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

Wednesday, 08 October 2008

BBC News

• BA assurances follow job cut planBritish Airways has given assurances that further Scottish operations will not be affected after it announced plans to close a base in Glasgow.
• Talks to avert second rail strikeUnion leaders are to meet Network Rail bosses in a bid to avert a second day of strike action by signal workers.
• Canal plan to power 45,000 homesTurbines along British canals and rivers could power 45,000 homes within five years under new plans.
• Tata announces new plant for NanoIndia's Tata Motors is to build the world's cheapest car, the Nano, in Gujarat state following a row over land for its original site.

Financial Times

• Rail misery as signallers strikeThousands of Scottish rail journeys were disrupted yesterday as signal workers staged the first of two strikes in a dispute over rosters. Network Rail workers walked...
• Aer Lingus set to axe third of staffThe lossmaking Irish airline has set itself on a collision course with Ireland's largest union over a restructuring plan aimed at reducing its workforce through outsourcing and job cuts

The Guardian

• Ryanair boss sets sights on no-frills transatlantic flights with new airlineMichael O'Leary expects to pick up cheap long-haul jets as rivals go bust or cancel orders

The Herald

• More airlines will go bust, claims BA chiefWILLIE Walsh, chief executive of British Airways, said he had no idea how long the economic slowdown that is hammering the industry would last and reiterated predictions that more airlines would go out of business.
• Commuters the victims as bitter rail dispute trundles onUnions and managers were entrenched in a bitter war of words yesterday as thousands of rail users suffered train disruptions when signal workers staged the first of two 24-hour strikes.
• More talks as thousands affected by rail strikesRail union leaders and railway managers are to attempt to settle their differences today as the first of two 24-hour strikes continued to hit thousands of commuters.

The Independent

• Scottish rail strike hits commuters Thousands of rail passengers faced travel misery today as signal workers staged the first of two strikes this week.

The Scotsman

• Talks aimed at averting rail strikeUnion leaders and rail bosses are to meet for fresh talks as the first strike on Scotland`s train network draws to a close.

The Telegraph

• Winter gritting could wreck carsThe Agency has decided to mix brine with salt, much to the alarm of the motor industry, which fears that it will damage paintwork, alloy wheels and corrode the underside of the vehicle.
• Rail passengers suffer in signal workers' strikeThousands of rail passengers had journeys disrupted on Tuesday by the first of two strikes planned this week by signal workers.

Times Online

• Teenage passengers triple risk of fatal car crashes for young drivers, insurers say Teenage drivers are three times as likely to have a fatal crash if they are travelling with a group of friends as when driving alone, a study has found.
• Oil price bounces back on rate cut hopes Oil prices recovered sharply today after a big interest rate cut in Australia raised hopes that other countries would follow suit to bolster economic growth, a move that would support oil demand.
• Detroit’s car giants General Motors and Ford cut European output Collapsing demand for new cars across Europe is to cost skilled workers at General Motors and Ford hundreds of shifts as the car giants try to reduce supply.

ATOC

• Passengers should be main focus says ATOC Chairman at Railway Forum Annual ConferenceMike Alexander, Chairman of the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC), is telling The Railway Forum™s Annual Conference being held today in London that the main concern of the Rail industry must be its passengers. Train operators work closest with the passengers and seek to provide a continuously improving service. The whole industry needs to focus similarly and align with train operators to meet passengers™ expectations.

Network Rail

• CALL TO SUSPEND STRIKE WHILE NEW TALKS TAKE PLACE
• NETWORK RAIL APPOINTS NEW MEMBERS
• BARNHAM RE-SIGNALLING PROJECT: ADVANCE NOTICE OF TEMPORARY ROAD CLOSURE AT WOODGATE LEVEL CROSSING
• LIVERPOOL RAIL DEPOT EXPANDS TO MEET DEMAND

Daily Post (North Wales)

• 200 lorries taken off A55 in four days in crackdown on truckersMORE than 200 lorries were taken off the road in a four-day crackdown on the A55.

Edinburgh Evening News

• New transport study to show way forwardEAST Lothian Council has awarded a new contract for a review of public transport.

Liverpool Echo

• Virgin slashes tickets pricesVIRGIN Trains fares between Liverpool and London are being slashed to mark a new improved timetable.

