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

Tuesday, 28 July 2009

BBC News

• Town's £12m infrastructure boost A new town planned for east Devon has been given a major boost with a £12m cash injection by the government and the Regional Development Agency (RDA).
• Station revamp ahead of Ryder Cup Newport station is undergoing a £22m revamp to give it a space-age feel in time for the Ryder Cup golf tournament.
• Reckless surfers could face jail Surfers and canoeists could face jail and fines up to £50,000 if they are caught causing accidents at sea under Department for Transport proposals.
• Rail firms reject fare criticismRail companies deny claims by MPs that they take advantage of passengers and charge too much for tickets.

Department for Transport

• An extra £440 million will be made available to help local authorities modernise their street lighting, Transport Minister, Sadiq Khan announced today. Local authorities across England will be able to apply for the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) credits to improve street lighting on their local roads.

Financial Times

• Hapag-Lloyd seeks €300m cash lifelineGermany's largest container-shipping line is seeking a €300m lifeline as it fights to avoid becoming the highest-profile victim of the industry's worst downturn
• Ryanair raises profits in price warAirline Ryanair increased its first-quarter profits strongly thanks to the steep fall in fuel costs “ but the full-year outlook was cautious and Ryanair shares fell 9 per cent
• O'Leary sees opportunities in rivals' distressWhile most of its competitors shrink operations, the Irish carrier has remained robust in the face of recession as it continuously sees enormous opportunities for growth
• National Express pushes Stagecoach for clarity With the fate of two rail franchises at stake, a swift resolution to any bidding war for the indebted operator is unlikely

The Guardian

• Ryanair shares tumble after reduced profit forecast Shares fall 8.8% as budget airline warns investors that slashing prices will eat into profitability this year
• Consortium says National Express must keep profitable lines Government could block precondition of Cosmen/CVC offer for ailing transport group, as rival Stagecoach tries to join the fray
• High-speed Javelin train beats the clock in first timed trial for London Olympics London 2012 organisers that, if nothing else, they could make the trains run on time. The first timed run of the Javelin train that will ferry 25,000 visitors an hour from St Pancras to the new Olympic Park slid into its destination 15 seconds within its claimed journey time of seven minutes.

The Herald

• Stagecoach in talks on bid for National ExpressPerth-based transport group Stagecoach yesterday said it is in talks to pick up parts of beleaguered National Express in a move that could see it extend its influence over the UK bus market.

Times Online

• Bad weather boosts Ryanair’s seat sales but price cutting expected to hit profits Ryanair will pay the price for its aggressive price war with lower than expected profits despite a recent surge in flight sales brought about by the recent poor weather.
• Sir Richard pours £30m into Virgin BlueSir Richard Branson is to bail out his Australian airline with a £30 million injection of new funds.
• Tata calls in advisers to cut Jaguar costsTata Motors, the Indian company which owns Jaguar Land Rover, has hired consultants to advise the loss-making British carmaker on cost cuts.
• National Express asks for ˜bid-or-walk™ orderNational Express, the transport group, is understood to have asked the Takeover Panel to impose a œput up or shut up deadline on the takeover approach from CVC, the private equity group, and the Cosmen family from Spain.

Daily Express

• Stagecoach set to open Nat Ex talksSTAGECOACH has entered the bidding for rival National Express by opening exclusive talks to become involved in a break-up bid with the consortium headed by Spain's Cosmen family and private equity group CVC.

Mail Online

• First glimpse of Branson's new toy: The aeroplane built to launch a ship into space.. with tourists on board

ATOC

• ATOC COMMENTS ON THE TRANSPORT SELECT COMMITTEE REPORT ON RAIL FARES AND FRANCHISESCommenting on the Transport Select Committee report on rail fares and franchises, Michael Roberts, Chief Executive of the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC), said:   "It is wrong to describe as a 'mess' a franchising system that successfully runs over 20,000 services a day at record levels of performance and passenger satisfaction.

