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

Friday, 04 July 2008

BBC News

• Eco-cars tested outEco-cars tested out
• Broadway underpass set to openA new underpass at Broadway in Belfast opens to traffic later on Friday.
• Paper planes in Heathrow protestProtesters have thrown paper planes at the Department for Transport's headquarters in a demonstration against the expansion of Heathrow Airport
• First step for new travel networkThe first stage of a multi-million pound UK network of walking and cycling routes is set to be opened.
• 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
• Brown hints at fuel duty freezeGordon Brown says the delayed 2p rise in fuel duty will be looked at
• Ryanair tops up Aer Lingus stakeRyanair raises its stake in rival airline Aer Lingus, which it has been blocked from buying, to just under 30%.
• Jobs blow as haulage firm crashesLeeds-based hauliers Macfarlane Transport cease trading as soaring petrol prices take their toll.

Financial Times

• Forth Ports unveils renewables push -[30 June 2008]Capacity constraints at the UK’s busiest container ports and strong oil demand saw first-half trading at Forth Ports, the UK’s last listed ports operator, well ahead of last year, the company announced on Monday. The Edinburgh-based company also said it was setting up a joint venture company to develop renewable energy projects at its sites, starting with a wind energy project at the Port of Tilbury in Essex.
• Air France considers high-speed rail routesAir France is holding talks about a joint venture that could see some of its short-haul routes operated by trains and considerably increase competition for continental Europe's mainly state-owned high-speed train operators
• BA and American to hold US talks over linkThe chief executives of British Airways and American Airlines, Willie Walsh and Gerard Arpey, are due to meet the US transportation secretary later this month to prepare the ground for much closer transatlantic co-operation between the two
• Air France talks to Veolia about rail ventureAir France is holding talks about a joint venture that could see some of its short-haul flights switched to rail and increase competition for continental Europe's mainly state-owned high-speed train operators

The Guardian

• Will Boris Johnson's Routemaster dream reach its terminus?The mayor of London's competition to design a successor to the famous bus will soon be launched. A great deal hangs on its result
• Going green, on two wheelsAfter lagging behind Europe for years, the United States is finally starting to catch up when it comes to making life better for bicyclists. In a country that's increasingly troubled by traffic, obesity and - perhaps worst of all – climate change, that's great news
• Putting the railways back on track - letterYour leader on fuel prices (July 3) says Britain's rail lines cannot accommodate additional freight trains
• Airlines: BA traffic down 3.7% as fuel surcharge hits business flyersBritish Airways added to the turmoil in the airline industry yesterday by confirming that a deterioration in traffic had accelerated in June

Times Online

• Cost-hit British Airways flies with quarter of seats empty British Airways flights are taking off with almost a quarter of their seats empty after higher air fares and a slowing economy led to 87,000 fewer passengers using the British flag-carrier last month.

Reuters News

• Daewoo Shipbuilding says wins $2.34 bln ship orderSEOUL, July 4 (Reuters) - South Korea's Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co said on Friday it had received a 2.44 trillion won ($2.34 billion) order for 16 container ships from a European company.

Belfast Telegraph

• Truckers meet govt officials to discuss rising costsTruckers are meeting officials from the Department of Transport this morning to discuss measures to help them cope with rising fuel prices.

Journal Live

• Brown fails to support key North transport upgradesGORDON Brown yesterday said he wanted the “most modern” transport network but failed to support key regional upgrades before his first North East visit as Prime Minister.

Liverpool Echo

• Carbon levies ‘unfair to city’THE UK's chief international negotiator on climate change today pledged to exempt both the Port of Liverpool and John Lennon Airport from multi-million pound carbon emission levies.

London Evening Standard

• Station work restarts after £7m blunderWork has finally begun to re-build a railway station - six months after it was due to open

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Disappointed hauliers get no joy after major demonstrationScottish haulage bosses left London last night œdeeply disappointed� after the UK Government defied a demonstration against soaring fuel costs.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Yeadon residents 'abandoned' by bus serviceA DISABLED resident says locals are forced to fork out for taxis as the community's "lifeline" bus service frequently fails to turn up.
• 300 jobs lost as Leeds transport firm goes bustA LEEDS transport firm has gone bust with the loss of around 300 jobs.
• 300 jobs lost as Leeds transport firm goes bustA LEEDS transport firm has gone bust with the loss of around 300 jobs.

Aviation Industry

• Business-jet sales soar as airline service sags - San Jose Mercury NewsWhile the nation's major air carriers are cutting flights, grounding planes and laying off workers to combat soaring fuel prices, one area of flying appears to be largely immune: business jets.

Other News Sources

• Arriva buys Madrid bus companyArriva has extended its presence in the Madrid transport market with the acquisition of De Blas, one of the largest privately owned transport contractors in the Spanish capital.
• MP Petitions Against Bus Cuts Published Date : 03 July, 2008FED up with cuts in bus services in the north of the Sheffield, Angela Smith has launched a petition to stop the proposed alterations to the 201, S1 and S2 services.