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

Friday, 21 November 2008

BBC News

• Petition over planned bus schemeA petition signed by nearly 3,000 people is to be presented to councillors in Bath by residents opposed to a rapid bus route scheme.
• Manchester in traffic charge voteThe congestion question has been vexing the people of Greater Manchester since 2005, when the prospect of paying to drive in and out of the city was was first mooted.
• Scots rail fares set to increaseRail passengers in Scotland face a 6% rise in the ticket prices - almost 2% above the current rate of inflation.
• Technology sets sights on piracyTechnology is proving to help some ship owners stay one step ahead of pirates.
• Peugeot Citroen cuts 2,700 jobsFrench car company Peugeot Citroen announces plans to shed 2,700 jobs because of falling demand in Europe.
• No agreement for US car bail-outUS carmakers are given a deadline to produce a viable recovery plan if they want a $25bn government bail-out.

Financial Times

• Shipping avoids Suez on piracy fearsThe Suez Canal, the international waterway crucial to Egypt's economy, faces a dramatic decline as shipping companies shift to other sea routes to avoid Somali pirates
• Asian airlines could face cargo revenue fallA leading aviation executive says regional carriers, already facing a downturn in passenger travel, should brace for a drop of as much as 20% in revenues by the middle of next year
• Network Rail seeks clarification on funding from regulatorThe rail network operator edged towards accepting the regulator's ruling on funding but said it needed to know its credit rating
• Air France-KLM postpones jet ordersEurope's biggest airline measured by turnover says it will continue to be affected by deteriorating economic conditions but it expects to remain profitable at the operational level this year
• American Airlines sees sweeping consolidationTom Horton of American Airlines sees sweeping, global consolidation ahead for his indusrty

The Independent

• Motorists to face roadside drug tests plannedNew technology that can test drivers for illegal drugs in as little as90 seconds will be ready for police use as early as next year, The Independent has learnt.

Times Online

• Changes in traffic law may not drive death from the roads With fewer people dying on the roads than at any time since records began in 1926, it may be difficult to understand why the Government is taking a harder line with those who speed or drive carelessly.
• Gloom spreads to Europe and Asia carmakers The gloom surrounding the global car industry deepened today as major companies across Europe and Asia announced production cuts and job losses.
• CBI chief Richard Lambert opposes big bailout for carmakers Richard Lambert, the CBI Director-General, risked the wrath of Britain's biggest industry yesterday when he said that UK carmakers should not receive large American-style bailouts.

Reuters News

• Major shippers skirt Gulf of Aden to avoid pirates* Maersk and other major shippers divert ships around Cape

ATOC

• National Rail Enquires at forefront of mapping applicationsThe Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) will unveil cutting edge mapping application technology that benefits rail passengers at the Virtual Earth Conference being held in Reading today.

Network Rail

• NETWORK RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE LIMITED “ INTERIM RESULTS FOR THE SIX MONTH PERIOD 1 APRIL TO 30 SEPTEMBER 2008¢ RECORD PUNCTUALITY ¢ FOCUS ON INCREASING CAPACITY TO ALLOW MORE FREQUENT, LONGER TRAINS

Transport Briefing

• Orbital bus boost as Mayor cites manifesto pledgeMayor of London Boris Johnson's mayoral election commitment to improve orbital bus services around the capital will see the X26 Croydon to Heathrow Airport service doubled in frequency from Saturday (22 November).
• Corby regeneration chief handed Thames Gateway roleBob Lane, former chief executive of Catalyst Corby and North Northants Development Company and chief executive of Speke Garston Development Company, has been appointed chair of the London Thames Gateway Development Corporation (LTGDC).
• Transport settlement gives each borough £100K windfallTransport grants of £100,000 are to be handed to London boroughs under a no-strings-attached pilot scheme that will give local authorities greater freedom over how they allocate transport funds.
• Final push to complete West Coast line by 14 DecemberNetwork Rail says it is confident the £9bn West Coast Main Line upgrade will be completed on time next month, despite a frantic last minute programme of scheduled engineering works over the next three weeks.

Birmingham Post

• Don’t let airport expansion plans to get off the groundan article in the local press about Paul Kehoe the new CEO of Birmingham International Airport. In it he states that should the third runway at Heathrow be abandoned then with “better rail links Birmingham would become the third runway “.
• Why Birmingham has to have a joined-up public transport systemKeith Mitchell, partner at Peter Brett Associates, asks if Birmingham will welcome the first integrated transport authority.
• Birmingham transport network 'one of worst in UK'Poor public transport will cost jobs in Birmingham as the recession hits home, a new study has warned.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Plug to be pulled on tram lineAN £87 million extension to Edinburgh's tram line is set to be scrapped amid a mounting cash crisis.

Journal Live

• Red kites campaign wins UK Bus AwardsTHE North East’s re-introduced red kites have helped land a national award for a regional company.

Newcastle Journal

• Planes, trains or automobiles? Climate villains revealedA study that takes into account the different nature of all transportation emissions, says cars and trucks have the biggest warming effect on the planet

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Kyle line to remain closed for another three daysA SECTION of the train line between Inverness and Kyle will be closed for at least another three days after it was struck by a landslide which later caused a passenger train to leave the track.
• Bypass ˜will destroy park of 50,000 trees™A father-of-two who planted around 50,000 trees to offset his family™s carbon footprint yesterday claimed his work would be destroyed unnecessarily if the proposed Aberdeen bypass wins approval.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Leeds BAE jobs under threatBAE Systems announced the loss of up to 200 jobs in its land systems business in the UK today.
• Leeds station barrier grief goes on for rail chiefsThey were supposed to bolster the rail industry's efforts to tackle the problem of fare dodging.

