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

Thursday, 08 October 2009

BBC News

• UK body warns of oil 'decline'There is a "significant risk" that global production of conventional oil could "peak" and decline by 2020, a report has warned.
• MG suspends car productionMG sports car production in Longbridge has stopped and will not resume until the spring, the plant's Chinese owners confirm.
• Aer Lingus to cut almost 800 jobsIrish airline Aer Lingus says it will cut almost 800 jobs as part of a 97m-euro ($143m; £90m) cost-cutting plan.
• Unions warn BA over job cut plansUnions representing British Airways cabin crew urge the airline to abandon plans to cut 1,700 jobs and freeze pay.

Financial Times

• UK raises concerns over Opel dealBritain will not accept Magna International™s plan for the takeover of Vauxhall/Opel unless œshortcomings identified in a PriceWaterhouseCoopers report are addressed, said Lord Mandelson, Britain™s business secretary
• Aer Lingus job loss plan sparks union furyTrade unions have reacted angrily to the airline's €97m cost-cutting plan, which would mean 676 job losses among pilots, cabin crew, ground staff and office workers

The Scotsman

• Illegal pilot crashed during stuntAn unlicensed pilot who died when his light aircraft crashed on the main London to Scotland rail line was attempting aerobatic stunts, an accident report has said.

The Telegraph

• Era of cheap easy oil is over warns studyThe world could start to run out of oil in the next ten years sparking soaring energy prices and a rush for even more polluting fossil fuels an influential new study by the UK Energy Research Council has warned.

Times Online

• Bumper business for the personalised car number plate industry The Cotswolds village of Willersey has never seen so many Bentleys. Yesterday the telephones rang maniacally, blue lights flashed and auctioneers shouted themselves hoarse as the first hammer went down, and a combination of numbers and letters on a piece of yellow plastic were sold for £7,700.
• British Airways Christmas strike looms after union snubA potential Christmas strike is looming at British Airways after the group intensified its row with unions by announcing plans to push through changes on long-haul flights without their agreement.

Daily Record

• Flight drama for Scotland team as they try to land at HeathrowTHE Scotland football team were today involved in a mid-air flight drama.

Mail Online

• Toddler flung from car in middle of rush hour after unfastening his OWN baby seat

The Mirror

• Illegal pilot crashed during stuntAn unlicensed pilot who died when his light aircraft crashed on the main London to Scotland rail line was attempting aerobatic stunts, an accident report has said.

Network Rail

• BRITAIN'S TRAINS MAINTAIN HIGH LEVELS OF PUNCTUALITY

Belfast Telegraph

• Aer Lingus to slash 676 jobs in bid to cut costsIrish carrier Aer Lingus is to axe 676 jobs in an effort to shave almost €97m from its operating costs by the end of 2011.Related StoriesMortgage lending by HSBC has trebledFive firms in the running |for elite business awardsWhat's worrying the banker in charge of our £1trn debt?Public sector reforms urged by First Minister'Too early' to confirm strength of economic upturn

London Evening Standard

• ’Terrified’ commuter dragged along platformCommuter tells of the terrifying moment he was dragged along a Tube platform after his bag became trapped in the door
• British Airways to slash cabin crew wages by a thirdBritish Airways proposes dramatic cuts in pay for new cabin staff with wages as low as £14,000, it was claimed
• Police chase teenage gunman on the UndergroundNEW: This is the dramatic moment armed police seized a teenager wielding a firearm in a crowded Tube station

Metro

• Tube gunman held after dramatic chaseArmed police seized a man allegedly wielding a gun in a crowded Tube station yesterday afternoon.
• Child flung from car after undoing beltA toddler was flung from a car after managing to unfasten his baby seat, police said today.
• Travellers face full x-ray after bombers hide devices inside bodiesAir travellers face even more intrusive security screens, including a full body x-ray after fears terrorists could carry bombs inside their bodies.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Michael Scott crushed to death by own carA MAN was crushed to death by his own car. Despite frantic efforts to release Michael Scott from underneath his Ford Fiesta, he died shortly afterwards at Newcastle General Hospital.

The News (Portsmouth)

• Chance for residents to see M275 junction planResidents have the chance to see plans for a new motorway junction at Tipner.
• Delays on trains after derailmentRail passengers faced delays this morning after a train derailed near Fratton station.
• Drivers urged to notify RSPCA if animals are injured on roadAn animal protection group is pleading with the public to have more compassion for wildlife after a baby deer was hit by a car on a road and left for dead.

