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

Wednesday, 11 February 2009

BBC News

• Tube staff protest over job cutsTube workers are demonstrating their opposition to at least 1,000 redundancies on London Underground. The Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) union are holding a mass lobby at London Underground's headquarters.
• Rail ticket hours row [video]Plans to cut opening hours at 50 rail ticket offices have angered travellers.
• Tories set out rail reform plansThe Conservatives are promising a "long-term" vision for Britain's railways, offering "practical solutions" to customers' problems.
• UK ships 'missing safety tests'Merchant navy ships could be operating below safety standards because of missed inspections, a watchdog warns.
• How the Jumbo changed the way we travelAn object of boyish wonder, an aviation milestone, a sea-change for cheap air travel, the Boeing 747 celebrates its 40th birthday.
• Taking on piratesThe EU taskforce protecting ships off Somalia
• Box in BrazilBBC container in South America's busiest port
• Carmaker Bentley to cut 220 jobsLuxury carmaker Bentley says it is cutting 220 jobs and reveals all staff will take a 10% pay cut.

Department for Transport

• Alcohol rules for leisure mariners move a step closer Alcohol rules for leisure mariners moved a step closer today as Transport Minister Jim Fitzpatrick launched a consultation on draft Regulations that will govern which vessels will come under the scope of the offence of being over the limit.

Financial Times

• Air passenger numbers drop 6.3%The number of passengers using UK airports fell sharply in January, as demand for air travel continued to fall and airlines cut capacity and removed some unprofitable...
• NOL expects full-year loss as demand plungesSingapore container shipping line becomes first to warn of shortfall
• Rival urges scrutiny of Virgin AmericaAlaska Airlines has called on regulators to investigate the carrier's, founded by Sir Richard Branson, 'US citizenship' and to probe its ownership structure

The Guardian

• Meet the new vanguard – Britain leads the way in electric vehiclesForward-thinking firms are investing in electric vehicles that will see their fleets' running costs drop – and they're made in Britain
• Level crossing maniacs put lives on the lineTricky things, level crossings. On the one hand, no one could ever condone the kind of idiocy on display in those terrifying CCTV clips released by Network Rail this week, in which a succession of cars and pedestrians miraculously escape collisions with trains by less than the proverbial hair's breadth.
• Police use 'spider's web' to stop carsIt sounds like a gizmo that Batman or Spider-Man might have dreamed up, but a net that wraps itself around the wheels of a suspect's vehicle and brings it to a halt is being used by at least two British police forces.The X-Net is laid in front of a moving car or van and, when it is activated, barbed spikes puncture the tyres. The mesh then envelopes the front wheels, forcing the vehicle to stop, often within 50m. It is possible that the doors may also become entangled in the net, trapping the occupants like a spider's web.Gloucestershire and Kent police are known to be using X-Nets but other f...

The Independent

• 'Stallion of the south' to greet travellers A monumental sculpture of a white stallion looming 50-metres high was yesterday picked to be one of the first sights to greet Eurostar passengers as they travel into London from mainland Europe.

The Telegraph

• Storms lash Britain: latest travel news Motorists face difficult driving conditions in many areas as storms heavy rain and more snow hit Britain while some rail services and flights have also been hit.
• Bentley axes jobs as car industry slump continues Bentley is to cut 220 jobs as the crisis in the car industry shows no signs of easing.
• Petrol prices back over 90 pence a litre Motorists are paying over 90 pence a litre for petrol while diesel has broken through the £1 barrier.
• Bad train operators could be stripped of franchises under Tory plansA new rail passenger champion with the right to strip badly underperforming train operators of their franchises will form a key part of the Tories' transport strategy.
• French bail-out of car industry may be illegalFrench president Nicolas Sarkozy's £5.7bn bail-out of his country's auto industry is "illegal" if loans have been tied to promises to keep car production in France.

Times Online

• The world's carmakers are stuck in neutral gear They are all dressed up but have nowhere to go. An avalanche of cash has been promised to the motor manufacturers, many billions of dollars, enough to finance a fleet of glittering new models, but it's probably too late.
• Nicolas Sarkozy's bailout of carmakers sparks EU summit President Sarkozy was warned by Brussels yesterday that it will veto his bailout for carmakers if it finds that Paris is unfairly limiting French subsidies to French workers and companies.

