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

Thursday, 10 December 2009

BBC News

• Scots in slow lane on rail upgradesGovernments and environmental campaigners say switching from the plane to the train will help cut C02 emissions and tackle climate change.
• Rolls-Royce wins £1.2bn US orderDerby-based engineering firm Rolls-Royce wins a £1.2bn deal to supply aircraft engines to a US airline.

Financial Times

• Transport projects still on trackCrossrail and Thameslink joined by new electrification plans
• Stagecoach foresees end to disputeBus and rail operator Stagecoach sought to bury the hatchet with the government as it revealed that a dispute over franchise payments would be resolved by April
• Harrison to step down as EasyJet chiefLow-cost airline unveils sweeping boardroom changes, including the appointment of Sir Michael Rake as chairman, in the wake of tensions between the company's board and management

The Guardian

• Rail electrification gets green lightRail passengers in north-west England will benefit from faster and more reliable train journeys after the government extended its rail electrification programme
• Easyjet boss to stand down¢ Harrison is fifth of easyJet management board to resign in a year¢ BT chairman Sir Michael Rake to take over in JanuaryThe wave of management departures from easyJet claimed its most senior figure today as chief executive Andy Harrison announced plans to stand down following a long-running dispute over strategy with the carrier's founder and largest shareholder, Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou.Harrison is the fifth member of easyJet's eight-person management board to resign over the past 12 months, following a year marked by a public boardroom rift over the budget airline's expansion plans. The ai...

The Independent

• Jet cemetery: Where do aircraft go when airlines go to the wall? With its internal wiring hanging from the open cargo doors like the entrails of a gutted whale, passenger jet VT-EYF “ the one-time pride of the Air India fleet “ was yesterday just the latest multimillion-pound flying machine to come to Kemble Airfield to die.

Times Online

• Electric cars to be spared company-car tax for five yearsElectric cars will be exempt from company car tax for five years from April and electric vans will be spared capital tax payments.
• Aer Lingus suffers double blow in fight for survivalAer Lingus, the Irish flag carrier, suffered a double blow to its struggle for survival yesterday when its finance director resigned and talks with its disaffected pilots stalled.
• Stagecoach expects to secure £100m and keep SWT on trackStagecoach, the bus and train operator, expects to win a £100 million dispute with the Department for Transport (DfT) over revenue support payments for its troubled South West Trains (SWT) franchise.

Reuters News

• Could airlines be a model for government savings?LONDON (Reuters) - Braced to cut costs when Britain is facing the biggest government deficit in its history, a London council is trying the budget airline approach.

Daily Express

• Stagecoach steams ahead after cost cuts Train and bus group Stagecoach unveiled higher half-year revenues in its UK trains business thanks to cost-cutting and ticket discounting, although group profits ran out of steam.

Belfast Telegraph

• easyJet replaces Belfast fleet of Boeing 737s with Airbus 319s easyJet is replacing the five Boeing 737s it operates from Belfast International Airport with five new Airbus 319s. Related StoriesManufacturers dealt recovery blowWilson wants NAMA input to avoid commercial property sell-off200 jobs to be created at £35m Glengormley shopping centreTransatlantic alliance made in heavenBoss to take flight from budget airline

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Leeds students live the green life with new cycle hubWHILE scientists in Copenhagen were exhaling carbon dioxide, students in Leeds were actually living the green life.

Doncaster Free Press

• Airport lands new operatorA BRAND new airline will today announce plans to set up base at Robin Hood Airport bringing a major passenger and jobs boost to Doncaster.

International Herald Tribune

• Volkswagen to Buy 20 Percent Stake in SuzukiThe German carmaker said Wednesday that it would pay $2.5 billion for a 20 percent stake in Suzuki Motor of Japan.

The Economist

• VW, GM and Peugeot-Citroën: Asian alliancesNew ties for VW, GM and Peugeot-Citroen signal a way forward for the car industryHAVING weathered the storm, the thoughts of global carmakers are now focused on the tie-ups they hope will give them an edge in the upturn. Two such deals, the first involving General Motors and its Chinese partner SAIC, the second between Volkswagen and Suzuki, have been concluded in the past few days. Another, linking PSA Peugeot-Citroen and Mitsubishi, is still under negotiation. All three are aimed at winning a bigger presence in Asia and tapping into low-cost manufacturing expertise, while sharing components ...

Railnews

• News: New hope in FCC pay dispute as ASLEF approves deal The pay dispute at First Capital Connect which has effectively halved the service on the Thameslink route may be almost over. The executive committee of ASLEF has approved a new offer which includes a 1.5 per cent increase for drivers backdated to last April. Now the drivers themselves must decide if they agree.

Other News Sources

• PICTURE: Bombardier Belfast prepares to test CSeries carbonfibre wing demonstratorBombardier's Belfast plant is gearing up to begin series production of the CSeries' carbonfibre wing as it prepares to begin ground-testing its recently...
• Shipping's green cost headachesGREEN rules are producing four burdensome cost headaches for shipping, Fairplay was warned today at the UN carbon conference.
• Risks mounting for GSLGLOBAL Ship Lease confirmed in a filing today that it faces pressures on multiple fronts, including delayed payments from charterer CMA CGM.
• Minister: Iran ships dodge DutchIRANIAN government-owned ships are avoiding Dutch ports because the country carries out more intensive vessel searches than other EU members, according to Dutch foreign minister Maxime Verhagen.
• Climate change fight need not mean end to growth in aviationThe fight against climate change need not mean the end to growth in aviation, according to a report by the Committee on Climate Change (CCC).
• UPS closes its Southampton siteUPS Supply Chain Solutions closed the doors on its Southampton site.
• Deepcar Transport enters voluntary liquidationSheffield-based haulier Deepcar Transport has gone into voluntary liquidation following the blow of losing a 'major' steel contract.
• Chancellor gives go ahead for North West rail electrificationThe Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling gave the go-ahead for rail electrification between Liverpool, Manchester and Preston in his Pre-Budget Report to the House of Commons.