dispute between the airl...

The Herald

• Price of petrol at record high despite fall in the cost of oilThe cost of petrol has hit a new record high in the UK despite wholesale prices falling.
• SPT chief opts to quit rather than take a demotionThe communications director of a transport body embroiled in an expenses scandal has quit his £75,000-a-year post after facing demotion.

The Telegraph

• British Airways heads to High Court to stop strike British Airways is to go to the High Court in an attempt to block a wave of back-to-back strikes by cabin crew, it emerged last night.

Times Online

• ˜Reckless™ Cameron cuts back personal securityDavid Cameron has scaled down his personal security, dispensing with the motorcycle outriders from the Scotland Yard Special Escort Group who accompanied Gordon Brown on his car journeys.
• BA goes back to court in attempt to block strikesBritish Airways announced last night that it was seeking a High Court injunction to block 20 days of strikes due to begin next week.
• The 30 most beautiful UK cycle routesBritain has fallen in love with the bicycle. Cycle ownership has doubled over the past decade and, for most of us, it™s more than just a means of transport ” it™s a new way to explore the country.
• Office of Fair Trading to conduct pioneering competition reviewA new list of who owns and controls businesses that support essential economic infrastructure in the UK could lead to further competition investigations this year, the Office of Fair Trading said today.

Reuters News

• New LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's central government will cut its emissions of climate-warming carbon by 10 percent in the next 12 months, while speeding up the wider move to a low-carbon economy, Prime Minister David Cameron said on Friday.
• BA says to take legal action to stop strikesLONDON (Reuters) - British Airways will take legal action to try and prevent cabin crew strikes due to start next week, the company said on Friday, citing an irregularity in the union's strike ballot as the basis of its case.

Daily Express

• Jumbo costing woes for AirbusEADS, the owner of European aircraft giant Airbus, posted a 39 per cent drop in first quarter profit to £86million yesterday as its A380 superjumbo programme continued to be hit by high costs and delays.

Birmingham Mail

• Bus driver caught reading at the wheel will face no charges A BUS driver who was caught on camera reading a book at the wheel of a Birmingham double decker will NOT face police action, the force has said.

Bolton News

• Airport scanner trial extended MANCHESTER Airport will be the first in Europe to stop searching passengers by hand, with the extension of a trial for new body scanners.
• VOTE: Rail firm wins two-year extension to contract THE company which runs Bolton™s local train services has been given two more years in the job after it met its government targets.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Inquest hears Wrexham man who died after crash was riding his motorbike too fast A CONSTRUCTION worker died on his 26th birthday after losing control of his motorbike on a bend.

London Evening Standard

• ’Sitting Duck’ PM: Security fears as David Cameron gets trapped in trafficEXCLUSIVE: David Cameron raises fears for his security by axing the police outriders who used to speed the prime ministerial car through traffic, the Standard can reveal
• Union fights BA bid to halt strikesThe Unite union has pledged to

Metro

• Union fights BA bid to halt strikesThe Unite union has pledged to

The News (Portsmouth)

• Transport proves to be a big talking point in WhiteleyCalls have been made for better transport links between Whiteley and nearby Fareham and Portsmouth.
• Cameras don't catch drivers from abroadThousands of foreign drivers have escaped prosecution after hurtling through speed cameras.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Road-safety advice for young driversYOUNG motorists in Deeside have been getting advice on how to boost their driving skills in a bid to improve road safety.
• Heathrow decision may help high-speed rail link The case for a high-speed rail link to Scotland has been strengthened by the government™s decision to scrap plans for a third runway at Heathrow, business leaders claimed last night.
• BA accused of misleading travellers on cancellations British Airways has been accused of deliberately misleading passengers after blaming the volcanic ash cloud for the cancellation of flights to Scotland.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Leeds bus chiefs investigate 'free travel' allegationsTransport bosses were today investigating claims that people have been travelling for free on Leeds's state-of-the-art ftr buses.
• Yorkshire Diary: Leeds man who got the city movingA man whose great grandfather helped to pioneer new forms of public transport in Leeds has returned to his roots.
• Leeds: Bike safety campaign launchedA hard-hitting campaign to reduce the number of people injured on the region's roads has been launched in Leeds.

Northants Evening Telegraph

• Bargain rail day to be repeatedAn offer that saw hundreds of people bagging bargain rail tickets from Corby train station is to be repeated.

Other Regional Press

• Huddersfield roads resurfaced TWICE in a month! LOCAL residents have accused Kirklees Council of ’wasting money’ after seeing highways teams lay chippings over roads that had already had new white lines painted.
• Boss™s ˜spending spree™ as firm went on skidsThe businessman widely blamed for causing the collapse of Flyglobespan launched a personal spending spree as his business œwent on the skids, The Evening Times has discovered.
• Scots braced for air chaosScotland will again bear the brunt of disruption as a five-day strike by British Airways cabin crew staff begins next Tuesday, with fewer than one in 10 flights to Heathrow expected to go ahead.
• Cops target bus firmsPolice believe gangsters are muscling into small bus companies in and around Glasgow.
• Roadworks chaos: Chiefs say 'intelligent' lights will speed up traffic ROAD chiefs called for patience in their bid to create a transport legacy for Weymouth and Portland.
• Roadworks chaos: Weymouth braced for year of traffic disruption TRAFFIC chaos is expected to hit Weymouth this summer as a £16million roadworks project gets started.

C.N.N.

• Truck suspected to hold explosives found full of energy drinksA police dog's false hit for explosives on a truck that had been driven erratically by a man who did not speak English attracted a throng of law enforcement personnel to a rural road in Wisconsin on Thursday night.