Reuters News

• Bank to discuss autos aid next weekLONDON (Reuters) - Business minister Mervyn Davies will meet Bank of England Governor Mervyn King next week to discuss plans to help car makers' financing companies, a spokeswoman for the Department of Business said on Tuesday.

Mail Online

• Virgin Atlantic cabin crew ad 'is sexist and offensive to women' Virgin Atlantic cabin crew ad 'is sexist and offensive to women'
• Kill yourselves somewhere else, Paris rail bosses tell suicidal commutersRail bosses in Paris have told suicidal commuters to kill themselves somewhere else because leaping onto the tracks holds up trains.

Network Rail

• COTSWOLD RAIL SCHEME HITS NEW MILESTONE The Cotswold redoubling scheme, which will bring new tracks between Evesham and Charlbury, has entered the final stages of design, moving a step closer to delivering work on the ground.
• MORE INVESTMENT IN THE RAILWAY ON HULL - SCARBOROUGH LINE

Transport Briefing

• Hima-Sella unlocks Tube sub-surface train door dealAutomation systems supplier Hima-Sella has been awarded a contract by London Underground to provide its Tracklink III door system for the new generation of trains for LU's sub-surface lines.
• Ebbsfleet station profile to get horse power boostA giant horse has been chosen as the sculpture that will put Ebbsfleet on the map and encourage people to live and work in the vicinity of the High Speed 1 international station in Kent.
• Cotswold rail double-tracking sets July start dateWork on site to redouble the Cotswold railway line will begin in July after Network Rail announced the project had reached the final design stage.

Belfast Telegraph

• Petrol prices rise again Fuel prices have risen for a fourth straight week, meaning Northern Ireland motorists are now paying around 5p more per litre each time they fill up.

Bristol Live

• Severn bridge VAT cut failure cost £128kMotorists travelling across the Severn lost out on £128,000 in December after operators failed to pass on the cut in VAT.
• Call for Bristol congestion charge voteOpponents of congestion charges are calling for the people of Bristol to be given a chance to vote on the issue – on local elections day, June 4.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Little sympathy for Holyhead port companies over ratesA MINISTER today told Holyhead port companies hit by crippling hikes in their business rates; ’You had plenty of time to prepare for the higher bills’.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Airport chief says emissions cut isn't plane and simpleNEW international air links from the Capital could be put at risk by hasty measures to cut carbon emissions, the chief executive of Edinburgh Airport has warned.

Journal Live

• ’Train firm is meeting its contract’THE Government yesterday insisted rail operator National Express was meeting its contract to run East Coast trains amid claims the service had become “third rate”.
• North Nissan jobs spared latest cullNORTH East Nissan workers are to be spared the latest cull by the Japanese car giants. The company yesterday announced it would slash 20,000 jobs across the world, but later revealed there would be no further cuts at its Wearside factory.

Liverpool Echo

• Bus drivers using council loos told: BOG OFFCITY bosses have banned bus drivers from using Municipal Building public conveniences.

London Evening Standard

• Ticket office cuts 'break the rules'Passengers fighting plans by First Capital Connect to axe opening hours at 47 ticket offices along busy commuter routes today received a boost from the rail watchdog.
• I can see the stable from here... horse sculpture for Eurostar terminalA 50-metre horse by the Turner Prize winner Mark Wallinger has won a competition for a new landmark sculpture for Kent
• Busiest trains carrying 40 per cent above their capacityLondon's overground rail network is struggling to cope with growing passenger numbers and is set to get worse, a report warns
• Battle lines drawn to keep ticket offices open closurePoliticians and union leaders have urged rail commuters to back the Evening Standard’s campaign for safer stations

Sheffield Telegraph

• Green light for £7.6m station makeoverAMBITIOUS plans to bring Rotherham Central railway station into the 21st century have been given the green light after funding was secured.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Disappointment after plans to reroute bus service rejectedAn Aberdeen city councillor has voiced his disappointment after a proposal to reroute a city bus service was rejected.
• City airport is best in ScotlandINVERNESS Airport manager Graeme Bell had a flying start to taking up his new post yesterday, with the announcement that the destination facility had taken top honours in a survey.
• Peterhead harbour revamp will bring hundreds of jobs Hundreds of new jobs will be announced at a harbour this morning following a £5million deal to transform it into one of the best fishing ports in the world.

