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

Tuesday, 04 November 2008

BBC News

• Drivers 'risk lives' at crossingsRoad users who risk their lives by ignoring warning signs and lights at level crossings have been targeted by a £2.5m Network Rail campaign.
• Crossrail gets £230m BAA fundingHeathrow Airport operator BAA announces a £230m funding package for the £16bn Crossrail project.
• Fuel costs dent Ryanair profitsProfits at budget airline Ryanair fell 47% in the first half of the financial year, the Irish firm says, as fuel costs soared.

Financial Times

• Meridiana fights 'unfair advantage'Meridiana, the airline controlled the Aga Khan, said yesterday it had filed a complaint to the European Commission accusing Alitalia and Cai, an Italian takeover...
• Ryanair sees second-half loss amid fare price pressureRyanair profits fell heavily in its first six months under pressure from the doubling of fuel costs, and the group forecast that it would be in loss during the second...
• 3i Infrastructure eyes GatwickThe head of 3i Infrastructure said yesterday the UK-listed investment fund was eager to join a possible consortium bid for London Gatwick airport. Michael Queen said...

The Guardian

• TfL chopping list leakFlagship public transport projects were this week set to drop out of Transport for London's capital programme under a redrawing of its business plan for the next 10 years.
• Scientists discover Patagonian diesel that grows on treesA tree fungus could provide green fuel that can be pumped directly into vehicle tanks, US scientists say. The organism, found in the Patagonian rainforest, naturally produces a mixture of chemicals that is remarkably similar to diesel.
• Ryanair boss's plan for £10 flights to US flies in face of plunging profitRyanair boss Michael O'Leary is looking for a double bonus from the emerging recession - further consolidation among Europe's airlines and the chance to launch a transatlantic carrier.Reporting a 47% tumble in Ryanair's first-half profits to €215m (£170m), O'Leary said more loss-making airlines would go bust over the coming months and predicted the industry in Europe would eventually be dominated by four main players, including Ryanair.

The Scotsman

• Flight liquid limits to be liftedThe limits on the amount of liquids allowed on flights from EU airports will be lifted in 2010 provided new scanners are in place to distinguish liquid explosives from harmles

The Telegraph

• Spy in the sky road pricing 'over the top' says former top transport officialA "spy in the sky" to enforce a national road pricing scheme is one of the options being examined by the Government, as it considers whether to push ahead with pay as you drive charges.
• Ryanair reveals cutprice transatlantic plansPassengers could pay as little as £10 to cross the Atlantic as Ryanair draws up plans to set up a new independent lowcost carrier.

Times Online

• Prolonged downturn will hit Ryanair’s gamble on expansion During the summer Michael O’Leary looked as if he was losing his touch. The chief executive of Ryanair had mishandled his airline’s fuel hedging policy, abandoning the decision not to buy kerosene forward just as oil prices fell back from their record high.
• Ryanair to cut fares by 20% to combat growing pressure on passenger numbers Ryanair, Europe's largest airline, has pledged to cut fares by up to 20 per cent this winter in an effort to maintain passenger numbers as the economic downturn tightens its grip.
• Sales continue to crash in US car markets The misery in the US car market deepened yesterday when General Motors (GM), Ford and Toyota reported dire sales for last month.

Mail Online

• Only four European airlines will survive the recession, claims Ryanair boss (but no prizes for guessing that one of them is his) The recession could lead to just four European airlines surviving, the boss of budget carrier Ryanair has predicted.

Birmingham Post

• Work starts on new Digbeth Coach Station in BirminghamWork has begun on a £15 million world-class coach station in Birmingham.
• Motorists facing a year of roadworks on M6 at BirminghamMotorists are facing a year of misery as work gets under way on a £150 million improvement scheme on the M6 through Birmingham.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• North Wales to Cardiff express criticisedA NEW express train service from Holyhead to Cardiff was criticised yesterday for being too costly and too slow.
• Call for hard shoulders on A55 to improve safetyTHE FATHER of a schoolgirl killed when a lorry crashed into their broken down car has called for hard shoulders to be built along the A55.

Liverpool Echo

• New KLM gateway to the world at John Lennon AirportDUTCH airline KLM today announced plans to link Liverpool John Lennon airport with 650 destinations around the globe.

Liverpool Post

• Thomson axes plans for Liverpool cruise baseAMBITIOUS plans by giant tour operator TUI Travel to turn Liverpool into northern Britain’s premier cruise centre have been dashed, the Daily Post can reveal.

