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

Friday, 06 March 2009

BBC News

• 'Slow progress' for rail accessPlans to make London railway stations more accessible to disabled people are behind schedule. Thirteen stations were meant to be wheelchair accessible by the end of 2009 but only five have been completed, Putney MP Justine Greening found.
• Protest over train fare increasesReading Green Party members asked passengers at the town's station to sign a petition which will be handed to the station's manager.
• Train firm could axe 162 workersThe train operator said it needed to make the changes to protect the future of the business.
• Train firm looks to axe 160 jobsUp to 160 jobs are expected to go in a review of running costs at East Midlands Trains.
• Weak economy hits British AirwaysBritish Airways has announced that it made a loss of £70m in the nine months to 31 December, bruised by further economic weakness and the weak pound.
• UK car sales 22% lower last monthSales of new cars in February were 22% lower than a year earlier, the latest industry figures show.

Department for Transport

• £7.75m for a sustainable transport future A centre to revolutionise the future of UK transport industry was announced today by Transport Minister Andrew Adonis. The £7.75m programme will be based at Imperial College London as well as University College London and the University of Leeds, and will draw on scientific experts from across the country.

Financial Times

• GM warns it may run out of cashAmerica's largest carmaker said that its auditors had expressed 'substantial doubt' about its ability to continue as a going concern, and that it might be forced to file for bankruptcy
• Arriva's profits boosted by new rail routeThe bus and rail operator saw profits rise 30 per cent last year, helped by the new Aberdeen to Penzance CrossCountry rail franchise it won in 2007
• Maersk is rocked by 20% fall in shippingContainer volumes at the world's largest container carrier slumped by 20 per cent in January against the year before, confirming the depth of the crisis facing the sector
• BA plans more cost reductionsThe airline, which forecast an operating loss of about £150m in the next financial year, is seeking to cut its underlying non-fuel costs including labour by £300m

The Guardian

• Caroline Pidgeon AM on Boris's transport and policing policies [audio]I spoke to the transport spokesperson of the London Assembly Liberal Democrats about Elephant and Castle, the WEZ and police reform and the Lib Dem view of Boris's performance as mayor so far.
• British Airways warns it will axe more staff and forecasts £150m loss for second year runningBritish Airways warned yesterday that it would be making further job cuts in an effort to reduce costs because it is on course to run up an operating loss for the second year in a row.
• GM asks for cash to avert bankruptcy¢ Car group warns it could default on current debts ¢ Ellesmere Port and Luton plants caught in crisisGeneral Motors yesterday warned it would go bust within 30 days unless the US treasury swiftly gives it a further multibillion-dollar loan. The dramatic warning from America's biggest car group came after its auditors, Deloitte & Touche, raised substantial doubts about its ability to continue as a

The Herald

• British Airways braced for two years of lossesBritish Airways warned yesterday that it now expects two successive years of operating losses just weeks after the company appeared on course to stay in profit.

The Independent

• Jaguar workers vote for pay freeze Workers at car giant Jaguar Land Rover have voted to accept a shorter working week and a one-year pay freeze to avoid compulsory job cuts, it was announced today.

The Scotsman

• Roadworks bring subway to a haltTHOUSANDS of passengers on the Glasgow Subway have suffered disruption after a shutdown caused by damage to a tunnel yards from construction work on a new motorway.
• Call to make high-speed rail link a priorityA HIGH-speed rail link between Scotland and England should be added to a list of national construction priorities, MSPs heard yesterday.

The Telegraph

• Commuter journeys 'slower than before the war'Commuters enjoyed faster train journeys into London before the Second World War than they do today, according to new research.

Times Online

• OFT launches probe into local bus industryThe OFT said the inquiry had been prompted by increasing concentration in the sector which, following a number of takeovers, has left nearly two-thirds of services controlled by just five large operators — Arriva, Go-Ahead, Stagecoach, FirstGroup and National Express.
• Shapeshifting car, the Rinspeed iChange launched at the Geneva Motor Show The experimental Swiss auto company Rinspeed unveiled a new car this week at the Geneva Motor Show whose body adapts to the number of passengers on board.
• EU considers co-ordinated help for clapped-out General Motors The European Commission has called for crisis talks among EU countries that have General Motors factories to coordinate aid to the ailing American carmaker.
• British Airways closes in on Iberia merger British Airways has given its strongest indication yet that the proposed merger with Iberia, the Spanish flag carrier, is imminent with only one outstanding issue to be resolved before the deal can be agreed.

Press Association

• Commuter journeys 'getting slower'Some commuter train journeys take longer than they did before the Second World War, according to research published by the London School of Economics (LSE).

