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

Friday, 22 May 2009

BBC News

• BA nosedives into massive lossesBritish Airways has announced the biggest loss since the company was privatised in 1987.
• Peak-time trains 'fully booked'Travellers have been advised to avoid peak-time trains from Liverpool Street to Norwich on Thursday and Friday.
• Rail users campaign over station [video]Rail users say three flights of steps and a wheelchair route that crosses the East Coast main line are making rail travel to and from Thirsk station a misery for the elderly and disabled.
• Bus 'rapid transit' plan delayedA final decision on a bus "rapid transit" scheme to run along a former railway line in Bath has been deferred.

Financial Times

• National Express gets off London busesBeleaguered bus and rail operator sells public transport operation in capital for £32m as it struggles to reduce its debt mountain
• Lufthansa faces court action over BMI stakeBMI's chairman is turning to the courts in an effort to force Lufthansa to take over his majority stake in the UK airline, following the German carrier's move to force him to inject more capital into BMI
• Air France-KLM targets costs as revenues dropThe Franco-Dutch carrier is showing a surprising degree of flexibility

The Guardian

• BAA seeks delay in second Stansted runway inquiryIf the request is granted, there will be little chance of a new runway being built in south-east England before 2020, with planning inquiries into expanding Stansted and Heathrow airports unable to go ahead until after the general election. In a letter to the communities and local government secretary, Hazel Blears, Britain's largest airport owner said the planning process was now "less reliable" because it had lodged an appeal against a Competition Commission order to sell Stansted.

The Scotsman

• Smartcards, please! Commuters to get electronic tickets on ScotRailTRIALS are about to get underway on Scotland's railways of the UK's most advanced electronic payment smartcards, The Scotsman has learned. Commuters on the main Edinburgh-Glasgow line will be the first passengers to test the cards this autumn following a pilot by ScotRail staff, which starts within weeks.
• Tram chief predicts turnaround in public opinionPUBLIC opinion will swing behind Edinburgh's tram scheme after the first tracks are laid next month and it will come to be seen as indispensable, the project's new chief has told The Scotsman.

The Telegraph

• Iberia seeks pension adjustment before BA mergerBritish Airways is resisting demands from Spain's Iberia that any merger between the pair contains a post-deal adjustment to account for the UK flag-carrier's ballooning pension deficit.
• Further M25 upgrade confirmed London orbital motorway will be further widened to four lanes in 'crucial' stretches.

Times Online

• Edinburgh planners not listening to the people, says Sir Terry FarrellNew tram system is example of muddled thinking, says Edinburgh's design champion
• BA admits toughest-ever year amid record lossBritish Airways today reported a record loss of £401 million as high oil prices, falling passenger numbers and a reduction in cargo took their toll on the flag carrier.
• Rail travellers priced out as First Great Western raises first class upgradeRail passengers of modest means will no longer be able to taste the high life because a train company has abolished cheap upgrades to first class at weekends.

Reuters News

• British Airways slumps to record lossLONDON (Reuters) - British Airways slumped to a record loss and nearly doubled its debt pile during the year to end March, and said the tough conditions made it impossible to give any guidance for the current period.
• National Express sells London bus divisionBritish bus and rail group National Express (NEX.L) is selling its London bus business to Dutch group NedRailways in a bid to reduce borrowings.

Mail Online

• Bag yourself a bendy bargain: Boris Johnson sells off hated buses for £80,000 each (o.n.o)

Transport Briefing

• Stagecoach bus deal referred to Competition CommissionStagecoach's acquisition of Eastbourne Buses and Cavendish Motor Services, announced in December 2008, has been referred to the Competition Commission by the Office of Fair Trading.
• High speed rail tunnel under Pennines mooted by AdonisTransport Minister Andrew Adonis has urged rail planners for High Speed 2 not to be bound by geographical constraints when plotting the alignment of a new route from London to the north of England.
• CSR Nanjing bids to supply London Midland trainsChinese train manufacturer CSR Nanjing Puzhen Rolling Stock is to bid to supply train operator London Midland with between 40 and 120 new electric train carriages.
• Overground rail vandalism drops 71% in a yearStatistics released this week by the British Transport Police for the year 2007/08 show crime has continued to drop on the London Underground and DLR networks - with robberies down by 29% this year.

