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

Wednesday, 17 June 2009

BBC News

• New bus interchange opens in townA new bus and taxi station - part of plans to create a transport hub in Shropshire - has opened.
• Taxpayers 'could pay for runway'Taxpayers could end up subsidising the £9bn bill for Heathrow's third runway because of the "precarious" finances of the airport's operator, an MP has said.
• Old stationsBefore disused rail lines can run again, they'll need a prune
• Renault boss defends state helpCarlos Ghosn, head of Renault and Nissan, denies taxpayers are propping up failing carmakers in a BBC interview.
• Europe considers Airbus soft loanFrance and Germany say they are prepared to offer Airbus 2.5bn euros in soft loans to help develop the A350 aircraft.
• Hydrogen car to be 'open source'The manufacturer of a hydrogen car unveiled in London on Tuesday will make its designs available online.
• Airbus seals raft of new ordersAircraft maker Airbus receives a raft of new orders worth billions of dollars from several airlines at the Paris Air Show.
• BA asks staff to work for nothingBritish Airways is asking thousands of staff to work for nothing, for up to one month, to help the airline survive.

Financial Times

• National Express in debt talksNational Express is in discussions over its debt terms as fears build that the bus and train operator may breach loan conditions
• BA staff anger at call for pay-free monthCompany is already on a collision course with parts of the workforce, as it seeks to cut pay and remove 2,000 posts from its 14,000-strong cabin staff as part of a major cost-cutting programme.
• Continental to sell $390m in securitiesContinental Airlines plans to issue $390m in securities backed by new and older Boeing aircraft, the aviation industry's first securitised-debt sale of its kind in more than a year and the latest signal the credit markets are reopening to carriers hungry for capital.

The Guardian

• UK air passenger numbers slump as recession bitesCivil Aviation Authority says transatlantic travel the biggest victim as number of people using British airports falls 13%
• Now here's an idea that's not going to fly ...Job cuts, pay freezes, companies begging staff to take unpaid leave - all these have become commonplace in the last six months. But British Airways chief executive Willie Walsh has trumped the lot by suggesting, in an article in the airline's staff newspaper, BA News, that staff should consider working for nothing. That's what he plans to do in July, and he wants others to follow suit. So will the idea fly?
• BA ask staff to work a month unpaidWhen next you board a British Airways plane, think twice before abusing your call button: there's a good chance ­whoever answers is being paid nothing for the ­privilege of fetching that extra pillow.All of BA's 40,000 staff have been made what could be described as a missable offer: the chance to work for free for up to a month. Though it sounds like a bad joke, the reasons behind the request are deadly serious. The company recently reported pre-tax losses of £401m.The wheeze is outlined in the latest ­edition of BA's in-house magazine under the headline Action Time:

The Herald

• BA’s Walsh appears in the mood for a fightAnalysis: Willie Walsh, the chief executive of British Airways, is heading for a bruising confrontation this week with cabin crew and ground staff over pay cuts, job losses and unpaid leave.

The Scotsman

• Tram project ex-boss to get bonus despite walking outTHE controversial former boss of the Edinburgh tram scheme is to pick up a bumper cash bonus – despite plunging the project into chaos by walking out on his job last year.

The Telegraph

• Willie Walsh is way off the radar in flights of fancy about BA salary breaksAnother day, another wheeze from Willie Walsh, the British Airways chief executive.
• Ryanair passengers warned over website shutdownRyanair's passengers could be hit with a £40 charge as the nofrills airline prepares to shut down its website for maintenance.

Times Online

• British Airways asks staff to work for freeBritish Airways has asked its 40,000 staff to work without pay for up to a month as the ailing airline seeks to cut costs.
• Union anger as British Airways asks staff to work for freeUnions reacted angrily after British Airways asked its 40,000 staff to work without pay for up to a month in what Willie Walsh, the airline™s chief executive, dubbed the company™s œfight for survival.

Press Association

• Rail group secures debt bufferBus and rail group National Express said it has been given extra breathing space on its £1.2 billion debt pile until the end of this year.

Daily Express

• BA's zero pay planBRITISH Airways staff are being asked to work for four weeks without pay as the company desperately tries to cut costs.

