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

Saturday, 13 June 2009

BBC News

• £1m a year hire car costs reviewThe Welsh Assembly Government is to look at reducing the £1m a year cost of hire cars used by civil servants.
• Mandelson seeks Vauxhall pledgeBusiness Secretary Lord Mandelson has talks in Germany with politicians and businessmen on the future of Vauxhall.
• Boeing cuts global plane outlookThe US aircraft maker slashes its global outlook for new plane demand for the first time in a decade amid an industry slowdown.

Financial Times

• Fear stalks Chrysler amid Fiat shake-upFiat's boss announced a top-to-bottom shake-up of Chrysler's management, naming 23 executives who will now report directly to him “

The Guardian

• At least three killed in N Ireland air crashA light aircraft has crashed in Northern Ireland, killing at least three people, police said tonight.The plane went down in the Belmont Road area of Kilkeel, a fishing village in County Down. There were reports of misty conditions at the time of the crash.

The Herald

• Pension boost for FirstGroup chiefSir Moir Lockhead, leader of the UK’s biggest transport operator FirstGroup, saw his bonus cut from £407,000 to £160,000 last year, but the transfer value of his pension rise by 37% to £7.33m over the year.

Times Online

• Vauxhall jobs in limbo after Mandelson seeks fresh bidsAbout 5,000 Vauxhall jobs were thrown into doubt again yesterday when Lord Mandelson and the German Economy Minister effectively opened the auction for the carmaker to new bidders.
• What's on at Goodwood Festival of Speed 2009Try summarising the Goodwood Festival of Speed for the uninitiated and you could get it badly wrong. Calling it a car show risks conjuring up visions of vehicles marooned on show stands, awaiting intimate inspection by strange men with unkempt beards and a whiff of WD-40 about them.
• Passengers should pay global carbon tax, says British Airways chiefAirline passengers should pay a global tax on carbon and accept an increase in the cost of flying for the sake of the environment, the chief executive of British Airways has told The Times.
• Sweden's Koenigsegg to buy SaabKoenigsegg, the tiny Swedish supercar maker, is poised to buy Saab, General Motors™ (GM) Swedish premium brand.

Belfast Telegraph

• Belfast City Airport route axed Loganair is axing its services linking George Best Belfast City airport with Blackpool, it has been confirmed. Related StoriesBank launches package of developer mortgagesQuality managers needed to kickstart economyUS tycoon offers to rescue Setanta with £20m lifelineIndependent chairman ‘optimistic’ over refinancing of bondBusiness leaders slam appointment of 'Tsar Alan'

Liverpool Echo

• Dozens flee derailed train in LiverpoolPanicked passengers battled through smoke and diesel fumes as they scrambled off a derailed train.

London Evening Standard

• Bus driver left dead man in his seat at end of shiftBus staff are facing disciplinary action after a dead passenger was driven around London because the driver failed to spot his body
• Tube strikers back at work and union ready for talksLondon Underground services returned to normal after the travel chaos caused by a 48-hour strike by thousands of Tube workers in a row over jobs and pay

The News (Portsmouth)

• Roadworks start on A3Major roadworks will start on the A3 on Monday.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Transport firm wins voluntary service awardBadenoch and Strathspey Community Transport Company in Aviemore has been confirmed as one of 95 volunteering groups from across the UK winning this year™s Queen™s Award for Voluntary Service.
• Yellow line gaffe leaves councillor counting the costA council blunder led to workers painting double yellow lines around a busy Aberdeen roundabout, it emerged yesterday.

The York Press

• First York Park& Ride Bear all for St Leonard™s HospicePassengers on the First York Park&Ride buses between Askham Bar and the centre of York on Friday will find the staff in a new uniform.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Leeds boy racer in Le Mans worldA teenager who works in Garforth will make history this weekend as the youngest British driver ever to race in the world's most famous motorsport challenge.

Blackpool Gazette

• £100m tram plans in doubtBlackpool's £100m tram plans could be thrown into "serious doubt" if campaigners get their way.

Daventry Express

• Campion School bus crashStudents from Campion School were taken to hospital yesterday after their school bus crashed into a tree.

Peterborough Telegraph

• Broads Bill one step closerThe Broads Authority Bill, a backbench measure which gives the Broads Authority new powers, has been given an unopposed third reading in the Lords.

Sunderland Echo

• Battle for bus serviceA David and Goliath battle over a bus contract looks to have been settled in favour of Goliath.
• Dutch Navy take a short break in cityThe newest and largest ship in the Royal Netherlands Navy has docked in Sunderland “ after the city was recommended to its crew.

Washington Post

• GM, Chrysler executives defend dealership closingsUnder withering criticism in Congress, General Motors and Chrysler executives on Friday called the closings of hundreds of dealerships painful steps needed to right-size the auto giants. Down-on-their luck dealers said the moves would needlessly devastate their local economies and livelihoods.

Railnews

• News: Kings Norton becomes first ’green’ station in West Midlands Kings Norton, Birmingham has been declared the West Midlands’ first eco-friendly station after a team effort to create a bespoke ’green’ travel plan for its users.