Daily Record

• Government throws New Forth Road Bridge project a £1.1bn lifelineTHE NEW Forth Road Bridge was thrown a £1.1billion lifeline yesterday.

Transport Briefing

• Swindon-Kemble rail prioritised in spending adviceAspirations to redouble the railway between Swindon and Kemble and build bus rapid transit routes in Bath, Bristol and Swindon are contained within Regional Funding Advice for south west England submitted to the government this week.
• Train operators swap sets to meet Thameslink deadlineTrain operating companies have been forced to revise already-complex plans to cascade rolling stock in order to have sufficient trains for when Thameslink Programme works begin in earnest later this month.
• London Underground reveals spiral line start dateLondon Underground has confirmed that the Circle line will transform into a spiral for operational purposes from December 2009.
• Train leasing firm set up by DfT to buy diesel carriagesDiesel trains which form part of the 1,300 additional carriages pledged by the government are to be bought and leased to train operators by a new rolling stock leasing company set up by the Department for Transport.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Campaign launched to secure Sherpa bus network in SnowdoniaA CAMPAIGN to secure the flagship Snowdon Sherpa bus network was launched yesterday after its funding was axed by the Welsh Assemby.

Derby Telegraph

• College joining calls for the Government to back BombardierTHE principal of Derby College, which is investing millions in a new city campus to produce the next generation of hi-tech engineers, has expressed fears over the industry's future.
• East Midlands Trains to cut 162 jobsThe company runs 87 stations, both manned and unmanned in the region, including Derby station.

Journal Live

• Wheels fall off £2m congestion schemeCITY transport bosses have abandoned a Government study set up to reduce congestion on Tyneside’s busiest routes.

Liverpool Echo

• Jaguar Land Rover staff vote for four-day weekCAR workers at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), including staff at its Halewood plant, have today voted to accept a four-day working week and a pay freeze for a year to stave off compulsory redundancies.

London Evening Standard

• That's lane stupid: cycles have more room than carsThis is the "ludicrously wide" cycle lane a council has installed. Residents of Weston Drive in Harrow say the lane is so big it has made the road too narrow for cars - forcing them to cross the white centre lines.
• Air chiefs: G20 summit will cause delays at HeathrowTens of thousands of airport passengers face delays and cancellations when Britain hosts the G20 summit of world leaders in London, airline chiefs have admitted.
• British Airways feels pinch as slump grounds the high-flyersThe collapse in consumer and business confidence is dragging down Britain's leading airlines into their worst-ever performances and costing more jobs in the aviation industry.
• Londoners will pay for bendy bus banMayor Boris Johnson's decision to ban bendy buses will end up costing London council taxpayers.
• Circle line changes shape and heads off to HammersmithThe Circle line is to be extended to Hammersmith for commuters on one of the Tube's most unreliable routes

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• FirstGroup chief takes second IoD Scotland award in a rowThe chief executive of Aberdeen-based transport giant FirstGroup was honoured again last night, the second year in a row he has been recognised at the Institute of Directors Scotland Director of the Year Awards.
• Airport protesters appear in courtNINE people accused of being involved in a climate-change protest which caused chaos at Aberdeen Airport appeared in private in court yesterday.
• Westminster hails bridge lifeline The Westminster Government claimed last night it was offering a £1billion lifeline to help the Scottish Government build the new Forth Road Bridge.

The York Press

• North Yorkshire Moors Railway' Pickering station plan AN ambitious scheme by the North Yorkshire Moors Railway to build a visitor and education centre is underway.

Carlisle News & Star

• Cumbria council appoints new roads directorCumbria County Council has named a new director responsible for roads, regeneration and nuclear power.

Doncaster Free Press

• Passenger figures crash land after flights are slashed PASSENGER figures at Doncaster's Robin Hood Airport dropped by nearly ten per cent last year after its main carrier slashed the number of flights.

The Shields Gazette

• Port sets sights on £50m turnoverTHE Port of Tyne is hoping to boost its turnover by a third this year to hit the £50m mark.

International Herald Tribune

• U.S. states to use stimulus for transportation projectsBeyond all the money for Medicaid and unemployment benefits in the huge bill passed in February, this will be the face of America's stimulus program: a bridge will be painted on a rural road, a new lane added on a suburban highway, a guardrail built on a median strip.