Network Rail

• TIPTON LEVEL CROSSING USERS GET SAFETY MESSAGE

Transport Briefing

• Honda Insight hailed as green car championHonda's Insight, a new family-sized hybrid car that is already providing stiff competition for the ubiquitous Toyota Prius, has been named Green Car of the Year 2009 by the Environmental Transport Association.
• Rail networks to be wired for internet accessBroadband internet access will be made available across Britain's rail network under plans contained within the government's Digital Britain report, published this week.
• London transport hub police roll-out completedMayor of London Boris Johnson has launched the last of 32 policing teams dedicated to patrolling transport hubs across London.
• East Lancashire rail reopening moves forwardGreater Manchester Integrated Transport Authority has commissioned detailed research to investigate the cost of restoring train services to towns in the Irwell valley using part of the East Lancashire Railway heritage line.

Belfast Telegraph

• Fall in holiday air passenger numbers The recession is taking its toll on the number of people taking holiday flights, official figures out today show. Related StoriesJobs 'bloodbath’ looms in Northern Ireland's public sectorRates hike on cards as pension pot dipsPSNI backs firm’s security initiativeBBC faces cuts to fund ‘Digital Britain’ planBritish Airways asks 40,000 employees to work without pay
• British Airways asks 40,000 employees to work without pay British Airways is giving staff the option of working without pay for up to a month in order to "play their part" in what chief executive Willie Walsh describes as a "fight for survival". Related StoriesJobs 'bloodbath’ looms in Northern Ireland's public sectorRates hike on cards as pension pot dipsPSNI backs firm’s security initiativeFall in holiday air passenger numbersBBC faces cuts to fund ‘Digital Britain’ plan

Derby Telegraph

• Call for a new train line and more park and ridesTRAIN companies want to see two new park-and-ride stations in Derbyshire and a new line connecting Burton with Leicester.
• Rolls-Royce lands £1bn order at Paris showDERBY aero engine-maker Rolls-Royce has secured another big order on the second day of the Paris Air Show. On Monday, the company won more than £1bn of new business, the bulk of which came from a £917m order from Gulf Air for Trent 700 engines.

Journal Live

• £1m spent on bid to keep the MetroMETRO bosses are paying up to £1m in a bid to run the railway they already own.

Liverpool Post

• New city rail service proposed for Liverpool-Skelmersdale linkSKELMERSDALE could be re-connected to the rail network, providing services for thousands of travellers, a new report from the Association of Train Operating Companies has suggested.

London Evening Standard

• Revealed: The greenest bike ever madeIt is the ultimate green statement for commuters worried that even their cycling damages the planet. For the first time eco-conscious (but wealthy) Londoners can buy an organic, biodegradable bike - made from bamboo.

Manchester Evening News

• Talks over Oldham tramsTRANSPORT bosses and businesses are holding talks on how to make the most of taking trams into Oldham. Work has already started to convert the Oldham Loop railway line to Metrolink by autumn 2011 with tram stops at Werneth and Oldham Mumps.
• Historic railway to return to use?TRANSPORT bosses are considering recommissioning the historic East Lancashire Railway. Yesterday the M.E.N reported how the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) had identified the line, which currently runs steam trains as a tourist attraction, as one which could be brought back into general use.

Metro

• British gas car that costs just 15p a mile to runA British-built car powered by hydrogen and capable of speeds up to 50mph was unveiled on Tuesday.

Nottingham Evening Post

• Nottingham cyclists appointed apprenticesCoun Jeannie Packer rode a bike for the first time a fortnight ago – but she is determined to push on. As part of the Movers and Shakers campaign to get more people in Nottingham on their bikes, she will be mentored by leader of Nottingham City Council Coun Jon Collins and Coun Jane Urquhart.
• Historic bridge in Kimberley to reopenA HISTORIC bridge in Kimberley is fit for use again after a £150,000 refurbishment. The Number 13 bridge, used as a footpath over Kimberley cuttings, was declared "potentially unsafe" in a structural report last year.

The News (Portsmouth)

• Southern hails its best ever train punctuality rateSouthern Railways is trumpeting its most punctual day to date.
• Portsmouth crossing 'danger' sees call for lightsTraffic chiefs have been told to find some spare cash to install traffic lights at an 'unsafe' zebra crossing.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• School bus campaigner celebrates proposal success A grandfather who has spent years campaigning for school bus safety improvements was celebrating last night after one of his proposals was implemented.
• Aberdeen Airport opens £2.3m walkwayTRANSPORT Minister Stewart Stevenson yesterday opened a £2.3million walkway at Aberdeen Airport which is aimed at improving the travel experience for passengers.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• New rail station plan for OssettA NEW railway station may be built at Ossett if proposals by train operating companies are taken up.

Blackpool Gazette

• Gordon Brown's Blackpool pledgeLast week's announcement of £100m upgrade to the historic tram network is a real boost for the town, helping to attract even more investment to the area and ensuring the trams in Blackpool keep running for many years to come.

