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

Friday, 07 November 2008

BBC News

• TfL scraps projects and cuts jobsSeveral major transport schemes have been scrapped and jobs could be lost as Transport for London (TfL) tries to save £2.4bn over the next 10 years.
• Relief road project shortlistedPlans for improvements to a Leicestershire town centre have been shortlisted for £16m in government funding, officials said.
• Transport Police move postponedBritish Transport Police (BTP) have postponed plans to move staff out of Dundee.
• Cathay Pacific in profit warningShares in Hong Kong carrier Cathay Pacific plunge 14% after it warns of falling revenue and fuel hedging losses.
• Toyota slashes profits forecastJapanese car firm Toyota shocks analysts by announcing a 69% fall in quarterly profits and its 2008 profit forecast.
• Tough timesIs the worst yet over for the world's airlines?
• UK new car sales in sharp declineSales of new cars in the UK fell in October at their fastest rate for 17 years, figures from the industry show.

Department for Transport

• The Department for Transport has today published the following Transport Statistics:* Road Casualty Statistics Great Britain: Quarterly Provisional Estimates Q2 2008 * Road Casualties English Local Authority Tables: 2007 * Road Traffic and Congestion in Great Britain: Provisional Estimates Quarter 3 2008

Financial Times

• Mayor scraps ’impractical’ transport plansLondon’s mayor on Thursday slashed several long-planned infrastructure schemes from the city’s transport plans, portraying the move as honest recognition that they would never be built.
• Ministers agree to Heathrow debateA group of rebel Labour MPs have joined forces with Conservative and Liberal Democrat leaders to express opposition to the UK government's support for the project
• ICBC targets aircraft financingChina's biggest bank is looking to expand into the global aircraft financing market and has held talks with foreign airlines at a time when banks are scaling back from the sector
• Demand for Eurotunnel survives fireThe company that runs the Channel Tunnel saw some of its services occupied at record levels in October as demand recovered after the disruption of September's fire

The Guardian

• MPs raise pressure over third Heathrow runwayThe government will confront internal critics of its Heathrow expansion policy next Tuesday when it holds a parliamentary debate on building a third runway at Britain's largest airport.
• Transport for London scraps plans for six-lane road bridgeBoris Johnson, the London mayor, has shelved £3.5bn of transport schemes in the capital, including the Thames Gateway bridge, as part of multibillion-pound cost cuts.
• Car dealers see biggest sales slide in 17 yearsNew car sales in the UK slumped by 23% last month - in effect, the biggest fall for 17 years, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said. The SMMT has again cut its forecast for sales for 2008 to 2.15m, more than 10% down on 2007, and it now believes that in 2009 the total will drop below 2m for the first time since 1995. Earlier this year, the SMMT forecast 2.345m new car sales.Paul Everitt, SMMT chief executive, welcomed yesterday's 1.5% cut in interest rates but warned:

The Telegraph

• Five pound notes to be given to drivers by campaignersWearing Geoff Hoon masks and holding a briefcase full of money, environmentalists will entice drivers at a central London petrol station with five pound notes. Drivers will then be asked to sign postcards to Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon, asking him to remain committed to reducing emissions targets.
• Council spends £15000 on DVD to teach adults how to cross roadA council that could lose up to £50 million in the Icelandic banking crisis has been criticised for spending £15000 on a DVD to teach adults how to cross the road.
• Safety review of crossings ordered by coroner after 66yearold woman killedNetwork Rail has been given one month to provide details of every wooden train crossing it owns after a 66yearold woman slipped on a rail and was killed by a train.

Times Online

• Boris Johnson scraps ten transport schemes promised by Labour Tube and bus fares in London will rise above inflation every year for the next eight years despite the cancellation of £3.7 billion of transport improvements, according to the transport business plan published by the Mayor of London yesterday.
• Fuel rises ’save 140 lives’ High fuel prices helped to save up to 140 lives this year because motorists slowed down and drove less aggressively to save money, an analysis by the AA suggests.
• Brakes on car sales for sixth month running Car sales in Britain suffered their sharpest monthly fall for 17 years in October as the misery for motor companies continued. The drop of 23 per cent in the new car market came as BMW’s Mini factory became the latest to impose production cuts with a planned four-week shutdown.

Transport Briefing

• Tram dream shattered as Croydon Council blames KenPublication of Transport for London's 10 year Business Plan today (6 November) finally ended the vision of trams running across London set out in former mayor Ken Livingstone's Transport Strategy, published in 2001.
• Manchester TIF add-onsPlans for a new railway station at Golborne and further upgrades to the Metrolink tram system are included in the final package for Manchester's £3bn Transport Innovation Fund bid.
• Transport project pipeline severed by London mayorSix major public transport projects were today (6 November) formally axed by London Mayor Boris Johnson who has cancelled development work in an attempt to plug funding gaps in Transport for London's budget.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Cyclists get away with murder says police chiefPOLICE have launched a crackdown on city centre cyclists who think they can "get away with murder" by disobeying the rules of the road.

