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

Thursday, 03 July 2008

BBC News

• Oil prices reach new record highThe price of oil has continued its surge upwards - hitting a new high of $145 a barrel in trading in Singapore.
• Campaigners aim to restore ferryA campaign has been launched in a bid to reinstate the Swansea to Cork ferry.
• Airline guilty of safety breachAirline firm FlyGlobeSpan has pleaded guilty to two charges of breaching civil aviation rules after allowing a plane with instrument failure to fly.
• Angry truckersRoad hauliers make their point outside Parliament
• Bill passes after rethink on dutyThe government has said it will re-examine controversial plans to raise vehicle excise duty (VED) on the most polluting cars
• BA buys up French rival carrierBritish Airways buys L'Avion - a French business-class only airline that flies between Paris and New York for £54m.
• Opec head sees new oil price riseThe president of oil producers' cartel Opec tells the BBC crude oil prices could rise still further this week.
• India truckers strike over fuelNearly four million trucks go off India's roads after their owners begin an indefinite strike to protest against rising fuel bills.

Financial Times

• Labour rebels back green car tax planA backbench rebellion over controversial plans to increase the tax on polluting vehicles was averted easily after Labour MPs were won over by the government
• Rising oil‰upsets Asian airlines' hedgesSeveral Asian airlines have cut back on fuel hedging this year, leaving them exposed to far more substantial costs should oil remain at record highs
• American, Iberia and BA plan joint dealAmerican Airlines, British Airways and Spain's Iberia are close to applying for antitrust immunity to form a joint venture that would be one of the most powerful forces in the transatlantic aviation market

The Guardian

• easyJet ads criticised over green claimsThe advertising regulator has criticised a press campaign by easyJet for making the misleading environmental claim that its aircraft made 22% less emissions than rival airlines.
• Testing our patienceMotorcyclists are part of the solution to congestion and carbon emissions – yet we're being punished with officious regulations
• Fuel protest: Haulage firms threaten wildcat action over taxThe government faces the prospect of wildcat action by lorry drivers if fuel taxes remain at current levels, hauliers warned yesterday as a truckers' protest brought parts of London to a standstill.
• Time for deeds to meet emissions aimPoliticians must act now or global carbon emissions from energy use will double by 2050, report warns

The Herald

• A wake-up call to a rudderless governmentThe imperative of creating a modern, high-speed rail network throughout Britain, powerfully argued by Anne Johnstone and your previous report/leader, represents an ultimate wake-up call to this rudderless New Labour government, still 11 years in denial over any coherent transport/environment/energy policy worth the name (Scotland's future depends on high-speed trains, June 26).
• Island ferry problems ‘could last all summer’Islanders on Jura fear they will have to wait throughout the summer before action is taken to resolve the problems with their ferry service to the neighbouring island of Islay.

The Independent

• CyclotherapyWhen Boris Johnson was elected Mayor of London, I was devastated. Politically, Boris and his chums don't stand for the same things I do, and while Ken could prove to be a bit of an unknown quantity, I admired his principles and his ability to get things done.

The Telegraph

• Motorists to cut back on driving due to cost of fuelAlmost half of motorists are ready to cut back on driving because of the soaring cost of fuel, according to an AA poll.
• New smart sat-nav could beat traffic jamsA new satellite navigation system could help motorists avoid traffic jams by monitoring conditions on the road ahead.

Times Online

• Merrill Lynch says General Motors faces bankruptcy threat General Motors, the world’s biggest carmaker, could face bankruptcy if the market continues to spiral downwards and it is unable to raise enough capital, a leading broker has said.
• Need to know: HSBC; E.ON; Amstrad; Eurostar Economics

Mail Online

• Tories call on Darling to scrap retrospective £455 car taxChancellor Alistair Darling is facing a Tory challenge to his plans to increase car tax on the most highly polluting vehicles to as much as £455.

Transport Briefing

• Eurostar bolsters timetable with extra Paris trainsCross-Channel train operator Eurostar is adding an 18th service in each direction on its London-Paris route on Mondays to Thursdays from 8 September.

Airwise News

• Transport for London signs skills pledgeFour million UK employees are now covered by the skills pledge after Tube-owner Transport for London (TfL) signed up today.
• Welsh traffic regulator must be here in WalesWHY, we may ask, are lorries and buses on Wales’ roads not totally unsafe wrecks? Is there some secret force which prevents their existence?

