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

Thursday, 08 January 2009

BBC News

• Funding bid to boost bus travelA £15m funding bid to improve bus travel on Tyneside and in Sunderland by cutting delays on the roads has been submitted to the Government.
• Rail chaos 'due to rushed work'Major disruption on a major rail line was caused because of a

Financial Times

• Tories to switch track on rail systemThe Conservatives look set to reverse one of their highest-profile transport policy stances by accepting that the rail industry's structure should stay largely as it is.
• Sir Stelios backs down on EasyJet demandsSir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, founder and biggest shareholder in EasyJet, has shelved for the moment his demand to appoint two of his own nominees to the airline's board...
• Air France-KLM 'favoured as Alitalia investor'Silvio Berlusconi, Italy's centre-right prime minister, was reported to have given the green light to the new owners of Alitalia to sell a minority stake to Air France-KLM rather than Lufthansa
• When Porsche comes to shoveScania is a sideshow for Porsche. VW remains the object of its strategic attention

The Guardian

• Post-bendy loading testHere's the full text of an internal TfL email, sent on 18th December last year.
• Fifth day of rail disruption on west coast lineThousands of west coast passengers were held up yesterday after the revamped rail route had a fifth day of services to and from London Euston halted because of another power failure.Network Rail blamed a series of
• Stansted protesters sentenced to community service amid threat of £2m damages claimA group of climate change protesters who brought Stansted airport to a standstill after occupying a taxiway in December were sentenced yesterday, as it emerged that they and others who joined them face the threat of being sued for more than £2m in damages.Most of the 22 campaigners, who are members of the group Plane Stupid, were ordered to do between 50 and 90 hours community service after admitting aggravated trespass. The incident closed the airport in Essex for five hours.Each of the protesters must pay compensation of £60 to cover £3,000 worth of damage to th...

The Herald

• West Coast rail route disruption ’caused by rush to upgrade line’Disruption on a major rail line linking Scotland and London was caused by a rush to upgrade the route, it was claimed yesterday, after passengers suffered a sixth successive day of chaos.

The Independent

• Engineers brave freeze to repair stricken West Coast Main LineNetwork Rail has been accused of ignoring warnings that it was rushing upgrade work to Britain's busiest railway after the latest in a series of faults on the line led to a sixth day of disruptions. Tens of thousands of rush-hour commuters were stranded at London's Euston station yesterday morning after another problem with overhead power cables closed the West Coast Main Line, which stretches from London to Glasgow.

The Scotsman

• Motor industry 'expecting losses'Senior executives in the motor industry are expecting more companies to go out of business in the coming years as revenues and profits continued to fall, according to a new re

The Telegraph

• Rail passengers face another two days of disruption 48 hours more disruption on the West Coast Main Line following a series of power failures.
• Stansted Airport protesters sentenced Protesters who brought Stansted Airport to a standstill after a demonstration last month have been sentenced.

Times Online

• Rail expansion grinds to a halt as power line faults cause chaos A plan to provide thousands of extra seats a day on Britain’s busiest rail route is likely to be postponed indefinitely because Network Rail fears that there are many undiscovered defects on the overhead power lines.
• Carmakers seek cash from banks as doubts grow over government bailout Car industry chiefs are going directly to the banks for help as doubts grow over a government bailout.

Reuters News

• UPDATE 1-Tough year ahead for Mexican airport firmsMEXICO CITY, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Mexican airport operators are bracing for a tough 2009 as small airlines, hurt by the financial crisis and fuel costs, close businesses and travelers fly less.

Daily Express

• BA tightens its beltBRITISH Airways chief executive Willie Walsh yesterday said the airline would wait to see how the credit crunch affected rivals before planning its schedules for next winter.

Mail Online

• Rail bosses blamed for 'rushed job' as 100,000 commuters caught in travel chaos Britain's busiest railway was in meltdown yesterday with trains in and out of Euston brought to a virtual standstill.

Transport Briefing

• Euston trains suspended in West Coast rail disruptionTrains to and from London Euston have once again been suspended following further infrastructure problems on the West Coast Main Line.
• Network Rail under pressure to explain rail chaosNetwork Rail is facing mounting pressure to explain a succession of major infrastructure failures after a sixth day of disruption to Britain's flagship rail route.

Birmingham Post

• West Coast train chaos costs businesses £38mThe chaos on the West Coast Mainline during the past three working days has cost business a “shocking” £38 million, it was estimated yesterday.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Airbus still the world’s biggest maker of planesAIRBUS is set to retain the title of the world’s biggest aircraft manufacturer in 2008.
• Virgin's London rail links disrupted againRail passengers endured yet another morning of rush-hour misery today after overhead cable problems halted all but a few trains into one of the UK’s busiest stations.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Waverley link timetable is speeded upCAMPAIGNERS have welcomed the news that the restoration of the £295 million Waverley rail link between Edinburgh and the Borders has been brought forward to next year.
• Tram bosses urged to ditch guardrails around new lineA NATIONAL charity has called on tram bosses to ditch plans for guardrails around tram stops to prevent passengers being "boxed in like cattle".

London Evening Standard

• 100,000 stranded as rail line fails for third time in weekBritain's busiest railway was in meltdown with trains in and out of Euston brought to a virtual standstill

Manchester Evening News

• Hoon blasts Tories' cash vow TRANSPORT secretary Geoff Hoon has challenged the Tories over comments made by David Cameron at an M.E.N. debate. The Conservative Party leader said on Tuesday that Greater Manchester should get money from the Transport Innovation Fund, even though taxpayers had voted `no' to congestion charging.

