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

Tuesday, 30 June 2009

BBC News

• Faster Londonderry line re-opensJourneys on the Londonderry railway line to Belfast have been shortened as upgrade work between Ballymena and Coleraine is completed.
• Electric cars roll-out 'by 2020 [audio clip]roposals to widen the use of electric vehicles have been unveiled by the Scottish Government. Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson has launched a consultation on whether all public sector vehicles should be low carbon by 2020.
• Satisfaction surveys hit the roadPeople living in Northamptonshire are being given the chance to have their say on the county's roads.

Financial Times

• Slowing UK rail growth hits Arriva sharesPassenger growth on Arriva’s UK train franchise continued to weaken in the first five months of the year, the bus and rail operator revealed on Tuesday, sending the the shares lower in early trading.
• Tube Lines plans £2bn savings A company maintaining and upgrading three London Underground lines wants to resolve a row over its public-sector funding with a plan to save £2bn in waste through efficiencies
• National Express in DfT talksDiscussions come as the troubled bus and rail operator rejectes an all-share takeover approach from its larger rival FirstGroup
• Republic Airways marks a change in courseThe US regional airline, which last week moved to buy troubled peers Frontier Airlines and Midwest Airlines, is still in the market for other acquisitions

The Guardian

• Rail, bus and bike travel the focus of Brown's transport strategyNational cycling plan to be developed to show councils and employers how they can boost two-wheeled travel
• National Express rebuffs FirstGroupCompany says talks with FirstGroup are inappropriate as it struggles with £1.2bn debt and east coast rail franchiseFirstGroup has been warned it must renegotiate Britain's most expensive rail franchise in order to secure investor approval for a takeover of National Express. Analysts said the £1.4bn National Express East Coast contract would have to be rewritten if FirstGroup were to pull off a deal.National Express confirmed that it had rebuffed an approach from its rival to create a powerful force in the public transport industry through an all-share transaction. The company said it

The Herald

• FirstGroup on the road to marketplace dominationFirstGroup's tentative approach to struggling National Express - if it comes off - is likely to be Sir Moir Lockhead's final deal in the UK market.
• FirstGroup on the road to marketplace dominationFirstGroup’s tentative approach to struggling National Express – if it comes off – is likely to be Sir Moir Lockhead’s final deal in the UK market. It is not just that Lockhead turns 65 next year.

The Independent

• David Prosser: FirstGroup offers Adonis a cheap fareOne man who will be hoping that FirstGroup launches a hostile bid for rival transport group National Express is Lord Adonis, the Transport minister, for whom such a deal might just be a golden opportunity to wriggle off a difficult political hook.
• Journey into the age of the 140mph train Travellers on a morning rail service from Ashford in Kent to central London might have been forgiven for thinking they had been transported to another country yesterday.

The Scotsman

• Deadline for BA cost-cutting talksCrucial talks aimed at reaching agreement on cost cutting at British Airways, including thousands of job losses, will come to a head with prospects for a deal looking slim.

The Telegraph

• Fines for not wearing a seatbelt doubleFines for not wearing a seatbelt have been doubled to £60 after the Home Office admitted the previous penalty was not acting as a sufficient deterrent.
• East Coast main line remains a ticking bomb in any takeover of National ExpressWhat a difference a month makes. When we asked back on May 12 what he'd do if he was running National Express, Sir Moir Lockhead had the following reply: "I'm not going to guess." The FirstGroup chief executive added: "I'm very happy with what we've got."
• FirstGroup makes approach for National ExpressFirstGroup has made a provocative nil-premium approach to rival National Express, based on the premise that it has a superior management team more capable of sorting out its target's troubled East Coast rail franchise.

Times Online

• Red signal fails to halt FirstGroup bid approachShares in National Express soared by almost 10 per cent yesterday after it rejected a bid approach from FirstGroup.
• Aston Martin delivers a car to the masses with £20,000 CygnetJames Bond screeches around hairpin bends in them with a beautiful woman at his side, while they are the car of choice for European royalty in which to parade themselves around the Continent™s more opulent capitals.
• War of words before BA and unions hold talksBritish Airways enters crunch talks with unions in an attempt to prevent strike action this summer, but accusations are already flying, even before the two sides face each other.

Reuters News

• Arriva says soft UK rail to hit H1 resultsBritish rail and bus operator Arriva (ARI.L) said slower growth at its key rail franchise CrossCrountry would hit first-half results, knocking its stock.

