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

Thursday, 30 July 2009

BBC News

• Rail route hits National Express Transport group National Express has made a half-year loss after setting aside £54.7m to cover the cost of exiting the East Coast rail franchise.
• Rail strike disrupts passengers Thousands of rail passengers face disruption for the next 48 hours as National Express East Anglia workers go on strike over pay and conditions.
• Plea to tackle rising lorry theft Thousands of lorry drivers are calling for better protection from thieves who target the goods they transport.
• Loss for black cab manufacturerBlack cab maker Manganese Bronze reports a half-year loss but says international sales will help lead a turnaround.
• Easyjet 'resilient' in downturnBudget airline Easyjet says non-UK holidaymakers taking advantage of the strong euro have bolstered trade.
• More woes for world carmakersCarmakers Peugeot Citroen, Daimler and Nissan report substantial losses in the face of continuing sales falls.
• BA scraps the short-haul sandwichBritish Airways is to scrap free meals, except breakfast, on its short-haul flights in a bid to save £22m a year.

Financial Times

• BAA losses widen as Gatwick talks continueBritain's biggest airports operator says it is still in talks with several potential bidders for Gatwick, but adds it will not sell if it cannot agree an acceptable price
• Cosco warns of losses amid shipping crisisChina Cosco has warned that it expects to announce a loss for the first half of the year, in the latest sign of the dreadful market conditions facing container shipping companies
• BA tightens its passengers' beltsFlying business class on British Airways may never be the same again: from next Monday, the airline will be axing the canapés and chocolates on long-haul flights
• Stelios backs down in EasyJet board disputeThe low-cost carrier has settled a long running boardroom dispute between Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, its founder and leading shareholder, and the rest of the board as it predicted a drop in full-year profits of up to 80%
• Lufthansa suffers deep first-half lossLeading airline chief executives tell the European Commission the industry is facing 'the worst economic conditions on record'

The Guardian

• Strike on National Express trains London to Norwich line serving Liverpool Street in London will have little or no service because of pay dispute
• BAA defiant over Gatwick saleGroup reports 12.8% rise in revenues to £1.2bn, boosted by higher landing fees and a surge in the sales in airport shopsBAA struck a defiant stance against regulators and the City today as it declared that it does not need to sell Gatwick airport.Although it revealed today that its losses have trebled this year amid a drastic fall in passenger numbers, Britain's largest airport owner said it was under no financial pressure to sell Gatwick after one potential buyer, MAG, withdrew from the bidding. It also claimed that its troublesome £12bn debt could be whittled down by a bond issue or by using...

The Herald

• Allied secures deal to supply electric vansALLIED Vehicles, the Glasgow manufacturer of special purpose vehicles such as taxis, wheelchair accessible cars and minibuses, yesterday said it had won a contract to supply the government with electric vans.
• EasyJet confident of finishing full year in the black despite downturnLow-cost airline easyJet has predicted a full-year pre-tax profit of £25m-£50m despite the severe industry downturn, while maintaining its fleet growth plans to 2011.
• Stagecoach order boost for coach builderStagecoach, the Perth-based transport giant, yesterday revealed that the lion’s share of a £71m investment plan to build 434 “greener” buses has been awarded to Falkirk coach builder Alexander Dennis.

The Independent

• David Prosser: Two wheels good for kids Outlook Halfords' call yesterday for the Government to cut VAT to 5 per cent on children's bikes was a bit of naked self-interest, but the idea is no less sensible for that. If we want to tackle childhood obesity while also inculcating environmentally friendly behaviour in our kids from an early age, why not offer a tax break aimed at boosting bike use?

The Scotsman

• Dennis lands major part of £71m Stagecoach bus order ALEXANDER Dennis, the bus builder based in Falkirk, has secured the lion's share of a £71 million investment by Stagecoach, it was confirmed yesterday.

The Telegraph

• Rail strikes will hit commuters into Liverpool Street More than 500,000 commuters travelling to London from Southend, Colchester, Norwich and Stansted face lengthy delays because of industrial action by two transport unions.
• Halfords wants VAT cut on bicyclesCarparts and bicycle retailer Halfords has launched a campaign for VAT on children's bikes and cycling equipment to be cut to 5pc.

Times Online

• National Express makes loss on East Coast hit National Express, the bus and trains group, plunged into the red during the first six months of the year when it was forced to write-off £54.7 million after being stripped of its loss-making East Coast Mainline franchise.
• EasyJet growth target grounded by the downturnEasyJet has bowed to pressure from Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, the budget airline™s founder, and halved its growth rate target to 7.5 per cent.
• BAA™s loss on London airports soars to £545mLosses at BAA™s London airports more than tripled to £545 million in the first six months after the airport operator™s pension scheme was revalued downwards.
• British Airways scraps sandwiches in hunger for savingsBritish Airways has taken a lesson in cost-cutting from its low-cost rivals by ditching meal services on short-haul flights. The loss-making airline will stop serving sandwich meals to its passengers in the UK and Europe from Monday in a move that will save it £22 million a year.

Reuters News

• National Express train strike to hit parts of UKLONDON (Reuters) - Thousands of rail passengers face travel chaos in parts of southeast England and a key route into London on Thursday as workers on the National Express East Anglia franchise go on strike for 48 hours over pay.