London Evening Standard

• 41 more stations to be staffed at night in rail safety driveForty-one more stations in London will be manned until the last service at night from next year after ministers ordered safety improvements

Metro

• Fungus makes dieselA fungus that makes diesel fuel as part of its natural lifecycle has been discovered in South America.

Newcastle Journal

• Tees to fuel green successTEES Valley’s position as a front-runner in tomorrow’s low-carbon economy moved a step closer this week, as the world’s first climate change bill passed into UK law. Environment correspondent KELLEY PRICE reports
• Bush rushes 'harmful' environment lawsThe Bush administration is sprinting to enact environmental policy changes before leaving power

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Pupils petition for safer cycle path to schoolSchool pupils have launched a petition calling for a safe cycle route between two north-east communities.
• Bid to widen road receives backingHIGHLAND councillors have been recommended to approve a power company™s proposals to widen a road to accommodate vehicles transporting parts for a giant Sutherland windfarm.

Doncaster Free Press

• Council could run busesBUS services in Doncaster could return to council control - after government ministers paved the way for the nation's local authorities to set their own routes and fares.
• Job cuts proposed at Robin Hood AirportAirport bosses are looking at making job cuts at Doncaster airport.
• Job cuts proposed at Robin Hood AirportAirport bosses are looking at making job cuts at Doncaster airport.

Forbes

• CEO: Don't Dump DryShipsThere are rough waters ahead for shippers, but DryShips is looking for opportunities and George Economou, the company's controversial chief executive, is confident he will weather the storm.
• SUV Data Gives Detroit Some Hope U.S. auto sales plunge, but demand for profitable trucks and SUVs may be on the verge of a comeback.

International Herald Tribune

• A renewed focus on passenger trainsThe high cost of fuel, along with traffic and airport congestion, is drawing travelers back to trains for commuting and for travel between cities as much as 500 miles apart.

Washington Post

• Brakes Locked For U.S. Auto Sales Oil prices may be steadily dropping, but tightening credit markets and slumping consumer confidence have continued to keep Americans away from auto dealerships.
• Elimination of Paper Transfers Could Mean Windfall for Metro Metro officials estimate they could generate at least $5 million more a year in bus revenue by reducing fraud when the agency eliminates free bus-to-bus paper transfers in January, according to a staff analysis to be presented to a board committee Thursday.

Transport for London

• New hybrid buses for London to be unveiled at Euro Bus Expo 2008Hybrid buses destined for the London Buses fleet will be showcased at the Euro Bus Expo 2008 in Birmingham's NEC this week.
• Mayor announces Oyster boost for LondonersThere has been a 75 per cent increase in local Oyster Ticket Stops, with almost 3,800 outlets now open across London.

Aviation Industry

• BAA response to the Transport Select Committee's T5 report

Other News Sources

• £6.4m to turn Southend into a cyclist's dreamCYCLE routes in Southend will be joined up and upgraded to form a network of 18 tracks across the town.
• Reducing Scotland's carbon footprintCommunity projects benefit from the Climate Challenge Fund.
• Norwich could expand LEZ to include trucksTransport bosses in Norwich are looking at whether trucks should be included as part of the City's Low Emission Zone (LEZ).
• EU Will Not Penalise Car Makers for CO2 EmissionsThe economic crisis has created yet another victim, this time it is the targets of European countries for the CO2 emissions of vehicles. This weekend, the 27 countries of the European bloc decided to postpone until 2015 the new anti-pollution rules for cars manufactured and sold in Europe. With the financial crisis, automakers are being [...]
• Shipping seen beating pirates aloneSHIPPING does not need military force to ward off nearly all piracy, a specialist anti-piracy security company™s boss declared today.
• Cutting emissions 'could' reduce revenuesReport by the European Commission argues that reduced energy consumption could lower governments™ tax revenues and highlights risk of 'carbon leakage'.
• New Swindon Rail Terminal to cut congestion and carbon emissions A new rail terminal that will help to tackle local congestion and substantially reduce carbon dioxide emissions was opened by Transport Minister Andrew Adonis today.
• Pysden becomes MAG chair and MAG director Spindler leaves DebenhamsCorporate lawyer Edward Pysden is to be interim chair of Manchester Airports Group with immediate effect, the company said today.
• ANALYSIS: 3 November 2008Bishop™s move sparks likely battle at Heathrow

Other Subscription Services

• Arriva confirms major bus investment for 2009Arriva plc, one of the UK’s leading bus operators, today confirmed it has placed orders for its UK bus business which will see more than 500 new buses come into service during 2009. The orders represent a second year of significant fleet renewal and growth by the group with investment totalling more than £130m over 2008 and 2009.