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

Thursday, 19 February 2009

BBC News

• GB rail fares 'more than Europe'European rail travellers generally get a better deal on tickets compared to their British counterparts, a report suggests.
• Rocky roadThe survival path for GM and Chrysler is not at all clear
• Easyjet 'to sue over snow losses'Airline Easyjet plans to sue Luton Airport and the council for £1m over the disruption caused by the recent snow.

Department for Transport

• Tackling fare dodgers and making stations in South London safer New measures to clamp down on fare dodgers and make stations in south London safer were announced by Transport Minister Andrew Adonis today.

Financial Times

• Demand shrinks for private jetsThe industry is 'facing some of the most severe turbulence' in decades as orders shrink rapidly and as private aircraft become targets for political attack as symbols of corporate excess
• One-way trade at busy port highlights depth of problemsFrom one large cargo ship, stevedores unload 50kg bags of Vietnamese rice. At another, clouds of dust rise as grain is offloaded into a truck, while nearby a ferry...
• UK train fares 50% higher than rest of EuropeAnnual season tickets for middle-distance commuters are almost double the price of the next most expensive country, France, and more than four times that of the cheapest, Italy
• BMI cuts routes amid rising costsThe second-largest airline operating at Heathrow, is eliminating an important part of its UK network and is cutting capacity to continental Europe

The Guardian

• Aviation lobbyists enlisted to tackle rebel climate MPs, leaked papers showIndustry-funded lobby group Flying Matters consulted on keeping aircraft emissions out of climate change law, say documents
• Britain joins rush to rebuild Africa's transport networkBritain is joining the latest scramble in Africa, to reverse decades of decay and even the disappearance of large parts of the continent's road and rail systems, with a $1bn (£690m) project to rebuild the transport network across the south of the continent.
• Railway users 'have reached limit'The government must protect recession-hit farepayers by pumping more subsidy into the railways at a potential cost to the taxpayer of at least £500m per year, according to the rail user watchdog.Passenger Focus said public appetite for fare increases had

The Herald

• Bus firms to be given government cash months after fares riseScottish bus firms are to receive government cash to ease the burden of fuel duty rises.

The Independent

• Rail travellers in Britain pay highest fares in EuropeRail users in Britain are charged the highest fares in Europe, with some commuters having to pay four times more for a comparable ticket, a report reveals today. The Government-backed study is the first to make a meaningful comparison between the cost of British rail travel and that in seven other European countries: France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

The Scotsman

• Scottish bus grant lower than in southBUS operators in Scotland face higher costs than those south of the Border after ministers yesterday reimbursed them for only half of the recent fuel duty increases.
• Rail fares 'not logical' - reportUK rail travel is generally more expensive than in Europe, especially in London and south east England, a report by customer watchdog Passenger Focus said.

The Telegraph

• GM seeks partner for ailing VauxhallThe US car group – which told the US government on Tuesday that it needed $16.6bn (£11.7bn) of financial support – would also consider an alliance or partnership.
• Rail passengers bled dry The average season ticket or day return costs almost twice as much as in any other country
• 'Exhausted sailors working 98 hour weeks' Exhausted sailors working 98 hour weeks are regularly falling asleep at the helm turning their ships into
• Britain has most expensive train fares in Europe Britain's rail fares are by far the highest in Europe with some commuters paying more than four times the amount for comparable journeys on the continent.

Times Online

• British commuters pay twice the price of European rail fares
• Future of Saab uncertain as GM prepares to cut off support The future of Saab appeared to be in jeopardy yesterday after the Swedish Government ruled out rescuing the company — despite a warning from General Motors, Saab’s parent, that the division could file for bankruptcy protection within days.

Press Association

• £4m boost could help cut bus faresScottish transport minister Stewart Stevenson said the money will match the 2p increase in duty set out by the UK Chancellor in the pre-budget report in December.

Reuters News

• Go Ahead H1 profit up 1 pct, sees slow rail growthBritish rail and bus operator Go-Ahead Group (GOG.L) reported a small rise in first-half profits on Thursday, but forecast slower growth in rail revenues in the second half and said it was cutting costs.
• Toyota freezes UK staff pay in 2009LONDON (Reuters) - Toyota is freezing pay and management bonuses at its UK car-making operations in 2009, the company said on Wednesday, as carmakers grapple with a sharp downturn in global demand.
• UK rail fares higher than rest of EuropeLONDON (Reuters) - Travelling by train in Britain is generally more expensive than in any other European country, especially for those who use London commuter services, according to a survey by a consumer watchdog released on Thursday.

