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

Saturday, 13 February 2010

BBC News

• Petite driver's 'miracle' escapeA pregnant woman believes her height of 4ft 11in saved her when a steel girder ripped through her car.
• Driver chased couple for 14 milesA tyre fitter from Anglesey is given a suspended prison sentence for a road rage incident involving a young couple.
• Eurostar 'hell'Mother tells of 'dreadful' train trip after breakdown
• E-Clear cash used for another companyA credit card company linked to FlyGlobespan's collapse by withholding £35m lent cash to another firm, the BBC discovers.
• Airport code for secret proposalsPassengers who plan to propose on holiday can request a private search in Manchester Airport to ensure the ring is not revealed.
• Tube strike suspended after talksA series of planned 24-hour strikes by Tube maintenance workers in a row over rosters is suspended.
• Higher fares for wrong Oyster useThousands of commuters are using their Oyster cards incorrectly since its introduction on mainland services last month.
• Volkswagen recalls cars in BrazilVolkswagen recalls nearly 200,000 cars in Brazil because of a potential rear wheel problem that could cause them to fall off.
• Woman loses BA cross appealA Christian BA employee loses an appeal against a ruling which allowed the airline to stop her wearing a cross at work.
• Falling sales hit Michelin profitFrench tyre manufacturer Michelin reports a sharp slump in full-year profits for 2009 as sales fell during the global downturn.
• Rebuilding SaabNew owner explains how he will fix the carmaker
• Eurostar snow delays criticisedEurostar comes in for tough criticism over its handling of the crisis that severely disrupted its services before Christmas.
• Toyota recalls 8,000 US vehiclesToyota is to recall 8,000 Tacoma pick-up trucks in the US due to concerns about front drive shafts.

Financial Times

• Contain your enthusiasmQuarterly losses from Neptune Orient Lines, south-east Asia's largest container carrier, are appearing with near-metronomic regularity
• Passenger rescue should have been quickerEurostar Q&A: What went wrong
• Eurostar falls short on emergency plansThe group that runs passenger trains between London, Paris and Brussels was 'found wanting' in its response to the December breakdown of five trains, investigators have concluded
• Eurostar vows to improve after tunnel rapThe company chief pledged to implement all the recommendations of a review that strongly criticised maintenance standards and handling of breakdowns that stranded 2,400 people for hours
• Norwegian shipping lines win back-tax caseThe country's supreme court overturns $3.6bn in retroactive tonnage taxes in a landmark victory for the maritime sector, which had been fighting Oslo for more than two years over the measures

The Guardian

• Eurostar had 'no plan' to deal with delays¢ Company had no coping plan for tunnel breakdown¢ Staff service appalling, with one car 'an open toilet'With its staff

The Herald

• BA suspends 15 cabin crew British Airways has suspended 15 cabin crew while it investigates claims of intimidation against employees volunteering to work in the event of a strike.
• Eurostar attacked over transport meltdownA damning indictment of the causes and handling of Eurostar's pre-Christmas rail chaos - when thousands of passengers were stuck for hours in the Channel Tunnel - was handed down in an independent report today.

The Telegraph

• Police unable to save girl from icy river because of health and safety A girl fighting for her life after a car she was travelling in plunged into an ice-cold river was not rescued for almost two hours because health and safety rules prevented police from entering the water.
• Airport comes up with code to avoid uncovering engagement rings on Valentine's Day Airport security workers have come up with a code system to avoid uncovering engagement rings in the run-up to Valentine's Day.