Aviation Industry

• Airport launches consultation to help tackle aircraft noiseStansted Airport has today launched a 16 week public consultation on its proposed plans to continue minimising aircraft noise impacts over the next five years. The UK™s third busiest airport is seeking views on its proposed Noise Action Plan and will hold a series of noise briefings in local towns and villages affected by aircraft noise during August and September.
• SITA Introduces Passenger Self-Service for Baggage Tracing as it Displays World's Smallest KiosksSITA today launched the world's smallest full-function check-in kiosk at the IATA AGM in Kuala Lumpur and showed how passengers can now track missing bags. Two new environmentally friendly airport kiosks, including one that allows passengers to check the status of delayed or missing baggage, were demonstrated today by air transport IT specialist SITA at the IATA AGM in Kuala Lumpur.
• Aeroflot Picks SITA Solution to Manage Resources Across Three Terminals at SheremetyevoRussia's largest airline Aeroflot today announced that it has implemented aviation IT provider SITA's airport management system for its operations across the three terminals of Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport.
• 3 More Bodies Found From Lost Air France JetA Brazilian ship recovered three more bodies from the Atlantic as searchers said weather and currents were making their job increasingly difficult and warned it is unlikely that all the dead from Air France Flight 447 will be found.
• Colo. Plane With 145 Goes Off Taxi-Way; None HurtAllegiant Air says the nose gear of one of its planes ran off a taxi-way at the Fort Collins-Loveland Municipal Airport, but none of the 145 passengers and crew was injured.

Other News Sources

• ABTA urges CAA to delay levy increaseABTA has called for the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to delay increasing the £1 levy to £3 until the full cost of the XL Leisure Group failure is known. The...
• GAC scores hat trick at the 3rd Annual Supply Chain and Transport AwardsThe company received the coveted 'Outstanding Achievement of the Year', '3PL Provider of the Year' and 'Corporate Social Responsibility' titles at the premier awards event for the Middle East logistic...
• Private Carriages / Rail Cars for Escorted Group Rail Travel in Europe and the UKTrain Chartering is expanding its private carriage / rail car and rail-based event planning services for escorted groups on scheduled trains in Europe and the UK following unprecedented client interes...
• Turbine-powered carCapstone Turbine's liquid-fuelled microturbine has been integrated into a Ford S-Max people carrier in the UK by Langford Performance Engineering.
• Sainsbury's orders 50 Smith Electric vansSupermarket giant Sainsbury's has ordered 50 Smith Edison vans for home shopping deliveries in London.
• Europcar Launches Airport ConnectEuropcar has announced the launch of its new Airport Connect service - a convenient one-way car hire to, from or between UK airports
• Road Side Checks by VOSA and the HSE Find Over 70% of HGV Loads UnsafeChecks made on Heavy Goods Vehicles in the UK find over 70% of cargo loads are unsafe. Wider spot checks are planned to try and ensure that all HGV's on UK roads comply with current legislation.
• Boost for Mersey GatewayConstruction of the Mersey Gateway Bridge is on firmer ground today, with the Environment Agency withdrawing objections to the scheme, and the local council rejecting plans to toll the existing Silver Jubilee Bridge, rather than construct a new bridge.
• Crossrail announce second batch of contractsThe second series of contracts have been awarded to companies holding Crossrail design frameworks, with some familiar names among the winners.
• Venezuela to Nationalize PortsReuters reported that Venezuela is set to nationalize the companies that run some of its ports. The affected ports receive many of the imports that Venezuela depends on, but do not handle oil shipping from the OPEC nation.
• New FTA guide for international road transportThe Freight Transport Association has released the latest version of its International Road Transport Guide, aimed at keeping UK-based operators up-to-date with international transport regulations.
• Russell call for rail freight collaborationIt will take collaboration to unlock a future of fundamental mode shift towards rail, Ken Russell, commercial and business development director, John G Russell (Transport), has told guests at the official opening of the Telford International Railfreight P
• Stobart trials trans-Europe 'rail fruit' serviceMultimodal specialist Stobart Group is trialling a new pan-European rail service, dubbed the 'rail fruit', taking oranges from the south of Spain direct to its Widnes inland port.
• Air France crash inquiry stalls over missing dataData transmitted from the Air France Airbus A330 that crashed into the South Atlantic has given French accident investigators some insight into a range of...
• First 787 flight is imminentBoeing is just days away from the first flight of its flagship 787 Dreamliner after nearly two years of delays, although its entry into service will come...
• Fuel poverty still plagues BritainOver 5 million UK households continue to live in fuel poverty despite government measures to tackle the issue, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) announced this week. Recent falls in energy prices have had little impact, with the current average annual energy bill up by more than a third (36%) compared with January [...]
• Ministerial responsibilities announced at Department for Business, Innovation and Skills Lord Mandelson today outlined the responsibilities of his Ministerial team at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
• Experts discuss economics of climate change The economic impact of climate change - and the business opportunities it presents - have been outlined by industry experts.
• Mayor unveils plans to turn London's food waste into fuel Boris Johnson has announced plans for a group to work together to convert the capital's food waste into eco-fuel.
• Pirates seize cargo ship off OmanSomali pirates have seized a German-owned cargo ship off the coast of Oman.
• Air fares discounted 78% in Q1Air fares bought by corporate customers in the first quarter saw discounts of as much as 78%, a survey by American Express Business Travel has revealed.

Other Subscription Services

• Waterborne transport is ''good alternative to trucks''Contractors moving construction and other materials to the London Olympic site must be persuaded that waterborne transport is a practical and cost-effective alternative to trucks.
• Lloyd's denies being forced into shake-up of dispute bodyLloyd's Agency Department has defended plans to overhaul its salvage arbitration system.