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

Friday, 06 November 2009

BBC News

• Train firm in battle for contract Derby train-maker Bombardier is in a head-to-head contest to win a major contract to supply rail carriages for the Thameslink project.
• Driver shortage disrupting trains Commuter and weekend train services into London from the east, south east and south are facing disruption because of a shortage of drivers.
• Fare-dodgers 'costing Tube £3m' Fare evasion cost London Underground (LU) nearly £3m in lost revenue in the past year, a survey has indicated.
• Level crossing offenders on CCTV Drivers are being urged to wait at a level crossing in Shropshire where scores of motorists have been caught on CCTV jumping the lights.
• Olympics congestion plan on show Plans to ease traffic congestion at the Olympic 2012 sailing events in Dorset have been put on show.
• BA to cut 1,200 jobs amid losses British Airways says it plans to cut a further 1,200 jobs after reporting a first-half loss for the first time.
• Job cuts 'target West Coast line' The West Coast Main Line will bear the brunt of maintenance job cuts planned by Network Rail, according to the Rail Maritime and Transport union (RMT).
• Car sharing project is launched A web-based car sharing scheme has been launched which now means the network covers the whole of Wales.
• British Airways makes £292m loss British Airways has reported a loss before tax of £292m for the six months to the end of September.
• F1 designer unveils electric carA new sustainable electric car designed for city or town use is the result of a £9m investment programme.
• Scrappage sees UK car sales surgeThe scrappage scheme helped UK new car sales record their biggest increase so far this year in October, figures show.

Financial Times

• Date set for East Coast rail franchise handover Uncertainty over the future of the loss-making East Coast rail franchise, run by National Express, ended yesterday with the announcement that the government would take over the operation on November 13.
• BA cabin crew lose staffing challengeThe union representing British Airways cabin crew failed to win a court injunction to block planned changes to work practices due to start this month

The Guardian

• Sharp rise in number of cyclists killed on roads Jump in quarterly figures could be explained by a rush of inexperienced riders, according to cycling groups
• Government rules out reversing fare increases on east coast rail line The government has ruled out reversing fare increases on the east coast rail franchise despite the train passenger watchdog urging a better deal for customers.

The Scotsman

• BA to announce first summer lossBritish Airways will announce its first ever summer loss as the airline counts the cost of a gruelling six months.

The Telegraph

• BA slumps to record loss as strikes loom British Airways has slumped to an unprecedented loss for its key summer trading months, as plans for a strike by thousands of cabin crew risk more financial pain for the airline.

Times Online

• £30m stripped from free travel budget in LondonA plan to halve funding for pensioners’ bus passes in London has been condemned by local authorities in the capital.
• Car sales rise by 31.6% on scrappage schemeThe Government™s œcash-for-bangers scheme drove the year™s biggest monthly increase in new registrations in October, when sales jumped by 31.6 per cent.
• Government takes control of East Coast railBritain™s busiest long-distance rail route was effectively nationalised on Thursday when the Government confirmed it would take control of the troubled East Coast franchise, which National Express has run for the past two years.
• Long-haul cuts to go ahead as BA faces new trialBritish Airways cabin crew won the argument but lost the battle on Thursday as they sought to prevent the airline imposing changes to working practices.

Daily Record

• Transport Secretary Lord Adonis blats SNP over Glasgow Airport Rail Link axe UK Transport Secretary Lord Adonis yesterday slammed the SNP decision to scrap the Glasgow Airport Rail Link.

The Mirror

• BA to announce first summer lossBritish Airways will announce its first ever summer loss as the airline counts the cost of a gruelling six months.

Birmingham Post

• More funding on the way for free bus passes in West MidlandsBus services across the West Midlands could benefit from an extra £1.73 million as part of a government funding review.
• National Express gives up East Coast Main Line railway franchiseOne of the UK’s biggest rail franchises will come under public control next week after it was relinquished by Birmingham transport group National Express.

Journal Live

• System comes under fire as franchise flops MINISTERS are being urged to overhaul the system of rail franchises as flagship East Coast services are nationalised next week.

London Evening Standard

• Cameron is right to back CrossrailThis newspaper's interview with David Cameron lays bare some of the tough choices that will face the Conservative leader if he forms the next Government.
• Champagne bar opens at 7am as St Pancras mall does a sparkling trade Profits have soared at St Pancras station mall as shoppers and champagne drinkers propel it into a top destination in its own right.
• Safety fears over railway cuts
• Boris cycle hire station in the City may be blockedCity chiefs are fighting plans to install a docking station for Mayor Boris Johnson's flagship bike hire scheme near St Paul's Cathedral
• Electric car charge points installed at Sainsbury'sSainsbury's launches a network of electric car charging points, boosting Boris Johnson's plan to make London 'the electric vehicle capital of Europe'
• Cycle deaths and serious injuries rise 20 per centNumber of cyclists killed or seriously injured on Britain’s roads soared this spring, latest figures reveal

Manchester Evening News

• Leese leads push for high-speed rail linkA CAMPAIGN group, spearheaded by Manchester, is lobbying for high-speed rail. Manchester council leader Sir Richard Leese, chairman of HSR UK, called on the main political parties to include a new network in their election manifestos at the Core Cities Summit in Liverpool, attended by some of the country's leading politicians and business leaders.

