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

Thursday, 11 December 2014

BBC News

• Engineers plan self-healing potholesScientists are developing a self-healing road material which could mean the end of the road for potholes.
• School minibus crash probe continuesPolice continue their investigation into the cause of a fatal minibus crash at a school in Bridgend county.
• Ferries cancelled after collisionStena Line services from Cairnryan to Belfast are cancelled after a ferry collided with part of the terminal at the south west Scotland port.
• Button secures 2015 McLaren seatBritain's Jenson Button is to partner Spain's Fernando Alonso at McLaren for the 2015 Formula One season, BBC Sport learns.
• 'No co-operation' with trams inquiryThe man leading the public inquiry into the Edinburgh trams fiasco tells BBC Scotland key figures refused
• Cycle 'quietways' to open next yearThe first quietways - backstreet cycles routes - will open in London next year.

Financial Times

• Davey calls for carbon asset transparencyUK energy secretary latest to warn on risks of fossil fuel investments as the world seeks to tackle climate change
• Rivals and oil price weigh on StagecoachRail success bolsters earnings but UK and US bus growth lower than forecast
• Airlines on course for record profitsIata says improved profitability is good news for consumers as lower costs are passed on

The Guardian

• Richie Porte: 'For me it is a dream every day that I wake up and ride my bike'After a disappointing Tour de France, the Australian is determined to prove himself in 2015 – starting on home soilCadel Evans: car doors scare me the most Richie Porte’s Tour woes cap season to forget for Team SkyRichie Porte looks cheerful, and it is hard to begrudge him good spirits. He has finally recovered from a difficult season on the roads of Europe, is looking forward to a big summer of racing ahead, and has just introduced superstar team-mate Chris Froome to the media in Launceston, Tasmania. After a challenging 2014, prospects are looking rather peachy for the lithe 29-year-old.The ...
• The Silk Railway: freight train from China pulls up in MadridMadrid mayor welcomes first cargo train from China after epic 8,111-mile rail trip inaugurates the longest rail link in the worldThe longest rail link in the world and the first direct link between China and Spain is up and running after a train from Yiwu in coastal China completed its maiden journey of 8,111 miles to Madrid.En route it passed through Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Germany and France before arriving at the Abroñigal freight terminal in Madrid. Continue reading...
• Jenson Button reportedly retained by McLaren to partner Fernando AlonsoJenson Button's future within F1 seems to be assured for at least another season after reports naming the British driver ahead of Kevin Magnussen as Fernando Alonso's partner at McLaren next year.
• BP to spend nearly £640m making hundreds of job cuts as oil price slumpsContinued fall in global oil prices and demand forces BP to plan staff redundancies in all segments over the next yearBP is to spend $1bn (£636.8m) on making hundreds of job cuts over the next year in response to the continued slump in global oil prices.The price of benchmark Brent crude dropped a further 4% on Wednesday towards $64 a barrel as the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) said it expected global demand for its crude next year to fall to its lowest level in more than a decade, far below the current output. Continue reading...
• Air fares set to fall in 2015Savings made on plummeting oil prices will be passed on to passengers, say carriersFlying could get cheaper next year as airlines say they will finally start passing on some of the savings made on plummeting oil prices.Carriers are forecasting record profits for 2015 due to cheaper fuel and rising demand and they expect to cut the average ticket price by 5%, excluding surcharges and taxes. Continue reading...
• Disclose climate risk in fossil fuel investments, says UK ministerEd Davey boosts argument that companies’ coal, oil and gas holdings will lose value as world moves to cut carbon emissionsBritain’s energy and climate change secretary, Ed Davey, has said companies should be required to disclose their investments in fossil fuels, bringing firmly into the mainstream the idea that climate risk will affect the value of such holdings.The minister’s call for changes in the financial rules came on the sidelines of UN negotiations in Lima where leaders are working to draft a deal on fight climate change. Davey said it was time to recognise that as economies moved awa...

The Scotsman

• Edinburgh trams: how was it for you, asks inquiryThe chairman of the Edinburgh tram inquiry said he wants to hear about the impact of the project on people’s lives as his team sifts through more than two million documents about the transport fiasco.

