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

Wednesday, 16 December 2009

BBC News

• MPs lobby for electric rail route Political leaders from across the East Midlands have called on Transport Minister Lord Adonis to consider electric rail links in the region.
• MPs urge Network Rail to rethink maintenance staff cut Network Rail has been urged by MPs to reconsider plans to sack railway maintenance workers.
• Crash: Death on Britain's roads For an everyday activity, travelling by road is probably the riskiest thing many of us do on a regular basis.
• Lower speed limits advised for road accident blackspots New advice to councils to cut the speed limit on roads with accident blackspots is being published by the government.
• Adonis orders public inquiry for Bath's transport plan Transport Secretary Lord Adonis has decided to call a Public Inquiry into a £54m transport package for Bath.
• Boeing Dreamliner in first flightBoeing's new 787 Dreamliner passenger aircraft successfully completes its first test flight in the US.
• BA to launch strike legal actionBritish Airways will launch a legal bid later to try to stop a 12-day strike by cabin crew which would affect flights over Christmas.

Financial Times

• Complex web of agreements lies at the heart of BA strikeWhen heavy snow in London forced British Airways to divert dozens of international flights bound for Heathrow to cities around Europe earlier this year, the airline...
• BA launches legal action against Unite over 'flawed' strike ballotThe British Airways cabin crew dispute escalated yesterday as the airline traded verbal blows with union leaders and launched legal action to halt the 12-day strike,...
• Australia to ease Qantas ownership rulesThe Australian government will scrap some of the ownership restrictions on Qantas Airways to increase the national carrier's ability to better compete for capital and play a bigger role in the consolidation of the global airline industry
• Go-Ahead sticks to full-year profits forecastTransport growth forecasts continue to improve for its bus division and a modest uptick in its rail business is expected, with analysts pencilling in pre-tax profits of about £81m
• BA takes legal action to block strike The airline's cabin crew dispute escalates as it seeks a court injunction to halt the 12-day strike, claiming the ballot used by the union to justify the action was flawed
• Nat Express rights success sets up debt revampThe bus and train operator welcomes a 90% take-up of its £360m rights issue by shareholders, as it seeks to draw a line under a turbulent few months

The Guardian

• Boris Johnson fleshes out London electric car ambitions Mayor of London says vehicles are a way of reducing harmful emissions without hair-shirt abstinenceBoris Johnson today fleshed out his ambition to turn London into the electric car capital of Europe by promising that every Londoner would be within a one mile's reach of an electric car charging point within five years.
• BA attempts to block strike in courtAirline begins legal action to block Christmas industrial action, after Unite union ballots members who have accepted redundancyBritish Airways is seeking a high court injunction against a 12-day Christmas strike by cabin crew after claiming that the strike ballot was illegal.A legal hearing is scheduled for 2pm tomorrow as BA attempts to prevent the strike going ahead between 22 December and 2 January and disrupting the travel plans of almost 1 million passengers. Willie Walsh,BA chief executive, said:

The Herald

• Standing room only in Scotland as new carriages stop at the borderPassengers could face years of overcrowding on a key Anglo-Scottish rail route because extra train carriages due to come into service in 2012 will only go as far as Birmingham and Manchester, The Herald has learned.
• Strike could cost BA up to £30m a dayBritish Airways faces the loss of up to £30 million a day because of the Christmas union strike action, a leading aviation analyst has warned.
• BA mount legal challenge to 12 days of Christmas strikesBritish Airways says it launching legal action to prevent a planned 12-day strike over the Christmas and New Year vacation period by its cabin crew.

The Independent

• BA seeks injunction to stop 12-day strikeBritish Airways is pinning its hopes on a legal technicality to get a 12-day strike by cabin crew over Christmas called off. The company yesterday began legal action and is seeking an injunction from the courts to stop the strike taking place.
• Government aid to car industry is branded 'wasted opportunity'MPs labelled the Government's flagship plan to help the ailing car industry as

The Scotsman

• BA in bid to halt Christmas strikeBritish Airways is to launch legal action in a last-ditch bid to halt a planned 12-day strike by its cabin crew, which threatens travel misery for a million passengers over Ch

The Telegraph

• National Express to land Dean Finch as chief executive National Express is on Thursday expected to appoint Dean Finch, the Tube Lines boss, as its new chief executive as the bus and rail operator strives to put six months of turmoil behind it.
• BA Christmas strike: chaos will hit passengers for three weeks Passengers could suffer up to three weeks of disruption because of the planned 12-day strike by British Airways cabin staff.

Times Online

• Rivals hire bigger planes as BA turns to the lawBritish Airways will seek an emergency injunction at the High Court today to avert a 12-day strike that threatens to ruin the travel plans of almost a million people over Christmas.

Mail Online

• Boeing 787 Dreamliner finally takes to the skies in first test flight - two years later than originally planned

Birmingham Post

• London Midland in talks to prevent mass rail cancellationsRail operator London Midland has promised passengers that the chaos of September 6 when drivers failed to turn-up for work will not happen again.
• West Midlands needs an Oyster travel card, says Lord AdonisTransport Secretary Lord Adonis has urged bus and rail companies in the West Midlands to speed up the introduction of a new “smart card” allowing passengers to travel across the region using a single plastic ticket.

