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

Thursday, 16 October 2008

BBC News

• Delays to road projects condemnedDelays to work on two major roads in the East Midlands have been blamed on poor planning and bureaucracy.
• 'Split train' passengers rescuedHundreds of rail passengers are led to safety after their train splits in two in a tunnel in south London.
• BA and Virgin cut fuel surchargesBA and Virgin Atlantic are to cut their fuel surcharges for most passengers in response to a fall in the price of oil.

Department for Transport

• Adonis sets out more cautious approach to BiofuelsTransport Minister Andrew Adonis has today set out plans to take a more cautious approach to biofuels, as part of the Government's response to concerns about the indirect environmental and social impacts of producing them.

Financial Times

• BA lowers fuel surcharges for economy faresBritish Airways moved quickly to lower its fuel surcharges levied on economy and premium economy fares for long-haul flights, following the lead taken by Virgin Atlantic to reduce some air fares
• India's Jet Airways cuts 1,900 jobs India's biggest and most-established private airline, Jet Airways, is cutting 1,900 jobs from its 13,000 workforce, a move it says is necessary to stave off collapse given the 'exceptional' pressures confronting the airline industry
• York Capital makes rescue bid for SkyEuropeYork Capital Management, the US-based hedge fund, has offered to rescue SkyEurope, the struggling central European low cost airline, which has been brought close to collapse by several years of heavy losses
• Fuel costs hit Delta and AmericanAmerican Airlines and Delta Air Lines, two of the top three US carriers, on Wednesday both reported losses in the third quarter under pressure from the surge in fuel costs

The Guardian

• Ed Miliband: No retreat from green agenda despite recessionNew energy and climate change secretary tells Patrick Wintour and Allegra Stratton the battle to stop climate change must continue

The Telegraph

• British Airways follows Virgin and cuts fuel surchargesBritish Airways has followed Virgin Atlantic in cutting its fuel surcharges as airline passengers finally benefit from the fall in the cost of oil.

Times Online

• False choice on rail [letter]Sir, In an advertisement (Oct 14), a number of organisations suggest that the estimated spend on a third runway at Heathrow might be used to fund a high-speed rail system instead.
• BA and Virgin finally cut fuel surcharges British Airways and Virgin Atlantic are reducing fuel surcharges by up to £26 on a return flight following widespread criticism of the charges by industry watchdogs.

Mail Online

• Virgin passenger plane 'sent 70 miles off course into thunderstorms... to test the skills of a trainee air traffic controller' A Virgin Atlantic passenger plane was sent several miles off course and into oncoming thunderstorms as part of a test for a trainee air traffic controller.
• Airport admits 'strip search' body scanners WILL show people naked New 'strip search' full body scanners being trialled in Australia will show people's private parts, officials have admitted.

Transport Briefing

• Rail franchising shake-up verdict delivered by audit officeThe government's handling of the rail franchising system in England and Wales has received a mixed report from the National Audit Office.
• Falmouth rail loop upgrade to be finished by NovemberEngineers have begun to install a 400 metre long passing loop on the Falmouth branch line in Cornwall which when complete will allow train frequencies to more than double.

Birmingham Post

• Thomsonfly to end flights out of Coventry AirportThe future of Coventry Airport has been thrown into doubt after its main carrier and former owners decided to stop flights from the troubled operation.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Cycle paths get busier as two wheels prove better than fourTHE number of cyclists using the Capital's off-road paths doubled in three months, according to new figures from Sestran.

Journal Live

• Report blasts list of Government transport failuresTHE Government has been presented with a “catastrophic list” of transport failures that have held back the North East – with warnings of worse to come if ministers do not act.

London Evening Standard

• BA follows Virgin lead in lowering surchargesBritish Airways has joined rival carrier Virgin Atlantic in reducing passenger fuel surcharges

Metro

• More died on roads 500 years agoYou may find it hard to believe, but a higher proportion of people died in traffic accidents in medieval times as they do now.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Transport problems 'will paralyse North East'EXPERTS have given their vision for solving the North East’s transport problems. The Institution of Civil Engineers says action is needed to overcome the "paralysis" blighting the region’s transport network and avoid damage to the economy.

The News (Portsmouth)

• Speedy bus link can beat jams “ if public want itA MULTI-MILLION pound bus link between Gosport and Fareham to relieve congestion could become a reality “ if enough residents have their say.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Drivers™ delight as petrol station cuts pricesA MORAY petrol station owner yesterday cut petrol prices to under £1 per litre to drum up business.

The York Press

• Public inquiry starts into Elvington plan TRANSPORT experts say local roads will suffer an œunacceptable increase in traffic, if plans to upgrade Elvington Airfield get the go-ahead.
• Dramatic rise in town™s parking fees PARKING fees in Selby were dramatically hiked by councillors last night “ in some cases by an inflation-busting 33 per cent.

Northants Evening Telegraph

• Town rail station's ahead of scheduleCommuters will begin flooding through the doors of this building in just two months' time.

Washington Post

• Nissan suit simulates older drivers' difficulties FRANKLIN, Tenn. -- Nissan calls it an
• GM campaign tells buyers they can still get loans DETROIT -- With October auto sales expected to fall short of September's 15-year low, General Motors Corp. is launching a campaign this week to reach people who have stopped looking for cars out of fear that they can't get a loan.
• Airlines Brace for Impact of Crisis For much of the year, it appeared the surging price of oil would be the chief challenge facing the airline industry. Now airline executives are bracing for another threat: the deteriorating economy.