Times Online

• Explorer finds evidence of early waterway from Atlantic to PacificHailed by some as the eighth wonder of the world, the Panama Canal is one of the greatest engineering achievements. It took more than 20 years and cost the lives of more than 27,000 workers. It was the culmination of a dream that began more than 400 years earlier to create a water passage between the Atlantic and Pacific.
• Analysis: Eurostar needs to up its gameSweethearts taking the train to the world™s self-proclaimed capital of romance this weekend are sure to boost Eurostar™s traffic, but our love affair with the rail operator has been a slow burner.
• Toyota links to US highway agency revealedUS investigations into the recall crisis at Toyota took a sharp turn last night as it emerged the Japanese motor giant hired former federal vehicle safety agents who may have been instrumental in preventing previous inquiries into the car company.
• Spyker set to list in London after buying SaabSpyker, the Dutch maker of supercars, is set to follow up its audacious acquisition of Saab, the ailing Swedish motor manufacturer, with the news that it wants to float the enlarged company on the London Stock Exchange.
• Eurostar 'lacked working evacuation plan' for tunnel chaosAn independent review has criticised evacuation attempts by emergency crews who struggled to remove five stranded Eurostar trains from the Channel Tunnel in December. It demanded an œurgent review of evacuation procedures and made a number of technical recommendations to ensure that Eurostar trains did not suffer the same breakdowns caused by melting snow and condensation inside the tunnel.
• O™Leary faces lawsuit over attack on easyJet founderThe two barons of the European budget airline industry are to see each other in court after Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, the founder of easyJet, yesterday instructed Schillings, the libel lawyers, to serve a writ on Michael O™Leary, the chief executive of Ryanair.

Daily Express

• EasyJet in legal spatTHE founder of budget airline easyJet has threatened to sue rival Ryanair over an advertising campaign that claims easyJet has been

The Mirror

• British Airways: Profits before lives is a gamble that no one should takeThe heroic British Airways pilot whose Boeing 777 crash-landed at Heathrow two years’ ago spoke this week of how his flying skills helped avoid hundreds of deaths.

ATOC

• NEW DEAL SET TO SAVE MILLIONS IN RAIL INDUSTRY COSTSTrain operating companies will benefit from savings of more than £1million every year thanks to a new deal struck between the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) and HSBC Merchant Services.
• MAYOR AND TRAIN COMPANIES GET DOWN TO BUSINESSThe Mayor of London Boris Johnson and senior representatives of the train companies serving Greater London have pledged to continue to work together to improve services for the capital™s rail passengers. At a summit meeting in City Hall the parties followed up the successful negotiations that saw Oyster ticketing extended to National Rail services by deciding on an agenda for further improvements.

Network Rail

• PIONEERING RAIL TECHNOLOGY GETS TESTED IN WALES
• NEW RAIL LINK PROGRESSES WITH TWIN BRIDGE WORKS

Belfast Telegraph

• O’Leary facing libel action from easyJet boss over ad Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary is to face libel proceedings over an advert which poked fun at a rival airline boss by depicting him as Pinocchio.

Birmingham Mail

• Police divers in submerged car rescue took 97 minutes to drive to scene.POLICE said it would have been too dangerous for untrained officers to try to rescue Gabrielle Grady despite her spending almost two hours in the freezing River Avon.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Drivers face new surge in speed cameras A new wave of speed cameras is set to hit Bradford in a bid to curtail the district™s biggest road menace.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Work on Llandudno's Maesdu Bridge three weeks behind scheduleBAD weather has seen work on a busy Llandudno bridge fall three weeks behind schedule.

Liverpool Echo

• MIXED PUBLIC VIEWS ON BUS LANE ENFORCEMENTLUCY SEELEY, 27, Wirral:

Liverpool Post

• 8,000 bus lane fines in a monthCITY motorists have been hit with more than 8,500 fines for driving in bus lanes in the past month.

London Evening Standard

• Prince Andrew hits policeman as he drives into Buckingham PalacePrince Andrew is being investigated by police after he hit an officer in his car at Buckingham Palace
• 2012 Olympics chiefs to turn off red traffic lightsOlympics chiefs propose radical measures to reduce congestion on London’s roads during the Games
• Boris Johnson plans Zone Seven for suburbs transport network'Zone seven' could be added to allow train passengers to use Oyster cards to travel to and from stations surrounding the capital
• Eurostar rapped in breakdown reportThe extent of Eurostar failures and the

Metro

• Eurostar rapped in breakdown reportThe extent of Eurostar failures and the

The News (Portsmouth)

• Ex-staff sought as car site returns to business once moreTHE new owners of a car dealership which went spectacularly bust are calling on its former employees to come and work for them.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Bus users to get electronic card readersDUNDEE bus users are to see new technology on the vehicles in the coming week.
• Bridge of Keig closes amid fearsOne of the most historic bridges on Donside has been closed over fears the nationally important grade A listed landmark could be in danger of collapse after recent severe weather.
• Operation starts to remove crashed trainA MAJOR operation is being mounted over this weekend to recover the locomotive and remaining wagons from the goods train that crashed off the track at Carrbridge Station at the beginning of January.
• Expected chaos is ˜necessary evil™The traffic chaos expected when six weeks of roadworks start at Arbroath next week has been labelled a œnecessary evil by a community group.