The York Press

• National Railway Museum to celebrate 180th anniversary of Rainhill Trials THE National Railway Museum (NRM) in York is celebrating a landmark anniversary in the development of British steam power with a month of activities.
• Police hunt for train fare conman who approached woman in Stonebow area of York A CONMAN is believed to have struck for at least the tenth time in two months by persuading a woman to hand over £100 for his train fare.
• City residents to vote on York road tolls THE people of York are to be asked whether they want congestion charging and a levy on workplace parking to tackle growing gridlock.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Tired Leeds driver in death crash jailed for two yearsA Leeds woman who fell asleep at the wheel, has been jailed for two years after killing a recovery truck driver.
• Leeds-London high speed rail link is vitalHilary Benn today vowed to use his position at the heart of government to champion the case of an East Coast high speed rail route between London and Leeds.

Blackpool Gazette

• Emergency landing drama at Blackpool AirportTRAGEDY was narrowly avoided when a plane had to make an emergency landing at Blackpool Airport.

Carlisle News & Star

• Six weeks for Whitehaven boy to fully recover after bike accidentThe injuries suffered by a boy, who was knocked off his bike by a car, will take at least six weeks to heal.

Northants Evening Telegraph

• Tributes paid to champion cyclistTributes have been paid to a championship cyclist who died after being hit by a lorry on the A1.
• Bus drivers strike in dispute over payMore than 30 bus drivers and union representatives have been out on a picket line since 4am today for the first of three separate days of strike in a dispute over pay.

Peterborough Telegraph

• Airport to operate eight new routesPassengers are set for a much wider range of choices from Norwich International Airport next year with eight new routes being lined up.

Sunderland Echo

• Bus tribute to brave Sharon Inspirational Sharon Dyer is being remembered with a bus bearing her name.

The Shields Gazette

• New route will boost Port businessTHE launch this week of a new service at the Port of Tyne will boost North East England's business links with the rest of the UK and mainland Europe.
• Ship blown off course in heavy windsA FERRY which was battered by high winds on the Tyne ended up sailing down the river sideways, stunned onlookers said.
• Bus named after brave mum SharonINSPIRATIONAL Sharon Dyer is being remembered with a bus bearing her name.

C.N.N.

• Use toilet before boarding, Japan airline asksTo offset carbon dioxide, a Japanese airline is asking its passengers to go to the toilet before boarding.

New Scientist

• Blasted into space from a giant air gunA gigantic gun could launch cargo into space more cheaply than conventional rockets

Washington Post

• U.S. airline earnings may show signs of recovery CHICAGO (Reuters) - The U.S. airline industry, battered severely in the last year by volatile fuel costs and an economic recession, may show signs of recovery when carriers begin reporting quarterly earnings next week, experts said on Wednesday.
• GM names Buick exec Docherty as new US sales chief DETROIT -- Less than a week after reporting a sharp drop in September sales, GM said its U.S. sales chief is leaving as the automaker struggles to prop up its falling share of the market.
• Brookings researchers warn of more flight delays DALLAS -- Lengthy airline delays are twice as common now as in 1990 and will get worse as the economy recovers, according to a Brookings Institution report released Thursday.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Calls for flight times to be based on scienceFlight time limitations in the European Union (EU) should be based upon scientific evidence, an expert has suggested.Gideon Ewers, a spokesman for the International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Associations, explained that a report had been published in 2008 that made recommendations using research but "the European Aviation Safety Agency has proposed legislation that doesn't take into account the findings of the report".Mr Ewers suggested that this is a "safety issue" as fatigued pilots are more likely to make mistakes, creating a problem that needs to be...

Aviation Industry

• Asian airlines see tentative signs of recoverySingapore Airlines and Air New Zealand said they were seeing some signs of improving demand but cautioned a sustained recovery in the battered air travel market was still far from certain.
• Southwest takes punctuality prizeSouthwest Airlines was the most punctual of the large carriers, with an on-time arrival rate of 82.8%. Arriving on time was just a little bit easier for airline passengers in August.
• BA announces redundancies Normal 0 false false false EN-GB X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* 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...
• AF KLM reports 3.7% drop in trafficPassenger numbers down 5.3%  read more
• Aer Lingus announces €97m savings planAirline to shed 676 jobs by 2011 read more