Forbes

• Electric Motorcycle RacingA new series revs up to drive innovation and bike sales.

Campaign for Better Transport

• Heathrow dropped but battle continues13 May: Great news: the new coalition Government has ruled out expansion at Heathrow, Gatwick or Stansted. But airport expansion remains unsustainable, even at regional airports. read more
• What war on motorists?14 May: The new Secretary of State for Transport, Philip Hammond, has announced an end to the 'war on motorists'. I didn't realise it had begun. read more

Railnews

• News: Conservative Villiers gets Transport job BREAKING NEWS: The names of the Ministers who will serve under the new transport secretary Philip Hammond include the former shadow transport spokesman for the Conservatives, Theresa Villiers.

Railway Gazette

• Trams return to WashingtonUSA: Plans for a 60 km, eight-route tram network were formally unveiled by District of Columbia Mayor Adrian Fenty and other city officials on May 5, at the start of a four-day DC Tram Showcase. Centrepiece of the event was one of three low-floor cars purchased from Czech supplier Skoda-Inekon for the Anacostia demonstration line, which is currently under construction. Work is also underway on a route along H Street and Benning Road where some trackwork has been completed. The city™s 2011 budget includes $63m to complete the project and buy additional vehicles. DC™s Department of Transportatio...

Green Miscellany

• The electric motorcycle you can ride away today Amongst the concept designs and prototypes that seem always to be less than a year away from production, an electric motorcycle has gone on sale in Britain that offers an environmentally-friendly, cost-effective and near-silent alternative to petrol-powered alternatives. Most importantly, it is a motorcycle that can ridden away from a showroom today.read more
• Radical Changes Ahead? I had a quick discussion on transport matters with Philip Hammond recently, who has been appointed Secretary of State for Transport.read more
• The CITROËN C-ZERO electric car: First test drive Very soon after setting off in the Citroën C-ZERO on our test drive earlier this week, it became clear that here is an electric car that offers enough performance and range to make it a viable option for many motorists.read more
• Electric bicycles offer ˜best application of technology™ Following a back-to-back test of electric cars, electric motorcycles and an electric bicycle this week, the Environmental Transport Association (ETA) concluded that the bicycle offered the best application of EV technology.read more

Other News Sources

• Schoolgirl knocked down after getting off bus A schoolgirl is seriously ill in hospital after she was knocked down outside a police station.
• Hammond offers assurances on Crossrail's futureNew transport secretary Philip Hammond has said that the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government is committed to London's east-west rail link Crossrail, but will seek to make savings from the project.
• Johnson launches cycling planLondon mayor Boris Johnson has launched his plans for a 'Cycling Revolution' in the capital.
• Election 2010 update: Theresa Villiers confirmed as transport ministerFormer shadow transport secretary and high speed rail champion Theresa Villiers has been named as a transport minister in the new-look Department for Transport.
• London's Blackwall Tunnel set for weekend closuresTransport for London (TfL) will carry out five weekend closures of the northbound Blackwall Tunnel this year as part of ongoing refurbishment and safety upgrade work, it announced yesterday.
• Scotland's Waverley Station entrance plans get green lightNetwork Rail™s plans to overhaul Waverley Station™s entrance from Princes Street have been given the green light by the Scottish government.
• Trainspotter gets lucky escape Transport police issue a warning after a trainspotter in Suffolk has a very lucky escape.
• BA to seek strike injunction British Airways will take legal action again in a bid to prevent another wave of strikes by its cabin crew.Related StoriesBA cabin crew strikes announcedWorld Cup fans hit by BA strikesBA aims to run half of flights during strikeCamden Ripper 'should never be released'Union urged to call off BA strikes
• Coalition pledges to axe backdated port ratesSector celebrates as bills for millions are scrapped
• UPS rebrands UK fleet with London 2012 Olympics logoUPS has rebranded its entire 3,000-strong UK fleet with the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games logo.
• Mayor of London's Skyride scoops prestigious gong 14 May, 2010 - 10:00 The Mayor of London's Skyride has been named the Sports Participation Event of the Year at Europe's largest and most prestigious commercial sport awards - the Sport Industry Awards. summerofcycling2010-60x60.jpg Yes
• Haji-Ioannou bids to overturn EasyJet expansion strategyEasyJet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou is threatening formal steps to block the low-cost carrier's planned fleet expansion, having resigned from his position...
• Air India expects to take first 787 next MarchAir India expects to begin taking delivery of new Boeing 787s at the end of next year's first quarter.
• Bus service to link Glasgow Airport and AyrshireA new bus service between Glasgow Airport and North Ayrshire has been launched this week.It is the first public transport link that travels directly between the two sites and it is thought it will prove popular among the ten per cent of the airport's customers that live in North Ayrshire.Amanda McMillan, managing director of Glasgow Airport, said: "Hundreds of thousands of our passengers and staff travel to the airport from Ayrshire every year, and the new Arriva service will make it even easier for them to make that journey by public transport."The 800 bus service, which will be ope...
• UK plans port Domesday BookBRITAIN™S Office of Fair Trading today announced an examination of ownership and control across its economic infrastructure, including ports.
• UK shipping chief to be namedTHE UK™S new shipping minister will probably be appointed on Monday, the Department for Transport told Fairplay today.
• EU Considers Adding Noise to Electric CarsEU is investigating whether artificial noises should be added to electric cars.
• American Airlines and#8220;committedand#8221; to Manchester at it launches Big Apple flight American Airlines has launched its new direct route from Manchester airport to New York JFK today.
• Frequently Asked Questions about volcanic ashFAQs