Mail Online

• Pictured: The 'egg-stra special' electric car that could be the future of motoring Thousands of miles west of Detroit, a California start-up hopes to find a market for a three-wheeled, ultra-efficient, downright odd-looking car among consumers sick of spending their hard-earned cash at the gas pump.

Network Rail

• £11.5 MILLION BOOST FOR MIDLANDS™ COMMUTERS

Transport Briefing

• Network Rail brings back four tracks near KetteringNetwork Rail plans to lay seven miles of new track in Northamptonshire to reduce delays and improve punctuality on the Midland Main Line.
• Centro puts real-time bus and tram data on the mapReal-time arrival and departure times of buses and trams across the West Midlands are now available on the internet following an overhaul of the networkwestmidlands.com website.
• DfT fast-tracks south London ticket gate installationsTransport Minister Andrew Adonis has announced a £5.5 million project to install ticket gates at 14 stations in south London.
• Corby station opening agreed as train talks continueCorby station will finally reopen to passengers on Monday (23 February) offering regular direct trains to London for the first time since 1967.

Belfast Telegraph

• Drop in cargo tonnage passing through Belfast port The economic downturn was today blamed for a 5.5% fall in the amount of cargo handled by the Port of Belfast last year.
• Cross-border rush to buy cars Customers from the Republic are crossing the border in increasing numbers to snap up new cars for up to £10,000 less than they pay at home, a Belfast Telegraph investigation has discovered.

Birmingham Post

• Council and Network Rail agree to cover any New Street Station overspendBirmingham City Council and Network Rail have agreed to cover the cost of any budget over-run from the £600 million refurbishment of New Street Station – effectively leaving both organisations open to unlimited additional payments.

Bristol Live

• Flagship rapid bus route backedThe two councils behind Bristol's first rapid transit bus route have now given official approval to the scheme.

Derby Telegraph

• Mr Hoon, how do you explain your 'murky' claim of 12,500 rail jobs?THE Conservative Party has demanded that Geoff Hoon answer the (Derby) Evening Telegraph's questions about why a £7.5bn deal was given to Japanese firm Hitachi instead of Derby-based Bombardier.
• Another figure that just doesn't add up, GordonIT is another sum that embattled Prime Minister Gordon Brown cannot make add up. Already trying to get the answers to the recession, Mr Brown believes one of the solutions is to give a £7.5bn rail contract to Agility, a Japanese-led consortium.
• Toyota will start accepting voluntary redundancy applicationsBURNASTON car maker Toyota says it will consider making redundancies among its 3,900 staff.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Tram firm insists city chiefs will make embargo decisionTRAM firm TIE has said the ultimate decision on whether to lift August's embargo on tram construction work in the city centre lies with council chiefs.

Liverpool Echo

• Jobs axe may hit Vauxhall Ellesmere PortFEARS for jobs at Ellesmere Port’s Vauxhall plant grew today after US parent General Motors (GM) proposed plans to axe up to 47,000 workers.
• Ryanair to cut 50 jobs and 10 routes from Liverpool John Lennon AirportRYANAIR has announced the slashing of 50 jobs and the cancellation of 10 tourist routes at Liverpool Airport because of rising costs.
• Merseyrail job cuts warningTHE managing director of Merseyrail has revealed he is being forced to cut costs and could not rule out job losses.
• Merseyrail job cuts warningTHE managing director of Merseyrail has revealed he is being forced to cut costs and could not rule out job losses.
• Ryanair to cut jobs and routes from Liverpool John Lennon AirportRyanair is to cut 50 jobs and scale back its operations at Liverpool John Lennon Airport (JLA), blaming the effect of the Government’s air passenger duty and the weak sterling.

London Evening Standard

• On track, but there is a lot more to doWE have made significant steps to cut crime on the railway in recent years. But working closely with rail operators, Transport for London, and British Transport Police - we are committed to improving passenger safety.
• Blind people 'in danger' from £30m kerb removal schemeKensington and Chelsea has merged the pavements and road outside Sloane Square station and has similar plans for Exhibition Road in South Kensington.
• Cyclists call for car-free Sundays in the capitalCYCLING campaigners called today for every London borough to ban cars from some streets on Sundays to increase the number of bike users in the capital. The London Cycling Campaign also warned that Mayor Boris Johnson's plans to support cycling may not go far enough.
• Motorists 'no' to congestion chargeFurther plans to introduce congestion charging in towns and cities are likely to fail, according to a new poll.

