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Thursday, 05 February 2009

BBC News

• Train spotter decision reversed decision not to allow train spotters access to Darlington station to view the new £3m steam engine Tornado has been reversed. National Express said it would not allow the public onto the platform when the train carries its first passengers to London on Saturday.
• £11m deal for bus building firmA County Antrim company has signed an £11m partnership deal to supply 57 new London buses. The deal between Wrightbus in Ballymena and VDL Groep in Eindhoven is for the supply of buses to operator Arriva.
• Car sales fall further in JanuaryThe number of cars registered in the UK in January declined 30.9% year-on-year, according to industry figures.
• Car giant Ford to cut 850 workersCar giant Ford is to cut up to 850 jobs at its UK operations by May, with its Transit plant in Southampton hardest hit.
• Rise in rail crossing deaths [video]There are calls for new guidelines to make Britain's level crossings safer. Mark Worthington reports.
• Vauxhall staff cut working hoursStaff at Vauxhall's car plants in Ellesmere Port and Luton are taking a cut in pay after an agreement is reached to reduce their working hours.

Department for Transport

• Transport statistics The Department for Transport has today published the following Transport Statistics: * Road Casualties in Great Britain: Quarterly Provisional Estimates Q3 2008, * Road Traffic and Congestion in Great Britain: Quarter 4 2008

Financial Times

• EC wants French car industry restructuredA high-level meeting over a French plan to offer assistance to its car industry ended on Wednesday night with France insisting that the measures would not be protectionist, but Brussels warning that some restructuring of the sector would be needed.
• Shipping line to move HQ to LiverpoolMaersk Line UK and Ireland says cheaper office space and the quality of the local workforce help influence its decision to transfer from London
• Qantas earnings nosedive by 68%Tthe Australian carrier reported a 68 per cent drop in first half profits as the airline was hit by a downturn in international travel, and volatile currency and oil prices
• Airbus snubs Ryanair over discountsAirbus has said it does not want to get involved in a bidding war with Boeing over the contract to build between 300 and 400 short-haul aircraft for Ryanair

The Guardian

• Johnson airport plans could threaten legal challenge to Heathrow runwayBoris Johnson's plans to build a new airport in the Thames estuary could weaken a legal challenge against expansion of Heathrow he is helping to fund, it was claimed today.
• Train operators fear lower fares as inflation plummetsMinisters face a politically fraught ­decision on whether to impose fare increases in 2010, rail industry insiders have warned, after train operators ­confirmed that ticket prices are heading for a shock decline next year.

The Independent

• Britain runs short of grit as fresh snow is forecastThe gritting salt used to de-ice our roads could run out within days. As forecasters predicted that further heavy snowfall would sweep Britain today, the country's biggest supplier of rock salt admitted it had a backlog of orders to replenish the dwindling stockpiles held by local authorities.

Reuters News

• Network Rail scraps plan to raise £6 billion debtRail operator Network Rail has scrapped plans to raise around 6 billion pounds in debt from the open market, citing tough regulatory targets and market conditions

Transport Briefing

• Transport panel calls on Mayor to consider Crossrail 2Short-term cuts to rail services as the recession bites must not be allowed to jeopardise long-term efforts to reduce overcrowding on trains, according to a London Assembly report published this week.
• Rail upgrade to double capacity on North London LineEngineering work begins this weekend on a £326m project to upgrade the North London Line in time for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Belfast Telegraph

• Firm signs £11m London bus dealBus makers Wrightbus has signed an £11m partnership deal with a Dutch company to supply buses to London, it was announced today.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Caernarfon coach company donates trees to schoolA COACH company has cut its carbon footprint by donating 1,000 trees to a Caernarfon school.

Edinburgh Evening News

• £320 to park at your own doorDRIVERS of so-called "gas guzzlers" in the Capital are set to pay more as transport chiefs press ahead with plans to introduce higher parking charges for the most polluting cars.

Journal Live

• Virgin boss Richard Branson may bid for East Coast lineSIR Richard Branson could launch a bid for the East Coast Main Line, it emerged yesterday.

Liverpool Echo

• Ellesmere Port Vauxhall plant to work four day weekELLESMERE Port’s Vauxhall plant will start working a four day week in 12 days time.

London Evening Standard

• MPs grill rail bosses over fare risesRail chiefs faced a barrage of criticism after appearing before MPs to be questioned about inflation-busting fare rises.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Nissan staff offered cut-price car in redundancy dealNISSAN staff have been given details of their redundancy package which includes money off a new car.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Bus company fined over poor Skye and Lochaber servicesA Highland bus company has been fined £17,500 after its services in Skye and Lochaber failed to stick to their timetables, it emerged yesterday.
• ˜Lack of bypass leadership™ claimMoray Council was yesterday criticised for a lack of leadership over the Elgin bypass. SNP councillor Graham Leadbitter said responsibility for the bypass case œlay firmly at the door of the council™s administration.

