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

Wednesday, 16 July 2008

BBC News

• Fuel duty increase is postponedThe planned 2p rise in fuel duty set for this October is to be postponed, the chancellor announces.
• Running on home-brewed hydrogen [video]UK Firm ITM Power has developed a way of making hydrogen at home to fuel a car.
• Hydrogen car put through paces [video]The Nissan FCV (fuel cell vehicle) is on display at the Science Museum in London.
• Rail line shuts for major upgradeThe railway line between Kilmarnock and Dumfries is to be closed for two weeks for major upgrade works.
• Bus services axed by fuel costsThe bus operator Stagecoach is to scrap or alter dozens of services in Fife because of rising fuel prices.
• Fuel 'no excuse' for fare hikesA West Yorkshire bus operator has been accused of using petrol prices as an excuse to put up fares even though it bought the fuel before costs went up.
• Cash to target M-way congestionThe government is expected to announce a multi-million pound investment aimed at easing motorway congestion.
• GM unveils job and cost cut plansUS carmaker General Motors says it will cut salaried employment costs by 20% as it seeks to counteract falling sales.
• Soaring ambitionEtihad Airways is the biggest buyer at Farnborough

Financial Times

• GM's survival planRick Wagoner says GM faces a crisis and he is pulling out the stops to survive it. So bang goes the dividend, executive cash bonuses, truck plants and more white-collar jobs
• PIA offers property swap for debt aidPakistan International Airlines plans to ask the government to assume its debts in return for taking control of a global portfolio of the carrier's properties worth $1bn
• Fuel costs threaten BA dividendAirline's chairman warns investors it is 'up to its neck in perhaps the biggest crisis the aviation industry has ever known'

The Guardian

• The low-carbon road out of povertyThe government's current transport policy fosters oil dependence and exacerbates problems for the poorest households
• Full steam againIn 1946 Paul Kiefer, chief mechanical engineer of the New York Central Railroad, set his latest steam locomotive, the potent, coal-burning 6,700hp Niagara class 4-8-4, against General Motors' brand new diesel-electrics.
• BA: Winter flights put on iceBusiness & money: British Airways is to cut capacity by 5% and impose a partial hiring freeze in an attempt to avoid losses

The Scotsman

• Rail attraction is on the right trackRAIL enthusiasts are pressing ahead with work to extend Scotland's largest heritage line as it reaches a significant milestone today when it leaves Boat of Garten station.

The Telegraph

• Planes fly empty to keep value take-off slots at HeathrowBmi, Britain's third largest airline, will fly near-empty "ghost flights" in order to keep valuable take-off and landing slots at Heathrow.

Times Online

• Investors should opt to remain in the BA departures lounge Apologies are easy, especially if, like British Airways, you are repeatedly in the public relations dog house. And at yesterday’s annual meeting, both Willie Walsh and his chairman Martin Broughton were quick with the guilty pleas on a range of mishaps and cock-ups — most notably Terminal 5 — in the hope, no doubt, of receiving a lighter sentence.

Reuters News

• BA and Ryanair to cut capacityDUBLIN/LONDON (Reuters) - Ryanair and British Airways will cut flights next winter due to the rising cost of fuel which is threatening to wipe out their profits this year, the two companies said on Tuesday.
• BA to advertise virtues of Terminal 5LONDON (Reuters) - British Airways is launching an advertising campaign to try to rescue the reputation of Terminal 5, its new home at Heathrow Airport, which opened to chaotic scenes of lost baggage and cancelled flights in March.

Transport Briefing

• Rail dualling project to be completed in AugustWork to double track the remaining single line stretch of the Gretna to Annan rail line will be completed next month, according to Network Rail.
• TfL and Transys investigate weekend Oyster failureTransport for London and the Transys consortium are conducting an investigation after a computer glitch crashed the Oyster ticketing system and rendered some cards useless.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• £6bn order for Airbus includes 10 A380sIT was even honours between Airbus and its American rival Boeing on the first day of the international air show at Farnborough, as Middle East airlines announced massive orders for both companies’ jets.
• Multi-million pound orders for Airbus at Farnborough Air ShowAEROSPACE workers in North Wales got a boost today with two airlines announcing orders for Airbus aircraft at the Farnborough Air Show.

Edinburgh Evening News

• 'Green bridge' vision for bike link between port's parksA 'GREEN' bridge to provide a link between the two main parks in Leith would be built under plans put forward by an environment lobby group.

London Evening Standard

• Car firm unveils green 4x4 with a unique celling pointThis is the 4x4 of the future: fuelled by hydrogen and emitting just a few drops of water for every 300 miles travelled.
• Train ticket offices set to close over weekendsLondon's biggest rail operator is planning to cut the opening hours of scores of ticket offices, it has emerged
• Shareholders call for BA chief's headBritish Airways chief executive Willie Walsh was told he should have been fired over the Terminal 5 fiasco

Manchester Evening News

• U-turn over council car parkPRO-CONGESTION charge councillors have put the brakes on plans to build themselves an underground car park next to Manchester town hall.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Fuel and parking charges push drivers on to MetroCAR drivers are switching to the Metro as soaring petrol prices push up the cost of motoring.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Three firms fight for port contractThree companies are battling to win the £32million contract for the biggest upgrade of a north-east harbour.
• Tank of petrol costs more than my first car, says councillorA Highland councillor is calling for a reduction in the tax paid on fuel in the Highlands, after realising that a tank of petrol now costs more than he paid for his first car.
• Bypass benefit “ 15,000 new jobsA NEW bypass for Aberdeen could create nearly 15,000 jobs and give the regional economy a £6billion boost, according to a new report.

This Is Local London Network

• RICHMOND: Passengers face delays if ticket offices close, MPs warnCuts to opening hours at nine train station ticket offices will spell longer waiting times and queues for passengers, it has been warned.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Leeds bus firm puts fares up eight per centThe biggest bus firm in Leeds has announced a round of inflation-busting fare rises.

Bucks Free Press

• Traffic 'throats' could cure car congestionTRAFFIC

Western Daily Press

• Airport cash nosediveProtesters are celebrating after discovering the South West Regional Development Agency has withdrawn financial support for airport expansion in the region.

Aviation Industry

• Airliners of Tomorrow ” As Students See ThemNASA college competition to design future small transport aircraft produced entries that in parts were better than the aviation industry's latest thinking.

Other News Sources

• Depot ready to rollAfter 10 years of uncertainty, Fratton's future as a rail freight hub is finally drawing near. strong
• Rail ticket offices face hours cuts [Bournemouth]MORE than a dozen railway stations in the Daily Echo area are facing proposed ticket office hour cuts.
• Bus U-turns: 'plan not ideal but could work'THE boss of a bus company is backing a controversial plan to allow buses to do a U-turn in Westborough, but admits it is not ideal.