Airwise News

• Chief predicts road chargingRoad congestion charges will come to Lancashire within the next decade, according to the man who failed to drive through plans for Greater Manchester. Sir Howard Bernstein, chief executive of Manchester City Council, said he does not believe the issue of "road pricing" has gone away and Lancashire's own congestion hotspots could be targets for measures in the future.

Belfast Telegraph

• Firms look for trade at renewable energy show Seven companies are bidding for business on an Invest NI stand at the All-Energy 2009 show in Aberdeen this week.

Birmingham Post

• High speed rail link to London before next election - Lord AdonisTransport minister Lord Adonis has pledged to unveil plans for a new high-speed rail link between Birmingham and London before the next election.

Bolton News

• Rail users go into battle over train servicesFURIOUS commuters have drawn up a list of demands for an improved rail service. Members of Lostock Residents Group are so fed up with their trains that they have even formed a committee to put pressure on the rail companies.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Seven bus routes facing axe gear up for a reprieveUNDER-THREAT bus services across Edinburgh are to be offered a last-minute reprieve as councillors prepare to save those deemed most vital to residents.
• Commuters to trial rail ticket smartcardsThe credit-card sized smartcard is similar to the Oyster cards used to navigate London's transport network and will be topped up at ticket machines or automatically via bank direct debits.

London Evening Standard

• British Airways makes record lossesBritish Airways reported its worst results since privatisation in 1987. The airline reported pre-tax losses of £401 million as costs rose and seat sales plummeted.
• For sale: City runaround, one careful ownerHow would Arthur Daley have shifted this lot? A set of London’s bendy buses are up for sale — the first step of Boris Johnson’s pledge to eradicate the “miserable, inhuman and socialistic” vehicles from the city

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Pilot scheme to keep travelling pupils safer launchedA PILOT scheme which warns drivers when children are about to board or leave school buses has been launched in the north-east.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• New train charge is out of line with realityIn these times of economic hardship, the move will affect those least able to pay, such as the elderly, who cannot take the risk of standing up for two hours or more, or families who need to travel together. It amounts to an extra £20 for a family of four on a return trip to London.

Doncaster Free Press

• MP backs scheme for new rail routeA DONCASTER MP has backed plans to get a fast rail route from London to Sheffield - despite fears it could damage the East Coast Mainline.

Railnews

• High Speed 2 — it’s how and when, not if, says AdonisCONSTRUCTION of a new high-speed line, HS2, from London to the West Midlands and the North is a matter of ’how?’ and ’when? — not ’if?’ — according to Transport Minister Lord Andrew Adonis.
• News: Old car trade in scheme slammed by European rail leaders THE European rail industry has attacked government schemes that promote sales of new cars by subsidising trade-ins of older vehicles as “an inappropriate use of public money.”

Transport for London

• CentreComm celebrates 30 years keeping London's buses movingCentreComm, London Buses' emergency command and control centre, celebrates its 30th anniversary today.

Aviation Industry

• Grand Central relaunches its websiteGrand Central, which operates rail services between London and the North East, came in for some criticism on this blog a few months ago for the shocking customer experience when attempting to book tickets online.
• Rail operator to Twitter train delaysIn what's being called a first for a rail operator, First Capital Connect has turned to Twitter to keep its customers informed.
• £1 million upgrade for Stansted fire serviceStansted Airport, the UK™s third busiest airport, has significantly boosted its fire fighting capabilities following the completion of a £1 million investment programme

