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

Friday, 11 September 2009

BBC News

• Buses cancelled as drivers strike Hundreds of buses in Greater Manchester are cancelled as drivers stage the first of four 24-hour strikes.
• Road noise link to blood pressure People living near noisy roads are at greater risk of developing high blood pressure, a Swedish study suggests.
• Ministry push for low-carbon carsThe UK is well-placed to become a world-leading centre for ultra-low carbon vehicles, says science minister Lord Drayson.
• France set to impose carbon taxFrance's President Sarkozy announces plans for a new carbon tax aimed at combating global warming.
• Opel and Vauxhall to go to MagnaGermany announces General Motors will sell Opel and Vauxhall to Canada's car parts manufacturer Magna.
• Rover bosses took £42m from firmThe executives who ran MG Rover before its collapse will face criticism in an official report to be published later, the BBC learns.

Financial Times

• Heathrow outperforms among BAA airportsPassenger traffic at Heathrow broke previous records during August as the UK's busiest airport benefited from a strong leisure market and its role as an international hub but numbers continued to slide across the country as a whole
• Hapag-Lloyd in line for state rescueGermany's federal transport minister announced his support for Hapag-Lloyd's application for €1.2bn in state-backed loan guarantees, in a move that is likely to increase pressure on other European states to offer support for maritime industries

The Guardian

• Boris's future rides on a new bus As he faces raising fares to pay for his Routemasters, Boris Johnson finds himself in conflict with his own transport policy
• Study links traffic noise to high blood pressure Noise from road traffic by your home may put up your blood pressure, but don't put the house on the market just yet. The effect seems to be modest, and other risk factors are likely to be more important.

The Independent

• Rover bosses paid £42m before collapseFive senior executives earned almost £42m in pay and pensions from MG Rover before its eventual collapse with the loss of 6,500 jobs, a damning report will disclose today.

The Scotsman

• Princes St bus ban lifted for Christmas PLANS to keep Edinburgh's main street traffic-free over the festive period are expected to be scrapped after pressure from retailers, The Scotsman has learned. The city council is due to perform a U-turn and allow buses, taxis and cycles to use Princes Street after tram works are completed at the end of November.
• Rover bosses 'took £40m from firm'A long-awaited report into the collapse of car giant MG Rover is expected to reveal that four bosses took more than £40 million in pay and pensions from the troubled firm.
• Mandelson upbeat over Vauxhall saleBusiness Secretary Lord Mandelson remained upbeat about the future of Vauxhall's British workforce despite the business being sold to a Canadian firm.

The Telegraph

• Major cities will see journey times cut ahead of high speed rail While initial proposals for the line only extend as far as the West Midlands, the new trains will also be able to run on conventional track as well.
• Bowker blames Government for National Express plight Richard Bowker, the former chief executive of National Express, has come out fighting over the way he ran the company and pinned the blame for its present plight on Government machinations.
• All aboard for National Express blame game Desert mirages come in many forms – just ask National Express's shareholders. They are rubbing their eyes in disbelief at how the local press is writing up the looming arrival in Abu Dhabi of Richard Bowker, the transport group's former chief executive.
• Living near noisy roads can damage health Young and middle-aged people were found to suffer most, increasing the risk of strokes or heart attack, while elderly people were the least affected.

Times Online

• Jet Airways boss says pilots 'like terrorists'The chairman of Jet Airways, India™s largest private airline, has accused his pilots of œbehaving like terrorists after hundreds of them went on sick leave to protest against the sacking of four colleagues involved in union activities.
• National Express to open books to £765m buyersNational Express is set to open its books to a Spanish-led consortium to thrash out the details of a potential £765 million bid to take over the troubled transport company, despite pressure from shareholders to consider a break-up to create more value.
• Workers warned of job cuts after Vauxhall takeoverLord Mandelson warned Vauxhall™s 5,500 workers last night to brace themselves for job cuts but insisted that a new deal to take control of the carmaker had saved the group™s two British manufacturing plants.
• Lord Mandelson prepares to ban the ˜Phoenix Four™Lord Mandelson, the Business Secretary, is understood to be preparing the way for the consortium of businessmen known as the œPhoenix Four, who ran Rover from 2000, to be disqualified as company directors.

Press Association

• Tories' rail plans still on track The recession will not interfere with the Conservatives' high-speed rail (HSR) plans, shadow transport secretary Theresa Villiers said.

Daily Express

• Holidaymakers keep BAA in air AIRPORTS group BAA said traffic fell 3.1 per cent last month despite a record-breaking performance from Heathrow.

Mail Online

• Ryanair rakes in £548m a year from 'stealth costs' Ryanair tops the European league for 'stealth charges', from credit card booking to the right to put luggage in the hold. A study by U.S. experts reveals the total raised by the budget airline through so-called 'ancillary revenue' soared by 73 per cent between 2006 and 2008 to hit £548million a year.
• £16million MG Rover report glosses over ministers' failure

Transport Briefing

• HSR Summit: Adonis pledges to learn from global experience Secretary of State for Transport Andrew Adonis has set out his current thinking on high speed rail as he prepares to receive recommendations for the route of a new line from London to the Midlands later this year.
• HSR Summit: Villiers "determined to deliver" high speed Shadow transport secretary Theresa Villiers has reaffirmed her party's commitment to build a new high speed rail line and has assured the rail industry that the project remains affordable, despite the recession.
• Farringdon Crossrail station wins planning permission Plans for an integrated Crossrail-Thameslink ticket hall at Farringdon have been approved by Islington Council - allowing construction work to get underway immediately.