Metro

• Same-day rail fares 'sky high in Britain'Buying a long-distance rail ticket on the day is up to three times as expensive in Britain as in other European countries.

Newcastle Journal

• Sun-powered device converts CO2 into fuelSolar panels packed with nanotubes can combine the greenhouse gas with water to make useful compounds and could help clean the atmosphere in the process

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• MP challenges bus company to justify Fort Augustus fareInverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey MP Danny Alexander has challenged Stagecoach to justify the £16.50 bus fare between Inverness and Fort Augustus, after secondary pupils in the village complained to him.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Ryanair says tax to blame for flight cutsRyanair yesterday announced plans to cut flights from Liverpool airport, with the loss of 50 jobs, blaming "high and rising" government passenger duty as well as falling sterling exchange rates.

Blackpool Gazette

• Cut-price parking divides townA ROW has erupted over cut-price car parking in Fylde.

Northants Evening Telegraph

• Silverstone facelift ahead of MotoGPSilverstone is to undergo a £5million facelift later this year ahead of staging a round of the MotoGP championship from 2010.

Reading Evening Post

• ’Ground plans for Heathrow’Anti-heathrow expansion protesters pelted Reading’s MPs Martin Salter and Rob Wilson with paper aeroplanes – but in a spirit of camaraderie.

Forbes

• The Fastest-Dying Car Brands American's just don't buy these cars anymore, so they might not be around much longer.

Wall Street Journal

• Obama Signs Stimulus PackageObama signed the $787 billion economic stimulus into law with the aim of pumping money into infrastructure projects, health care and renewable energy.

Washington Post

• High-Speed Rail To the White HouseTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood sent the White House a "comprehensive memo" with recommendations on how to jump-start high-speed rail service nationally, he told reporters yesterday. The memo identified several potential high-speed rail corridors in the country and addressed potential means of paying for a system. LaHood said President Obama wants to make high-speed rail a signature achievement of his presidency.
• Canadian automakers to request more aid money TORONTO -- The Canadian subsidiaries of General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC are expected to request more aid when they release their restructuring plans later this week, Ontario's provincial premier said Wednesday.
• Source of Aid Money for Automakers Is Going Fast General Motors and Chrysler have said they need another multibillion-dollar cash infusion, but the source of money that funded their initial government bailout is drying up.
• Will Detroit Get Totaled? It was a terrible omen: At the end of November, just as the American car industry was hitting a wall, my dear Saturn was totaled, around midnight, in front of my house.
• Analysts Rate Stimulus Bill as Short on Car Industry Aid Car industry analysts and economists say the broad economic stimulus bill signed this week by President Obama offers little to revive the stalled new-car market in the United States, potentially complicating federal plans to rescue Detroit automakers.

Transport for London

• Surge in cycling as Sutton travels smarterCycling in Sutton has shot up by 50 per cent in one year following the introduction of the Smarter Travel Sutton scheme in the borough.
• Operation Ridgeway makes over 1,000 arrests on the Capital's busesIt has been revealed that more than 1,000 arrests were made as the result of an operation that used high visibility patrols to combat antisocial behaviour and pickpocketing on London's buses.

Aviation Industry

• The lawyers run the railwaysTransport author and journalist Christian Wolmar is never afraid to air his views.
• First plans East Anglian amalgamationFIRST UK Bus plans to combine its Essex and Eastern Counties subsidiaries into a single business in what it describes as “its latest step towards further improving efficiencies in its operating companies”.
• Start-up launches Birmingham serviceA new family-run bus operator, AM PM Travel, introduces a service between Birmingham and Solihull next week.
• Scarborough launches park-and-rideSCARBOROUGH’S new park-and-ride service started this week. There are two parking sites on the southern approaches to the town, on Seamer Road and on Filey Road, with buses running every 12 minutes to the town centre.
• IRU lobbies on 12-day derogationTHE IRU is urging the European Parliament and Council to adopt a 12-day derogation for international coach tourism which covers the operation of more than one service.
• Sustainable plan from StagecoachStagecoach outlines its green credentials in three-year carbon management programme.
• Bus use on the up in CornwallBUS use in Cornwall rose by 19 per cent in the first nine months of 2008-09, compared with the previous year. Much of the increase is attributable to increased concessionary travel, which was up by 29 per cent. But the number of fare-paying passengers rose too, by 13 per cent.
• Delta execs get millions, employees get buyoutsDelta Air Lines last month gave hundreds of thousands of shares of its stock to executives as part of a long-term incentive plan, while it was also offering buyouts to employees to shrink its workforce and ...
• Introduction of new UK air traffic services outside controlled airspace imminent (press release) With the introduction of new UK Air Traffic Control Services Outside Controlled Airspace (ATSOCAS) taking place on 12 March 2009 the Airspace and Safety Initiative* (ASI) is despatching an educational CD on the changes to UK-licensed private pilots. read more

