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

Wednesday, 04 November 2009

BBC News

• Scottish Parliament [video]The Transport Committee has been told that the Scottish Government has no wish to resurrect the £120m Glasgow Airport Rail Link.
• City's park and ride site opens A park and ride facility at Enderby in Leicester has opened after months of building work.
• Focus on lorry and coach drivers Lorry and coach drivers are being targeted by police in a month-long operation in Devon and Cornwall.
• First £1,000 rail fare criticisedA £1,000 train fare for a journey from Cornwall to the Scottish Highlands is described as
• Buffett in railroad buy-out dealWarren Buffett's investment firm agrees to take over the second-biggest US railroad, in what is said to be his biggest deal yet.
• US sales rise at both GM and FordGeneral Motors and Ford both report a rise in US car sales, as the American car industry slowly recovers.
• General Motors cancels Opel saleGeneral Motors announces that it has cancelled plans to sell Opel and Vauxhall to Canadian car parts firm Magna.

Financial Times

• Tf L seeks review on PPF levyTransport for London , operator of the city's mass transit system, will seek the first judicial review of a premium levied by the Pension Protection Fund, with the...
• Virgin Trains looks for the freedom to take flightVirgin Train's offices in London's Euston station are as different from its airport headquarters as you can imagine. There is no plush lounge suite; no plasma screen;...
• Stagecoach passenger fall slowsStagecoach, the bus and train company stalking rival National Express, has confirmed that the recession-hit industry is stabilising, as the decline in passenger numbers slows
• Buffett bets $26bn on USWarren Buffett struck the biggest deal of his life with the $26bn purchase of Burlington Northern Santa Fe in what the billionaire investor called an
• Buffett's dealmaking instinct still on trackThe BNSF purchase does not signal the end of the Sage's spending

The Guardian

• Is the Oxford Circus X-crossing the future of urban cycling? I'd far rather be a part of the mainstream traffic than be shunted into a narrow, glass-strewn, leaf-slippy bike lane
• State takes control of east coast rail franchise run by National Express East coast mainline train services from London to Edinburgh will be operated by the government for at least 18 months
• GM scraps plans to sell off Vauxhall¢ Takeover by Magna had threatened more than 10,500 jobs¢ GM says decision follows European business improvementAmerica's biggest motor manufacturer, General Motors, performed an abrupt U-turn last night by deciding to keep its European car manufacturing division, abandoning a proposed sale of Germany's Opel and Britain's Vauxhall brands at the eleventh hour.Emboldened by encouraging global sales figures, GM's directors emerged from a meeting of the company's 13-strong board in Detroit to announce that an improvement in the European business environment had prompted them to change their minds ...

The Independent

• Yours for £1,000: a Caribbean cruise, or a return ticket to the Kyle of Lochalsh It is a sinking feeling familiar to thousands of rail passengers. Packed and ready to travel, their optimistic expectations of a trip on Britain's railways can be swiftly quashed by the eye-wateringly high fare prices demanded at the ticket office.

The Telegraph

• Firstgroup profits hit by higher fuel costsFirstgroup, the British transport operator, reported a 44pc fall in first-half profit due to the economic downturn and higher fuel costs but said the British rail market had stabilised in recent months.
• National Express poised to return East Coast rail franchise National Express is to hand back its troublesome East Coast rail franchise next month, with unions believing December 12 is the date set for its return to state control.

Times Online

• GM scraps plan to sell Vauxhall and Opel to MagnaLord Mandelson will today seek private talks with the board of General Motors to discuss the future of about 5,500 Vauxhall workers in Britain after the American car giant scrapped advanced plans to sell its European business.

Mail Online

• Stagecoach warns of tough conditions as growth remains flat British transport operator Stagecoach, which was last week rebuffed in a bid to buy rival National Express, today revealed that conditions remained 'tough'. Like-for-like revenue growth at its British rail business, which includes London commuter franchise South West Trains, was 1.7 per cent for the 24 weeks to Oct. 18, up from a 0.9 per cent rise in the three months to end-July.
• Stagecoach warns of tough conditions as growth remains flat British transport operator Stagecoach, which was last week rebuffed in a bid to buy rival National Express, today revealed that conditions remained 'tough'. Like-for-like revenue growth at its British rail business, which includes London commuter franchise South West Trains, was 1.7 per cent for the 24 weeks to Oct. 18, up from a 0.9 per cent rise in the three months to end-July.