Belfast Telegraph

• Shipyard secures new wind turbines deal Harland & Wolff has continued its push into the renewable energy sector by securing a new contract to build 30 wind turbines. Related StoriesMervyn King criticised for not spotting crashOptimism growing as FTSE hits 5,000 mark1.5m share options awarded to Aer Lingus chief executiveProperty prices up nearly 1% in AugustRover bosses paid £42m before collapse
• Rover bosses paid £42m before collapse Five senior executives earned almost £42m in pay and pensions from MG Rover before its eventual collapse with the loss of 6,500 jobs, a damning report will disclose today. Related StoriesMervyn King criticised for not spotting crashOptimism growing as FTSE hits 5,000 markShipyard secures new wind turbines deal1.5m share options awarded to Aer Lingus chief executiveProperty prices up nearly 1% in August

Birmingham Post

• Public to be consulted on Smart Route plans for Warwick RoadCommuters in Birmingham and Solihull will be able to have their say on planned changes to a major road in their area this month.

Derby Telegraph

• Staff will ride to work if bike bid goes ahead BIKES could be provided for Derbyshire County Council employees to use by April next year. The authority wants to bring in the Department for Transport's cycle to work scheme in which bicycles and safety equipment would be loaned to its employees.

Liverpool Echo

• School bus will not pick up Norris Green Croxteth Comprehensive pupilsA FREE bus service laid on to take former pupils of closure-threatened Croxteth comprehensive to their new school will not pick up children from Norris Green.
• Vauxhall owner GM Europe to be sold to MagnaMotor giant General Motors has decided to sell its European arm, including Vauxhall, to Canadian car parts firm Magna, the German Chancellor announced today.

London Evening Standard

• Busiest August on record for Heathrow
• Ryanair makes £500m on extrasNo-frills airline Ryanair took more than half a billion pounds in extra charges from passengers last year on top of its headline fares
• Delayed: platforms for Waterloo commuters will not arrive until 2014 Commuters will have to wait until 2014 before the former Eurostar platforms at Waterloo station are adapted for suburban trains, it emerged today.

Nottingham Evening Post

• Interested bidders find out about tram plans MORE than 50 organisations were today finding out more about the procurement proposals for extending Nottingham's tram line to Clifton and Chilwell (NET Phase Two).

Peterborough Telegraph

• Mandelson 'satisfied' with Vauxhall saleBusiness Secretary Lord Mandelson remained upbeat about the future of Vauxhall's British workforce, including that in Luton, despite the business being sold to a Canadian

Sunderland Echo

• £11m to drive forward green car bid An £11million cash injection to help Wearside spearhead the UK's green car revolution was announced today.
• Electric cars coming to Wearside Electric cars will be on the streets of Sunderland within weeks.

The Shields Gazette

• Smart commuters ditch the carDITCHING the car will be music to the ears of South Tyneside commuters.

Forbes

• Rough Seas For Tanker Lines Energy demand is low, and a wave of new ships is on the horizon.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• SNCF and Eurotunnel purchase European freight operatorSNCF and Eurotunnel have teamed up to purchase Veolia Cargo in a deal that will increase their operations.Under the terms of the deal, Eurotunnel will assume responsibility for the freight operator's French brands, while SNCF will take over its operations in the Netherlands, Germany and Italy.The agreement covers 20 rail freight subsidiaries of the Veolia Group, which employ an estimated 1,200 people across Europe. "This acquisition is part of our drive to develop rail freight, notably by intensifying international links for full train loads in Europe," SNCF deputy chief exec...

Aviation Industry

• Heathrow clocks up flight-time improvementHeathrow Airport has recorded a 14% increase in the number of punctual flights between April and June 2009, and the average delay fell by eight minutes, from 18 to ten, according to statistics published today by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA)...
• Gatwick™s flight punctuality improvesFigures published today by the Civil Aviation Authority today have shown an improvement in the punctuality of flights from London Gatwick Airport...
• August traffic figures - BAA's airportsHeathrow Airport handled 6.4 million passengers in August 2009 “ up by 0.3% on 2008 - recording its busiest ever August, fuelled by a strong leisure market and Heathrow™s powerful network of international routes...

Other News Sources

• Transport minister rules out high-speed West Coast rail plan A CONTROVERSIAL proposal to exclude the region from Britain’s high-speed rail revolution was dismissed by the Government yesterday.
• UK jobs in balance as Magna gets VauxhallThe jobs of 5,500 UK workers at Vauxhall are in the balance after parent company General Motors decided to sell its European arm to Canadian car parts firm Magna
• Edinburgh transport 'hub' could boost ScotlandThink tank Reform Scotland has called for an integrated transport system for Scotland, which it says will help boost the country™s economic development.
• Easy read train timetables promotes Lincolnshire Sustainable Travel Week Thursday, 4.17pm - EASY-to-read timetables and maps have been put at every county tran station to make the railways easier to understand as part of Sustainable Travel Week.
• Crossrail design disappoints CabeDesign panel says Atkins’ Farringdon building is ’pedestrian’ The first scheme to be vetted by Cabe’s dedicated Crossrail design review panel has been condemned as disappointing and pedestrian. Atkins’ glass and stone ticket hall entrance building for Farringdon station in central London will serve passengers using both Thameslink and Crossrail services. This week it secured planning from Islington Council.

News from Europe

• Climate advice clashes with EU free trade rules Denmark’s well-intentioned climate campaign encouraging residents to reduce their carbon footprint conflicts with current European Union legislation, experts say.