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

Tuesday, 02 June 2009

BBC News

• Angry Indians set train on fireAngry protesters in northern India set fire to a train and a railway station in protest at a move not to stop at remote stations, railway police say.
• Union hits out at Tube booze banA transport union has criticised the Tube alcohol ban a year after it came into force, saying its members have been abused trying to enforce it.
• Hoon sorry for expenses 'error'Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon is the latest cabinet minister to repay money he claimed on his designated second home.
• Honda's production line restartsThe production line at Honda's car factory in Swindon goes back into operation after a four-month break.
• Fiat to acquire Chrysler assetsUS car group Chrysler secures court approval for a consortium led by Italy's Fiat to take over its assets.
• GM enters bankruptcy protectionCar giant General Motors files for bankruptcy protection, the biggest industrial failure in US corporate history.

Financial Times

• Car industry could learn from Penn CentralHarrisburg, Pennsylvania's continuing role as a key hub in the healthy US rail sector offers some hints about how the US motor industry could recover from its problems
• Surprise early start for high-speed trainsSoutheastern Trains, the rail franchisee controlled by GoVia, will give UK rail passengers their first chance to experience domestic travel at more than 125mph
• BA facing 'fight for survival'Willie Walsh, chief executive, warned 41,000 staff that the airline 'is in a fight for survival'

The Guardian

• Watchdog sniffs at Southeastern's high-speed faresPassenger Focus criticises the cost of travel on the new Kent commuter service, where tickets will cost up to a third more
• Travelling on trustHonour systems operate all over the world, but not in Britain. Are high levels of social inequality solely to blame?
• Obama: sacrifices needed to save GM¢ Obama warns of sacrifices needed to build a leaner carmaker ¢ Judge to rule on future of 235,000 GM employees worldwideAmerica's biggest carmaker, General Motors, declared itself bankrupt today in a legal filing at a federal courthouse in downtown Manhattan, kicking off the biggest industrial insolvency in US history.GM filed for Chapter 11 protection against its creditors' demands at 8am local time after racking up losses of $81bn (£50bn) over four years, putting a veteran bankruptcy judge, Robert Gerber, in charge of the future of 235,000 employees worldwide.Speaking in Washington a few ho...

The Telegraph

• Airlines face 'worst year in aviation history'Sir Richard, the chief executive of Virgin Atlantic, told Telegraph Travel that he expected that the current economic downturn and decline in business travel would result in the collapse of a major American airline in 2009.
• West Coast main line 'late' despite £9bn improvements Three out of every five trains on Britain's busiest railway line have been running late despite a £9 billion upgrade a trade union claimed.

Times Online

• Bmi opens new Heathrow loungeMark Hix food, a traditional British pub and hot-piping soup from an Aga feature in the new international departure area
• Airbus 330 under scrutiny after loss of Air France Flight 447Great dangers lurk for all aircraft inside storm systems of the type encountered by the Air France jet ” although lightning is probably not one of them.
• Uncertainty for Vauxhall workers as Magna and Sberbank look at cost savingsMore than 5,000 Vauxhall workers caught up in America™s biggest industrial bankruptcy face months of uncertainty as the carmaker™s new owners begin picking over the remains of General Motors.

Press Association

• Ryanair profits hit by fuel costsLow-cost airline Ryanair has revealed that it dived into the red by 169.2 million euros (£145.9m) in the year to March after being hit with a 59% hike in its fuel bill.

Daily Express

• Ryanair expected to ride turbulenceINVESTORS will be keen to hear Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary's take on the state of the battered airline sector this week when the budget airline posts annual figures tomorrow.

Mail Online

• Now Geoff Hoon forced to hand back cash for overclaimed bills

Network Rail

• NETWORK RAIL DELIVERS BETTER PLANNED IMPROVEMENT WORK
• NETWORK RAIL DELIVERS BETTER PLANNED IMPROVEMENT WORK (NW)

Transport Briefing

• Crossrail fast-tracks Royal Oak western portal designFurther details of the Crossrail western portal design contract have been released after Capita Symonds was confirmed as winner of the package on Friday (29 May).
• 140mph domestic trains enter service in four weeksTrain operator Southeastern has announced that a limited high speed preview service of the new Class 395 Hitachi High Speed 1 trains will begin on 29 June, ahead of the introduction of the full timetable on 13 December.