The York Press

• Price of petrol rises at pumps FUEL prices in York have risen for the third time in a month since reaching their lowest level in almost four years at the beginning of January.
• Selby MP condemns above inflation bus fare hike BUS fares in the Selby district are going up.

Northants Evening Telegraph

• Call to end Corby pothole miseryA petition calling for action on the state of Corby's roads is to be presented to a senior county council member tonight.

Sunderland Echo

• Inventor unveils a gritting revolutionIt's snow joke. Inventor Dr Phillip Tann claims to have finally come up with a solution to the winter misery of snow-bound roads.
• Branson eager to run on East Coast rail lineVirgin boss Sir Richard Branson may launch a bid for the East Coast Main Line after concern that National Express is struggling to run the service.
• 25 jobs to go at car parts plantABOUT 25 jobs are set to go at a Wearside car parts plant.

Forbes

• DryShips Dips Its Toe In Optimism The dry bulk shipowner restructures its debt, sending its shares soaring.

Railnews

• Changes at the top for CILTBERNARD AUTON is to become director general of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport International. He takes over from Cyril Bleasdale, managing director of Railnews and former British Rail InterCity director, who has served as director general since 1999.
• News: Company hits back at ’scaremongering’ union claims NETWORK Rail has accused a rail union of ’scaremongering’ after it claimed the rail infrastructure will be unsafe if it cuts back on its track renewals programme.
• News: £2m extension opens to await new train fleet A £2.2 million extension to First Capital Connect’s Bedford depot has been completed in readiness for the arrival of 23 new trains.
• News: Electrification plans expand to take in more routes NETWORK Rail is examining plans for extensive infill electrification, in addition to proposals to electrify major parts of the Great Western and Midland main lines, Railnews has learned.
• News: Brown will back ’credible plan’ to link Heathrow and West Midlands Gordon Brown has thrown his weight behind high-speed rail as the controversy over whether it should replace a new Heathrow Airport runway reached fever pitch.

Aviation Industry

• New routes to Norway from London Gatwick AirportGatwick Airport is welcoming a range of new routes for passengers with the expansion of the route network of Norwegian, one of its existing airlines...
• BAA Heathrow launches 'Connecting Communities'BAA Heathrow launches 'Connecting Communities' - support for Age Concern and Help the Aged programmes...
• Qantas profits slump 66% High fuel costs hit first half results read more

Other News Sources

• Rail firm to axe 180 more jobsSouth West Trains has announced plans to make 180 people redundant – on top of the 480 job cuts announced in January.
• Silly buffers!In the birthplace of the railways, officials are stopping sightseers from waving off the first main line steam locomotive to be built in Britain for half a century.
• Jet2 and Oxford Aviation seal five-year training dealUK budget carrier Jet2 and Oxford Aviation Academy have signed a five-year deal covering simulator and ab initio pilot training.
• Nantwich railway station rewardedA TOP award has been won by Nantwich Railway Station. It was given the Best Station Garden accolade in the Best Kept Station awards organised by Visit Chester & Cheshire.
• Firm signs £11m London bus dealBallymena bus maker Wrightbus has signed an £11 million partnership deal with a Dutch company to supply busses to London.
• Boris Island is a fantasy, says Labour London mayor Boris Johnson's proposal to build an airport in the Thames Estuary is a fantasy, London Assembley Labour environmental spokesman Murad Qureshi is expected to say today.
• Liberal Democrat ploy to bring airports outside Planning ActLiberal Democrat MP Susan Kramer has tabled a Bill that, if passed, could pave the way to bring approval for airport expansion outside the new Planning Act, and instead require Parliamentary approval.
• Scott Wilson win M1 Luton junction contractLuton Borough Council has selected Scott Wilson as the preferred bidder to design the upgrade of the M1 Luton Spur junction.
• Norbert Dentressangle™s transport arm takes a hitNorbert Dentressangle Group (ND) says a
• BMW reveals ’eco’ petrol supercarBMW has unveiled plans for an eco supercar. The two-seater BMW Z10 ED will be BMW’s flagship green model featuring hybrid power and BMW’s suite of Efficient Dynamics fuel-saving technologies. Designers of the 400 horsepower supercar are focusing on reduced carbon emissions instead of an electric motor. BMW said new technologies allow petrol engines to run far more [...]
• EU-wide plan for car sector in the offingEU presidency says that its proposals would include incentives to replace old cars.
• EU needs 'more robust' transport systemCommission green paper highlights climate change, bottlenecks, rail freight and ports as critical issues for EU™s transport sector.
• Biofuels 'need to be optimised' to succeedBiofuels do have a part to play in the switch to a more sustainable transport system but the production and supply chain needs to be refined to get the most out of them.
• Shipping line moves UK headquarters to the North WestGlobal shipping company AP Moller-Maersk is moving the UK and Ireland headquarters of its Maersk Line shipping business from London to Merseyside.

EIN News Subscription

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Other Subscription Services

• South West Trains cost review update and further job reduction proposalsSouth West Trains today (4 February 2009) announced it is proposing to make a further reduction of 180 posts at the company as part of its ongoing review of its cost base.