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

Friday, 26 August 2011

BBC News

• City trams to stop at HaymarketEdinburgh's controversial tram line will now only go between Edinburgh Airport and Haymarket.
• Second rail strike is suspendedA second planned 24-hour strike by staff on First TransPennine Express trains in a row over pay is suspended.
• Fare evasion fine could be raisedLondon mayor Boris Johnson is consulting on whether to increase fare evasion fines to £80 after record levels of offences in 2010.
• Philippine Airlines to cut jobsPhilippine Airlines announces 2,600 job cuts as it looks to restructure its operations in a bid to reduce losses.

Department for Transport

• Transport StatisticsThe Department for Transport on Thursday 25th August published the following Transport Statistics:

Financial Times

• Tube in legal dispute with advertising providerCBS Outdoor plans to terminate its contract with Transport for London early, threatening to stop providing ads just before the Olympics
• Shipowner calls on Cosco to remain reliableThe Greek shipowner most heavily involved in a dispute over charter rates with China's Cosco calls on the group's management to maintain its reputation as a reliable business partner after an unscheduled change of chief executive
• Sharp fall in air passenger growth forecasts Government figures predict 335m people will pass through the county's airports in 2030, a drop of 26 per cent on the estimate made in 2009
• Delta orders $8.5bn-worth of Boeing jetsThe US carrier commits to 100 737-900ER jets that are up to 20 per cent more fuel-efficient per seat than those they replace
• DP World buoyed by strong container trade The Dubai company has reported that first-half container volumes were up 11% on last year and underlying net profit was close to record 2008 levels

The Guardian

• Olympics 2012: London Underground in £1bn ad dispute Advertising firm threatens to terminate £1bn train and tube station contract months before London 2012 games
• London's main airports to reach bursting point in 2030 As Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted reach capacity, regional airports will be left to cope with overspill

The Herald

• After eight years of chaos, city™s £700m trams project is stopped in its tracksIT WAS envisaged as a network of tram lines that would transform public transport in Edinburgh, allowing residents a realistic alternative to the car and cutting congestion and pollution.
• Traders lost millions and residents lived in ˜war zone™ ¦now it™s all for nothingSHOPPERS, traders and business leaders on Edinburgh™s Princes Street reacted angrily to the decision to stop the trams at Haymarket, which meant three years of roadworks, traffic chaos and lost business was for nothing.
• Belt-and-braces approach that spelled trouble from the startHOW is it tramways can be installed in other European cities without running into the disaster that has befallen Edinburgh?
• Key players in a project doomed to end in failureJENNY DAWE
• A city humiliatedEDINBURGH™S trams project was dealt a hammer blow yesterday after Labour and Tory councillors rejected a council-backed rescue plan and voted instead to build a loss-making route only half the length of the one originally proposed.
• Edinburgh tram line will now end at Haymarket, council decidesThe tram line designed to take passengers from Edinburgh Airport will now go no further than the outskirts of the city centre.

The Independent

• Rail strike suspended for new talks A planned strike by train drivers tomorrow in a row over pay has been suspended so that fresh talks can be held.
• No bank holiday jams “ because so many of us can't afford to go awayThe good news is that you are less likely to get stuck in a traffic jam this Bank Holiday. The bad news is that it is largely due to the fact you cannot afford the fuel and the weather is looking decidedly dodgy. But, in a concerted effort to lift the national spirits, the powers that be are promising a Bank Holiday free of the customary chaos.

The Mirror

• Bank Holiday Monday could see worst traffic on Britain’s roads all year MOTORISTS are being warned Bank Holiday Monday could see the worst traffic on Britain’s roads all year.
• More than 700 miles of railway track closures over Bank Holiday weekend MILLIONS face rail misery with lines closed for maintenance over the Bank Holiday weekend – sending travellers on to motorways already expected to be jammed.

Network Rail

• RAILWAY POWER CAMERAS TO REDUCE DELAYS AND COSTS
• BIRMINGHAM GATEWAY STEAMS AHEAD WITH NEW JOBS

Birmingham Post

• Bus fares predicted to soar in West Midlands Bus fares in the West Midlands could rise by as much as 24 per cent and services cut over the next few years, a report has warned.

Derby Telegraph

• Business leaders tell Parliament of need to change policy on award of contracts DERBYSHIRE business leaders have heavily criticised the Government's handling of the Thameslink rail contract, which Bombardier missed out on, in a submission to Parliament's Transport Select Committee.
• Derby Telegraph commented New bus terminus can be intimidating for elderlyArticle

Edinburgh Evening News

• Yet another cock-up on cost to cancel trams - Council bosses face £1.3m bill to kill off TIETRAMS bosses today admitted they had got their sums wrong “ on the day councillors decide whether to carry on with the project.
• Labour joins Tories to stop trams even reaching Princes StreetTHE Edinburgh tram project was thrown into fresh chaos today after councillors voted to stop the line at Haymarket.

Liverpool Echo

• Father whose daughter died in road accident wants Merseyside to keep speed cameras A DAD who lost his daughter on a Merseyside road today urged transport bosses not to scrap speed cameras after new evidence showed they were key in deterring dangerous driving.

Liverpool Post

• No deaths at Merseyside speed camera sites in seven years, but future unclear FAMILIES who lost loved ones on Merseyside’s roads have urged transport bosses not to scrap speed cameras, after new evidence showed they were instrumental in deterring dangerous driving.

