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

Friday, 12 October 2012

BBC News

• Review of West Coast rail fiasco 'tainted' - House of Lords Video ClipA former Labour transport secretary has questioned the independence of a review into the West Coast Mainline rail fiasco, during a short debate prompted by a private notice question in the Lords.
• London Midland train performance raised with transport secretaryCancellations and other problems with London Midland trains are raised with the transport secretary by a Birmingham MP.
• Why cities want parks in the skyOnce an elevated freight railway track, New York's High Line is now an oasis - and other cities are following suit. What's the secret of its success?
• Bus pay dispute heading to AcasTalks between bus company First Aberdeen and union leaders are due to take place at conciliation service Acas next month in a bid to settle a dispute over pay.
• Smoke sparks plane chute escapeAbout 60 passengers had to leave a plane by emergency chutes at Glasgow Airport after the cabin began to fill with smoke.
• VIDEO: Ryanair boss: Fuel risk claims are liesRyanair's CEO Michael O'Leary has dismissed claims that his airline is risking more emergency landings because pilots are not being allowed to carry sufficient spare fuel.

Financial Times

• Career lessons from the West Coast rail crashHead to head: Douglas Board
• West Coast line runs into legal wrangleTransport ministers and officials are in a stand-off over plans to allow Virgin Rail to continue running the service as this might breach European law
• Lufthansa merges short-haul flightsThirty of the German carrier™s jets are to move to its Germanwings arm in an attempt to generate a profit from running those operations by 2015

The Guardian

• Top civil servant apologises to Justine Greening over west coast rail debacle Assessment failures were 'clearly responsibility of officials and not ministers', Philip Rutnam tells former transport secretary

Reuters News

• BAA squeezes more growth out of HeathrowLONDON (Reuters) - British airport operator BAA squeezed further growth out of stretched London Heathrow in September, calling on an inquiry into capacity constraints to look at every option to allow Britain to tap rising emerging market demand.

Birmingham Post

• Centro chief calls for nationalisation of M6 Toll roadThe M6 Toll road should be nationalised as it is a huge waste of resources and money, a conference fringe event heard.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Edinburgh Airport lands 6 more routes to European destinationsA BUDGET airline today launched six new European routes from the Capital in a move set to create more than 100 jobs.

Journal Live

• easyJet reveals Newcastle Airport year-round flights a possibility AN airline boss says Newcastle is “in the mix” for new year-round routes if easyJet’s latest destinations take off.

Liverpool Post

• Ministers to announce Virgin Trains to carry on operating West Coast Mainline train servicesMINISTERS are poised to hand Virgin Rail an 18-month extension to run the West Coast Mainline.
• Merseyrail becomes Mirthyrail as train passengers are treated to gig ahead of Southport Comedy Festival (VIDEO)WHAT’S the difference between the 10.28 service from Formby and a slap in the face with a wet fish?

London Evening Standard

• Call to renationalise railway lineRail campaigners will stage protests to press for the renationalisation of the West Coast Main Line following the fiasco over who will run the franchise.

Manchester Evening News

• easyJet creates hundreds of jobs with five more routes from Manchester AirportBudget airline easyJet has announced it is creating hundreds of jobs in Manchester by launching flights to a string of new destinations.
• Metrolink set to move to new 'zone' ticket prices Greater Manchester™s tram system could be split into London Underground-style zones within two years. The plan is for the new system to come into force when ˜smart™ fare-payment cards “ similar to the capital™s Oyster cards “ are introduced in 2014.

Nottingham Evening Post

• Nottingham Post commented Parking levy sparks admin costs and is 'industrial suicide for...IT has cost Nottingham businesses an average of £8,000 to implement the workplace parking levy, according to a survey.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Swell of support for Leeds underground pleaA call by a Leeds MP for Leeds to develop an underground rail system has received a massive swell of support from YEP readers.

Reading Evening Post

• Heathrow decision delays could hit town businesses Delays over discussions on the expansion of Heathrow airport could jeopardise the future of businesses in Wokingham, the borough council has warned.

Other Regional Press

• Hartlepool in rail boostRAIL passengers will soon be able to take advantage of a fifth daily return train service between Hartlepool and London.
• Government insists it is full steam ahead for HS2 rail line through WarwickshireTHE government will not be deterred from going ahead with the High Speed 2 rail line between London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds by the “grief and hassle” it is getting from campaigners, transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin has said.

Global Rail News

• The fall and rise of Britain™s tramwaysColin Garratt Director of Milepost 92½ Reports…  The golden age of British trams represents a glorious phase in transport history. It was a time when towns and cities across Britain were provided with rapid efficient transport second to none. The tragedy of their removal is made all the more poignant when one considers that they have [...]
• Training Matters!Peter Stanton Reports… TheNationalSkillsAcademyfor Railway Engineering™s Training Matters conference had to be moved to a bigger venue at Pride Park Stadium,Derbyto accommodate demand. Gil Howarth, Chief Executive of NSARE opened the 2012 Training Matters national conference and reviewed the first 18 months of the Academy™s existence. Howarth emphasised the growth of the Academy; now boasting [...]
• URS backs McNulty™s Value for Money Strategy˜The rail industry has the opportunity for substantial further growth, building on the successes of the past fifteen years,™ said Sir Roy McNulty at the launch of the Rail Value for Money Study last year. However, he continued, ˜The licence to grow has to be earned by greater efficiency.™ The strategy of growth through good [...]
• Olympic renewalsThe Olympics and Paralympics are over, and life on the railways can now get back to normal. That, of course, means night- time and weekend possessions as the never-ending job of maintaining and renewing the railway continues apace. However, not everything stopped during the Olympic period. Certainly, there was a hold put on disruptive work [...]
• BTP backs new cable theft law to protect Britain™s railwaysBritish Transport Police (BTP) believes the introduction of new legislation regulating scrap metal transactions will see cable theft on the railways continue to fall. Changes to the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders (LASPO) Act will outlaw all cash transactions at metal recycling yards across England and Wales. Fines will also rise significantly for [...]

Railnews

• West Coast 'probably biggest failure since Poll Tax' Former transport secretary Andrew Adonis has branded the collapse of the West Coast franchise award as 'probably the single biggest failure in British public policy since the poll tax'. The House of Lords has also been told that the rail franchising system is probably 'irretrievably broken'.

Aviation Industry

• Asian routes boost Heathrow and GatwickAirports see passenger numbers rise to destinations in emerging economies

Other News Sources

• CAA reveals millions more holidays protected as a result of ATOL reformPress notice on the impact of ATOL reform
• Business travellers reveal their biggest stress factorsLost luggage and lack of internet cause the most hassle for road warriors