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

Thursday, 04 December 2008

BBC News

• Decision on third runway delayedA decision on whether a third runway should be built at Heathrow Airport has been put back to 2009.

Financial Times

• Merger of equals with BA plays well for Qantas chief at a time of turmoilBarely four days into his new role as chief executive of Qantas and Alan Joyce is in the thick of a complex transaction. The Australian airline he runs is attempting a...
• Stagecoach shares tumble after warningThe bus and rail company warned that commuter numbers will fall next year as the recession bites in the South East but the group predicted more people would start to use the bus
• Dublin hint at selling Aer Lingus 25% stakeThe Irish government signalled it might be ready to dispose of its 25 per cent stake in Aer Lingus under the terms of a takeover bid tabled by rival Ryanair
• Iberia gives BA merger ultimatumThe chief executive of the Spanish carrier said it would be 'too complex' for BA to pursue deals with both it and Qantas of Australia

The Guardian

• Transport shares lead market lowerTransport shares are helping to send the market lower after rail and bus group Stagecoach warned of tough times to come. The company said the outlook for its rail business in particular was challenging and planned to cut jobs in the division to make it more competitive. Its shares have lost 33.5p to 138p. Rival FirstGroup is down 20p to 410p, while Go-Ahead has fallen 133p to £10.39 and National Express is 48.75p lower at 497.75p.
• Flights resume out of Bangkok as protesters lift airport siegeHopes for the hundreds of thousands of foreign travellers stranded in Thailand were raised yesterday when the first international passenger flights left Bangkok's main airport after anti-government protesters ended their eight-day siege.
• Heavy snow and high winds forecast to cause travel chaosMany parts of the UK were forecast yesterday to wake up today to find a thick covering of snow making the daily commute treacherous.

The Herald

• Wave of car thefts as owners leave engines running to warm upCold weather has triggered a series of car thefts caused by car owners warming up their vehicles by leaving their engines running outside their homes.

The Telegraph

• Stagecoach feels commuter painStagecoach put the skids under the UK rail sector with a warning that rising unemployment in London could lead to a sharp slowdown in profits from its three main train franchises. Shares in the operator of South West Trains and East Midlands Trains – which also owns 49pc of Virgin Rail – dived 28.30 to 143.20p on Wednesday as house broker Credit Suisse chopped operating profits forecasts for the year to April 2010 from £214m to £173m. Go-Ahead shares fell 155p to £10.17, National Express 47½ to 499p, First Group 35¼ to 394¾p and Arriva 37 to 558½p, in a sector-wide sell-off.

Times Online

• British Airways’ premium numbers plunge as banks’ crisis relegates City executives to economy classCuts by City banks in their business-class travel contributed to a 10.8 per cent year-on-year fall in the number of premium passengers carried by British Airways last month.
• British car makers win delay to bringing in carbon emission cutsCar manufacturers have won a four-year delay to the introduction of European rules designed to force them to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from new cars.
• US aviation industry needs foreign cash, Barack Obama toldForeign ownership restrictions in the American airline industry should be dumped so that overseas investors can inject capital into the struggling aviation market, Barack Obama was told yesterday.
• US motor union offers to make financial sacrificesAmerica’s main car union yesterday offered big employment contract concessions in the hope that its financial sacrifices may force the hand of Congress to sign off a $34 billion ($£22.9 billion) bail-out cheque to save the US auto industry.
• Electric shock as sales of green cars go into reverseSales of electric cars have fallen by more than half this year, according to figures released two days after the Government’s climate change advisory body predicted a huge increase.
• Road and rail travellers face misery as blizzard blows inBlizzards and snowdrifts threaten to disrupt rail services and motorways today as heavy snow and high winds make milder winters seem a distant memory.

Mail Online

• Midlands forecast to wake up to a blanket of snow ... EIGHT inches thickParts of Britain woke up to snow today, with blizzards and deep drifts set to wreck havoc on the roads.
• Electric cars sales stall with just 156 sold in the UK so far this year They are supposed to be the future of transport, but sales of electric cars have stalled in the UK with just 156 sold so far this year.