Peterborough Telegraph

• Hydrogen-powered car makes debutA new lightweight hydrogen-powered car, capable of speeds up to 50mph, and co-developed in Bedfordshire, has been shown off in London.

New Scientist

• New hydrogen-powered city car takes to the roadThe small, light vehicle is powered by a fuel cell that combines hydrogen with oxygen from the air to release energy and nothing more toxic than water.

Wall Street Journal

• Democrats Craft Transportation BillHouse Democrats are crafting a transportation spending bill that would cost $450 billion over six years, but no consensus has emerged on how to fund it.

Aviation Industry

• FAA Pledges To Fight Pilot FatiguePilot Fatigue Linked To Over 250 Crashes In The Past 15 Years
• British Airways asks staff to work for freeBRITISH Airways has asked tens of thousands of staff to work without pay for up to a month to improve the airline's finances.

Other News Sources

• Transport Department Spends £400,000 on TaxisThe Department for Transport has spent more than £400,000 on taxis over the past two years. Civil servants and Ministers have been using cabs to travel, despite the Department's commitment "to reduce transport's emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases."
• Heathrow Third Runway "Will Evict 10,000 People"p to 10,000 people will be forced out of their homes if a planned third runway at Heathrow goes ahead, it has been claimed. John McDonnell (Lab Hayes and Harlington) told MPs that "the largest evacuation of people in living memory" would be needed.
• Plea for trams, not a new roadShrewsbury should be served by an £80 million continental-style tram system which could help slash congestion and remove the need for the controversial North West Relief Road, it was claimed today.
• Six miles of M60 to closeAN INVESTIGATION into mysterious cracks in the newest stretch of Greater Manchester's motorway ring road is to result in a series of closures. Now six miles of the £220m `missing link' section of the M60 around Oldham is to close for the next six weekends while Highways Agency engineers try to find the cause.
• MP's fury at bus cutsANGELA Smith has written to First and the SYPTE expressing her disappointment and anger at the latest bus cuts in the north of Sheffield.
• Axed rail lines may get back on trackIT'S been a rocky relationship, but it seems Britain's love affair with the railway is back on.
• Cambridgeshire guided busway track laying completeBAM Nuttall has laid the final section of concrete track for the guided busway between Cambridge and St Ives.
• BA extends unpaid work scheme British Airways (BA) chief executive Willie Walsh has asked the company's 40,000 employees to work for nothing in a desperate bid to save cash. As...
• Crossrail appoints project representative to monitor constructionCrossrail has appointed David Bennett, currently Deputy Crossrail Project Representative, as Implementation Director, to monitor the construction phase.
• France's first The 101km long A19 Artenay-Courtenay autoroute opens today, four months ahead of schedule.
• Cost escalation hits M25 widening benefit to cost ratio hardThe financial benefit of the £5.5bn M25 widening scheme has collapsed by as much as 60% as a result of rising costs, the Department for Transport has revealed.
• Department for Transport sets out ministerial dutiesTransport secretary Lord Adonis has set out the duties of his new-look Department for Transport.
• Hydrogen car's a lot of hot air? A new lightweight hydrogen-powered car that can travel at 50mph has been shown off in London.
• Anger over BA 'work for free' plan Unions responded with anger after British Airways asked staff to work for free or take unpaid leave.
• Sainsbury's orders 50 more Smith EdisonsSupermarket Sainsbury's has ordered 50 Smith Edison vans for its home shopping operation in London, giving it the UK's largest electric van fleet of 68 vehicles.
• De Rooy parks up 35% of fleetDutch haulier de Rooy has been forced to park-up 35% of its 730-strong truck fleet as a result of the recession.
• Crippling liner losses forecastGLOBAL container carrier revenues could shrink by $55Bn next year from 2009 totals, Drewry director Mark Page warned the TOC conference in Bremen today.
• Singapore box drop continuesSINGAPORE™S box terminals are continuing to decline, even as sources close to the liner trades predicted today a rise in second-half volumes.
• OPEC lowers oil demand forecastOPEC HAS revised down its forecast for oil demand by 230,000 barrels per day for 2009, to 83.8M b/d.
• Hastings Borough Council Leader Opposes Rail CutsThe Leader of Hastings Borough Council, Cllr Peter Pragnell, is leading a fight on plans to cut train services between Hastings and London.
• Two-seat hydrogen car unveiledTwo-seat hydrogen car unveiled
• BA pilots to exchange pay for sharesPilots at British Airways may be on the verge of striking a deal to accept a pay cut in exchange for taking shares in the company. John Sparks reports.