The York Press

• Call to get tough on level crossing barrier dodgers RAIL chiefs have called for tougher penalties for level crossing barrier dodgers, as new figures revealed there were more than 400 incidents at crossings in this region last year.

Wales Online

• Welsh castle is moved into England!A FULL-PAGE picture of Cardiff Castle appears in First Great Western’s on-board magazine for rail passengers – to advertise walks in England!
• Network Rail tries to stop drivers taking rail risksSHOCKING footage of a life-threatening near miss at a Welsh railway crossing has been released.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Leeds students could lose free travelTHOUSANDS of students in Leeds face having their free travel cards axed. Education bosses in the city “ which has the country's worst record for teenagers staying in educ
• Leeds link road opensA £32.5million road has opened providing a new gateway into Leeds direct from the M1 motorway.

Carlisle News & Star

• Carlisle traffic ban scheme may be scrappedAn £840,000 Carlisle Renaissance scheme to remove œunnecessary traffic from the area around the cathedral and Tullie House may be scrapped.

Chester Standard

• Cheshire's road salt stocks running lowCHESHIRE is running low on gritting salt as the cold snap continues to bite.
• Support for Vauxhall's four-day week at Ellesmere PortVAUXHALL'S four-day working week proposal is being backed by union bosses at Ellesmere Port.

Doncaster Free Press

• New police team to travel on railwaysA TEAM of dedicated police officers has been set up to travel on rail services from Doncaster.

Peterborough Telegraph

• Work on road to begin soonWork on a busy East Anglian route could be brought forward by five months after an underpass dispute was resolved.
• Drop in passenger numbers at major airportStansted Airport handled fewer passengers last month compared with January 2008, operator BAA has announced.

West Sussex Gazette

• Anger as huge rise on cards for parkingFURIOUS residents have launched a campaign to stop Mid Sussex District Council going ahead with proposed massive increases to parking charges.

Forbes

• BP Chief Urges Oilpatch To Keep Investing Tony Hayward takes up the crucial questions facing the petroleum industry.
• Shell Chief Bets Big Despite Downturn Jeroen van der Veer expects solid returns on $31 billion in outlays this year.

Wall Street Journal

• French Auto Aid Prompts EU Competition InquiryPARIS -- France's auto-sector bailout is coming under fire from other European car-manufacturing countries and has prompted an inquiry about whether the measures violate the European Union's strict competition rules.

Washington Post

• GM cuts 10,000 salaried jobs, trims employees' pay NEW YORK -- General Motors Corp. is planning to slash another 10,000 salaried jobs this year, saying the cuts are unavoidable with a government restructuring deadline looming and industrywide sales in one of the worst downturns in history.
• U.S. senator: GM to meet restructuring plan date WASHINGTON (Reuters) - General Motors Corp CEO Rick Wagoner met congressional allies and other key members on Tuesday and one senior Democratic senator said the automaker was making progress on a government-required restructuring plan and will meet next week's deadline for submitting it.

Railnews

• News: More bad weather hits train services FLOODING, landslips, high winds and fallen trees have replaced snow and ice as the causes of train delays and cancellations today (10 February).

Transport for London

• 3.4 per cent taxi fare increase for 2009 to meet higher black cab running costsTransport for London (TfL) today announced an average taxi passenger fare increase of 3.4 per cent for the next financial year, which will help drivers maintain their earnings and cover increased operating costs.
• Tramlink celebratesCELEBRATIONS are taking place today to mark London Tramlink's trams each passing the one million kilometre mark.

Aviation Industry

• BA reduces number of planes at Gatwick AirportBritish Airways (BA) has disclosed that it will reduce the number of aircraft it holds at Gatwick Airport as it cuts its services from the Crawley-based hub.
• Bus Left You Waiting In The Cold? Use Your Cell Phone To Track It Down [USA]Cold, impatient bus riders stamp their feet, check their watches, and wonder if that bus is ever going to come. But in Seattle, a cell phone and the ingenuity of two University of Washington students has come to the rescue.
• Arriva plc selects Icomera in-vehicle Internet for Luton Airport express busesGothenburg, Sweden, February 10th 2009 – Icomera AB, the world’s leading provider of cellular broadband gateways, and Arriva plc, one of the largest transport services organisations in Europe, have announced the installation of free Internet access and real-time vehicle tracking on the Green Line express coach service between Luton International Airport and Central London.
• Titan targets top 200 rail station sitesLONDON - Titan Outdoor has put together a new set of selected poster sites targeting newsagents across its network of rail stations, launching with a campaign for Cadbury's Trident, booked by PHD and Posterscope.
• Southwest to begin testing in-flight Wi-FiSouthwest Airlines, a pioneer in no-frills flying, said Monday it will begin testing in-flight Wi-Fi Internet.