Other News Sources

• Blastland slams travel industry's climate change effortsTUI Travel UK managing director Dermot Blastland has hit out at the industry's collective failure to take climate change more seriously
• Somali pirates mistake naval boat for cargo shipThe French military says one of its navy vessels has been attacked by Somali pirates who mistook it for a cargo ship. The navy command and supply ship repelled the night assault and captured five o...
• Rail auditors start inquiry into safety of crossings after deathsno barriers, and the tragedy led to calls for them to be installed at unmanned level-crossings in Scotland.The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) said yesterday there are 120 such crossings on ...
• Christmas 'strike chaos' over BA job cutsBritish Airways put itself on a collision course with cabin crew staff last night after it imposed job cuts, a pay freeze and a reduction of crew numbers
• Plants could create renewable fuelBoeing has announced that it will begin studying the use of saltwater-based plants for renewable jet fuel in a joint effort with UOP, a division of Honeywell.
• SMMT reports third rise in car salesNew car sales in the UK rose by 11.4 per cent in September, their third consecutive rise, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
• IATA requests global CO2 targetsThe director-general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has called on governments to set global targets for reductions in CO2 emissions.
• Aviation code reduces fuel useA coalition of aviation experts has published a Departures Code of Practice to help reduce the fuel used by aircraft at airports.
• Tories 'cop out' of fuel duty debateA future Conservative government can hold out no promise of a halt to the current administration's fuel duty escalator, shadow transport minister Stephen Hammond told a fringe meeting at the Conservative Party conference.
• Vaughan Logistics collapsesWorksop, Notts haulage firm Vaughan Logistics has collapsed into administration following years of accumulated losses coupled with the downturn in the construction sector.
• Contenders jostle for Truck of the Year awardThe shortlisted contenders for the prestigious 2010 International Truck of the Year (ITOY) award include the Volvo FH16.700, the Mitsubishi Fuso Canter 7.5-tonner, MAN's TGM/TGL middleweights and Scania's new R-Series.
• Future test station closures hang on ATF uptakeVOSA has confirmed it will not close any more test stations until further information is available on how the Authorised Testing Facility (ATF) market has developed.
• Ministers confident of resolving Shellhaven funding disputeMinisters declared last week they were confident a dispute with DP World over the funding of the £1.65bn extension of Shellhaven port in the Thames Estuary would be resolved.
• Crossrail ponders stop callCrossrail was locked in negotiations with councils from both sides of London this week as calls to add new stations to the route threatened to derail the scheme™s £15.9bn budget.
• Jaguar Land Rover secures £500m in fundingJaguar Land Rover has secured £500m funding facilities, including a £175m loan from the State Bank of India.
• BA staff may strike over job cuts British Airways workers are threatening strike action, after the airline announced plans to cut 1,700 cabin crew jobs and freeze pay.Related StoriesClaims Harold Wilson made secret deal with LibyaTories plan rise in state pension ageBritish Airways to cut 1700 jobsPostal strike looms
• Norbert Dentressangle 'will not leave UK market'Norbert Dentressangle has no intention of pulling out of the UK logistics market, almost two years after acquiring Christian Salvesen, according to chief executive Francois Bertreau.
• Aer Lingus to axe hundreds of jobsAer Lingus is making further job cuts as part of a €97 million ($143 million) per annum cost cutting programme announced today that will also see the Irish...
• BA to cut equivalent of 1,700 cabin crew in NovemberBritish Airways is confirming the equivalent of 1,700 full-time cabin crew posts will disappear by the end of November, but insists the cuts are voluntary.The...
• WAEA2009: DIRECTV deal means 95 channels for ContinentalJetBlue Airways subsidiary LiveTV will soon bring nearly 100 channels of in-flight live television to Continental Airlines' Boeing aircraft, after its satellite...
• Stena makes Irish Sea gambleFERRY operator Stena Line is to add a third vessel to its Belfast-Stranraer service on the Irish Sea in a move that a spokesman explained was œpartly opportunistic.
• Greek ministry swallowed in shake-upTHE GREEK shipping ministry has been swallowed up into a new super ministry of economy, competitiveness and shipping in a radical cabinet shake-up.
• Protesters shut down Spanish shipyardHUNDREDS of workers today shut down Seville shipyard in Spain in a protest over defaults on salary payments.
• Seabourn flees pirate watersSEABOURN today cancelled its entire 2010-2011 Indian Ocean cruise deployment due to piracy fears.
• Commission row over emissions plan for vansEnterprise commissioner seeks to delay proposal to cut emissions from vans and minibuses.
• Managing Transport Noise “ new leaflets communicate noise action planningNew leaflets about noise mapping and action planning process published.
• Crime is in the Air ReportNew report by Centre of Crime and Justice Studies on air pollution.
• Impacts of Noise on Immune SystemArticle in Noise and Health Journal looks at impact of noise on immune system.
• Research Shows Support for Used Car Fuel Efficiency Labelling SchemeNew DfT research shows support for developing a used car labelling scheme.
• Airport Noise Action Plans Not Fit For PurposeOur responses to draft airport noise action plans.

Other Subscription Services

• Brittany Ferries to lay up ArmoriqueCOMPANY to take its newest vessel out of service for a time next month to reduce costs on its Roscoff-Plymouth service.
• UK launches review of light dues charging regimeGOVERNMENT drafts in management consultancy firm Atkins to produce report by spring 2010.