Birmingham Post

• £2.7m project saves 120 Birch Coppice rail terminal jobsWork has been completed on a £2.7 million rail infrastructure project which has already cut unnecessary lorry journeys and saved 120 rail terminal jobs.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Wheelchair passengers fear being left stranded on Wrexham stationLess than half of rail stations in Wales offer wheelchair access to the platform and the train, and rail bosses say it could cost tens of millions of pounds to improve accessibility at sites across Wales.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Trams pick up the pace as Princes Street tracks arriveTHE first set of tracks for Edinburgh's £545 million tram project is expected to be delivered to Princes Street within days.
• Ex-transport chief takes on finance roleTHE man in charge of Edinburgh's controversial tram scheme has officially taken control of the city council's finances. Lib Dem councillor Phil Wheeler has swapped roles with the city's finance leader Gordon Mackenzie.

London Evening Standard

• General Motors collapses into $90bn bankruptcyGeneral Motors, the world's largest carmaker until last year, this afternoon filed for bankruptcy protection

Washington Post

• GM hoping for speedy sale and exit from Chapter 11 NEW YORK -- General Motors hopes to follow the lead of fellow U.S. automaker Chrysler by transforming its most profitable assets into a new company in just 30 days and emerging from bankruptcy protection soon after.

Railnews

• News: 250 mph plan for High Speed Two BRITAIN’S next high-speed line—HS2 from London to the West Midlands and beyond—could be running within 15 years at a top speed of 250 mph, twice the maximum speed now allowed on conventional tracks.

Transport for London

• London Underground unveils more languages at ticket machinesTo make life easier for London's diverse communities, overseas tourists and business travellers, London Underground (LU) has upgraded all touch screen ticket machines with 17 languages at all Tube stations.

Aviation Industry

• Virgin code-share with ANAVirgin Atlantic and Japan’s All Nippon Airways (ANA) have inked a new code-sharing deal under which both carriers will offer more convenience and choice to travellers.
• Lufthansa Leos Implements GroundStar for VIP Services INFORM's GS RealTime system has recently been implemented to support the tasks carried out by the Lufthansa LEOS VIP services department at Munich Airport. There are about 15 to 20 drivers per shift in the Leos VIP services department providing special VIP guests with luxury transfers in cars such as the Porsche Cayenne. These guests have to be taken between the aircraft and the terminal or, in the case of a transfer flight, from one aircraft to the connecting one as soon as they arrive and with minimum waiting time. These tasks are characterised by their ad-hoc nature, and GS Re...

Other News Sources

• Abandoned cycles will be scrappedCYCLISTS who have abandoned bicycles at Oxford train station face having them scrapped as by First Great Western.
• Cycle scheme can save workers cash on new bikesThe Government initiative encourages companies to get their workers to ditch their cars in favour of pedalling to work by offering them up to 50 per cent off the cost of a bicycle.
• Northampton commuter trains to be doubled in lengthCommuter trains from Northampton to London will be doubled in length to ease overcrowding following a high-profile campaign by long-suffering passengers.
• Rail hub on the cards for SpaldingAuthorities and agencies in Lincolnshire are looking into the establishment of a rail hub in Spalding.
• ZetTrans plans to overhaul bus serviceSHETLAND could have a much better bus service within two to three years under plans published by the Shetland transport partnership ZetTrans yesterday (Monday).
• Campaign to keep bus companyA campaign to prevent the sale of Plymouth's council-owned bus company has been launched by unions and the city's Labour party.
• New bus and train link openBruce Thompson, Devon County Council's transport coordination service manager, said: "This improvement in the coordination between bus and train services is a very welcome further step towards the council's aim of improving travel choices and the quality of public transport.
• Rail users get tweetsRAIL users are being offered a new way to access important travel information thanks to the ever-expanding microblogging site Twitter.
• Indians set fire to trainsTuesday, June 02, 2009 PATNA: At least 30 people were injured after angry villagers torched two trains and a railway station in eastern India on Monday to protest against a decision not to halt at re...
• Cross examinationThe Crossrail link project could lead to costly and disruptive deformation of existing tube lines, unless the potential stress caused by construction of new railway connections under central London is properly evaluated.
• Merc offers 'Swappage' scheme for vansMercedes-Benz has launched a new 'swappage' scheme aimed at van buyers who cannot take advantage of the government-backed £2,000 scrappage scheme.
• MAG offers reprieve for airport bid partnersManchester Airports Group (MAG) is keen to enlarge its bidding consortium for Gatwick and may team up with bidders shut out of previous rounds.

News from Europe

• Over 6,500 Buses Older than 15 Years on Bulgarian RoadsOver 6,500 buses that are older than 15 years have received license for internal transport routes in Bulgaria, Darik radio reports Tuesday.

Other Subscription Services

• Owners told to act now on carbon tradingSHIPOWNERS should set up a voluntary carbon trading market as they prepare for the almost inevitable inclusion of the industry in a new global climate change agreement.
• UK shipping sector vents anger over pollution slursINDUSTRY rounds on 'appallingly ill-informed' claims over green issues.