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

Thursday, 26 November 2009

BBC News

• National Express loses East Anglia rail franchise National Express will have its East Anglia rail franchise terminated three years early, the government has said.
• Figures show more trains on time Trains in the East Midlands have improved their punctuality, according to figures released by Network Rail.
• Inquiry in to rail freight plans A planning inquiry has opened into three schemes for a rail freight terminal at different sites in Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire.
• EU aims to boost tyre performance with new labels The EU is to introduce a new tyre labelling system in three years' time to encourage fuel efficiency, safety and noise reduction.
• Transport Committee [Scotland - video]The committee heard 61% of people in Scotland want to cycle to improve their health, but many were afraid of road dangers on 24 November 2009.

Financial Times

• Closer analysis paints rail a paler shade of green No traveller using the Eurostar high-speed train service between London and Paris or Brussels could miss the core point of the operator’s marketing. Beside the escalators to the platforms at Brussels’ Midi station, posters proclaim how the company recycles its staff uniforms, uses locally sourced organic food where possible and tries to dispose responsibly of waste from its carriage-washing facility. All are intended to remind customers of the fundamental point - high-speed trains are better for the environment than their rivals.
• National Express in rights issue tussleNational Express chairman expresses confidence that £360m rights issue will be 'resoundingly agreed' at extraordinary meeting
• BMI to shed staff and close routesThe UK airline is to cut nearly 600 jobs and stop flying to cities like Kiev and Tel Aviv
• Airlines balk at Brussels rescue fund planEuropean airlines criticise moves to force the industry to set up a compensation fund for passengers stranded by failed carriers as a costly response to an 'infinitesimally small' problem

The Guardian

• National Express loses East Anglia line Lord Adonis had considered stripping National Express of the East Anglia franchise with immediate effect

The Telegraph

• Funding for all-electric cars future Towns and cities are being invited to compete for £30 million of Government funding to put into charging points for electric and hybrid vehicles.

Times Online

• National Express loses remaining rail franchise National Express is to be stripped of its remaining rail franchise three years early, leaving the troubled transport company with just its bus business.
• National Express loses remaining rail franchise National Express is to be stripped of its remaining rail franchise three years early, leaving the troubled transport company with just its bus business.
• British Airways crew hit back online with tales of in-flight aggravationMissed meals, broken seats, passengers woken early and general unprofessionalism are among the complaints raised by British Airways cabin crew after the imposition of new working practices.

Press Association

• Union calls for 'contamination' station to be closed Union leaders have called for a busy Tube station to be closed after claiming it has possibly been contaminated with anthrax and asbestos.
• Cycling chiefs in speed limit call Cycling chiefs have called for 20mph limits to become the norm in residential streets. They say the move would ease the danger they face from motorists.

Reuters News

• bmi to cut 600 jobs in cost-cutting planLONDON (Reuters) - Low-cost airline bmi said on Wednesday it will cut at least 600 jobs, scrap loss-making routes and reduce its fleet of jets to help cope with falling demand and the economic downturn.

Network Rail

• UNVEILED: MAJOR IMPROVEMENT PLANS FOR OXFORD Plans for long awaited improvements to Oxford railway station have been revealed this week by Network Rail and Oxfordshire County Council.

Liverpool Echo

• Merseytravel to celebrate 40th birthday with vintage Liverpool bus tripsBUSES from bygone days will take passengers on trips across Liverpool on a day of celebration.

London Evening Standard

• Electric bus takes you to store ... and home againWest End department store unveils an electric shuttle bus service bringing shoppers from London's most affluent areas

Blackpool Gazette

• Blackpool Airport may get a London flightEFFORTS to reconnect Blackpool to London by air are gathering pace.

Peterborough Telegraph

• Car group to increase productionThe Norfolk-based car maker Lotus is set to make more vehicles than ever before, its new boss has said.

