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

Thursday, 17 December 2009

BBC News

• Eurostar staff to strike over pay A strike affecting cross-Channel trains is to go ahead on Friday and Saturday after negotiations between unions and Eurostar's management broke down.
• Funds promise for northern bypass An 8.7 mile (14km) northern bypass around Norwich is to get £67.5m in government backing.
• Airline's collapse strands 4,500An operation begins to get 4,500 stranded holidaymakers home after Flyglobespan, Scotland's biggest airline, collapses.

Financial Times

• Christmas travellers face more strike painTravellers faced fresh threats of transport chaos last night as Heathrow baggage handlers and Eurostar train drivers said they were ready to join British Airways cabin...
• Airline in administration after financing deal failsGlobespan, the group that owns Scotland's biggest airline, has been placed in administration, with all scheduled flights cancelled. The Edinburgh-based company has 10...
• Travel groups pledge improved snow responseLocal authorities and transport organsiations, many of which were seen to have failed to deal with bad weather last winter, insist that they are prepared for heavy snowfalls
• BA and Unite meet to avert strikeBritish Airways has offered to reopen talks with union leaders in a bid to avert a 12-day strike but is pressing ahead with its legal challenge to the union's strike ballot, which it claims was flawed
• 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
• National Express confirms Finch as chiefBus and rail operator ends months of uncertainty by confirming the appointment of the head of Tube Lines as chief executive of the group

The Guardian

• London Undergound upgrades: PPP arbiter finds costs "much closer" to London Underground's estimate than to Tube Lines's says TfL Now there's a catchy headline. Best, perhaps, at this time in the morning - as I juggle understanding the complexities of public sector investment disputes with scouring the house for a safety pin to hold my seven year-old's school Christmas concert outfit together* - if I just quote from TfL's press release and augment as the day goes on. Here's the meat of it:
• BA and Unite talks deadlocked as Gordon Brown turns on the heat PM urges quick resolution as Unite says strike necessary but 12 days 'probably over the top'

The Herald

• Airport rail link row set to flare up again The political row over the decision to axe an airport railway is likely to resurface again when MSPs debate the Scottish Government's Budget.
• Plans to harness wave power off Shetland IslandsA joint venture has been announced to develop the first wave-power project off a remote group of Scottish islands.
• Verdict approaches over BA Christmas strikeThe results of British Airways™ last-ditch legal bid to prevent 12-days of crippling strikes over Christmas is set to be announced by a High Court judge on Thursday afternoon.
• Baggage strike brings further misery for Scots travellersAirport baggage handlers and check-in staff are to bring further misery to Scottish travellers with a series of strikes over Christmas, union Unite has announced.
• Flyglobespan placed in administrationScottish airline Flyglobespan has been placed in administration.
• Another dream bites the dustFrom visions of becoming Scotland™s national airline to the latest victim of the credit crunch
• Thousands stranded and 800 lose jobs as airline goes bustThousands of airline passengers are facing travel chaos after Scotland™s largest airline, Flyglobespan, confirmed it was going into administration, with the loss of 800 jobs.

The Independent

• BA staff: we got it wrong over strikeBritish Airways cabin crew facing the grim prospect of taking part in a highly unpopular 12-day strike over Christmas have begun questioning the tactics of their union leaders.

The Scotsman

• Legal decision wait over BA strikesTalks are to resume to try to head off a 12-day strike by British Airways cabin crew, as both sides wait to hear if the High Court will grant an injunction blocking the walkou
• Passengers stranded as firm foldsA major operation to get stranded air passengers home for Christmas is under way following the collapse of airline Flyglobespan.

The Telegraph

• Paper tickets to disappear 'within five years' New technology, which would see the tickets stored on a microchip, is are intended to speed up journey times and the way in which travel is paid for.
• Tube Lines loses chief executive Dean Finch amid funding row London Underground contractor Tube Lines has lost its chief executive on the eve of a major funding announcement after National Express said it had poached Dean Finch to run the transport group.
• Eurostar latest victim of wave of transport strikes Eurostar passengers have become the latest victims of the transport winter of discontent after talks aimed at heading off a 48-hour strike by drivers collapsed.
• BA dispute: 'Former BA staff backed strike call to damage airline' Hundreds of British Airways cabin crew, who had already agreed generous redundancy packages, backed a Christmas strike purely to harm the company they were leaving, the airline claimed.

Times Online

• Thousands stranded as airline goes bustFlyglobespan, Scotland™s largest holiday charter and budget airline, has gone bust leaving 5,000 travellers stranded, 800 staff out of a job and more than 100,000 Christmas holidaymakers facing misery.
• British Airways strike up in the air, but flight prices still soarAir fares have soared by over 300 per cent on certain routes following the British Airways strike announcement this week.
• New blow for easyJet over Gatwick chargesEasyJet, the budget airline, yesterday lost the latest round of its legal battle against increased charges at Gatwick airport.
• Eurostar drivers to hold two-day strike over payDrivers on Eurostar trains will strike on Friday and Saturday, threatening disruption to services between London, Paris and Brussels after last-ditch talks to settle a pay dispute today broke down.

Press Association

• BA strike injunction action resumes The High Court hearing to decide whether British Airways should have an injunction preventing a series of crippling Christmas strikes by thousands of cabin crew has resumed.
• Boris fights government on Tube costs London Mayor Boris Johnson has put himself on a collision course with the Government over Tube costs. Mr Johnson and Transport for London (TfL) have been at loggerheads for months with Tube maintenance company Tube Lines over costs for upgrade work under the Underground's public-private partnership (PPP) plan.

Reuters News

• BA cabin crew query union tacticsLONDON (Reuters) - British Airways cabin crew who voted to strike in a dispute over job losses and changes to working practices have questioned the tactics of their union leaders, The Independent newspaper reported.