Mail Online

• Government faces court battle over £400m contract for hi-tech passports

The Mirror

• Why British Airways are not the number No1After British Airways passengers were stranded without suitcases at Heathrow’s Terminal 5, a spokesman explained: “We haven’t cancelled any flights – the flights have still gone on – but it has created a backlog of passengers who have been unable to check in their baggage.” Oh, that’s alright then.
• Deadline for crucial BA talksCrucial talks aimed at reaching agreement on cost cutting at British Airways, including thousands of job losses, will come to a head with prospects for a deal looking slim.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Tram bosses rack up £100,000 for their travel and food costsTRAM bosses spent nearly £100,000 in under two years on foreign travel and wining and dining clients.

Journal Live

• New minister again rules out duallingTRANSPORT Minister Sadiq Khan has rejected dualling the A1 through Northumberland just weeks after getting his new job.

Liverpool Post

• Merseyside bus operator Arriva aiming for £30m fuel savingsPUBLIC transport group Arriva aims to recoup about £30m on fuel charges. The bus and trains operator, which provides more than 70% of Merseyside bus services, faces up to £60m in extra fuel costs for the current year.

London Evening Standard

• Arriva depressed by CrossCountry worryShares in Arriva were in reverse today after the operator of inter-city rail service CrossCrountry admitted growth has come to a juddering halt.
• National Express may face hostile bid from FirstGroupNational Express could fall to a hostile bidder or a defensive merger with a rival after the opening shot today in what could be a series of takeover battles in the train and bus industry.

Nottingham Evening Post

• Plea for action on tramMORE pressure is being put on Notts County Council not to block Lines Two and Three of the tram system. Last week the Post reported how 13 big employers had asked council leader Kay Cutts not to impede progress of the scheme.

Sheffield Star

• Funding bid to increase city tram fleetSouth Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive and Stagecoach Supertram will submit a business case to the Department for Transport later this year and the trams could be operating in Sheffield in four years' time.

Blackpool Gazette

• Fears over proposed tram depotSAILORS'safety could be put in jeopardy if plans to build a new tram depot at Starr Gate are given the go ahead, it has been claimed.

Chester Standard

• Booze is banned from all trains when Chester hosts next race dayRAIL passengers travelling to Chester from Merseyside for the races next month won't be allowed to drink alcohol.
• Work begins on new traffic-free greenway in ChesterWORK gets under way today on a long-awaited project to extend Chester's Millennium Greenway for everyday journeys for people travelling by foot and by bike.

Railnews

• News: Network Rail bonus payments encounter widespread criticism THE decision by Network Rail’s non-executive directors to agree to more than £1.2 million of bonus payments for the company’s executive directors has been met with widespread criticism from politicians, unions — and the Office of Rail Regulation.

Transport for London

• First Train Operating Company outside London to sell Visitor Oyster cardsNew deal enables Wrexham & Shropshire passengers to buy Oyster cards before they arrive in London and enjoy benefits of more convenient travel.

Aviation Industry

• BA talks go on as deadline loomsAirline seeking 3,000 redundancies Talks were still going on last night (June 29) between BA and unions representing cabin crew and administration staff over the carrier's demand for up to 3,000 redundancies.

Other News Sources

• National Express rejects takeover despite debtsDEBT-RIDDEN East Coast Mai n Line franchise holder National Express has rejected a takeover approach from the UK’s biggest rail operator, it was revealed yesterday.
• Airline’s growth will defy recessionAIRLINE Emirates is defying the widespread downturn in the aviation sector to see significant year-on-year growth in passenger and cargo levels on its flights from the North- East.
• Charging points kick off electric trialsA NUMBER of blue chip organisations have agreed to provide charging points for electric vehicles as the region takes part in the world’s largest trial project.
• National Express can't quit, says BarrettEDINBURGH West Liberal Democrat MP John Barrett has warned that National Express should not be allowed to walk away from the East Coast mainline rail franchise.
• Thanet airport group's anger at Carter no showThe leader of Kent County Council faces being reported to the authority's Standards Committee after he missed a meeting at Kent International Airport on Friday evening (June 26), writes Thomas Betts.
• Javelin high-speed train service arrives in St PancrasFaster commuting comes to London as 140mph service's first voyage from Ashford in Kent is a full minute early, slashing the usual journey time by more than half
• How National Express compares with its rival FirstGroupNational Express today said it had rejected takeover interest from its bigger rival FirstGroup. National Express has a major presence in the UK, US and Spain, with 43,000 employees and 18,000 vehicles worldwide. Here is a look at the services offered by the two companies.
• Sweden™s environment agenda for the Presidency presented to EU environment ministersSweden is ready to lead the work of the EU towards a new climate agreement in Copenhagen in December. This was the message from Minister for the Environment Andreas Carlgren on Thursday 25 June when he presented the Swedish Presidency priorities in the environment area at the EU environment ministers meeting in Luxembourg.
• £25bn plan proposed for Edinburgh hubProject would revolutionise Scottish transport A £25bn scheme to make Edinburgh Airport the centre of a new road, rail and air hub in Scotland has been proposed.