Journal Live

• Amber signal given on rail box revampA BUSINESSMAN looking to develop a historic rail feature on the site of a battlefield has been given a month to come up with a smaller proposal.

London Evening Standard

• City Airport to run ID cards trialLONDON City Airport has agreed to a trial of the Government's identity card scheme, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith was due to announce today.
• Boris scraps £3billion of Ken’s transport projects for LondonPlans for £3billion worth of new transport links across London have been scrapped because of a lack of funding, the Evening Standard has learned
• Government must not fudge Heathrow pollution, says BennCabinet minister Hilary Benn has warned against fudging pollution rules to allow a third runway at Heathrow

The News (Portsmouth)

• Minister gives bus route ticket to keep movingA TRANSPORT minister has given the seal of approval to a controversial bus scheme that cost £35m and took seven years to complete.

The York Press

• A64 safety drive hailed a success IT was The Press™ s biggest road safety campaign “ to tame North Yorkshire™s worst accident blackspot, where three people had been killed and many more badly injured in dozens of accidents.

Doncaster Free Press

• Scrooge warning on free bus travel for school pupilsDONCASTER could be labelled the "Scrooge" of South Yorkshire if the council presses ahead with plans to axe free transport for schoolchildren.

Northants Evening Telegraph

• Wish list for town streetsA council has drawn up a list of roads it wants to see improved.

The Shields Gazette

• Pointing Metro passengers in right directionPASSENGERS at a vandal-hit Metro station have been given a lift by transport bosses.

The Economist

• Transport in Italy: Trains v planesThe revived Alitalia will face growing competitionAPPARENTLY at ease with risk, the businessmen and bankers who are investing in the phoenix-like rebirth of Alitalia submitted an offer for the airline’s assets to the bankrupt flag-carrier’s administrator on October 31st, even after failing to convince pilots and cabin crew to sign new contracts. But although fuel costs have fallen lately, the outlook for aviation has worsened. The economic slowdown is weakening demand. And now fierce competition is threatening the airline’s services between Rome and Milan—a core part of...
• Heathrow: Third-runway bluesThe case for expanding the world’s busiest airport gets weaker by the dayLIKE so many of the flights that leave Heathrow, the government’s decision on whether to allow the airport to have a third runway is running late. BAA, the airport’s operator, had expected to get the green light in July. The announcement is now promised before the end of the year. The prime minister prides himself on his ability to take “tough, long-term decisions”, but a rising number of Labour MPs and several senior ministers think he is in danger of taking the wrong one on this issue. The ...

Washington Post

• Boeing delivered 5 jetliners in October -- Boeing Co. delivered just five jetliners in October amid a strike by union workers that forced the aerospace firm to close its commercial aircraft factories temporarily.
• GM, Ford investors brace for deep losses DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Corp and Ford Motor Co posted more than $27 billion of net losses in the first half of 2008 -- and that was before a deepening economic slowdown pushed industry sales beyond 15-year lows.

Rail Technology Magazine

• Vibration Tested Air-Air Heat Exchangers Rittal has developed an air-to-air heat exchanger, which has been specifically tailored to cater for the needs of the mobile railway engineering industry. Available in both 24VDC and 100VDC versions, the exchangers have been constructed to EN 50 155, and vibration tested to EN 61 373. Offering long-term reliable cooling, the exchangers extract heat from inside the enclosure to the surrounding environment, using only two working parts. Two fan motors housed inside the exchanger control the internal and external airflows indenpendently. The exchanger matrix, made from aluminium, is...

Railnews

• News: California votes $10 billion for high-speed rail WHILE the debate continues in Britain about whether to build high-speed rail lines beyond the 68-mile long Channel Tunnel rail link, the people of California have voted in favour of a high-speed network that could extend to 800 miles.

Transport for London

• Mayor outlines 10-year plan for massive transport expansionThe Transport for London (TfL) Business Plan confirms multi-billion investment to boost transport capacity, create thousands of jobs and strengthen London's global position.

