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

Friday, 30 October 2009

BBC News

• Footbridge plans at rail crossing A footbridge may be built over a railway in Dorset, where there are concerns about the safety of pedestrians using a level crossing.
• Appeal bid over station barriers A rail company is appealing against a decision not to allow ticket barriers at York railway station. In July, councillors rejected plans by National Express East Coast to install 17 automatic tickets gates and barriers within the Grade II listed station.
• Japan Airlines seeking state aidLoss-making carrier Japan Airlines (JAL) confirms it is to apply for financial assistance from a state-backed agency.
• Lower oil prices hit Exxon profitExxon Mobil, the world's largest oil company, reports a 68% drop in profits, disappointing investors and sending shares lower.
• Train firms seek longer contractsTrain companies say longer rail franchises would allow them to provide better quality services and encourage investment.

Department for Transport

• Mayor and Secretary of State agree new arrangements to monitor progress on former Metronet linesTransport Secretary Andrew Adonis and Mayor of London Boris Johnson today confirmed that the tube improvement contracts inherited by Transport for London (TFL) on an interim basis after Metronet’s collapse will remain permanently under the direct management of London Underground Ltd (LUL).
• Watford and St Albans passengers on track for new tram serviceRail passengers travelling between Watford and St Albans are in line for more regular and more frequent services thanks to exciting plans to create a new tram service announced today by Transport Secretary Andrew Adonis and Hertfordshire County Council.

Financial Times

• Mixed signals at Go-Ahead and ArrivaUK's train operator says that profits on its London to Midlands franchise had been hit by unofficial industrial action in September when drivers failed to report for work
• TfL to keep control of former Metronet linesTransport for London has won the right to control maintenance and upgrades to two-thirds of the London Underground, after a House of Lords ruling described it as the 'best value option'

The Guardian

• Boris Johnson's transport plans: bad omens and bendy costs If anyone needed reminding that the RPI+1 formula used in recent years by TfL as a financial planning assumption has been precisely that and therefore no reliable guide to the setting of public transport fares, then Boris Johnson's new package will have served the purpose well. Had RPI+1 been applied to yer actual, real fares, they'd have risen only fractionally if at all. Let's turn to Robert Wright of the Financial Times for confirmation of how completely RPI+1 was ignored:

The Independent

• David Prosser: Adonis still on the hook Outlook The only people feeling even crosser than Stagecoach about the collapse of its merger talks with National Express yesterday will have been staff at the Department of Transport, lead by Lord Adonis.

The Scotsman

• Train firms seek longer contractsTrain companies are demanding longer rail franchise deals to help them deliver better services for passengers.

The Telegraph

• What does British Airways need to do to recover? Next week another chief executive with industrial disputes on his mind will be announcing interim results.
• What does British Airways need to do to recover? Next week another chief executive with industrial disputes on his mind will be announcing interim results.
• National Express tumbles after rejecting Stagecoach offer National Express plans to press ahead with a £300m-£350m rescue rights issue believed to be partly underwritten by one of its major shareholders after rebuffing a £1.6bn all-share merger proposal from rival Stagecoach.
• Britain risks another snow shutdown, council leaders warn The Local Government Association, representing authorities in England and Wales, claims bus and train companies have failed to learn lessons from last winter's heavy snowfall.

Times Online

• Train operators ’could do better than Network Rail’National Rail could save £500 million by allowing train operators to upgrade rail infrastructure themselves, the industry’s trade body has claimed.
• 50 years of the London WaterbusIn the age of Nintendo Wiis and high adrenalin theme parks, it's hard to believe that a gentle canal boat trip in London could still be pulling in the crowds.

Press Association

• Transport firms see steady progress Two of the UK's biggest transport firms have continued to weather the recession after revealing solid trading in their bus and rail operations. Arriva said revenues at its CrossCountry rail franchise improved over the last six weeks, while growth in its bus division remained consistent with the performance seen in the first six months of the year.
• Report questions rail line benefits A new high-speed rail line in the UK would produce, at best, only very modest environmental benefits, a report commissioned by the RAC Foundation has said.

