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

Saturday, 21 March 2009

BBC News

• Agreement in tram disputeA resolution is reached in the Edinburgh tram dispute, which has seen track laying halted for four weeks.
• LDV buy-out is 'still an option'A management buy-out of van firm LDV is still an option, the company asserts, after reports the deal was off.
• UK car production in record dropThe number of new cars produced in the UK declined 59% in February, its fifth straight monthly fall, figures show.

Department for Transport

• More track and better train service for CotswoldsRail passengers are set to benefit from a project costing more than £50 million to double parts of the Cotswold Line, from a single track service to two lines, Transport Minister Andrew Adonis said today. A second line measuring 20 miles is being laid between Charlbury and Evesham to improve punctuality, ease congestion and reduce journey times under wider Government plans to improve capacity on the UK's railways.

Financial Times

• Renault revives protectionism fearsFears France's state aid package for its car industry is protectionist resurfaced when Renault said it was relocating production of a small car from Slovenia to near Paris
• Rail link lifts property value hopesHouse prices near the Channel tunnel link stations are predicted to rise by a total £1.6bn after fast domestic services start later this year, with Ebbsfleet seeing the largest rise
• HK shipping tycoon forecasts years of gloom One of the most respected figures in container shipping has predicted years of difficult conditions if government stimulus packages fail to produce a quick upturn in the world economy

The Independent

• Vanmaker in crisis as buyout collapsesThe future of the vanmaker LDV was in doubt last night after a planned management buyout of the troubled business fell through. The company, which has not built any vehicles for three months, employs 850 people at its Birmingham factory, and supports thousands more at component manufacturers.
• Wheels come off the great British motor industry Britain's beleaguered car- makers are on course to build fewer than one million vehicles this year for the first time in a quarter of a century.

The Telegraph

• Labour spends 'more on rail consultants than trains' Labour's spending on rail consultants has soared according to figures released by the Government.

Times Online

• Downturn encourages the thrifty to get on their bikes M Steel Cycles is Newcastle’s longest-established bike shop. Serving Tyne & Wear since 1894, it is run by Joe Waugh, 56, a former Olympic cyclist and a Commonwealth gold medal winner.
• Car production crashes 59% as demand falls Car production fell 59 per cent last month as manufacturers continued to respond to falling demand. Only 59,777 cars were made last month, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.

Reuters News

• Gatwick bidders set to be assessedPotential bidders for Gatwick Airport are to be assessed by Britain's competition regulator next week on their suitability to run the country's second-busiest airport.

Daily Record

• Edinburgh trams project back on track as deal struck to end deadlockA deal has been reached in the Edinburgh tram dispute that saw work on the £500million project temporarily halted.

Mail Online

• Heathrow pilot caught drunk at 9am about to fly to America is spared jail Heathrow pilot caught drunk at 9am about to fly to America is spared jail

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Airbus jobs ’at risk’ in review at BroughtonJobs could be at risk at one of North Wales’ biggest employers.

Journal Live

• Options to improve traffic flow are revealedPlans to reduce congestion on one of the regions’ busiest roads are set to be made public next week.
• Lord Mandelson gives North East electric car plan a pushLord Mandelson is today set to witness an agreement which business leaders say could pave the way for the North East to lead the UK’s electric car production.

London Evening Standard

• Car sales crash 59 per cent but Mandelson says industry can surviveThe number of new cars produced last month in the UK crashed 59% according to new figures, but manufacturers can still survive, Lord Mandelson has said

Metro

• Motor firms 'can survive downturn'Business Secretary Lord Mandelson has said motor companies will survive

The News (Portsmouth)

• Bid to track yobs on disused railway lineYoungsters are running down an old railway track through Fareham and Gosport and pelting homes with stones.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Hoon dismisses bid to improve school bus safety A north-east grandfather™s campaign to improve school bus safety has suffered a major setback, it emerged last night.

Blackpool Gazette

• Motorway link road re-openedMOTORISTS will no longer be delayed now the M55 link road has re-opened.

Carlisle News & Star

• Anger at Asda plans to withdraw free busSHOPPERS at a Carlisle superstore are up in arms over proposals to shelve the free bus service that takes them there.