Edinburgh Evening News

• New flights take offTHE airline Bmi will add a new flight from Edinburgh to Copenhagen later this month.
• Trader fury as plan to park free is droppedTRADERS have hit out after plans to create free parking spaces on council-owned land along the tram route were dropped.

Liverpool Echo

• Flyglobespan flight 'broke safety rules’A BUDGET airline was due in court today to face allegations that it allowed a plane with faulty equipment to fly from Liverpool to New York.

Manchester Evening News

• Bank backs bio-fuel trucksHAULAGE company JPM Eco Logistics has secured new funding to expand its fleet of `green' trucks, just months after it attracted £100,000 of investment following an appearance on TV's Dragons' Den.
• Walking onto rail fare rowWALK-on rail fares from Manchester are four times more expensive than advanced bookings, according to a report.
• C-charge car park rowPRO-CONGESTION charge councillors are planning to build themselves a private underground car park in the city centre
• Transport plans: Meeting details

  BUSINESSES will get the chance to express their views and learn more about the transport plans for Manchester at a series of events which have been organised by Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce.

• Chamber in c-charge challengeHAULAGE and delviery businesses challenged Manchester council boss Sir Howard Bernstein over the costs of congestion charging.
  

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Rail Minister backs reopening of regional lineRAIL Minister Tom Harris has raised hopes that a passenger line closed for more than 40 years could reopen.
• Pilot scheme to cut speeding on roads hailedA PILOT scheme aiming to stop motorists speeding through built-up areas has been hailed a success.

This Is Local London Network

• CROYDON: TfL’s Tramtrack takeover may result in fares’ hikeThe new bosses of the borough's Tramlink service cannot guarantee fares will not rise after Transport for London (TfL) took over the running of the service.
• Public to have say over Western C-zoneLondon mayor Boris Johnson is to ask Londoners whether the city's western extension congestion charging zone should remain or be overhauled.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Sir Graham Hall steps down from Leeds Bradford airport chairYORKSHIRE business chief Sir Graham Hall has stepped down as chairman of Leeds Bradford International Airport amid reports that he is unhappy with its new owners.
• Rail tickets from Leeds '7 times dearer on the day'RAIL passengers in Leeds who buy tickets on the day of travel could be shelling out nearly SEVEN times more than people who pay in advance.

Aviation Industry

• 7000 Job Cuts Announced at AmericanAmerican Airlines expects to cut nearly 7,000 employees by the end of the year, or about 8 percent of its worldwide work force, as it reduces flights and grounds aircraft because of high fuel costs, the airline ...

Other News Sources

• MEPs celebrate aviation dealMEPs and the EU Council's Presidency have struck a deal on how to include aviation in the EU Emissions Trading System.
• Call made for airport rail improvementsSIGNIFICANT improvements to the rail service to and from Stansted Airport are being called for by an airport expansion protest group.
• Chancellor must scrap diesel duty increasesThe Freight Transport Association says that with the price of oil rising to a new record high, it is essential that the Government immediately announces that it is to scrap the proposed 2p per litre increase in diesel duty planned for October, together with similar increases planned for 2009 and 2010.
• Team makes tracks toward rail revolutionTHE massive scheme to build a new Crewe station at Basford will be the biggest construction project the area has ever seen if it goes ahead.
• FTA promotes air freight for UK tradeAir freight is becoming increasingly important for UK trade, according to a new publication by the FTA targeting public policy audience
• Mayor scraps Ken plan to axe 40 Tube ticket officesBoris Johnson has scrapped plans to close dozens of Tube ticket offices.
• Oyster firm dropped over Zimbabwe linkThe company which makes Oyster cards has had its contract terminated after it was revealed to have links with Zimbabwe.
• TfL takeover boosts calls for Tramlink extensionBoris Johnson is facing fresh pressure to extend the Croydon Tramlink after it was taken over by Transport for London this week.
• Fergusons eyes Midlands acquisitionFergusons Transport says it is still in the market for a Midlands-based acquisition as it looks to increase the size of its network...
• No champagne lifestyle for publicly listed StobartStobart Group sheds some light on its new status as a publicly listed company - and life isn't a all whirlwind of long dinners and executive suites...
• Stobart's Tesco drivers to consider new termsBarely four months after taking over the transport operation at Tesco's Middlewich, Cheshire site, Eddie Stobart could be facing an employment crisis with more than 150 drivers being offered a choice between new terms and conditions or redundancy..