Metro

• 100,000 in rail chaos after power failureOver 100,000 rail passengers were facing more New Year travel chaos today after a power failure halted all trains in and out of one of the UK's busiest stations.

The News (Portsmouth)

• Video: Hindhead tunnel is a worldwide web starDavid Wareham is so hooked on one of the south's biggest road-building projects he decided to tell the world.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• CalMac will change fuel on west coast ferries to save costsFERRY company Caledonian MacBrayne will use different oil on three of its ferries to make fuel efficiency savings it was asked to achieve for its tender for the Hebridean services.
• New ticket machines to make bus travel easierNEW ticket machines that are designed to make boarding buses easier and faster are to be installed in Aberdeen buses.
• Call to seize drink-drivers™ carsA motoring organisation yesterday called for the cars of repeat drink-drivers to be confiscated.
• Bus grandad to lobby at HolyroodA north-east campaigner is appearing in front of a powerful Holyrood committee next week to lobby for new safety measures on school buses, it emerged last night.

The York Press

• 43 objections to York ticket barrier bid DOZENS of rail passengers and residents have formally objected to plans to install automated ticket barriers at York Station.

This Is Local London Network

• WALTHAM FOREST: Plane noise set to increaseThe roar of airliners overhead may become a more common occurrence in Waltham Forest after plans were revealed to change flight-paths over north east London.

Chester Standard

• Popular Cheshire PlusBus service expandsTHE popular PlusBus service serving Chester, Ellesmere Port and Neston is expanding, thanks to a new addition to its fleet.

Peterborough Telegraph

• Rail workers to vote on action in pay rowWorkers at a rail firm which runs trains from London and Southend are to be balloted over industrial action in a row over bank holiday pay.

Sunderland Echo

• Urgent help call as car sales plummetA union leader and an industry expert have called for urgent help for Britain's car industry, including Nissan, after news of plummeting sales.

The Shields Gazette

• Tyne to celebrate port's successTHE Port of Tyne has cruised to unprecedented success, despite the general economic downturn.

Washington Post

• Continental flight powered with biofuel takes off HOUSTON -- Continental Airlines on Wednesday became the first U.S. commercial carrier to conduct a demonstration flight powered in part by alternative fuels, though large-scale use of such fuel is forecast to be several years away.

Transport for London

• Tube Public Private Partnership (PPP) annual report publishedPublic Private Partnership (PPP) maintenance and renewal of the Tube is keeping pace with record demand according to London Underground's (LU's) annual PPP Report.

Aviation Industry

• 2008 was 2nd safest year for AirlinesThere were only 26 survivors in the mid-afternoon crash of a Spanair jet that crashed on takeoff at Madrid airport in August 2008.
• Pay-As-You-Go Airline Charges by the Minute Taking a cue from the cellphone industry, an upstart South African airline is selling flights by the minute and allowing customers to buy tickets and book flights via text message.
• JetBlue December traffic falls 5.1%A revenue passenger mile is one paying passenger flown one mile. The New York-based airline said capacity declined 5.1% to 2.67 billion available seat miles last month from 2.81 billion in December 2007.
• New system for the New Year (press release) New regulations for BA visa waiver scheme read more

Other News Sources

• MP calls in Health and Safety over gritting operationsAn MP is calling on the Health and Safety Executive to investigate allegations that gritting has not been carried out on enough roads and footpaths as the icy winter bites.
• New Bangor to London train services criticisedBut Conwy MP Betty Williams has spoken out against the companies and believes their claims of an improved service have been highly exaggerated.
• MP backs bid to cut greenhouse gasesThe new law, which will also include the UK’s share of emissions from international aviation and shipping, requires the Government to set out their plans for meeting the target in spring 2009.
• Stobart to exercise option to buy Carlisle AirportStobart Group intends to exercise its option to buy Carlisle Airport, which runs out this month. The company is confident the multi-million-pound project will go ahead subject to finalisation of a planning-related legal agreement, shareholder approval, and a satisfactory planning decision notice.
• Somali pirates free Turkish cargo ship, ransom paidISTANBUL -- Somali pirates released a Turkish cargo ship hijacked in October after its owners paid a ransom, Turkey's Anatolian news agency said on Wednesday. The MV Yasa Neslihan was en route to Chin...
• New car sales stall to worst for 10 yearsNew car sales in Britain plunged more than a fifth in the past year in what was the worst 12 months for the car industry in more than a decade
• Network Rail denies West Coast Main Line delays down to upgradeNetwork Rail today denied that a spate of overhead power line failures on the West Coast Main Line (WCML) was the fault of the line's recently-completed £9bn upgrade.
• New car sales fall again in December Sales of new cars have slumped again in December, dragging sales for 2008 down by 11.3 per cent compared with 2007.
• Rail chaos after £9bn line upgrade Thousands of rail users have faced a sixth day of chaos on a main line between Scotland and London, leaving Euston closed.
• Commission infighting holds back plans to boost maritime transportTransport commissioner wants to loosen tax rules; tax department wants clearer definitions.
• Tough negotiations ahead over green road chargesThe Czech EU Presidency has identified striking a deal on 'green charges' for trucks as one of its key priorities for the coming months. Meanwhile, member states remain divided over the issue, and industry stakeholders have joined forces to denounce the 
• Ports not protected from stormThe port and terminal industry may be more adversely affected by the global economic downturn than previously expected, industry sources have warned.