Network Rail

• PUBLIC GIVEN FIRST SIGHT OF GOGAR INTERCHANGE PLANS

Transport Briefing

• Transport Innovation Fund raided to finance Crossrail Crossrail has secured 94% of the money so far awarded for Transport Innovation Fund schemes, according to figures released by transport minister Sadiq Khan last week.
• Design approved for Kensington shared space scheme Detailed designs for a project to create a Continental-style boulevard in London's museum district have been signed off by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

Liverpool Echo

• MPs warn the Government over West coast rail Liverpool to LondonA GROUP of MPs will today urge the Government to come clean over growing fears that the recession could force Virgin to walk away from its flagship West Coast rail contract.

London Evening Standard

• Ryanair in a profits surge but it warns on high taxes Low-cost airline Ryanair today announced a sixfold rise in first-quarter profits but warned that crippling tourist taxes and lower ticket prices mean its full-year profits will be at the bottom end of City forecasts.
• Stagecoach muscles in on National Express bid The battle for National Express heated up today as arch-rival Stagecoach revealed that it is in exclusive talks to buy parts of the business from the consortium which has made an indicative takeover bid for the ailing bus and trains firm.

Manchester Evening News

• Wrong way road confusionPEOPLE trying to cross the road at a busy city centre junction were told to look the WRONG way for oncoming traffic. The trouble started when buses were diverted along a one-way slip road into Whitworth Street in the heart of Manchester due to road works.

Sheffield Star

• Trucker's digital 'mate' in control The truck of the future will have a digital co-driver - a virtual guardian angel that assists, or even takes over, if the driver loses control.

The News (Portsmouth)

• Work being put in place to extend Hampshire cycle routeWork is taking place throughout the summer to improve roads and cycle routes around Hamble.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Transport minister asked to explain ˜failure™ to deliver A9 upgrade plansA north MP is calling on the transport minister to explain why delays on upgrading one of the most dangerous stretches of road in Scotland were kept œhidden for almost two years.

Wales Online

• £22m upgrade for city station WORK has started on £22m of improvements to Newport railway station ahead of the 2010 Ryder Cup.
• Lazy Wales: How more of us are driving to work THE proportion of Welsh commuters driving to work has hit a 10-year-high despite a decade of Government efforts to promote greener alternatives.
• Put a brake on car use with public transportN AN age when there is a political consensus on the need for the nation to adopt a greener and more sustainable lifestyle, a rise in car usage surely counts as something of a policy failure.

Railnews

• News: FRANCHISE SYSTEM A MESS SAY MPS The franchise system is “creaking at the edges” senior MP Norman Baker said today (Monday) after a damning Parliamentary report condemned it as a mess.

Aviation Industry

• Bristol ranked as one of the UK’s greenest citiesThe city had the lowest rate of those studied in business and household carbon emissions. In addition, it consistently had some of the lowest emission rates from commercial and domestic properties and the lowest for transportation-generated carbon emissions.

Other News Sources

• Brighton student scoops award for tackling vicious cycle A smart student has bagged a top prize for his ingenious bicycle design. Jamie Douglas, a final year student at the University of Brighton, scooped first place in a competition for his clever bike design.
• Car parking chaos 'down to coaches' RESIDENTS claim two Cleethorpes car parks have been thrown into "total chaos" by coaches brought in to replace cancelled trains to Doncaster.
• Cameron: Tories will consider new road tollsDavid Cameron yesterday said that motorists could be subjected to charges for using the UK™s roads in an effort to control public spending if a Conservative government came to power.
• TfL post giant signalling tenderTransport for London has issued a tender to upgrade the singalling for the London Underground ˜Sub Surface Lines™ - the Circle, District, Metropolitan and Hammersmith and City lines.
• Stelios and easyJet to settle differencesEasyJet is set to resolve its dispute with the low-cost airline™s founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ionannou, according to reports.

Other Subscription Services

• Daewoo raid confirmed as government fund investigationSeoul prosecutors investigating Daewoo over the shipbuilder’s use of government funds as part of a bailout package 10 years ago.
• Downturn takes toll on Suez Canal revenueANNUAL revenue from the Suez Canal was down 7.2% in the 2008/2009 financial year.