Metro

• BA crew agree 'unwillingly' to work airline's scheduleBritish Airways cabin crew agreed

Nottingham Evening Post

• Bus service reaches one year target in eight weeksA NEW free bus service in the city centre has achieved its one-year target of carrying 1,000 passengers a day in only eight weeks.
• Passengers braced for East Coast rail switch A WATCHDOG has called for disruption to passengers to be kept to a minimum when the East Coast Main Line comes under public control next week.

The York Press

• Government announces grants plan to help fund free bus travel TRANSPORT bosses in York could get hundreds of thousands of pounds from the Government, to help fund free bus travel for pensioners and disabled people.
• East Coast Main Line railway to be nationalised next week THE flagship East Coast Main Line will be nationalised next week, the Department for Transport has announced.

Wales Online

• Cardiff Airport airline plans to cut 158 jobsFLIGHTS from Cardiff Airport could be affected after a low cost airline announced plans to cut 158 jobs.

Yorkshire Post

• All-party backing as rail campaign strives to find 'radical' funding Campaigners calling for a Yorkshire railway line to be re-opened are looking at radical ways of funding the project.
• Extra cash ruled out for bus pass scheme he Government yesterday ruled out any extra money for the bus pass scheme which allows over-60s free off-peak use of any bus in the country. Some local councils have complained that they have been not getting enough money from central Government to run the scheme.

Blackpool Gazette

• Cash boost for Fylde bus passengers THE Fylde coast is set for a £1.3m boost to pay for free travel for pensioners after the Government finally agreed to plug the funding shortfall.

Sunderland Echo

• Electric cars come to NETHE North East's in the driving seat now electric cars have motored into the region.
• East Coast rail to be handed back to GovernmentTHE Government has announced it will take over National Express's East Coast rail services.

Railnews

• News: East Coast handover to take place next week The National Express East Coast franchise will be taken over by the Department for Transport on 13 November. Transport secretary Andrew Adonis is promising that services will continue

Other News Sources

• Return of the trains 'would ease Towers traffic through village' COUNCILLORS say the proposed return of train services to the Moorlands will help ease traffic congestion in their village. At a meeting on Monday, members of Alton Parish Council gave their backing to the resumption of trains.
• DfT stats show growth in number of cyclist casualties Preliminary data released by the Department for Transport yesterday suggest that the number of cyclists killed or seriously injured on Britain’s roads is on the rise, growing by 19% to reach 820 in the quarter ended June 2009 against the comparable period in 2008.
• East Coast line should remain in public hands for longer – Carmichael “This line is a vital artery for Scotland’s business," said the Liberal Democrat Shadow Scotland Secretary.
• Watford and St Albans passengers on track for new tram service The proposed improvements would enable passengers to travel between St Albans and Watford on a regular half-hourly tram and allow for the possibility of an even greater frequency of three trams per hour. The trams would replace the existing train service link, which currently operates on an irregular schedule with just one train every 45 minutes, providing a better service for around 450,000 passengers a year who currently use it.
• Car sales in fast lane as buyers race for scrap cashCar makers enjoyed bumper sales in October as buyers rushed to take advantage of the extended car scrappage scheme and avoid a hike in VAT
• Network Rail to lay off 1,500 workersNetwork Rail plans to cut around 1,500 maintenance jobs as part of a national cost cutting programme, according to the RMT
• BA to post first summer loss British Airways is expected to announce its first ever summer loss, as the airline counts the cost of a gruelling six months.
• Hi-tech transport designs on showMore than 130 designers from across the world have submitted their ideas for a hypothetical new transport scheme in Bath.
• MAG Developments secures letting at Manchester Airport's World Freight TerminalMAG Developments, the property and development arm of the Manchester Airports Group (MAG), has secured a new tenant at its World Freight Terminal.

News from Europe

• RRDC teams up with German operator, British railway investor to operate Berlin intercity trainsRailroad Development Corp. (RDC) recently formed a joint venture with Locomore Rail GmbH & Co. and Michael Schabas to operate intercity rail services in Berlin.
• Pardon me boy, is that the chattanooga choo choo? Read more: http://www.building.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=583&storycode=3152432&c=0#ixzz0W4WKLpBaWell, no it’s not. But following a major renovation and extensive tunnelling to Antwerp Centraal Station, trains can now whizz through on their way to Amsterdam, Brussels and beyond
• Logistics 'undervalued' in EU The logistics sector's contribution to economic growth and jobs is not properly valued and the European Commission's modal approach to transport policy hinders competitiveness, industry representatives argue.