Bolton News

• Electrification of railway line welcomed, but more needed says councillor REGIONAL rail chiefs have welcomed the news that the train line through Bolton is to be electrified, but warned more needs to be done to ease chronic congestion.
• Plans for railway really are electric TRANSPORT Secretary Lord Adonis rolled into town yesterday to deliver the news fed-up commuters have been waiting years to hear.

Journal Live

• Newcastle travellers advised on British Airways strikesMORE than a million passengers were facing Christmas travel misery last night as British Airways cabin crew announced a 12-day strike in a bitter row over jobs, pay and working conditions.

London Evening Standard

• National Express gets £360 million rights issue awayNational Express today completed its £360 million rights issue after its biggest shareholder, Spain's Cosmen family, finally agreed to support the deal.
• Return of the commuters gives Go-Ahead a boost Go-Ahead, the transport giant behind the London to Kent high-speed rail service, today hailed signs of recovery in the industry and said the recession-fuelled decline in passenger numbers was now "bottoming out."
• BA in bid to halt Christmas strikeBritish Airways is to launch legal action in a last-ditch bid to halt a planned 12-day strike by its cabin crew, which threatens travel misery for a million passengers over Christmas and the New Year.

Nottingham Evening Post

• Smart ticketing to be upgraded in Nottingham SMART ticketing is to be made available to more bus passengers in Nottingham. The Government today announced Nottingham as one of nine major urban cities which can bid for a share of £20m for smart and integrated tickets over the next five years.
• Gelding bus plugs to remain - but could be opened off-peak CONTROVERSIAL bus-only routes in Gedling are set to be reopened to traffic – but only at off-peak times. Notts County Council's ruling Tory group promised ahead of the local elections in May to scrap the so-called bus plugs and "reopen the old A612 to traffic immediately, if elected".

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Airline is expected to issue statement on funding packageLOW-COST airline Flyglobespan is expected to issue a statement today on the status of a new funding package.

Yorkshire Post

• Yorkshire trial for train and bus smartcards BUS and train passengers in Yorkshire could be using electronic smartcards instead of paper tickets within three years under Government plans to extend the technology nationwide. Transport authorities in West and South Yorkshire have been given a share of £20m to develop systems similar to London's Oyster card.

Blackpool Gazette

• Blackpool rail switch on scheduled for 2016WORK to switch the main rail route into Blackpool from diesel power to electric will be completed by 2016.

Burnley Express

• Transport police launch Operation Garland rail safety crackdown BRITISH Transport Police officers in Lancashire will be out in force to give train passengers silent nights this Christmas.

C.N.N.

• Advice for travelers affected by BA strikeBritish Airways announced Tuesday it is seeking an injunction to prevent a strike by cabin crew from going ahead over the busy holiday period.

Washington Post

• GM chief promises to repay bailout DETROIT -- Fourteen days after taking the helm as chief executive of General Motors, Edward E. Whitacre Jr. said the giant automaker, which went through a major bankruptcy restructuring earlier this year, plans to repay loans from the U.S. and Canadian governments by the end of June.

Railnews

• Speculation grows about future of East Coast between Edinburgh and Glasgow The RMT union said it will oppose what it claims are DfT plans to withdraw East Coast services between Edinburgh and Glasgow in 2011. The proposal was revealed in a briefing by managers, according to the union. However, the DfT said no decision had been taken about services on the route.
• News: More electrification for north west, but DfT backtracks on rolling stock plan The Transport Secretary Andrew Adonis has announced more electrification in the north west of England, but he has also admitted that the rolling stock plan which had been repeatedly promised for this autumn has been postponed.
• News: Virgin plans to double Glasgow service during aircrew strikes Virgin Trains is planning to double its service between Glasgow and London after British Airways cabin crew said they would be striking over Christmas.

Aviation Industry

• Southampton Airport rewards first-class serviceThe stars of Southampton Airport have been recognised for providing first-class service to customers at the first ever Breeze Through Awards ceremony.

Other News Sources

• Boris Johnson issues new Crossrail development proposals The mayor of London has issued revised proposals regarding financial contributions to and the development planning of Crossrail.
• Eurotunnel chooses Alcatel-Lucent for comms upgrade Eurotunnel has selected Alcatel-Lucent to modernise the communications infrastructure in the Channel Tunnel.
• BA's £500m strike bill may destroy airlineThe Christmas plans of a million British Airways passengers were in ruins last night after the airline's cabin crew voted to strike
• Toyota test drives hybrid carJapanese car giant Toyota has introduced a plug-in version of its Prius petrol-electric hybrid vehicle. Approximately 600 units will be introduced in Japan, the US and Europe over the first half of 2010 for use by governments and businesses.

News from Europe

• Deutsche Bahn gets green light for Eurotunnel useThe German railway Deutsche Bahn can run its high-speed trains through the Channel Tunnel, the head of the Eurotunnel group said in a press report on Wednesday, increasing the chances of more competition in European rail service.
• CEVA link approved SWITZERLAND: Voters in the Swiss canton of Genève have backed the provision of an extra SFr113m required to go ahead with the CEVA project to link the city's main Cornavin station with Eaux Vives station, terminus of a 6 km line from Annemasse in France which will be modernised and partially covered over.

Other Subscription Services

• Norway and Singapore take lead in emissions debateTalks aimed at breaking deadlock over target for marine bunker fuels.