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

Wednesday, 31 December 2008

BBC News

• Scotland ends NHS car park feesHospital car parking charges are phased out in Scotland but there are no plans to scrap fees in England.
• US offers $6bn bail-out for GMACThe US Treasury unveils a $6bn rescue package for GMAC, General Motors' troubled car loan arm.
• Airbus meets A380 target in 2008European planemaker Airbus says it has met its target for this year of delivering 12 A380 superjumbos.

Financial Times

• Lebedev bank's range of creditorsAlexander Lebedev, head of Russia's National Reserve Bank, said yesterday that $400m in loans taken out last year against a 25 per cent stake in Aeroflot were owed to...
• Storm clouds gather for China's airlinesChina has 23 airlines operating domestically, but many analysts expect that number to shrink rapidly as losses mount and the government pushes for consolidation, which will ultimately benefit the state-owned players

The Guardian

• Safety experts say cars should be fitted with speed limitersSpeed limiters should be fitted to cars and lorries on a voluntary basis to reduce carbon emissions and cut accidents, a transport advisory body has recommended.

The Independent

• Labour considers car speed-limitersFitting speed-limiting devices in cars could prevent up to 29 per cent of road accidents that result in injuries, according to a report by a government advisory body.

The Scotsman

• Union fights against rail job cutsA leading union is to launch a New Year campaign aimed at halting plans to cut hundreds of rail jobs, warning that the move will leave stations unstaffed, it was announced.

Times Online

• 'Speed control' devices should be installed in cars, say campaigners Automatic speed control devices should be installed in cars to force motorists to stick to speed limits, an influential pressure group recommended today.

Mail Online

• Rail users facing fare increases of an inflation-busting 11% - a 'national scandal', claim unions But fares regulated by the Government - such as season tickets, savers and standard day returns - will rise by an average of 6 per cent from January 2.

Transport Briefing

• Revamped Arriva Voyager and Turbostars enter serviceArriva CrossCountry has introduced the first refurbished Class 221 Voyager into passenger service.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Airbus hands over 11th superjumboAIRCRAFT manufacturer Airbus has handed over its eleventh A380 superjumbo of the year – leaving the company which has a wingmaking plant in North Wales just one short of its target of 12 deliveries this year.

Manchester Evening News

• MAG in race to seal Gatwick bidMANCHESTER Airport Group faces a race against time to win further backing for its bid of around £1.8bn for Gatwick but remains confident of doing so before the January deadline.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Haymarket bus station roof set to be replacedA BUS station roof is to be replaced after glass panels shattered, endangering people below.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Train fare profits a ˜legalised scam™A fresh row over rail fares flared yesterday after a union claimed the UK™s biggest transport groups were making œbumper profits, giving shareholders dividend increases of up to 33%.
• Bus bosses to meet angry passengersTransport giant Stagecoach has pledged to hold talks with angry passengers to try to resolve a catalogue of complaints about its busy Peterhead to Aberdeen service.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Green way to travel for free on mini- bus serviceFARNLEY and Wortley Green Party is once again running its popular free New Year's mini-bus service.

Peterborough Telegraph

• Union attacks planned rail job cutsThe RMT union is to launch a new year campaign aimed at halting hundreds of rail job cuts it says are being planned by National Express East Anglia.

The Economist

• High-speed rail: A surprising conversion The politics if not the economics are turning in favourONCE it was a wistful dream of technophiles, railway buffs and fringe pressure groups. But in recent months the idea of a British high-speed rail network, similar to those pioneered in Japan and France, has begun to attract some serious political traction.The Conservatives, traditionally the party of the motor car, endorsed the vision last autumn. In September Theresa Villiers, the Tory shadow transport secretary, claimed that a fast railway connecting London with Leeds by way of Birmingham and Manchester could obviate the need for the unp...

Washington Post

• GM Aims To Drive Sales With Incentives No longer teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, General Motors is tackling its next financial challenge: convincing people to buy cars again.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Bullet trains 'could be used in Britain'The government is considering introducing Japanese-style bullet trains to the UK rail network, it has emerged.Transport minister Lord Adonis is planning to introduce the 200mph trains, which were first pioneered in Japan in the 1960s.Journey times across the country would be greatly reduced with the introduction of the new service, with trips from London to Manchester taking just 80 minutes.It is believed that the government wants the new trains to be in operating within 20 years, with a public enquiry set to be avoided through the use of planning laws."In Japan it has been a powerful...

Other News Sources

• International air traffic sees slump in NovemberGENEVA -- Struggling airlines faced more trouble in November, with passenger numbers down and freight hit by a “shocking” 13.5 percent fall, industry group IATA said Tuesday, warning of heavy loss...
• Union fights against rail job cuts
• Hanwha gets funding extensionTHE Korean Development Bank (KDB) has given Hanwha another month to raise urgently needed funds to secure its majority stake in Daewoo.
• Pirate attacks thwartedTHE German Navy disrupted a pirate attack on the Egyptian bulker Wadi Al Arab on 25 December, a week after an armed yacht deterred a separate attack in the Gulf of Aden.
• MAG still seeking bid partners as deadline loomsManchester Airports Group (MAG) is still looking for partners to join its consortium to buy Gatwick Airport, as the deadline looms for first round bids.
• 'Bullet train' would cut Manchester to London journey time to 80 minutesTrain journeys between Manchester and London could be cut to as little as 80 minutes under proposals put forward by the transport minister, Lord Adonis.

Other Subscription Services

• Cosco warns on profits as owners defer paymentsSINGAPORE-listed Cosco Corp issues profit warning as owners ask to defer payments.