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

Saturday, 21 February 2009

BBC News

• Contract row derails tram projectTram work on Edinburgh's Princes Street has been put on hold just a day before it was due to begin, it is announced.
• UK car plant 'at risk of closure'A major UK car plant may be forced to close within days unless it gets urgent state aid, a trade union leader warns.
• Saab aims to survive without GMThe board of the Swedish carmaker Saab files for reorganisation, seeking to create a fully independent business.
• Union stands by car plant warningA union defends its claim that a major UK car plant is facing imminent closure without government help.

Financial Times

• Moody's lowers rating on QantasThe Australian airline has become the latest international airline to be downgraded by the ratings agency with the it expressing concerns about the carrier's debt and falling profits and cash flow

The Guardian

• Closure fears as car production halvesBritish car manufacturers demanded further government help for the industry this morning as it was revealed that a winter factory shutdown triggered a 58.7% slump in UK car production last month.The dire production figures came after trade union leaders warned the chancellor, Alistair Darling, that the closure of a big UK factory could be

The Herald

• Rail chief’s job hits buffers at StagecoachThe scale of the problems affecting the UK’s rail industry was underlined yesterday when Stagecoach said the job of Ian Dobbs, the chief executive of its rail business, had been “discontinued”.
• Edinburgh trams plan in crisis over £80m demandPressure was put on the Scottish Government last night to administer economic reprisals against a German company after it brought a new phase of the Edinburgh tram project to a standstill.

The Independent

• Car crash politics: why motor industry matters to BrownIf you are an independent-minded businessman who likes to run things your own way, one thing you do not need now is to be heavily in debt to the banks. There is a horror story circulating among all manufacturers servicing the car industry in the West Midlands about one of their number who is grappling with a heavy overdraft.

The Telegraph

• £512m Edinburgh tram project in disarray The controversial £512 million Edinburgh tram project was in disarray last night after contractors demanded up to £80m more before continuing work.
• Railways have the wrong sort of ownership Personal View: Privatisation has made our trains worse says Gill Hornby.
• Lord Mandelson attacks Unite over car industry warnings Lord Mandelson the Business Secretary has accused union leaders of

Times Online

• Gatwick sues Ryanair for £1.2m in row over check-in fees Gatwick Airport is suing Ryanair, the low-cost airline, for £1.2 million in a dispute over check-in fees.
• Saab buys time from creditors as it looks for ways to keep afloat Saab, the struggling Swedish carmaker that is being cut loose from General Motors, yesterday won bankruptcy protection from its creditors as it tries to mount a survival plan. The loss-making division has until early April to devise a plan and creditors must approve any scheme before it goes ahead.
• UK car production slumps nearly 60% Car production in the UK slumped by almost 60 per cent in January as demand for new vehicles evaporated amid the deepening recession, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) announced today.

Reuters News

• UK car production falls 58.7 percentLONDON (Reuters) - Britain produced 58.7 percent fewer cars this January than the same month a year ago and allocated a record 83.5 percent for export as domestic demand slumped, industry figures showed on Friday.

Daily Record

• Cash row halts planned start of Edinburgh's new tram systemA CASH row has halted major tram works due to begin today in Edinburgh's Princes Street.

Mail Online

• Is a UK car giant about to topple? Ministers and unions clash over job fears Is a UK car giant about to topple? Ministers and unions clash over job fears

London Evening Standard

• UK jobs under threat as Saab seeks bankruptcy protectionThe future of car maker Saab is in doubt putting thousands of British jobs at risk

Metro

• Ronaldo faces car crash claimManchester Airport is pursuing an insurance claim against footballer Cristiano Ronaldo for the damage he caused when he crashed his Ferrari in a tunnel, airport bosses have confirmed.
• Slump in UK car productionRenewed calls for Government help for the beleaguered motor industry have been made after new figures showed car production slumped again last month.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Police tracking criminals using car registrationsOUR roads are safer today after rogue drivers were snared in a sting. In a special police operation, codenamed Operation Moss, a string of car crooks and danger drivers were caught in the act.

The News (Portsmouth)

• Catch a glimpse of the pastTrain fans in Portsmouth will be able to get a glimpse of a steam locomotive powering its way through the city today.

Carlisle News & Star

• Speed gun will help improve safety on Whitehaven estatesPolice are cracking down on drivers who speed through two of Whitehaven™s busiest estates.

Chester Standard

• Vauxhall workers in Ellesmere Port face uncertain futureWORKERS at Ellesmere Port's Vauxhall plant are facing an uncertain future following General Motors' announcement to axe 47,000 jobs worldwide.

Northants Evening Telegraph

• Dawn of a new age of the train in CorbyWhen Dr Beeching wielded his axe over Corby railway station in 1967, it brought down the curtain on more than 90 years of railwaying history in the town.

Peterborough Telegraph

• 300 beer barrels close motorwayA stretch of motorway in Essex has been partially closed after a lorry shed a load of about 300 beer barrels, the Highways Agency said.

Forbes

• Weekly Layoff Report: GM Leads The Way Automaker accounts for almost 80% of this week's 60,000 announced job cuts.

International Herald Tribune

• Its muscle car glory faded, Pontiac shrivels upThe story of Pontiac is a case study of the missteps that helped put General Motors in its precarious state.
• Slice of U.S. stimulus package will go to faster trainsMONEY FOR TRAINS? The funds for high-speed rail in the American stimulus package will not be enough to pay for a single bullet train.

