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

Tuesday, 14 July 2009

BBC News

• Heathrow expansion worth £30bnFor every year the third runway at Heathrow is delayed the UK economy loses between £900m and £1.1bn, according to business leaders.
• China airline buying local rivalChina Eastern Airlines is to buy its smaller rival Shanghai Airlines, in an all-share deal set to be worth about $1bn.
• BA pilots to accept 2.6% pay cutBritish Airways pilots vote to accept a 2.6% pay cut, the British Airline Pilots' Association announces.

Financial Times

• China Eastern buys rival for $1.3bnChina Eastern Airlines shares rose as much as 14.4 per cent after the weakest of the country's big three carriers announced it was acquiring rival Shanghai Airlines for just under Rmb9bn as it battled high operating losses
• Honda throws down green car gauntletHonda Motor is to add two petrol-electric hybrid vehicles to its lineup next year, including a hybrid version of its top-selling Fit subcompact, sealing its commitment to fuel-saving technology
• Tories urged to back Heathrow expansionThe British Chambers of Commerce has appealed to the Conservative party to reverse its opposition to the airport's third runway, warning the policy would jeopardise wider economic benefits

The Guardian

• We will protect air travel “ MilibandMass air travel will be preserved even in a low-carbon Britain because the government will find deeper emissions cuts in other areas, the climate change secretary Ed Miliband said today.Dismissing demands for punitive sanctions to curb flying, Miliband said the government was determined to ensure that airline travel remains affordable for ordinary people.In a Guardian interview, ahead of the publication of a white paper on climate change , Miliband said air travel would become more expensive as Britain tries to meet a G8 target to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 80% by 2050. But he said it wou...

The Herald

• New £85m railway line runs into trouble a year after completion Major engineering work is being carried out on a troubled new railway line after inspections revealed that a fifth of the route does not meet requirements laid out by Network Rail prior to its completion just last year.
• Scotland the loser in Heathrow delayDelay in building an extra runway at Heathrow is costing the Scottish economy £20m per year, a report produced for a coalition of business groups and trade unions has found.

Times Online

• BA faces protests, investors...and lemmingsAs if the prospect of facing shareholders after announcing record losses was not enough, Willie Walsh, the beleaguered chief executive of British Airways (BA) also faces humiliation at the hands of his own staff who plan to protest over planned job losses using cages of lemmings at today's Annual General Meeting (AGM).
• BA staff in court on price fixing allegationsThree former executives of British Airways (BA) and the airlines current sales and marketing director today denied allegations of fixing the price of fuel surcharges.
• Virgin Atlantic chief Steve Ridgway admits he knew of conspiracy with BA to fix pricesSteve Ridgway, the chief executive of Virgin Atlantic, admitted yesterday that he had been aware that his airline had conspired to fix prices with its rival British Airways.

Transport Briefing

• Rail vehicle centre connected to Robin Hood line Network Rail has opened a rail vehicle development centre in Nottinghamshire which will be used to find more efficient ways of completing infrastructure upgrades.
• Old Trafford Metrolink stop changes get green light Greater Manchester Integrated Transport Authority and Trafford Council are to fund a £1.8 million revamp of Old Trafford Metrolink tram stop.
• Crossrail road tunnel and cable car plans ditched Proposals to build a new north-south London road link as part of the Crossrail tunnelling work under the Thames at Woolwich will not be taken forward, according to an appraisal of river crossing options published by Transport for London.
• First of 40 new trams delivered to Metrolink Metrolink's first new tram has arrived at Manchester Queen's Road depot after being transported from the manufacturing facility in Vienna, Austria.
• Alstom moves into Pendolino 11-car train depot A new £15m maintenance building in Liverpool has been completed by Network Rail and handed over to depot manager Alstom to fit out in readiness to be used to extend Virgin's Pendolino fleet from nine to 11 carriages.
• London Overground introduces Class 378 train fleet Transport for London has begun rolling out the £282m fleet of new trains for the London Overground network.

Birmingham Post

• MPs call for NEC stop for planned high-speed rail routePlanned high-speed rail services to the city must include a stop at Birmingham International and NEC, MPs have warned.

Liverpool Echo

• Work set to start on new Liverpool city centre bypassWORK is finally set to start on a long-awaited road to help motorists get from the M62 to Liverpool city centre.

London Evening Standard

• Economy 'boosted £30billion' from Heathrow third runway
• BA pilots agree pay cut to keep airline flyingBritish Airways pilots have voted overwhelmingly to accept a 2.6 per cent pay cut to save the struggling airline £26 million a year

Metro

• Pay cut for BA pilots to help airlinePilots at British Airways have agreed to a 2.6 per cent pay cut as the airline battles to save millions following record losses.
• Third Heathrow runway could 'boost' conomyBuilding a third runway at Heathrow could provide a £30billion boost to the economy.

Nottingham Evening Post

• Nottingham goes it alone on tramNOTTINGHAM City Council has officially decided to go it alone with plans to extend Nottingham's tram system.

Blackpool Gazette

• Passengers given hope for bus linkA VITAL bus link for the elderly and disabled may win a reprieve when councillors meet next week to consider the future of the service.

The Shields Gazette

• Port boss slams road plansA PORT boss has slammed moves to downgrade transport links across North East England.

Aviation Industry

• Lufthansa still hoping for Austrian deal Normal 0 false false false EN-GB X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0cm; mso-para-margin-right:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif&q...

Other News Sources

• OFT refers three Stagecoach acquisitions to the Competition Commission The OFT has recently referred Stagecoach's acquisitions in Eastbourne (Eastbourne Buses and Cavendish) and Preston (Preston Bus).
• BA marketer denies price-fixing chargeBritish Airways sales and marketing director Andrew Crawley has appeared at London™s Southwark Crown Court alongside former executives of the airline to face charges of alleged price fixing.

Other Subscription Services

• Arriva appoints new group health and safety manager Arriva plc, one of Europe’s largest transport services organisations, has appointed Jeremy Corfield as its new group health and safety manager.