Other News Sources

• Union slams plans to reduce rail office opening hours [Grantham]Wednesday, 4.25pm - RAIL operator National Express has been accused of "short-changing" passengers after announcing plans to cut ticket office opening hours at Grantham and 11 other mainline stations.
• Anger over park and ride fare risesAngry commuters have set up a petition against new park and ride pricing soon to come into force which they say will “penalise” workers and car sharers.
• Colwyn Bay to Rhos tram link still on the cardsPLANS for a tram link between Colwyn Bay and Rhos on Sea are still a possibility. Councillors had a heated discussion about whether or not to submit the £12million project at a Bay of Colwyn town council meeting on Monday night.
• Railway barriers misery survey revealedThe true extent of delays caused by the railway level crossings which cut Lincoln in half can be revealed today.
• Runaway trains still a threat for rail workersFIVE years after four rail maintenance workers were killed at Tebay, Network Rail has been called upon to “urgently address” the continued threat from runaway train wagons.
• Stone urges stores to switch to rail freightLOCAL MSP Jamie Stone has called on supermarkets with stores in the Far North to transport their goods by train.
• Laindon commuter’s rail fare fight provokes top level meetingA MAN’s two-year campaign against a c2c rail fare discrepancy has sparked a meeting between train company bosses and Government officials.
• Passenger Focus - Watchdog publishes Research into Value for Money and European Fares ComparisonsPassenger Focus has today published the results of its major study into rail fares and ticketing. The study, carried out at the request of Government, focuses on passenger satisfaction with value for money and compares fares and service levels in Great Britain with those in continental Europe.
• MP tables EDM in support of PROFiT launch Conservative MP Nigel Evans has tabled an early day motion congratulating the travel companies who are members of Prevention of Fraud in Travel (PROFiT),...
• Car prices slashed after sales crashWith car sales down 30% in the UK mouth-watering tales are emerging, including nearly new Ferraris going for a quarter of the usual price
• Worry for Vauxhall over GM's job cutsGeneral Motor's plans to cut 47,000 jobs worldwide today spread more gloom over its Ellesmere Port Vauxhall plant on Merseyside
• Affordable bus faresFurther £4 million funding package to help bus industry keep fares down.
• Rail costs 'too high'Britons pay more and have less value for money for their rail travel than Europeans, a study revealed today.
• Rail fares 'not logical' - report
• Panama Canal Bid Evaluators SelectedOn Feb. 15, the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) announced the final composition of the ACP Evaluation Committee that will review proposals submitted by consortia vying to win the largest contract under the $5.25b Canal Expansion Program – the design and construction of the new set of locks. The Committee...
• Continental Airlines recruits UK marketerContinental Airlines has recruited former easyJet marketer Shelley Hinde to be its UK marketing manager.
• GM job cuts may hit UK workers US car giant General Motors, which owns Vauxhall in the UK, plans to axe 47,000 jobs globally.
• Singapore Airlines cuts flights from ManchesterSingapore Airlines is cutting flights out of Manchester Airport to the Far East.
• Ryanair cutting capacity at Liverpool John Lennon AirportLow cost airline Ryanair is cutting capacity at Peel-owned Liverpool John Lennon Airport by 11 per cent as it expects passenger number to fall over the summer.

Other Subscription Services

• Stagecoach submits bid for South Central rail franchiseStagecoach Group plc (“Stagecoach”) today (18 February 2009) submitted its bid for the South Central passenger rail franchise with a firm commitment to deliver the complex projects set by the Government and maintain high quality services to passengers.