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

Saturday, 12 September 2009

BBC News

• Used cars 'now gaining in value'A shortage in supply of used cars is causing their prices to rise rather than fall, according to an industry research company.
• Rover bosses attacked over payoutBosses of MG Rover - whose collapse cost 6,500 jobs - gave themselves

Financial Times

• War of words over MG Rover collapseA vitriolic row broke out after a government-sponsored report into the collapse of MG Rover attacked the £42m in financial rewards extracted by the ˜Phoenix Four™ directors of the failed carmaker
• Shiplines cast nets wide to diversifyEarly efforts help the north-west's last remaining shipowners ride the storm with ease, as rates plunge and trade dries up for an industry hit hard by the recession
• Delta in talks for Japan Airlines stakeDelta Air Lines is in discussions to take an equity stake in Japan Airlines, an investment that would help secure a strategic partnership between the two carriers and tip the balance of power among the world's global aviation alliances

The Guardian

• GM Europe takeover deal to be investigated by European Commission The European commission is threatening to blow apart Thursday's £4bn deal delivering GM's European operations to a Canadian-Russian joint venture. The commission dramatically intervened with a statement saying that EU president José Manuel Barroso has asked two senior commissioners "to monitor the situation and to ensure information and transparency among all member states affected".
• Report on Phoenix Four's MG plansReport into demise of car manufacturer reveals owners bought software to wipe clean hard drives and ran tax avoidance schemes

The Telegraph

• Motorists could get bus lane fines refunded following High Court challengeTens of thousands of motorists fined for straying into bus lanes could have their money refunded as a result of a High Court test case next month.

Times Online

• Class warrior Bob Crow claims that we are all left-wingers nowNew unions, forget it. Bob Crow is a traditionalist in an open-neck shirt with a medallion. The headquarters of the Rail, Maritime and Transport Union are covered with good, old-fashioned memorabilia. There are paintings of steam trains, embroidered banners and a trophy cabinet filled with silver cups from darts competitions. In the boardroom there are individual blotting pads and solid oak chairs.
• Fairtrade chief gets on her bike to tackle global trade problemsFor the average London commuter, cyclists seem like a breed apart ” a hardy, muscly mutation of Homo sapiens, forever turning up in the office in Lycra clothing. For Harriet Lamb, the executive director of the Fairtrade Foundation, cycling is part of an ethical lifestyle that includes vegetarianism and campaigning for a fairer deal for farmers around the world. œI personally think it™s the most sensible way to get around London, she says. œI™m always at meetings before anyone who comes on the Tube. I actually find it quite relaxing ” you can just think about things, while the Tube can be quit...
• The Rover debacle is down to sheer cowardiceThere is just one thing that makes more depressing reading than the Government™s £16-million, 850-page report into the collapse of the Rover Group. That is the news that Lord Mandelson is just about to make a similar mistake by trying to bribe Vauxhall™s new Canadian owners with £400 million of our money to keep open its factories in Luton and Ellesmere Port.

Network Rail

• TIPTON STATION CLOSES FOR £2.5M UPGRADE

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Bikers saddle up to reclaim roadsBIKERS are gearing up for a mass ride this weekend to make a stand against North Wales Police.
• Failed A494 expansion: Houses demolished to make way for... housesDEMOLITION has started to clear homes bought to make way for the failed A494 road expansion.

Liverpool Echo

• Vauxhall unions seek Europe-wide talks over fears for 840 Ellesmere Port jobsVAUXHALL union chiefs are seeking urgent talks with their European colleagues over fears of job and production cuts at Ellesmere Port.
• Birkenhead North derailment causes train delaysCOMMUTERS were delayed this morning after an empty train derailed in a depot.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Time running out for cash after XL collapse TIME is running out for thousands of sun seekers left stranded by XL Airways to get compensation.

The News (Portsmouth)

• Work on A32 bus route halted with court injunctionWORK on £20m high-speed bus route has ground to a halt because of a court injunction.