The Mirror

• Union 'delight' at Vauxhall u-turnUnion bosses have welcomed General Motors' shock decision to scrap plans to sell Vauxhall, describing it as an "incredible turnaround" by the US car giant.

Belfast Telegraph

• Aer Lingus spreads its wings with extra flight to LondonAer Lingus has launched a fourth daily flight between Belfast International Airport and London Heathrow.Related StoriesHouse prices increase for fourth month in a rowHSBC job cuts won't affect staff in Northern IrelandLower percentage of empty shops here than in the RepublicINM expects to finalise debt dealInvest NI payments referred to watchdog

Journal Live

• Air Passenger Duty tax’s impact on trade concerns PMSOARING airline taxes and their impact on trade are worrying the Prime Minister, The Journal has been told.

Liverpool Echo

• Minister to face Merseyside tram lobby MERSEYSIDE’S business and political leaders will today lobby Transport Minister Sadiq Khan in another attempt to revive the stalled Merseytram scheme.
• Plan to install speed bumps across mile-wide area of Southport axedA DIVISIVE cycle path plan is set to be redrawn after a consultation revealed just one in three people were in favour of the scheme.
• General Motors scraps plans to sell off VauxhallGeneral Motors tonight scrapped plans to sell off Vauxhall to a Canadian car parts firm.

London Evening Standard

• First £1,000 rail fare in history of British train travelThe first £1,000 fare in the history of Britain’s railways has sparked fresh outrage over the 'ludicrously' high cost of train travel
• Eurostar trains hit by Belgium strike action

Manchester Evening News

• Charge haulage firms for using roads says Lib Dem leader HAULAGE firms would be charged for using the roads under a Lib Dem plan to pay for high-speed rail links between Manchester and London. Party leader Nick Clegg says hauliers would face the charge during a programme of improvements to the rail network.
• Tram network grinds to halt 7 times in 2 days RUSH hour chaos hit communters as the tram network was brought to a halt twice last night - making SEVEN stoppages in two days since lines reopened in the city centre.

Metro

• Shock over Britain's first-ever £1,000 rail ticketBritain's first ever £1,000 train ticket has plunged the rail industry into fresh controversy over its pricing policies.

Nottingham Evening Post

• East Midlands runway extension gets green light THE runway at East Midlands Airport will be extended by 190 metres after councillors approved plans this afternoon. Officers at North West Leicestershire Council have said there are no grounds for blocking the development.

Sheffield Star

• Davy double up for £2.7m jobDavyMarkham is close to completing a £2.7 million contract to make two 34 ft diameter cutter heads for a major railway tunnelling project in China in double quick time.

The News (Portsmouth)

• Chance to have your say on transport futurePeople are being asked for their views on the future of transport in Hampshire.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Swinney attacked over axed rail linkFinance Secretary John Swinney was labelled “judge, jury and executioner” as he defended his decision to cancel a city airport railway project. Mr Swinney told Holyrood’s finance committee that he will not reinstate the Glasgow Airport Rail Link (Garl) and compared its spiralling cost with the parliament building’s overruns.

The York Press

• Wigginton Road cycle paths plan set to be backed CYCLISTS in York look set to benefit from hundreds of thousands of pounds in fresh investment, in a bid to improve safety.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Government to run Leeds to London line from DecemberThe East Coast main line rail franchise, which serves the Yorkshire region, will come under public ownership on December 12.
• Harrogate: Busy road to become tree-lined boulevardHarrogate's King's Road is set to become a leafy boulevard after the council announced a £438,000 improvement plan.

Sunderland Echo

• National Express services to haltThe East Coast main line rail franchise, which serves the North East, will come under public ownership on December 12.

Forbes

• Behind Buffett's Rail Bet The scales are tipping away from America's highways. Here's why.

International Herald Tribune

• French Ideal of Bicycle-Sharing Meets RealityParis’s bike-rental system has inspired a new urban ethos, along with some old urban curses: vandalism and theft.