Washington Post

• GM's Saab Enters Bankruptcy Protection Just three days after telling the U.S. government that it might dump its Saab brand, General Motors placed the struggling Swedish unit into reorganization yesterday.
• LaHood Talks of Mileage-Based Tax, but White House Dismisses Idea Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood suggested yesterday that the Obama administration might embrace a new and controversial way to pay for highway and transit projects: charging motorists a tax for every mile they drive.

Aviation Industry

• Jet Airways ceo resigns Ravi Chaturvedi leaves after four months read more

Other News Sources

• Hundreds of pupils to lose out on transport to schoolUP to 400 pupils in Derby are set to lose their school bus service as part of cost-cutting measures being planned by the city council.
• We form an alliance to fight for U-turn on £7.5bn rail contractINFLUENTIAL business people, politicians and rail industry representatives have got around the table to hammer out an action plan to protect thousands of Derby jobs.
• Thomas Cook Group introduces luggage charges on flight-only bookingsThe Thomas Cook Group is ending free luggage allowances on flight-only bookings made through the group.
• Overdue Sydney rail link due to openconstruction phase dogged by problems and cost blowouts, the Epping to Chatswood rail link in Sydney will officially open on Monday. It is the first major addition to the
• Enhancing manoeuvrabilityRolls-Royce has won a £12m order to supply fuel-efficient manoeuvrability systems, including the Promas integrated propeller and rudder system, for four new cement carrying vessels.
• Rocky roadBritish car production fell by 58.7 per cent in January, according to figures released on 20 February by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
• HGV crime continues apace in FebruaryFebruary is proving no exception to the pattern of ongoing freight crime - so far, a driver has been threatened, almost £100,000 of children's medicine has been stolen and stowaways have been discovered in a load of sticky tape.
• 'Thousands of car industry jobs at risk' Around 6,000 car manufacturing jobs could be axed in the next few days if the Government fails to intervene, a leading union has claimed.
• Rail plan 'faces sabotage'Rail lobbyists have accused MEPs at the European Parliament of attempting to
• Virgin tightlipped on job cutsVirgin Atlantic has said it is too early to comment on whether expected redundancies at the airline will affect cargo.
• SeaFrance faces threat of strikesFrench unions have refused to rule out strike action in protest at proposed redundancies at SeaFrance, and rubbished claims the ferry operator needs to cut jobs and capacity because of a downturn in volumes.
• Up to 40 jobs will go at K&N's B&Q facilityKuehne + Nagel (K+N) is to axe up to 40 jobs at its distribution centre in Redhouse, Doncaster, which it operates on behalf of B&Q.
• Embraer to only deliver 115 commercial aircraft in 2009Embraer plans to deliver 115 commercial aircraft this year, a 29% drop compared to the 162 delivered in 2008.The Brazilian manufacturer yesterday...
• SeaFrance takeover deniedTHE PARENT company of struggling ferry operator SeaFrance is trying to resolve financial difficulties but said today it has not received a formal takeover bid.
• NATO warships back off SomaliaPIRATES operating off the coast of Somalia must expect to deal with six NATO warships, the alliance said today.
• Commission questions Italy™s support for car industryConditions set by Italian government for support to the car industry may breach EU rules.
• Conservatives propose major surgery for planning regime - Planning Portal exploresThe Conservatives have proposed a radical shake-up of the planning system which would involve the scrapping of much of the Government's planning reforms and the axing of the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC).
• Airport wants £20,000 for Ronaldo crashManchester Airport is reported to be pursuing Manchester United Football Club player Cristiano Ronaldo for £20,000 after he crashed his car into one of its tunnels.
• Chinese firm launches hybrid carChinese firm launches hybrid car
• 6,000 car jobs 'may be axed'The union Unite says a major British car plant will shut down

EIN News Subscription

• Travel by numbers: the Channel Tunnel ... speed, in miles per hour, of a Eurostar train, which means you can get your winter ... though without the island and the horses. Railway enthusiasts can see a cross-section of the ...
• Do EU plans promise Aegean turbulence? ... process of harmonising the regions of the European Union's Single European Sky (SES) policy. "Nothing ... agreement of Greece. In any event, the EU airspace regulation that is in force expressly ... or a party to a FAB. The Eurocontrol source said that the FAB initiative will ...
• Deep discounts on the high seas ... families who might otherwise sail a mass market cruise line." A seven-night cruise departing on ... working, but cruise lines are optimistic. "The industry is still poised to do very well," ... message. Because your lodging is also your transportation, a cruise can cost less than touring ...
• Task force says auto industry needs an overhaul ... 9:30 p.m. PT Task force says auto industry needs an overhaul Group meets for 1st ... multibillion-dollar bailout package given to General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC and requests for billions ... of Obama's Cabinet including the secretaries of Transportation, Commerce, Labor and Energy as well as ...
• Taxpayers should not subsidise the railway - it is an outmoded transport system ... Taxpayers should not subsidise the railway – it is an outmoded transport system Letters, February 21: British Railways – ... Your report (February 19) on Britain's exorbitant rail fares quotes a Government spokesman stating that ...
• Budget Airlines Thrive in Central Europe ... securities to drop in value – but budget airlines might just end up joining him on ... economic-crisis profiteers. And the "low-costers" of Central Europe are no exception. "The economic crisis has ...

Other Subscription Services

• Los Angeles and Long Beach turn to trainsPORTS use trains to stem the serious erosion in their container volumes in the current global downturn.