Daily Express

• Dream deal for RollsROLLS-ROYCE has announced a $170million (£105million) order for the jet engine used to power the Boeing 787 Dreamliner on its maiden flight.
• Finch takes the wheel at National ExpressNATIONAL EXPRESS yesterday appointed Tube Lines London Underground contractor boss Dean Finch to its chief executive's hot seat.

Network Rail

• LONGER TRAINS FOR HARPENDEN A STEP CLOSER WITH XMAS BRIDGE UPGRADE

Bolton News

• Buses to be diverted for roadworks ROADworks in Lostock Lane, Bolton, will mean changes to bus timetables in the area, according to Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive.
• £2m boost for travel card plans BUS and rail passengers in Bolton could soon be using Oyster-style travel cards, after Greater Manchester was given £2.2 million to develop a œsmart ticket system.
• 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.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Rail union to fight closure of crucial link UNION bosses have vowed to fight plans to close the East Coast Main Line connection between Edinburgh and Glasgow amid claims it is set to be axed.

London Evening Standard

• If Tube funding fails, then we all sufferThe row between London Underground and the remaining private consortium that maintains and upgrades the Piccadilly, Jubilee and Northern lines is anything but arcane as far as Tube users are concerned.
• Eurostar strike to begin on FridayLast-ditch talks aimed at averting a 48-hour strike by drivers and on-board staff on Eurostar trains have broken down without agreement.

Nottingham Evening Post

• Gedling bus plugs to open during off-peak CONTROVERSIAL bus-only routes in Gedling are set to be reopened to traffic – but only at off-peak times.

The York Press

• MP™s A1079 safety plea after widow dies AN MP has renewed his campaign for urgent safety improvements on a notorious stretch of the York to Hull road following the death of a woman.

Blackpool Gazette

• Christmas pledge over Fylde roadworksHIGHWAYS chiefs have defended a £1.9m road revamp in Fylde that has been causing Christmas chaos for commuters.

Chester Standard

• What do Chester residents think about the region's transportCHESTER residents have until January 13 to have their say on the region™s transport network.

The Shields Gazette

• Talks on airport's bail outCOUNCILS in the North East are holding a meeting to seek assurances that their investments in Newcastle International Airport are safe.

C.N.N.

• Air France crash report set for releaseInvestigators probing the June crash of an Air France flight off Brazil will release their second interim report Thursday with a press briefing, officials said.
• Anger, disgust, despair over BA strike threatPassengers who face having their travel plans disrupted over the holiday period have been speaking of how their hopes and dreams have been wrecked by the planned British Airways strike.

Railnews

• News: Union vows to mount 'all-out fight' against East Coast plan 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.

Other News Sources

• Passenger numbers on London Midland’s Birmingham to Liverpool service buck the downturn with 25% increaseThe number of passengers using London Midland services between Birmingham New Street and Liverpool has risen by a quarter in the last year, despite the recession.
• Passenger numbers continue to grow Passenger numbers on London Midland's new Trent Valley line service buck the downturn with continuing growth
• Crossrail Development Levy Faces Inquiry The Mayor of London Boris Johnson's proposals to secure contributions from developers towards the cost of Crossrail were restated at a public examination, which has opened at City Hall.
• Rail union protests against cuts A leading rail union will stage protests at railway stations across the country today as part of a campaign over threatened maintenance job losses, scores of them in Wigan.
• Ministers say 'yes' to Norwich by-pass Ministers yesterday threw their weight behind the case for a Norwich northern bypass by pledging up to £67.5m towards it helping to unlock the potential for thousands of new homes and jobs in the county.
• Costs of safety on new Scotrail service less than the annual pay of top director RAIL UNION RMT today demanded an immediate reversal of plans to introduce Driver Only Operation (DOO) on the new Glasgow/Edinburgh via Airdie to Bathgate route as company accounts revealed that the top boss at Scotrail earns more than the additional cost of employing guards on the trains to ensure passenger safety.
• Trains hourly from city to Waterloo at peak times TRAINS are now running hourly at peak times between Exeter St David's and London Waterloo. As part of South West Trains winter timetable change, the new service also provide faster journey times between the two stations, as well as an improved weekday late-night service.
• BA strike victims face travel insurance blowBritish Airways passengers left reeling by strikes over Christmas received another blow as travel insurers warned they may not get compensation
• Air fares soar by 40% as BA rivals cash inAirlines are profiting from the BA strike threat by ratcheting up ticket prices on Christmas flights by 40% and more
• BA chief turns to courts to halt strikeBritish Airways boss Willie Walsh urged cabin crew not to 'ruin a million Christmases' yesterday as he launched a dramatic court gamble to ban their planned 12-day strike
• Biofuel studyNorthumbria University has teamed up with Newcastle-based proteomics software firm, Nonlinear Dynamics, in a three-year project that could lead to a breakthrough in the production of biofuels.
• Cyclists given wheel boostA new bicycle wheel, developed by researchers at MIT, can store energy every time the rider puts on the brakes, and then give that power back to provide a boost when going uphill or to add a burst of speed in traffic.
• Judge prepares to rule on BA strikeA decision in the legal action brought by British Airways in a bid to prevent a series of crippling Christmas strikes is expected to be given by a High Court judge on Thursday afternoon.

News from Europe

• Portuguese high speed contract awarded PORTUGAL: On December 12 the Ministry of Public Works, Transport & Communications announced that the Elos consortium had been awarded a 40-year concession to build, finance and maintain the first section of the high speed line between Lisboa and the Spanish frontier, the 165 km between Poceirão and the border at Caia.

Other Subscription Services

• Maersk’s Andersen backs fuel price increasesMove will remove inefficient tonnage and improve shipping’s emissions.