Railnews

• News: East Coast handover planned for 12 December The National Express East Coast franchise is set to be taken over by the Department for Transport on 12 December, a move which the RMT union says should not be reversed. An internal briefing from the DfT seen by Railnews has confirmed not only the likely date, but also that another franchisee is unlikely to take control before mid-2011. The document was prepared primarily to brief the rail unions on the implications for jobs, but also gives many other details about the transfer.

Aviation Industry

• London Gatwick Airport looks to Copenhagen for aviation emissions response.London Gatwick Airport today backed calls for a global approach to reducing aviation emissions, in a hard-hitting report issued by the Airport Operators™ Association (AOA).

Other News Sources

• Unite calls time on obscene 'Ten to One' pay gap at London UndergroundAt exactly ten minutes to one today (Wednesday), Unite members at London Underground will be calling time on the obscene pay gap at the capital's tube operator. The employees, all members of Unite, will be protesting outside London Underground's headquarters to draw attention to the ten to one difference in pay between senior Transport for London executives and the workers providing the services which keep the capital's passengers on the move. Unite is pushing for London Underground to close the pay gap and, in doing so, to make the tube a truly public service.
• MPs demand assurance on Berwick rail service CROSS-border MPs have repeated their demand that rail services to and from Berwick will not suffer from the nationalisation of the east coast main line. Sir Alan Beith, MP for Berwick, and Michael Moore, MP for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk, were speaking following confirmation that the route is to be nationalised in December.
• Bromborough Railway Station’s car park blacked out after misunderstanding BROMBOROUGH Railway Station’s car park was left in the dark after a misunderstanding between Merseyrail and Wirral Borough Council. The lights in the car park on Allport Road, Bromborough, have been off since last Wednesday leaving railway users to walk to their car in the pitch black.
• Fight for Skegness' old station master house looks lost Fight to save Lumley Lodge could be over. QUEST to save Lumley Lodge at Skegness Railway Station, looks lost as campaigners admit they do not have the time or money to do it. Network Rail (NR) plans to demolish the old station master's house, along with the other buildings at the station, so it can create a new entrance.
• Makeover for the East Coast railwayOne of the country's biggest rail companies will be nationalised on 12 December. In a Whitehall make-over, all traces of its previous private-sector owner, National Express, will be erased and replaced with a state-approved name, logo, train liveries, uniforms and station signs, a government dossier reveals.
• Police get tough on pavement cyclists Almost 200 cyclists have been caught riding their bicycles on the city's pavements or cycling without lights after police launched a crackdown following complaints from angry families.
• East Coast Mainline handover timetable revealed Detailed plans for the running of the troubled East Coast Mainline have been revealed by a transport union. The handover of the route from beleaguered National Express will take place on December 12.
• National Express searches for a fat controllerNot so long ago, National Express looked to be a transport powerhouse with expanding interests in three major markets but not now
• Ryanair soars but fares may yet riseRyanair claimed it is set to overtake BA to become Britain's biggest airline this winter, as it warned fares will rise unless it can hammer out a deal for more Boeing planes
• UK's first £1,000 rail fare sparks rowA first-class return ticket from Newquay to Kyle of Lochalsh that costs £1,000 has caused a fresh row over the rising costs of train travel
• Council denies removing A-road from freight mapCambridgeshire County Council has denied removing a major A-road through the county from a strategic freight route map because of pressure from an MP.
• 'Hybrids don't boost bottom line'Hybrid vehicles have yet to provide a clear business case in terms of the bottom line, despite offering fuel savings, argues a leading fleet engineer.
• Sleep cycle factors strongly in new ALPA pilot fatigue policyNatural circadian rhythms factor strongly in a new, potentially landmark pilot fatigue policy that has been adopted by the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA)...

News from Europe

• Train lessor looking east EUROPE: The Railpool leasing joint venture of HSH Nordbank and KfW IPEX-Bank is aiming to expand its presence in eastern Europe, according to Account Director Torsten Lehnert, who was speaking during the Nordic Rail 2009 event.
• Train lessor looking east EUROPE: The Railpool leasing joint venture of HSH Nordbank and KfW IPEX-Bank is aiming to expand its presence in eastern Europe, according to Account Director Torsten Lehnert, who was speaking during the Nordic Rail 2009 event.