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

Monday, 15 June 2009

BBC News

• Operators call for new rail linesRail operators call for a £500m expansion of the existing network, with 14 extra lines and about 40 new stations proposed.
• Punctuality improves at airportsJust over four in five scheduled flights were on time in the UK in the first three months of the year, figures show.

Financial Times

• New lines needed to justify second high-speed rail routeA new, high-speed rail line in the UK "may struggle" to justify itself under traditional measures, the man in charge of investigating options for a route admits. Sir David Rowlands nevertheless looks poised to recommend building a high-speed route from London to Manchester via Birmingham, based on more sophisticated assessment techniques.
• Serco wins £245m Dubai airports dealSupport services group Serco has won a 10-year, £245m contract to provide air traffic control at Dubai's airports
• Asciano drops sale in favour of share issueAsciano, the Australian ports and rail infrastructure group, is to raise at least A$2bn by selling new shares after abandoning plans to divest assets to private equity groups including Carlyle and TPG

The Herald

• Flight delays improve as airlines cut capacityAirline punctuality at the UK's major airports has improved to levels not seen since the mid-1990s as the decline in the number of flights has made it easier to get them in on time.
• 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.

The Independent

• Deals expected to be in short supply at aviation's big event in ParisThe Paris Air Show, one of the biggest events in the aviation industry's calendar, will take place this week. More than 150,000 trade visitors hit Le Bourget airport for the last show two years ago.

The Scotsman

• Rail network report backs expansionThere is a strong case to expand the existing rail network by opening new stations and train lines, a report has declared.
• 60,000 take up car scrappage schemeMore than 60,000 orders for cars under the Government's scrappage scheme have been placed since the £2,000 subsidy was announced, according to new figures.

The Telegraph

• Aviation industry faces year of gloom, warns Boeing headPlane makers will have to struggle through another year before the sector sees signs of recovery, the head of Boeing's commercial aeroplane business predicted ahead of Monday's Paris Air Show.
• Build new lines to reconnect rail links, say train operatorsForty towns should be reconnected to the rail network to cope with the soaring demand for rail travel, the Government has been told.

Times Online

• Train firms want to reopen lines axed by Richard Beeching 40 years agoTrain companies are proposing to reopen many of the branch lines closed by Dr Richard Beeching more than 40 years ago.
• BA in pension reserves crisisBRITISH AIRWAYS has begun a tough set of negotiations with its pension trustees after dropping below the level of cash reserves agreed three years ago.

Press Association

• Rail network report backs expansionThere is a strong case to expand the existing rail network by opening new stations and train lines, a report has declared.

Mail Online

• £500m rail network expansion needed to cope with soaring passenger demand Fourteen new rail lines and 40 new stations are needed to cope with soaring demand for services, a report today states.
• One in five air passengers on scheduled flights face delaysPassengers on one in five scheduled flights faced delays in the first three months of this year, new figures from the UK's Civil Aviation Authority reveal today.
• Shoppers' cars will soon be able to power supermarkets Shoppers' cars will be used to power supermarket tills in a revolutionary new scheme. The weight of vehicles driving over road plates into a new eco store will power a generator that creates enough electricity to keep checkouts ringing.

Journal Live

• New hope for expansion of rail networkNEW rail lines for the North East were today demanded by a major report. The Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) called for links to Ashington, Blyth and Washington as part of its demand for 40 unconnected towns across the country to be linked to the network.

London Evening Standard

• Traffic lights re-timed at 1,000 junctions to free up London roadsTransport for London today announced it is reviewing signal timings at several major intersections including Trafalgar Square, Hyde Park Corner, Marble Arch and the Hanger Lane gyratory.

Aviation Industry

• Will airlines go bankrupt?Auto companies and airlines are both getting hammered by the recession, but while two of the nation's major carmakers went into bankruptcy court protection, the leading U.S. carriers are flying above the carnage - for now.

Other News Sources

• Gosport to Fareham bus link could flop: planning chiefA £20m bus route through Gosport and Fareham could be an expensive flop, according to Gosport's planning chief.
• Crime on London’s Buses is cut by 18 per centThe Mayor of London, Boris Johnson today announced that crime on buses in the capital is at its lowest level for five years, down by 18 per cent since he took office. Robberies and bus vandalism has been cut by more than a third.
• ’Prospects good for rail market’ says Invensys Rail CEOAs rail industry bosses head to London for the ’Rail 2009 - Unlocking future growth: Delivering a Modern Sustainable Rail System’ conference on June 16, the Chief Executive of Invensys Rail, James Drummond, says the prospects for rail market are looking remarkably healthy despite the recession.
• BA: Inclusion in emissions trading will mean price hikesPassengers will have to bear the weight of fare increases if airlines join a global emissions trading scheme, British Airways (BA) boss Willie Walsh said in an interview with The Times.
• Solar Power Reaches for Higher GoalThe plane, as the name implies, is the development of an earlier model, in which Mr. Raymond crossed the United States in 21 flights in 1990. Basically a glider, the Sunseeker II can take off autonomously, driven by a foldable battery-powered push-propeller. Once airborne, it can cruise using nothing more than available solar energy.
• Hybrid 'rail bus' proposal for Limerick Junction serviceIRISH RAIL is considering replacing the Waterford to Limerick Junction services with a “rail bus” – a hybrid vehicle which can run on road and rail.
• Campaigners battle to save harbour railway lineCampaigners fighting to save Folkestone’s historic harbour railway line are steaming ahead with ideas for a new heritage-based tourist attraction.
• Hanging garden is New York's railway to the futureAfter three years of work to transform an abandoned elevated railway into a hanging garden, Zimmermann brims with the pride of a new parent.
• AC Transit passengers enjoy smooth ride on hydrogen buseshas found the solution to noisy, rumbling, polluting buses. The public transit system, which serves Alameda and Contra Costa counties, has been using three hydrogen fuel cell-propelled vehicles since...
• Union asks BA pilots to take pay cutBritish Airways' 3,000 pilots are being asked by their union to take an average £200-a-week pay cut to help save the cashstrapped airline
• Rail network report backs expansion
• PARIS 2009: Britair, Air Nostrum earmarked for initial CRJ1000sInstallation of the cabin interior of Bombardier's first production CRJ1000 NextGen aircraft has been completed, and the freshly-painted aircraft is now...
• Aer Lingus to slash capacityAer Lingus has announced it is to slash capacity by up to a quarter, blaming heavy losses and falling demand.
• Aer Lingus to slash capacityAer Lingus has announced it is to slash capacity by up to a quarter, blaming heavy losses and falling demand.

Other Subscription Services

• Stagecoach employees scoop top management honoursStagecoach has won two top awards at the second annual 2009 Passenger Transport Management Awards (PTMA). The awards recognise managers at all levels in the UK’s public transport industry, rewarding them for their skills, talent and commitment