The Telegraph

• Stagecoach shares hit a bump in the road after bus growth slows down Stagecoach has warned that profits from its British buses have been lower than expected, taking the shine off a rise in overall revenues and earnings in the past six months. Stagecoach blamed slow revenue growth in some of the UK regions and particularly tough competition in Manchester, where it vies for traffic with several large operators including FirstGroup and Arriva.
• Ferrari mulls rleocation to London following Fiat split Ferrari is considering moving its headquarters to the UK to escape Italy’s onerous corporate taxes as the super car manufacturer prepares to float, according to reports The company will keep its manufacturing operation in Maranello, Italy, just south of Milan but move its fiscal residence to the UK, according to a report by Bloomberg that cited people familiar with the matter.
• Mystery as Qatar Airways postpones delivery of Airbus A350 jet The much-heralded introduction into service of Airbus’s new A350XWB passenger jet with Qatar Airways has been cancelled after hitting last-minute turbulence. The first jet was due to be delivered to launch customer Qatar Airways on Friday with a VIP flight to Doha but this has been cancelled without explanation.

Birmingham Post

• Jaguar Land Rover staff could be sent abroad in new pay deal Latest twist in pay dispute could see staff working into foreign climes as part of manufacturer's new worldwide workforce strategy

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Dozens of motorists trapped in snow on A68 in NorthumberlandBetween 70 and 100 vehicles became stuck at Carter Bar on the border of Scotland and Northumberland

Northern Echo

• Council refuses to fix pothole that left woman injured - because it's 7mm too shallow A COUNCIL refused to fix a pothole following an accident that left a woman injured – because it was 7mm shallower than regulations stipulate.

The York Press

• Police focus on bike thefts from railway stations BICYCLES worth a total of more than £1.5 million have been stolen from railway stations in Britain in the last year, police have revealed.

Blackpool Gazette

• Station revamp ‘does not go far enough’A councillor is calling for further improvements at a Fylde railway station, as Blackpool prepares to run a direct train to London after an 11-year absence.

Doncaster Free Press

• Strike action at Wabtec avoidedHundreds of workers at railway engineering company Wabtec have called off industrial action at the 11th hour after crisis talks with bosses.

Reading Evening Post

• Wokingham Borough Council announces £33m spend on road improvementsDrivers are warned of a number of major project which will start in the new year

Other Regional Press

• Kent second only to London for road accidents involving drunk pedestrians Kent is second only to London for the number of drunk people killed or injured on England's roads.

Railway Gazette

• Saint-Etienne selects CAF tramsFRANCE: Saint-Etienne has selected CAF to supply 16 Urbos trams for its metre gauge network. The...

Aviation Industry

• Boeing: Demand for new commercial aircraft in 2015 ‘healthy, balanced’Boeing is forecasting strong demand for new commercial aircraft in 2015, resulting in nearly $124 billion in deliveries across the industry, double the amount from 2010, according to Boeing’s Current Aircraft Finance Market Outlook for 2015. read more
• Virgin Atlantic embarks on new four-year strategyVirgin Atlantic is expecting to turn a profit this year, after completing its two-year recovery plan, and is now working to deliver on its strategy for the period to 2018. read more
• Delivery of first Airbus A350 to Qatar Airways postponedQatar Airways announced Wednesday that delivery of its first Airbus A350-900 XWB, originally planned for this weekend, has been postponed. No new date for the delivery or reasons for the delay were given; Qatar is the launch customer for the all-new widebody. read more
• Air fares to drop 5% in 2015 - IATAIATA predicts fares to decline as falling oil prices boost airline profits

Green Miscellany

• Driverless cars could save one million livesThe advent of autonomous cars has the potential to reduce congestion, emissions, fuel costs and, most importantly, road deaths – the World Health Organisation estimates that over one million people are killed each year on the roads. The idea of using driverless ‘crash-proof’ cars to address these problems might seem fanciful, but the most significant barrier to their successful introduction…

Other News Sources

• EU truck safety and efficiency law faces delay until 2019A European Union law agreed late on Wednesday (10 December) to make trucks safer and more aerodynamic, cutting fuel bills, emissions and improving safety, will be delayed by around five years, after the industry pushed for more time to develop new vehicles.
• A3 survey: Tell us about your experiences of the busy roadGet Surrey wants to hear from motorists and residents about their views on the A3
• More piracy suspects compensated for legal delaysDays after the French government was told to pay compensation for legal delays to several Somalis accused of piracy, the Danish High Court on Monday awarded similar sums to nine more piracy suspects.