Washington Post

• LA suburb's rebirth rides on electric car plant DOWNEY, Calif. -- This blue-collar suburb on the edge of Los Angeles once helped send men to space. After the collapse of its aerospace industry, its ambitions are now more down-to-earth but still looking toward the future.
• Toyota slashes bonuses for managers by 20 percent TOKYO -- Toyota is slashing bonus pay for managers as the Japanese automaker tackles a massive recall in the U.S. and deep losses for the second straight fiscal year.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Government unveils plan to improve lorry parkingTransport minister Paul Clark has launched a new action plan aimed at improving the provision of parking for heavy goods vehicles in England.Under the Department for Transport (DfT) proposals, guidance will be improved for local councils and operators to identify shortages and boost the consistency and quality of facilities on offer.The lorry parking strategy is intended to enhance the truck stops and parking spaces available to drivers to ensure that they are well rested and fit for work.Information available to hauliers included in the Truck Stop Guide has also been updated by the DfT and th...

Transport for London

• Know what you're getting intoNew hard-hitting campaign warns Londoners about the dangers of unbooked minicabs.

Other News Sources

• First Capital Connect - Nightmare Continues For Commuters PAY talks between First Capital Connect (FCC) and the rail union ASLEF were continuing this week in a bid to avert strike action.
• Have you got views for Crewe? RESIDENTS will be given the opportunity to have their say on the future of Crewe's town centre and railway station.
• Network Rail's Coucher: we must continue to drive down costs Network Rail chief executive Iain Coucher has said costs must be driven down further as the rail operator makes “good progress” towards £4.1bn efficiency saving target.
• Grand plans for rail station Plans to transform Oxford’s rail station that will see it expanding to the other side of Botley Road within the next two years are being unveiled today.
• BMW to provide green transport options at 2012 Games BMW has been named Sustainability Partner and Automotive Partner of the London 2012 Games by Lord Sebastian Coe.
• Government offers £30m for green transport projects The government has unveiled a multimillion-pound cash pot for the pursuit of green transport infrastructure. Announcing the funding, transport secretary Andrew Adonis invited cities and businesses to bid for portions of the £30 million funding to help pay for the installation of commercial electric and plug-in hybrid vehicle charging points.
• Could the German ambitions of SNCF lead to a rail war? The cat is out of the bag. SNCF, the French state rail operator, has tentatively announced plans to enter the German domestic rail market in 2011 with high speed rail services connecting Frankfurt with Berlin and Hamburg, according to reports in the German media.
• Slow progress for Chunnel fire system Eurotunnel this week insisted that the installation of a fire suppression system in the Channel Tunnel was on schedule even though no contract had been awarded six months after bids were invited.
• Aviation industry not doing enough to go green - new reportA new report launched by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) today shows that the fuel efficiency of new aircraft has barely improved since 2000.

News from Europe

• Greater Paris plan goes before French parliamentFrench President Nicolas Sarkozy's ambitious plan to expand the boundaries of Paris will be set in motion on Tuesday when the bill to develop a new transport loop for the growing city goes before parliament.
• Bombardier and German centre sign R&D deal for modern high-speed trains Bombardier Transportation, the passenger rail-making unit of industrial giant Bombardier Inc. (TSX:BBD.B), signed a co-operation agreement Wednesday with a German research centre to develop next generation high-speed trains.
• Hitachi Bullet Train to Challenge France’s TGV in Own Backyard- Hitachi Ltd., maker of the 186 mile per hour (300 kph) Bullet Train, will bid against the French- built TGV on its home soil as the Japanese company targets a European rail market that’s the biggest in the world.
• New line option selected to boost capacity DENMARK: 'This is a milestone in Danish railway history, said Transport Minister Lars Barfoed after the main political parties approved the 'Modern Railway settlement on October 22, giving the go-ahead for a series of capacity enhancement projects including the construction of a new line from Ny Ellebjerg to Ringsted via Køge.