Daily Express

• EasyJet's profits will soar up to £50mBUDGET airline easyJet has turned in an unexpectedly strong sales performance and subsequently expects to report annual profits of up to £50million in September despite the downturn in the aviation industry.
• Debt hit BAA 'need not hive-off airport'HEATHROW airport owner BAA has revealed that it does not need to sell Gatwick to meet a looming £1billion interest payment despite trebling its losses in the first half of the year.

Liverpool Echo

• £100m Mersey docks scheme on holdAN AMBITIOUS £100m plan to turn Liverpool into a world superport is on hold – but a new £400m rail and port scheme in Greater Manchester was given the go-ahead.

London Evening Standard

• Rail strike causes travel chaosRail passengers suffered travel chaos today when a strike by workers at a leading train company caused huge disruption to services.

Metro

• TfL’s bus budget ’getting tighter’Transport for London should axe some bus routes and raise fares if it wanted to save cash, a report has warned.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Bid to clinch £29m to cut cars on North roadsA DRIVE to cut cars on the region's roads and get more of us onto public transport could get a £29m boost.

The York Press

• Arriva Cross Country rail action threat to York train services TRAINS from York to cities such as Sheffield, Birmingham and Bristol are set to be disrupted by a month of industrial action over pay and working conditions.

This Is Local London Network

• Train strike: 'I'm sick of these people holding us to ransom' TRAIN users at Enfield Town station have been mainly unsympathetic about today's strike by train drivers and platform staff.

Wales Online

• Ministerial Advisory Group report on transport in Wales THE Welsh Assembly Government’s transport budget is weighted in favour of subsidised travel, according to a report from an influential advisory group.

Peterborough Telegraph

• Rail workers to stage 48-hour strikeRail passengers in East Anglia have been warned to expect severe disruption because of a strike by workers over pay.

Transport for London

• TfL announces sale of East Thames BusesThe Transport for London (TfL) Board today announced its decision to sell East Thames Buses (ETB) to London General Transport Services Limited, part of the Go Ahead Group.

Aviation Industry

• JFK Airport Runway Upgrade Begins: Airport NewsThe main runway at John F Kennedy International Airport is set to be revamped at a cost of $376 million, it emerged on July 28th 2009. Work has now begun on making JFK's runway 50 feet wider, and on installing new drainage technology, along with its associated infrastructure. JFK Airport is used by more people entering the United States than any other hub in the country. It is owned and operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and features four runways in all, the longest being over 14,500 feet in length and the shortest, 8,400 feet. According to the latest available statistic...
• BA Axes Free Meals for Short FlightsBritish Airways is cutting free meals on thousands of short-haul flights as it battles to cut losses of 400m a year.

Other News Sources

• TfL hives off East Thames Buses to Go-Ahead London's only publicly owned bus operator is to be sold to Go-Ahead subsidiary London General Transport Services.
• Frinton level crossing fault halts town traffic TRAFFIC in Frinton came to a standstill when the resort’s controversial new railway crossing barriers failed.
• Wivenhoe rail station access bid moves forward CAMPAIGNERS have been told it will cost £4,000 to get a project for a disabled access over Wivenhoe railway station up and running.
• 500 from London come to see Brid THE CLOCK was turned back to Bridlington's boom time when a train load of 500 Londoners flooded out of the railway station.
• Train fury at Sandy station An MP has demanded that something be done about Sandy Railway Station after commuters have been left unable to purchase tickets.
• Campaigners get platform for restoration of Northwich-Crewe rail link A LONG-RUNNING battle to restore rail links from Northwich to Crewe is back on track.
• More information for Norwich bus stops Bus campaigners have today praised the Evening News for improving services for passengers after out-of-date information advertised at stops and shelters on a city road has been suddenly updated.
• 'CARS ARE THE TRUE PUBLIC TRANSPORT' More than half of Britain's drivers would rather take a chance on being stuck in a traffic jam than use public transport – and opposition to "tolling" UK roads has hardened in the past eight years.
• Northumberland County Cpouncil begins review of controversial car parking chargesPARKING policy in the county could be changed following the launch of a review of arrangements by the new unitary authority.
• Cycle bridge will cut accidents at blackspot An accident hotspot in Bedfont Road has been made safer with the building of a new foot and cycle bridge over the railway.
• Cunard to focus on trade relations, says Shanks New Cunard president and managing director Peter Shanks is looking to develop trade relations by making the brand more accessible to agents. Shanks,...
• BA axes free meals in cost-cutting driveBritish Airways' cost-cutting drive continues as it announced today free meals and drinks on short-haul flights will be axed
• BAA suffers as demand slumps for flightsBAA, the owner of Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports, has suffered a £545m loss in the first half of the year, as recession-hit travellers cut back on flying.
• Aberdeen air qualityA project to assess ways of lessening the environmental impact of transport in Aberdeen city centre is set to get under way after clearing a key funding hurdle.
• Commuters in South Wales prefer using cars to public transportEnvironmental groups and politicians last night claimed expensive and inconvenient buses and trains were forcing people to stick to their cars, according to a report in the South Wales Echo.
• ECSA-Europe alliance formedCMA CGM has formed an alliance with Hapag-Lloyd and Hamburg Süd to link the East Coast of South America with northern Europe.
• Samsung wins $5Bn FLNG dealSAMSUNG HI of South Korea announced today it has been selected as sole supplier for the Shell FLNG ship programme.
• Hapag gains €315M injectionAILING German box giant Hapag-Lloyd has received a €315M ($444M) cash injection from shareholders.