The Mirror

• Report questions rail line benefitsA new high-speed rail line in the UK would produce, at best, only very modest environmental benefits, a report commissioned by the RAC Foundation has said.
• Train firms seek longer contractsTrain companies are demanding longer rail franchise deals to help them deliver better services for passengers.

Network Rail

• ANOTHER RECORD MONTH FOR BRITAIN'S TRAINS
• LANARKSHIRE SCHOOLS TAKE AN ACTIVE ROLE IN TACKLING RAIL CRIME

Belfast Telegraph

• Passenger numbers drop at Derry airport Passenger numbers at City of Derry Airport have slumped by over a fifth and flight movement fell by 25% over the past six months compared to last year. Related StoriesNorthern Rock faces 10-year payback termSmall firms count cost of more postal strikesBrown beats off bid to weaken the CityAbbey’s share of mortgages on the upBlacks fights for survival as losses rise

Birmingham Post

• London gets huge share of transport cash from governmentLondon has received more than its fair share of transport funding because of the 2012 Olympics and failure to manage the London Underground effectively, Ministers have admitted.

Bolton News

• Boost for electric rail plan welcomed RAIL campaigners have welcomed the biggest hint yet that train bosses are committed to electrifying a major line through Bolton.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Trains on time top 96% for Arriva TRAIN services in Wales and across Britain have improved, Network Rail said. More than 96.4% of Arriva Trains Wales services arrived on time in the past month – an improvement of 4.2% compared to the same period last year.

Journal Live

• NORTH East motorists should pay new road charges and other “green taxes” to fund Manchester transport upgrades, a regional official told MPs.David Begg advises regional development chiefs about how transport can boost the North of England’s economy and said any new high-speed rail line should first go from London to Birmingham and Manchester.

Liverpool Echo

• Liverpool 'must have high-speed rail lines', MP's toldMINISTERS would be "mad" not to build a network of high-speed rail lines

London Evening Standard

• National Express shares plunge National Express is to go for a last roll of the dice and a rights issue of up to £500 million, after its latest merger deal fell apart. Shares in trains, coaches and buses group National Express plunged 55.6p to 307.3p, a fall of 15%, after the proposed merger with arch-rival Stagecoach fell apart.
• I'll build a new Tube line on this cycle laneSelf-styled 'Dr Earth' fighting to win Labour-held Edmonton at the next election, unveils plans to establish his own Tube line on what is now a cycle lane

Newcastle Journal

• Go-Ahead and Arriva issue trading statements NORTH transport giants Go-Ahead and Arriva are pulling more passengers on to their buses and trains despite the continuing economic gloom.

Nottingham Evening Post

• Workplace Parking Levy row rumbles on A SENIOR Labour city councillor has challenged the Tories to say whether or not they would scrap the Workplace Parking Levy.
• Letter: Where will tram cash come from? [GRAHAM CHAPMAN Deputy Leader Nottingham City Council ]I WOULD like to set straight some facts out about the workplace parking levy (WPL) to reduce any anxiety among employers about its introduction.

Sheffield Star

• Rail decision welcomedBUSINESS leaders in Sheffield have welcomed a decision by Network Rail to electrify the Midland Main Line between Sheffield and London.

The York Press

• National Express East Coast launches bid to overturn York Station barrier decision A RAIL firm was today launching a bid to overturn a decision to throw out controversial plans to install ticket barriers at York Station.
• Cycle To Work Guarantee scheme rolled out across Yorkshire and Humberside York™s credentials as a cycle-friendly city have been boosted with the regional launch of a Government-backed bike scheme.
• Steve Davies named as new director at National Railway Museum A NEW top boss has been named at one of York™s leading attractions.

Wales Online

• New ferry service to link Swansea with DevonIT’S a world away from the stately old paddle steamers that transported tourists across the Bristol Channel in the middle of the last century.

Doncaster Free Press

• Hopes that bus dispute could be resolvedTRANSPORT bosses are hoping their long-running dispute with Doncaster bus drivers will finally be resolved today.