Railnews

• Scott Wilson backs £45m plan to reopen Leven rail linePlans to reintroduce passenger rail services in Levenmouth, east Scotland have been endorsed by a study into the £45m project.
• News: Overcrowding expected to continue says the National Audit Office Overcrowding will continue until more trains are built, warns government watchdog body
• News: Bombardier builds new coaches for DSB BOMBARDIER Transportation has received a 75 million euros order from leasing company Railpool for 45 160km/h double-deck coaches for regional and suburban service on DSB, the Danish State Railways. The fleet will complement 67 similar coaches running successfully in Denmark since 2002.

Aviation Industry

• Rail fares rise as flight costs fallThe apparently irresistible rise of rail travel is starting to look a bit less irresistible...
• Air France plans rival train to EurostarGood news for travellers between France and the UK. Very soon they will have more choices and possibly quicker trips and lower fares. Air France-KLM announced last month that it will offer high-speed train service between Paris and London starting in 2010. Service between Paris and Amsterdam is also planned, which will allow travellers to then connect to other trains going to other points in Europe.
• Stansted puts Hertfordshire youngsters on the road to workBAA Stansted today pledged £40,000 to a local Hertfordshire project that helps young people in rural areas get to work or college...
• TSA Awards $41.4 Million Contract to L-3 for eXaminer 3DX® Explosives Detection Systems L-3 Security & Detection Systems announced today that it has received a $41.4 million contract from the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for eXaminer 3DX® explosives detection systems. The systems are configured with L-3™s new 65.3 performance enhancing software. œWe are pleased to continue supplying advanced eXaminer technology for checked baggage security screening operations worldwide, said L-3 Security & Detection Systems president Tom Ripp. The eXaminer 3DX uses 3-D continuous flow computed tomography to rapidly and accurately screen...
• Flight Safety via Satellite In an average year, US airlines schedule over 700,000 domestic departures and spend nearly 2 million hours in flight carrying more than 68 million passengers. Keeping this massive system running safely and efficiently is the job of the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Few passengers are aware of the complex tracking and communications system that the FAA depends on to carry out its mission. More than 5,000 FAA sites are linked by a terrestrial, microwave and satellite network, including thousands of radar stations and communications antennas, 21 air traffic control cen......
• American Airlines releases report on 3rd quarterThe parent of American Airlines says despite higher fuel costs it earned a profit in the third quarter, helped by the sale of an investment subsidiary.

Green Miscellany

• rance accelerates development of electric carsThe development of electric cars looks sets to accelerate after French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced a €400 million funding boost.

Other News Sources

• Tories make high speed rail pledgeA high speed rail link through Gerrards Cross and Beaconsfield is becoming a real possibility as a result of Conservative plans to connect Heathrow with the north.
• Rochdale MP wins top transport awardRochdale MP Paul Rowen has won a top national transport award at an award ceremony held at the prestigious Café Royal in London.
• BA passengers to sue over cancelled flight by Edward Robertson Up to 23 British Airways passengers are suing the airline following the cancellation of a flight earlier this year. Each...
• Row intensifies over airport expansionThe financial crisis led to 5% fewer passengers using Britain's leading airports in September than a year ago, intensifying...
• Using US Waterways to Ease Highway CongestionThe Department of Transportation (DOT) is putting some funding where its mouth has been in seeking to establish a new national network of œMarine Highways to help cut traffic on some of the nation™s most crowded roads
• Petrol drops below £1 a litreConsumers hit by the credit crunch had something to smile about at last when petrol dipped below the £1 a litre mark for the first time this year. There was more cheer for travellers when two major UK airlines - British Airways and Virgin Atlantic - announced a reduction in fuel surcharges.
• Financing Structure for Canal Expansion ProgramPanamanian President Martín Torrijos announced the final financing structure for the historic Panama Canal Expansion Program. Five major multilateral agencies from Europe, Asia and Latin America offered to finance the Canal expansion project. The Panama Canal Authority, after months of extensive...
• Trouble in the air for virginAs Virgin Atlantic approaches its 25th anniversary, analysts wonder if rapid change in the long-haul sector will plunge the carrier into trouble. But the airline is confident it can continue to thrive as a niche, upmarket player even in the face of consolidation. David Benady reports
• Travel operators need to beat gloom with strong brand identitiesTravel operators need to beat gloom with strong brand identities
• Pallet-Track opens new hubPallet-Track says it's been delighted by the first week of operation at its new Wolverhampton hub.
• Don't abandon EU climate agenda, says Gordon BrownGordon Brown's comments today in support of the EU climate change agenda has been welcomed by Friends of the Earth
• Biofuels consultation - there are better ways to cut emissionsThere are much better ways to cut emissions from road transport than biofuels
• Adonis sets out more cautious approach to Biofuels    Transport Minister Andrew Adonis has today set out plans to take a more cautious approach to biofuels, as part of the Government's response to concerns about the indirect environmental and social impacts of producing them.
• Trafford business group ’disappointed’ with TIF plansThe Trafford Local Council of the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce has condemned the region’s proposed Transport Innovation Fund-funded public transport improvements in Trafford Park for failing to address the needs of commuters or provide an alternative to the car.
• Manchester Airport gets kudos at forumManchester Airport’s marketing strategy has been recognised at an aviation industry gathering in Malaysia.
• Airliners routed towards stormsAirliners routed towards storms
• Air fares will rise as airlines cut capacity - DurandAmadeus predicts new generation of super carriers.
• Amadeus launches ticket change softwareCan save 80% of time, GDS says.

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