London Evening Standard

• Boris to slap £80 fines on fare-dodgersTube and bus fines are to rise to £80 as part of a huge clampdown on fare-dodging
• Tube advertising giant cancels contractThe Tube's largest advertiser has told London Underground it is to terminate its contract - worth hundreds of millions of pounds - because of continual delays to the networks upgrade programme
• London airports will be at breaking point by 2030The capital's three main airports will be at full capacity within the next 20 years, the Government says
• Rail strike suspended for new talksA planned strike by train drivers on Friday in a row over pay has been suspended so that fresh talks can be held.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Trump road dangerous, says residentCouncillors will be asked to approve the next phase of Donald Trump™s £750million golf resort development near Balmedie next week.
• Fresh calls to improve safety at A90 accident blackspot Roads agency Transport Scotland is facing fresh pressure to upgrade a north-east accident blackspot.
• We plan bypass appeal “ if we get the fundingOpponents of the Aberdeen bypass believe the judge who paved the way for the road to be built has made legal blunders and say they can overturn his decision.

This Is Local London Network

• Under flight paths in Richmond, no one can hear you scream Residents living under Heathrow’s flightpaths have expressed concern the council scrapped its noise complaints hotline as BAA prepares a controversial new trial at the airport.

Blackpool Gazette

• Dial-a-ride lifeline is back on the roadELDERLY villagers frustrated by a lack of bus services have been handed a lifeline after their dial-a-ride service was reinstated.

Peterborough Telegraph

• Report: Figures show effect of speed cameras in PeterboroughSpeed cameras in Peterborough appear to have had little effect on cutting the number of people injured in collisions on the roads.

Other Regional Press

• Council gives green light for Northampton link road route which could rejuvenate areaTHE first phase of a new multi-million pound link road, which will join two separate areas of Northampton once completed, is not likely to be finished until 2013, it has been revealed.
• D-day for bank holiday Eurotunnel disputeIt's crunch time today as Eurotunnel unions decide whether to take strike action this weekend.
• Revamped Aberdeen bus lanes in bid to ease trafficREVAMPED Aberdeen bus lanes will begin operation this week in a bid to ease traffic, the Evening Express can reveal today.
• RoadSense threatens to launch fresh Aberdeen bypass appealTRANSPORT bosses and MSPs have hit out at Aberdeen campaigners RoadSense and told them to drop their threat of further legal action.

Global Rail News

• London Midland hits 80% recycling rateLondon Midland has hit a new high of an 80% recycling rate of all waste left at its stations, depots and offices. London Midland recycles approximately ...
• Invensys Rail to showcase ERTMS capability at Nordic RailInvensys Rail will be showcasing a number of its market-leading systems and solutions at this year™s Nordic Rail exhibition. Taking centre stage on the company™s stand ...
• Over 5.5 million rail passengers expected over the Bank Holiday weekendOver 5.5 million passengers are expected to travel by rail over the bank holiday weekend, according to the Association of Train Operating Companies, with many people ...
• UK light rail passenger journeys increaseThe Department for Transport has released information on light rail and tram systems in England during the 2010/11 financial year. The light rail systems covered in the ...
• Invensys Rail commissions latest phase of Oslo signalling programmeInvensys Rail has successfully commissioned the latest phase of the Oslo Metro T-Bane signalling programme on behalf of infrastructure owner KTPAS. This latest scheme was commissioned ...
• First Capital Connect supports anti-bullying charityIn a drive to support local charities First Capital Connect has recently pledged support to a Cambridge based anti-bullying organisation by donating a season ticket to ...
• Prestwick Station Cafe owners are finalists in Community Rail AwardsA couple who run the Station Café at Prestwick Town have been shortlisted for a prestigious national award. Lorraine and Hugh McEvoy have been named as ...
• Friends of the West Highland Lines are finalists in Community Rail AwardsThe Friends of the West Highland Lines have been named as finalists for a prestigious national award. They have been shortlisted in the ‘Passengers Matter’ category ...
• Railway power cameras to ˜reduce delays and costs™Spotting a defect on an overhead rail wire up to 25ft above your head can be tricky even to the expert eye but new camera technology, ...
• Glasgow rail worker a finalist in prestigious awardsA Glasgow rail worker has been named as a finalist for a prestigious national award. Michael Cochrane, who works in the ticket office at Shettleston station ...
• Network Rail helps businesses hit by riots in ManchesterNetwork Rail is helping small businesses in areas hit hardest by the riots by offering one month™s free rent and 50% off each subsequent month™s rent ...
• Birmingham Gateway steams ahead with new jobsThe redevelopment of Birmingham New Street station will not only transform passenger journeys but also brings new job opportunities to the city. This challenging project requires ...

Aviation Industry

• No new runways before 2050 but more action needed to stabilise aviation emissions, says GovernmentPRESS RELEASE “ for immediate release Following its announcement last year that no new runways would be built at Heathrow, Gatwick or Stansted, a Government document published today suggests the policy may be extended throughout the UK. The Government report was a response to a 2009 study by the Committee on Climate Change on how [...]

Other News Sources

• Gatwick Express plans come under fire from business community LEADING business organisations have joined forces to protest against a new stop on the Gatwick Express train service.
• Cycling is the quickest way around Winchester THEY came by bike, they came by car, others took the bus and some even walked to find out who would be fastest.
• Heathrow starts search for Terminal 4 lounge refurb contractorA contractor is being sought to deliver a lounge refurbishment programme at Heathrow Terminal 4.