Wall Street Journal

• Alstom Expects Pickup in OrdersPARIS--French power-station equipment and train maker Alstom SA said Thursday that its fiscal first-half net profit rose 6.6%, helped by cost cuts, and flagged it expects orders to pick up in the second half.

Rail Technology Magazine

• Low-Floor Buses in Bremen Fitted with MBB Passenger Lifts In compliance with the requirement of the Disability Discrimination Act, which gives equal opportunities to handicapped people, including wheelchair users, low-floor buses in Bremen have been fitted with MBB passenger lifts for many years. The latest tender from the city's public transport company (BSAG) for 39 low-floor buses has been won by MAN, and the buses will again be accessible to wheelchairs users via MBB Medilifts. Likewise, the 34 low-floor trams currently in service in Bremen, manufactured by Bombardier, have been fitted with MBB lifts since 2005. A further nine ac...

Transport for London

• London moves a step closer to hydrogen busesA major milestone has been reached in bringing a fleet of five hydrogen fuel cell buses to the Capital.

Other News Sources

• High Speed 1 to be regulated The Office of Rail Regulation has confirmed that the UK’s only high speed line - High Speed 1 - is to be regulated .
• Betts welcomes report on Midland Mainline electrification Clive Betts, MP for Sheffield Attercliffe, who has been leading the campaign for early electrification of the Midland Mainline, today welcomed Network Rail’s report on its Electrification Route Utilisation Strategy (RUS). This sets out a strategy to expand the electrification of the railway across Britain and follows a year-long study undertaken by the company.
• Bury firm upgrades tube trains BURY rail safety specialist Rowe Hankins has completed an upgrade to 63 tube trains on the London Underground.
• NEW HOPE SUPER-FAST TRAIN SERVICE WILL STOP IN CARLISLE Carlisle's bid to get a £34 billion high speed line to stop in the city may be back on track after the region’s transport supremo refused to rule it out.
• More room for tram passengers to stand There will be 30 fewer seats on Metrolink’s new trams which will carry Rochdale passengers within two and a half years.
• National Express rebuffs suitor Rail operator National Express yesterday rebuffed a takeover proposal from rival operator Stagecoach to "avoid any further disruption to the business".
• New hope for rail station improvements in Lowestoft and Beccles A campaign to smarten up railway stations in north Suffolk took a major step forward yesterday with a meeting at the House of Commons. Waveney MP Bob Blizzard met representatives from Network Rail to express his concern over the state of the stations in Lowestoft and Beccles.
• Electric rail network to expandNetwork Rail has unveiled a study that claims expanding the electrified rail network further will provide significant benefits to the UK transport system.
• Cambridge haulier vows to fight council over lorry movements Cambridge haulier vows to fight council over lorry movements By Chris Tindall A packaging haulier in Cambridgeshire says he will fight
• Iata slams UK air passenger tax hike Passengers flying from the UK with all airlines, including SAA, will have to pay higher duties from Sunday. The tax, which is intended to cut carbon emissions and raise £2.5 billion (R32bn), has been slated by the International Air Transport Association (Iata) as "completely disproportionate to the £572 million that it would cost to offset the entire carbon footprint of UK aviation".

News from Europe

• German stocksSIEMENS German rail service provider Deutsche Bahn is threatening the cancelling of a tender for 300 IC and ICE trains due to high price demands, Handelsblatt reported, citing Bahn executive Ulrich Homburg. Siemens is vying for the tender.
• Deutsche Bahn operating profit sinks, job cuts aheadGerman railway operator Deutsche Bahn AG's [DBN.UL] operating profit sank 47 percent in the first eight months of 2009 and it is planning up to 2,000 admin job cuts, a document seen by Reuters on Wednesday showed.
• Through services vital for high-speed success EUROPE: Eurostar's share of the rail+air market from London to Paris, Brussels and Lille is now nearly 85%, Commercial Director Nick Mercer told a Railway Forum seminar in London on October 15, and even on routes with 4 h journey times other Railteam members 'take more than 50% market share'.
• Commission waters down CO2 proposal for vansThe European Commission has caved in to industry and member-state pressure and significantly backtracked on earlier ambitions to introduce legally-binding CO2 cuts for new vans and minibuses.