International Herald Tribune

• Economy hits European flag carriers in premium ticketsAir France-KLM followed British Airways and Lufthansa in reporting a steep fall in quarterly earnings.

The Economist

• The car industry: Pass the plateIf Detroit’s carmakers are bailed out, Europe’s will be next in lineNOT only in Washington, DC, is there a fierce debate over state aid to the beleaguered car industry. On November 18th, just as the bosses of General Motors (GM), Ford and Chrysler were lining up before the Senate banking committee to ask for help, the directors of the European Investment Bank, the European Union’s lending arm, were considering whether to give Europe’s carmakers €40 billion ($51 billion) in soft loans. The previous day the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, had met executives of GM&...

Washington Post

• Major shippers skirt Gulf of Aden to avoid pirates MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Rampant piracy off Somalia is forcing shipping companies to avoid the Suez Canal and send cargoes of oil and other goods on a longer journey around southern Africa, industry officials said on Thursday.
• Auto Failure Could Fuel Credit Crisis With lawmakers weighing the possibility of allowing one of the nation's automakers to fail, some on Wall Street and in Detroit are arguing that the consequences of failure could reach far beyond the industry and into the broader economy.
• Democrats demand Big 3 offer survival plan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic congressional leaders, seeking to salvage a bailout of the Big Three automakers, demanded executives provide a business survival plan in exchange for their support of up to $25 billion in loans.

Railnews

• News: Network Rail — first-half profit of £706M, and punctuality at 92% NETWORK Rail has reported a profit of £706 million for the half year to 30 September 2008 and the highest levels of train punctuality since records began (1992), averaging over 92% for the period. The company also explained its position over a possible appeal to the Competition Commission about the Rail Regulator’s decision on spending plans for the next five years.

Transport for London

• Mayor announces £168.3m boost to local transport across LondonLargest ever funding package and greater freedom over spending to help boroughs cut road deaths, improve town centres and cycling facilities, tackle the school run and carry out essential main road maintenance.
• Croydon bus team celebrates award winMayor of London, Boris Johnson, congratulated staff at Metrobus' Croydon Service Quality Team today, after they won the London Service Quality Award at the UK Bus Awards this week.
• Beddington Farm bus garage celebrates award winMayor of London, Boris Johnson, congratulated staff at Arriva's Beddington Farm Garage today, after they won the London Bus Garage Award at the UK Bus Awards this week.
• Double celebration for Tolworth bus driverMayor of London, Boris Johnson, has offered his congratulations to Nelio Rebelo-Goncalves, who won the London Bus Driver Award at the UK Bus Awards this week.
• Orbital express bus route to double in frequencyThe first opportunity for Londoners living and working in outer boroughs to take advantage of the Mayor's commitment to improve orbital bus services around the Capital begins on Saturday 22 November 2008.

Aviation Industry

• Trek Chainless BicycleOne of the best forms of exercise is cycling, but there is a downside to owing a bicycle, and that is the chain. These often come of the cogs, or you get greased up if it rubs on you as you cycle. There is hope thanks to the new Trek Chainless Bicycle
• Offers to buy SpeedFerriesPOTENTIAL buyers have made offers for the troubled ferry company SpeedFerries, administrators say.
• New look runway set for take off after £16m upgrade project heraldsA multi million pound project to resurface Scotland's busiest airport runway has been completed on budget, and ahead of schedule.

Other News Sources

• Park and Ride scheme start is delayedSCARBOROUGH'S new Park and Ride scheme will not be opening this weekend as planned.
• Bus fare scheme is drain on fundsA councillor plans to tell Government transport chiefs how Scarborough taxpayers are being "taken for a ride" over the controversial concessionary bus fare scheme.
• First birthday for high-speed train stationHigh-speed rail operator Eurostar is celebrating the first anniversary of Ebbsfleet International.
• ’Delight’ as revamp of dock area beginsHaulage giant Stobart Group has begun demolition work on the West Bank Dock Estate in a move which will pave the way for a new 600,000sq ft facility employing 1,200 staff.
• Train users angry over restaurant car decisionEast Anglia's main train operator was accused last night of a possible breach of its franchise agreement by axing its popular restaurant cars.
• Great Rail Journeys to sell through tradeGreat Rail Journeys is to sell train holidays through the trade for the first time in its history. The operator...
• Belgian trains contractBombardier Transportation has signed a contract to assemble certain sections of Siemens' Desiro ML multiple-unit trains on order from Belgian National Railways.
• Oyster cards 'should be used everywhere'Oyster cards should be rolled out across the whole country to increase public transport use, a thinktank has found.
• Orlando Sanford International Airport Starts Six Month Project to Repave Primary RunwayOrlando Sanford International Airport has started a six month construction project on the airport's 9,600 foot primary runway.
• Bmibaby launches campaign to push new routesBmibaby is launching a digital out-of-home campaign in airports to highlight its new summer 2009 routes. The campaign, which launches today (November 20), is the first time the budget airline has advertised its new flight programme.
• Wide ties reported for Sirius piratesPIRATES holding a Saudi VLCC have been reported to be a sophisticated group well connected to Dubai, which has used past ransoms to reinvest in new vessels and arms and to fashion a network across the Horn of Africa.
• London Councils issues costs warning over TfL red tapeThe additional £7 million the boroughs are to receive next April from Transport for London (TfL) for improving the capital™s roads and footways must not be swallowed up in red tape, London Councils has warned.

Other Subscription Services

• Piracy could add $400m to owners' insurance cover costsNEWS comes as AP Moller-Maersk confirms it will reroute vulnerable vessels around Cape of Good Hope.