Other News Sources

• Conference held to promote cycling in cityPromoting cycling as an activity for everyone to enjoy is the key to getting more people on their bikes according to experts at a conference aimed at looking at how to get more people in the city to use two wheels instead of four.
• CONNECT 2 CYCLE ROUTE FOR BRIDLINGTONA further step has been taken to develop the planned Connect 2 cycle route for Bridlington. Following the public exhibitions held in February, the feedback from those events showed that there were mixed views about the planned bridge across the gorge at Danes Dyke, but with slightly more in favour than against.
• Mini Cooper launches cycle divisionThe family behind the iconic UK engineered Cooper Car Company has announced plans to launch an own-brand bicycle range.
• £3 Million Foot And Cycle Bridge Is Highly Commended In Regional AwardsTHE landmark £3 million foot and cycle bridge at Riverside, Cambridge, has been highly commended in the prestigious RICS East of England Community Benefit awards.
• Cycle path on Brighton seafront "is causing chaos"Road users, cyclists and pedestrians have been left apparently baffled by the path on the beach side of Madeira Drive.
• First Capital Connect launches Twitter serviceFirst Capital Connect has provided its customers with a new way to access important travel information, using the fast-growing microblogging site Twitter.
• More than 7,000 of FGW's services cancelled in a yearMORE than 7,000 rail services run by the firm that operates trains between Exeter and London were cancelled in one year alone.
• Bucket and spade line boostExtra carriages are being put on "seaside special" train services between Bath and Weymouth this summer.
• Ticket machine targeting 'free' rail trips to cityA TICKET machine may be installed at Dore rail station for the use of commuters into Sheffield city centre. At present, many passengers are getting free journeys because conductors do not have the time to collect fares on the seven-minute journey.
• Virgin want to transform railway stationPreston's "crumbling" train station could be transformed into one of the country's premier rail gateways within a decade. And passengers could soon be able to travel all the way from Lancashire to the Continent under ambitious plans unveiled by rail chiefs.
• High speed rail journeys direct from Brighouse to LondonRAIL passengers now know what they are getting for Christmas – a high speed link direct to London from Brighouse. Train operator Grand Northern is to be allowed to run the service from Bradford Interchange to London – stopping off at Halifax and then Brighouse.
• Plans to electrify Lancashire rail routeA major rail line through a Lancashire city could finally be electrified under ambitious plans unveiled by rail chiefs. Network Rail has tabled long-term proposals to electrify the line between Blackpool and Manchester as part of a multi-million pound investment in the future of the country's train network.
• People speak out against bus cutsBUS users have angrily hit out at the controversial bus cuts destined to hit Huddersfield this summer.
• A long-postponed new railway threatens London’s UndergroundCROSSRAIL, a planned cross-London train service that would link Maidenhead in the west with Shenfield in the north-east, relieving the city’s crammed underground-railway lines, is a standing joke. First mooted in 1974, it has become, like New York’s long delayed Second Avenue subway, a byword for false dawns, postponed promises and governmental vacillation.
• The UK's £34bn rail programme: people, get ready......there’s a train a-coming. Well, not a train so much as a £34bn programme to upgrade the UK’s rail network. Emily Wright looks at what the money will be spent on, and how you can get on board
• Anger as train buffet axed Passengers travelling by rail from Norwich up to Liverpool potentially face a five-and-half-hour journey without food or drink after it was announced buffet services on the route are to be axed.
• Peak train service runs out of seatsEvery seat for the 5pm and 5.30pm from London Liverpool Street to Norwich has been sold, National Express East Anglia bosses have warned.
• Train operator accused of neglecting commutersNational Express East Anglia was last night accused of neglecting its most valued customers after commuters were advised to avoid peak-time evening trains between London and Norwich. Fresh calls were made for extra carriages on the mainline route after it emerged it was full to capacity on two of its services from the capital.
• BMI takes Lufthansa to court BMI chairman Sir Michael Bishop has begun legal action to force Lufthansa to complete a takeover of the airline. Lufthansa already owns 30% of BMI...
• Chicago Department of Transportation Approves Armor-Tile Tactile SystemsThe nation's leader in detectable warnings manufacturing, Engineered Plastics, Inc., is proud to announce that the Chicago Department of Transportation has specified its flagship product, Armor-Tile Tactile Systems, as approved for use in Chicago
• Swiss transport union commits to lobby on safety and public ownershipA Swiss transport union has promised to campaign on stamping out violence in the workplace and to step up efforts to ensure cargo transport remains public.
• North West train conductors to get BlackBerries More than 1,000 conductors working for Northern Rail are to be provided with BlackBerry handheld devices to give passengers up to the minute travel information.

Other Subscription Services

• Maersk Line plots new course as it vows to keep market shareCOMPANY has reviewed its position and set