The Economist

• The crisis in the car industry: No Opel, no hope General Motors needs Opel, but is powerless to help itIT WAS exactly 80 years ago, just seven months before Wall Street’s Great Crash, that General Motors (GM) bought Adam Opel AG, Germany’s biggest and most efficient carmaker at the time. By the late 1930s Opel was the largest carmaker in Europe and GM was established as a global automotive giant. This week, against the background of another world financial crisis, a humbled GM offered to surrender up to 50% of its stake in Opel in a bid to persuade the German government to rescue its subsidiary from insolvency. Opel is not a bask...

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• New Barclays support programme for transport and logistics sectorBarclays Commercial Bank has unveiled a new scheme that will provide transport and logistics managers and business owners with advice and information as part of a series of sector-focused initiatives.Under the Turning the Corner programme, firms struggling with the effects of the recession will be able to take advantage of networking events, industry discussions, workshops and practical guidance.David Marks, managing director for England and Wales at Barclays Commercial Bank, stated: "By offering our clients specific financial solutions and highlighting options for building more effic...

Railnews

• News: Bombardier may have been too expensive for £7.5bn contract TRANSPORT Secretary Geoff Hoon has dropped a broad hint that the consortium, including Derby-based Bombardier, that missed out on the £7.5 billion Intercity Express Programme contract may have bid too high a price.
• News: Government sets up company to by-pass Roscos for 202 new DMUs WITH the Department for Transport still at war with the train leasing companies (Roscos) over their alleged high charges — and with the Roscos increasingly reluctant to finance new diesel-powered trains — the Government has set up a new company to oversee procurement of 202 new diesel multiple unit carriages.

Transport for London

• Services on London Underground's Circle line to be extended to HammersmithLondon Underground (LU) has announced that Circle line services will be extended to Hammersmith from December 2009.

Other News Sources

• Record year for Milford HavenMilford Haven Port Authority, responsible for one of the largest oil ports in northern Europe, has announced record shipping levels for the second consecutive year.
• We need more cash for public transportIF THERE is an issue which divides Bexhill cleanly in two with passionate support for both arguments, it is the Bexhill-Hastings Link Road.
• End in sight for weekend train misery?Few people using the West Coast Main Line will have escaped the chaos of the past 12 months. Every weekend in 2008 Lancashire travellers suffered delays and disruption because of a major track revamp.
• Delivery Delay On New Trains To Hit St Albans And Harpenden CommutersNEW trains due to be delivered to First Capital Connect (FCC) to increase passenger capacity as part of the Thameslink Programme have failed to arrive.
• Biden in Miami to talk transportationVice President Joe Biden came to South Florida on Thursday to discuss how President Barack Obama’s $787 billion stimulus package will impact transportation projects. Biden was at
• Airports to get $1 billion in stimulus funds$700 million to be used to improve systems to check for explosives, weapons $300 million will be spent on new technology at airport checkpoints 17 airports scattered around the nation are eligible for...
• Government to rule on Kent rail freight depotHazel Blears will have the final say on plans for a rail freight depot in Kent, after the company behind the proposal appealed to the Planning Inspectorate.
• Survey set to improve DfT online benchmarkingUsers of the Freight Best Practice (FBP) On Line Benchmarking (OLB) programme have been asked to complete a survey which will help to improve the service.
• Final High Speed 2 structure revealedNCE can reveal the Department for Transport's (DfT) final management team for High Speed 2, the company created to research a business case for a new rail line from London to the west Midlands via Heathrow.
• Scottish contractors raise fears over Forth Replacement CrossingScottish contractors today expressed their concern that the Forth Replacement Crossing, due to be built from 2011, could drain client Transport Scotland’s future programme and budget.
• Hapag-Lloyd Executive Board AppointmentsPeter Ganz and Roland Kirch are to be appointed to the Hapag-Lloyd executive board.Peter Ganz is to be appointed by the Hapag-Lloyd supervisory board at its next meeting to the executive board of Hapag-Lloyd AG as chief financial officer. After studying business administration, Ganz began...
• Car sales slump 21.9% New car sales fell 21.9 per cent last month, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
• Commission could suspend airline slot rulesAirlines ask Commission to change rules that could prevent them cutting capacity.
• Climate goals urged in car rescue plansFour international agencies, including the UN and IEA, have teamed up to promote the development of a global car fleet that runs on 50% less fuel by 2050, stabilising greenhouse gas emissions worldwide in the process.
• Carbon footprint of new TGV lines under scrutinyFrench railway network company RFF is currently developing a life-cycle assessment for the carbon footprint of high-speed lines. While the final study will not be published until June, it is already clear that most of their CO2 emissions are a result of deforestation related to the construction of new lines.
• US ports ill-equipped for Panama expansionMany US ports are currently reporting plummeting volumes and the situation is expected to get considerably worse during the course of 2009.