Northants Evening Telegraph

• Delays to London rail serviceTrains running from Northampton to London will be subject to delays when conductors working at London Midland's Northampton depot stage a 48-hour walkout in a dispute over

Peterborough Telegraph

• Jade thanks wellwishers for supportFlowers from well-wishers have made Essex reality TV star Jade Goody smile through her painful final days, her friend has said.
• Train conductors to strikeAbout 100 train conductors at London Midland, which operates rail services through Bedfordshire, are to stage a fresh strike in a row over Sunday working.
• M25 widening part of £1bn roads packageWidening parts of the M25 in Hertfordshire and Essex will be among a £1bn package of road schemes due to start in 2009/10 by the Highways Agency.

Sunderland Echo

• £1m car parts stolen from NissanMore than £1million-worth of stock has been stolen from the Nissan plant in less than a year.
• VIDEO: Nissan Nuvu electric car unveiledNissan's Sunderland plant has seen a glimpse of the future, in the form of the Nuvu concept car.

International Herald Tribune

• Auto parts suppliers may get aidThe administration of President Barack Obama has signaled its intent to provide broad relief to the American auto industry with the creation of a $5 billion fund to aid troubled parts suppliers.
• Millions strike in France in 2nd recent work stoppageThe French train network, airports, utilities and the public sector were hit by work stoppages Thursday, the second major strike in two months, as unions mobilized against government's response to the downturn.

Washington Post

• Some GM Bondholders Protest Federal Loan Terms Some of General Motors' creditors are balking at the terms of the company's government rescue loan, arguing that the federally imposed conditions treat them unfairly.
• GM bondholders appeal to break impasse in talks DETROIT (Reuters) - Advisers representing General Motors Corp bondholders on Friday issued an appeal to the automaker and U.S. officials to break an impasse in a crucial round of debt restructuring talks.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Logistics sector facing harmful cost rises, FTA warnsFleet managers could be facing an increase of bills of £1,500 per truck if proposed tax and fee increases go ahead, it had been argued.The Freight Transport Association (FTA) called for the government to delay rises in fuel duty, arguing that jobs in the transport sector could be lost if this is not done.Chief executive Theo de Pencier explained that although redundancies are a "last resort", many firms face a "lose-lose situation" where they cannot be avoided.According to the FTA, fuel duty is set to go up by 1.84p per litre, while the Department f...

Transport for London

• Local cycling boost as TfL calls on bike enthusiasts to bid for fundingTwo weeks left to get in applications for the Community Cycling Fund for London (CCFfL).

Aviation Industry

• Virgin America To Charge To Check A Single BagVirgin America introduced a USD$15 fee to check a single bag, falling in line with other US carriers that use such fees to generate revenue as the economic recession weighs on travel demand.

Other News Sources

• End of the line for dining cars?It was once a big part of the appeal of rail travel as a comfortable, even luxurious, experience, but it seems that the dining car is on the way out. More4 News reports.
• Scottish export dropScottish manufactured exports dropped by 2.4 per cent to £14.6bn in 2007/8 - the first fall following three consecutive years of growth.
• Siemens wins China high-speed train orderChina has ordered 100 high-speed trains from German engineering giant Siemens and its Chinese partners, the company announced in Munich Friday.
• World bulker and general cargo fleet to grow as new ships under construction are delivered from shipyardsThe world fleet of dry bulk and general...
• Ceva predicts challenging first quarterTransport giant Ceva Logistics confirms that the first quarter of the year has seen weak transaction volumes and reduced freight flows, much like the final quarter of 2008.
• Welsh port receives first LNG shipThe Welsh port of Milford Haven today received its first shipment of LNG from Qatar.
• Sewage spilt from sunken bargeA sewage barge sunk off Southampton today spilling diesel and effluent, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency told Fairplay today.
• First Group to cut 1,750 jobs in UK bus and railFirst Group (LSE: FGP), which runs bus services in North Manchester and operates the Transpennine rail franchise, is to cut 1,750 jobs in the UK and the same number in the US.
• New High Speed rail service for ItalyPrivate company set to launch in 2011 Italy's first privately-owned high speed rail company plans to launch a new service, in direct competition with the state-owned Eurostar Italia Alta Velocitá. Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori (NTV) will operate the new Italo service on key intercity routes from 2011, with plans for future European routes in the pipeline.