Manchester Evening News

• City's gridlock miseryThe road network was brought to a standstill as City and United played simultaneous home games for the first time in more than five years.

Metro

• BA passenger numbers drop by 7.8%Fewer passengers flew with British Airways in November 2008 than in the same month last year, the airline announced today.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Bus services to be hit by strikesBus services in Aberdeen run by transport giant First are set to grind to a halt during the festive period after drivers rejected a revised pay offer.
• Laird shows impact of bypass on estateA campaigning laird whose family home lies 330ft from the proposed Aberdeen bypass yesterday led Scottish Government Reporters around his estate as part of the public local inquiry.

Wales Online

• End of the road for the M4 relief scheme?Transport and business experts fear the M4 Relief Road around Newport may never be built, after it failed to make the top 10 in a list of Welsh priority road investments.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Experts drawing up new traffic scheme for 2009Consultants are working on new plans to try to avoid the traffic chaos that choked roads at the start of this year's Leeds Festival.
• 'Terror tax' bill for Leeds Bradford AirportLeeds Bradford Airport will be slapped with a multi-million pound "terror tax" under a new law proposed by the Government.

Carlisle News & Star

• Stobart Group buys Southend airport for £21 millionThe first stage of a plan to link Cumbria to London and Europe by air has been completed with the owners of Carlisle Airport buying Southend Airport for £21m.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Deutsche Bahn warns of freight traffic dipDeutsche Bahn has warned that its freight traffic levels could fall by up to 40 per cent year-on-year in December 2008.According to the company, the financial problems being experienced by many companies in the automobile, steel, chemicals and building sectors could lead to a fall in freight business this year.

Other News Sources

• No repeat of rail problems after Christmas RAIL bosses have promised commuters in south Essex there will be no repeat of last year’s problems getting back to work after the Christmas holidays. Essential engineering works on the Southend Victoria line this Christmas will be completed on time, say Network Rail.
• Stagecoach falls as London commuters lose jobsStagecoach shares tumbled in opening deals as the group said rising unemployment will hit demand for its rail business in London over the next year or so, sparking analysts to downgrade their earnings forecasts. The comments wiped 33p, or 19.36%, off Stagecoach shares to 138.30p and dragged on peers. Arriva fell 21.5p to 573.5p, First Group was down 19p at 109.5p, while Go-Ahead dropped 115p to £10.56 and National Express fell 32.5p at 512p.
• Business leaders assured station plans still on trackAMBITIOUS plans to transform Peterborough's railway station are still well on track, business leaders were reassured last night (2 December). Concerns had been growing that the credit crunch may have slowed down the momentum of the £50 million station quarter plans, which include a complete overhaul of the current station, including a new west side entrance, and the surrounding area to create a new gateway to the developing city.
• Extra trains boost for Lichfield rail passengersLICHFIELD rail passengers are to get an early Christmas present as more trains are laid on to Birmingham – with even more in the pipeline. Shopaholics and revellers are set to benefit from major rail improvements announced across north Birmingham. From December 15, the number of evening and Saturday services on the Cross City Line North – Birmingham New Street to Lichfield – will be increased by regional transport authority Centro and train company London Midland.
• Retailers' collapse may hurt DHL and WincantonMore than 500 jobs spread between DHL Exel Supply Chain and Wincanton may be affected after retail giants MFI and Woolworths collapsed into administration on the same day last week.
• British Airways: Walsh reaches for the skiesIt might have been thought that simply keeping British Airways in the air - was enough of challenge for the carrier's chief executive Willie Walsh
• Stagecoach jolt as job axe culls commutersStagecoach today admitted for the first time that its commuter train services have become a victim of the financial crisis and the loss of up to 100,000 London jobs
• TfL seeks agency to create sponsorship opportunitiesTransport for London (TfL) is seeking an agency to find sponsorship opportunities for the body. It is inviting agencies to pitch through a tender process.
• Virgin Atlantic set to ramp up anti-BA/AA campaignVirgin Atlantic is planning to ramp up its campaign against British Airways in the wake of reports that it is in talks with Australian rival Qantas Airlines about a potential merger.