Other News Sources

• Delight as Crewe Station move is derailedCAMPAIGNERS celebrating the news Network Rail has scrapped plans to move Crewe Station have accused the company of jeopardising the original major improvement scheme.
• City's second rail station 'on track'COMMUNITY and transport leaders have welcomed the news that plans for a second train station in Cambridge are going full steam ahead.
• Masterplan for railway stationPLANS to make better use of buildings and create a more people-friendly area around Scarborough Railway Station have moved a step nearer.
• Rapid bus plan causes a funding rowA ROW has flared up about the funding of a proposed transport scheme for south Essex.
• STOBART CHIEF TINKLER QUIZZED BY CARLISLE ACADEMY PUPILSEddie Stobart giant Andrew Tinkler was firmly in the hot seat yesterday answering questions from 11 and 12-year-olds at a Carlisle school.
• Thomas Cook to buy Lufthansa stake in charter airlineThomas Cook has confirmed it will buy Lufthansa's 24.9% stake in German charter carrier Condor by exercising an option agreed in 2007.
• Edinburgh considers consolidation centreEdinburgh City Council has revealed it is in the early stages of considering a congestion-busting plan that includes a consolidation centre.
• DfT considers national truck park action planThe Department for Transport hopes to produce a national action plan on lorry parking later in the year.
• Scania rolls out fixed-price repair programmeScania has rolled out a fixed-price repair programme under its Total Transport Solutions banner.
• Mirfield and Dewsbury missing out from new London train servicerom the summer, Grand Northern trains will run three trains a day to King’s Cross from Bradford, Halifax and Brighouse via Wakefield Kirkgate. The Office of Rail Regulation gave the go-ahead for the new service on January 29. But Clr Martyn Bolt is disappointed there will be no stops in Kirklees.
• NOL posts dismal 4Q resultsCONTAINER operator Neptune Orient Lines has flashed a red alert on losses ahead after squeezing a net profit of $83M for the year 2008.
• Idle ships 'used to store boxes'BOX COMPANIES are using idle vessels to store empty containers, a report from internet-based resource AXS Alphaliner has revealed.
• Rail passengers face disruption as work begins on Driffield track improvementsNetwork Rail is investing £1.2m on improving the tracks between Beverley and Scarborough at half term.
• Tories plan high speed rail lineA high-speed rail line linking London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds is among Conservative plans put forward to improve the railways.
• French auto bail-out plan raises EU protectionism fearsA plan announced by French President Nicolas Sarkozy to provide 6.5 billion euro in aid to French carmakers is causing uproar among EU leaders, with the Czech Republic, the EU's current chair, calling an emergency summit over the matter. The European Commission said it would look closely at the proposals.
• Parliament to revive EU talks on 'green' road tollsA vote on the revision of the Eurovignette directive in the European Parliament's transport committee tomorrow (11 February) is expected to relaunch negotiations between the bloc's 27 member states over the controversial issue of environmental charging for trucks. But serious progress is not expected before the autumn, when the next Parliament takes office. 
• Business travellers save £32m on rail Major growth in smart buying read more

Other Subscription Services

• Londoners get on their bikes with UK rail network’s first green cycle hire initiative* South West Trains innovation boosts drive to integrated transport * Brompton folding bike scheme backed by national cycle group * Research shows consumer switch to greener healthier lifestyles
• Restructured team for Arriva's UK bus operationsArriva has brought the management of its UK bus operations together into a single management unit following the appointment of Mike Cooper as managing director of the pan-European transport group’s UK Bus division.
• Box lines hope for breakthrough on consortia rulesCONTAINER lines are hoping the European Commission will be able to deliver some good news, amidst almost unrelenting gloom across the industry.