The York Press

• Music guru Pete Waterman backs North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR) Bridge And Wheel Appeal LEGENDARY music producer and rail enthusiast Pete Waterman is throwing his weight behind a campaign by Britain™s biggest heritage railway to restore a 140-year-old bridge.
• York's cyclists urged not to cut corners when it comes to securing bikes CYCLISTS who use poor quality or inadequate locks to secure their bikes are being targeted in a new information campaign by police.

Blackpool Gazette

• Hundreds of cars to be monitored by satelliteSATELLITE technology which stops taxis, buses and council vehicles going above the speed limit is on its way to Fylde.

Northants Evening Telegraph

• A14 should have been built with three lanesA roads boss responsible for delivering the multi-million pound plans to widen the A14 has admitted it should have been built wider from the start.

Peterborough Telegraph

• Rail strike called offA planned strike by rail workers on First Capital Connect in the East of England over the sacking of a colleague has been called off, it has been announced.

Reading Evening Post

• MP’s fury over jams caused by roadworks The Reading East MP got hot under the collar on Tuesday when he was held up in long traffic queues.

Railnews

• News: City leaders call for network of high speed lines ELEVEN of Britain's major cities have joined forces to step up the pressure on the Government to build a network of linking high-speed lines across the country.
• News: New fuel-efficient loco on test in America THE first two Class 70 PowerHaul locomotives for Freightliner are now under test at GE Transportation's factory in Erie, Pennsylvania, in readiness for delivery to Britain.

Aviation Industry

• SkySoft-ATM Awarded Major Video Recording and Playback System (VRAP) Contract by DFSFollowing an international tender process, SkySoft-ATM has been mandated by DFS (the German air navigation service provider), to supply a video and audio recording system which will be implemented into the Karlsruhe UAC. This project confirms the expertise of SkySoft-ATM with regard to recording systems.

Other News Sources

• Bike transmission is fully automaticJapanese automobile maker Honda Motor claims to have developed the world's first fully automatic motorcycle dual-clutch transmission for large-displacement sport bikes.
• Richmond switches entire fleet to biodiesel The London Borough of Richmond ...
• California Public Transportation Accidents on the RiseWhen a passenger is hurt while using public transportation, the public transportation provider may be held legally responsible for the passenger's injuries.
• Solidarity campaign to back Polish aviation workersThe ITF and its European arm, the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF), are launching a campaign to back the struggle of workers at a Polish airline who are facing job cuts and pay reductions.
• Rail deal a boost to freight trafficThe takeover of French rail firm Veolia Cargo by Eurotunnel and SNCF has been widely welcomed as a key move to reinvigorate cross-Channel rail freight traffic.
• Stobart creates 1,200 jobs in CheshireThe Stobart Group has created around 1,200 jobs with the completion of a distribution centre and chilled food warehouse in Cheshire.
• FAA recommends specific training to prevent cowl lossThe US FAA wants operators of Airbus A319 and Bombardier CRJ100/200 aircraft to develop type-specific training programmes to help mechanics and pilots verify...
• US ballast rules bring reliefBALLAST water regulations proposed by the US Coast Guard will bring relief to shipowners uncertain about the future cost of doing business in US waters, a maritime attorney told Fairplay today.
• Terminal ˜hibernation' soughtGERMANY™S Hamburg and Bremen state governments have asked for federal aid so they can temporarily close port terminals that are feeling the recession™s squeeze.
• Minister backs Hapag aid planGERMAN transport minister Wolfgang Tiefensee has lent his support for Hapag-Lloyd™s application for €1.2Bn ($1.8Bn) of loan guarantees from two German states.
• EU monitoring Opel deal closelyConcerns voiced that German support for deal may result in job losses in UK and Belgium.

Other Subscription Services

• Inactive tankers hit highest level since 2003NUMBERS soar as protracted slump in crude consumption pushes rates below operating costs.
• Doubt over Italy-Spain sea motorways planCOUNTRIES sign agreement on financing and promoting a network of motorways of the sea.