Metro

• Ryanair boss: Id love a recessionIn the face of the global financial meltdown, the BBC's business editor has seen his celebrity stock rise and Ryanair's boss is forcasting a bouyant economy for his airline.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Bid to curb laser pen attacks at Newcastle AirportSECURITY is being beefed up to stop laser pen attacks on planes at Newcastle Airport. It comes after a safety plea from air crews and the British Airline Pilots’ Association.

The News (Portsmouth)

• Bid to remove speed cameras from the roadsSPEED cameras are not working and should be replaced by mobile cameras to catch unsuspecting motorists, according to a council leader.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Nearly 70 Scottish roads at risk of landslides “ warningLANDSLIDES could hit almost 70 trunk roads across Scotland, an official report revealed yesterday.
• Minister to be pressed on CrossrailTransport Minister Stewart Stevenson will be pressed to confirm Scottish Government backing for a £200million commuter rail project for the north-east tomorrow.
• Farming union backs school bus safety planSCOTLAND™S leading agricultural union has backed a potentially life-saving bid to improve safety on school buses.
• Passengers facing major disruption on the railwaysTHOUSANDS of passengers across the north and north-east face major disruption today as the first of two 24-hour rail strikes planned for this week gets under way.

The York Press

• ˜Royal™ loco joins railway museum A MAGNIFICENT steam loco is set to arrive at the National Railway Museum later this week “ but only after a tortuous journey to York from Swindon.

Wales Online

• Severn toll prices force motorists off the roadRISING fuel and toll costs are forcing Welsh motorists off the roads.

Blackpool Gazette

• Job shock at Blackpool airportWORKERS at Blackpool Airport fear for their jobs as bosses act to head-off the effects of the global credit crunch.

Northants Evening Telegraph

• No trains for new stationThe opening of Corby's rail link to London could be delayed because there are no trains for the new service.

Sunderland Echo

• Qashqai keeps Nissan sales upNissan's Sunderland plant is bucking a drop in new-car sales thanks to the runaway success of the Qashqai.
• Residents left with nowhere to parkA STREET of neighbours were left baffled when they returned from work to find they had nowhere to park their cars.

Railnews

• News: Go-Ahead saves energy THE Go-ahead Group is on track to reduce energy consumption across its 450 sites by 15 per cent after enlisting the help of energy data management specialist IMServ.
• News: Lord Adonis is new rail minister after Harris sacking LORD Adonis has been appointed the new Rail Minister in Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s reshuffle, following the sacking of Tom Harris.
• News: Financial crisis may delay part privatisation of DB THE planned part-privatisation of German state railway’s Deutsche Bahn Mobility and Logistics (DBML) — owner of British train operators EWS and Laing Rail, which operates the Chiltern franchise and the London Overground concession in a joint venture with MTR — may be postponed because of the world financial crisis.

Aviation Industry

• Support for noise insulationAround 1,000 homeowners are set to benefit from a new scheme, introduced by BAA Gatwick, to provide insulation against noise from the airport...
• Air fares to return to sustainable levels “ CowleyYear on year rises œthing of past

Other News Sources

• Govt plans & #36;14b Brisbane CBD underground rail systemrail upgrade is one of 10 infrastructure projects Queensland has submitted to the Commonwealth's $20 billion infrastructure fund. Ms Bligh has told State Parliament there are six possible routes ...
• Govt. to raise production of shipsNew Delhi, Oct 7 : Union Minister for Shipping and Road Transport T. R. Baalu today said that the shipbuilding facilities are being developed in different parts of the country to meet the growing demand of ships.
• Forth Road Bridge secured with cracked nutsCracks have been discovered in heavy-duty nuts used to secure the steel ropes holding up the Forth Road Bridge.
• UN move against piracy welcomedA new UN resolution against piracy passed yesterday has been welcomed by the International Maritime Bureau and the ITF.
• New Travel Calculator to Encourage Kids to Walk to SchoolOur new Travel Buster is launched today - an online teaching resource for pupils key stage 2.
• Gritting warning to vehicle ownersVehicle owners have been warned that new gritting techniques being implemented this winter by the Highways Agency could cause damage.
• DSV Road purchases UnicargoDSV Road has announced that it has agreed to purchase Norwegian road freight forwarder Unicargo.
• Bridge tolls 'damaging for businesses', report claimsHumber Bridge tolls are having a negative effect on businesses in East Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire, a new study suggests.

Other Subscription Services

• Poland seeks backing over shipyard revampPOLISH government seeking support from its counterparts in Germany, France and possibly the UK.
• Teekay sets aside $200m to buy back sharesTANKER and gas shipping group has earmarked $200m to repurchase about 14% of its own shares.