Aviation Industry

• Over 3.5 million Wi-Fi sessions on Icomera public transport hotspotscomera AB, the world’s leading provider of cellular broadband gateways, has announced that usage of its mobile Internet access systems deployed on passenger transport worldwide has exceeded three and a half million sessions
• Will you WiFi in a bus? On a train? On a boat? Yes, apparentlyUsage of Internet access in buses, trains, and ferries is way up, said Icomera, the leading worldwide provider of such service. Icomera, a Swedish firm that pioneered 'Net access in trains, said that it had served 3.72 million sessions to 1 million users over its history.
• Britain's green conscience takes flight with air travelUK adults are unwilling to make the lifestyle changes necessary to reduce air travel’s impact on the environment, according to research commissioned by Camcon Technology, the UK developer of the digital valve. The study, carried out by international research agency YouGov, revealed that green issues, such as climate change, noise and air pollution, worry almost three quarters of Brits (74 per cent), yet only 22 per cent of people admitted that these concerns had affected the number of flights they take.
• Airport Workers ID CardsWorkers at London City and Manchester Airports will be used to test the UK national identity card.Home Secretary Jacqui Smith is due to announce that airside workers at the two airports will use the ID cards during an 18-month pilot scheme.Airport unions are opposed to the plans, saying that workers will need to pay £30 for a card.Biometric ID CardsIn March, the government announced all airport workers in the UK would be issued with biometric ID cards containing fingerprint information from the second half of 2009.This is part of the government's wider "E-borders" programme t...

Other News Sources

• All aboard the town busLAST week saw the launch of the Batley Town Bus – a service funded by Batley area committee.
• Ferry plans spark debateEXCITING plans for a multi-million pound ferry service connecting Burnham to Wales have prompted a big reaction from Weekly News readers.
• MPs clash over road pricing planThe Tories and Liberal Democrats have clashed over the possible introduction of a spy in the sky road-pricing scheme. However, both parties believe charging road users could level out the playing field between British hauliers and their foreign competition.
• Airport plans 'unique opportunity'Supporters of revamped plans to transform Carlisle Airport have insisted they give Cumbria a "unique opportunity" to move forward.
• Progress made with Climate Change Bill [Yorkshire]Last week the House of Commons cleared the Climate Change bill with a substantial majority, committing the Government to an 80% cut in emissions by 2050. It now includes aviation and shipping in the targets, which climate change minister Joan Ruddock said the Government had agreed to include because they were “vital to global efforts to tackle climate change.”
• Saffron Walden firm on track with French rail contractsLPA Group has landed its first contract supplying the French domestic rail market in a landmark string of deals for the Saffron Walden firm.
• Air freight gets tighter screeningAirlines began checking air freight on single-aisle airplanes such as 737s and 757s as of Oct. 1, the TSA said. Air freight is often comprised of products sent from manufacturing plants to stores and ...
• Operators stalling on new vehicle purchasing Operators are stalling on vehicle replacement due to the current lack of affordable finance.
• Trading strong at Forth Ports despite slumpForth Ports says increased activity in a range of sectors has more than offset any downturns in trade elsewhere in the economy.
• Number of trucks on the road fallsThe number of HGVs of the road fell by 4% in the third quarter of 2008 when compared to the same period of 2007.
• Glasgow City Centre Car Parks Chose CreditCall™s Card Payment System Market leading credit and debit card payment specialists CreditCall, are pleased to be providing credit and debit card payment services to the city of Glasgow for their recently upgraded car parks. The city™s five largest car parks, operated by City Parking (Glasgow), feature new SkiData pay-on-foot parking machines, all equipped with CreditCall™s secure credit and debit card payment system. The new paystations which went live during September 2008. All use full chip and PIN authentication for each transaction. Following a review of the council™s security requirements for access...
• London Mayor Boris Johnson drops £3bn transport plansLondon mayor Boris Johnson launched his transport plans for the capital city today, promising better buses, cycle routes and continuing investment in Tube and rail, but shelving £3bn worth of potential projects including the Thames Gateway bridge, the Cross River tram and Croydon tram extension.
• Teesport-Scotland high-cube rail service launchedPD Ports and EWS have launched a high-cube-capacity container train service connecting Teesport to Mossend and Grangemouth, but believe further expansion could be limited by the rail network's capability to carry high-cube containers.
• DHL Container Logistics reports £2.7m lossDHL Container Logistics has reported a loss of almost for £3m last year, despite doubling turnover.
• Wincanton buys container haulier CEL GroupWincanton has tightened its grip on the container transport sector with acquisition of Woodbridge, Suffolk firm CEL Group.
• TIF bid advert begins to airA television advert outlining the main points of the £2.7bn Transport Innovation Fund bid will air for the first time this evening.
• M&S unveils major logistics plansMarks & Spencer (M&S) has announced that it substantially increasing its logistics spending in order to improve the efficiency of its operations.
• DHL unveils new Tyrebox for Europe solutionDHL has announced that it has created a new patented solution for the transportation of tyres.
• Wincanton reports increase in first-half profitsDespite the current economic downturn, Wincanton has announced that it has seen a six per cent rise in its profits over the first half of the year, compared with the same period of 2007.

Other Subscription Services

• Sharp jump in Prince Rupert container trafficCANADIAN port's box traffic surges since Cosco vessels began calling at the newly built container terminal in July.
• Svitzer picks Cape of Good Hope over SuezSVITZER confirms it is rerouting all vessels around the Cape of Good Hope at all times to avoid risk of pirate attacks.