Wales Online

• US Ryder Cup team will fly into Cardiff airport after dealTHE US Ryder Cup team will fly into Cardiff Airport when they arrive in the UK for this year’s tournament.

Burnley Express

• Huge Pendle cycling contest plans spark villagers' angerFURIOUS residents and farmers have spoken out against plans to hold the National Cycle Road Race Championships in Pendle this year.

Northants Evening Telegraph

• Residents back road campaign People in Irchester have backed a residents' campaign against chicanes on a village road.
• Northamptonshire's buses will be cut unless used moreUp to 14 bus services in the north of Northamptonshire could be cut if people do not start using them more.
• Driver is first in Northamptonshire to be sentenced for death by careless under Alexine's LawThe first motorist in Northamptonshire charged with causing death by careless driving, following the introduction of 'Alexine's Law', has been sentenced.

Peterborough Telegraph

• Pensioner riding same bike after 57 yearsA 73-year-old caretaker from Cambridgeshire says he is still riding the Raleigh bicycle he bought for £18 in 1953.

Reading Evening Post

• Bus company’s £80,000 profit – despite the snow Reading Buses has motored its way through the treacherous winter weather to profits of £80,000.

Other Regional Press

• Bus workers call off threat of strike STRIKE action at Oxford Bus Company has been averted after drivers, engineers and office staff voted to accept a new two-year pay deal.
• Video: Eurostar report is a 'startling read'An independent report into the chaos on Eurostar before Christmas has found evacuation and rescue procedures were not up to scratch.
• First it was an amfibus that broke down ... now an inflatable is floated as the next Renfrew FerryBelieve it or not, but this tiny craft could replace the doomed Renfrew Ferry, due to be axed next month.
• Eurostar report to call for more rescue trainsMore rescue trains, better communications and improved œsnow-proofing of trains are expected to be recommended in an independent inquiry report today into the pre-Christmas Eurostar debacle.

International Herald Tribune

• Business Briefing | Finance: European Investment Bank Clears Loan for SaabThe European Investment Bank approved a loan of 400 million euros ($543 million) Friday to the automaker Saab Automobile.
• Toyota Says More Models Might Get Fix for AccelerationThe automaker’s woes, including potential problems with its Tacoma truck, continue as multiple Congressional hearings draw near.
• Eurostar Criticized for Winter BreakdownsA review into the troubles that halted Eurostar traffic for several days in December found the company and the tunnel operator were unprepared for winter weather.
• China Sees Growth Engine in a Web of Fast TrainsIn China, 42 high-speed rail lines have opened or are set to open by 2012; the U.S. hopes to build its first high-speed line by 2014.

Washington Post

• 'Toyota Way' was lost on road to phenomenal worldwide growth TOKYO -- Toyota separated itself from all other carmakers by immersing its workers in

Railnews

• News: Breaking news: three main factors identified as contributing to Eurostar crisis Three main areas which need improvement are being explained at a major Eurostar media briefing in London today. The results of the independent review into the pre-Christmas crisis are being unveiled, as Eurostar continues to struggle with its bid to restore confidence.
• News: Breaking news: French inspector spells out engineering improvements for Eurostars Eurostar trains are to be the subject of a range of engineering improvements, following the pre-Christmas crisis in which more than 2,000 passengers were trapped on five trains inside the Channel Tunnel. Transport inspector and SNCF director Claude Gressier, one of the two men leading Eurostar's independent review, has been telling today's key media briefing at St Pancras that protection of electronic components is a priority. Maintenance procedures have also come under the spotlight.
• News: Eurostar crisis verdict: ''This must not happen again'' One of the two leaders of the Eurostar independent review made a plea to both Eurostar and Eurotunnel as the results of the inquiry into the pre-Christmas crisis, in which 2,000 passengers were stranded, were being made public today.

Railway Gazette

• Eurostar accepts multiple failings EUROPE: The findings of the independent review commissioned to look into the collapse of Eurostar cross-Channel services during the severe snowstorms on December 18-19 were announced in London on February 12. Following pressure from the French transport minister Dominique Bussereau, Eurostar had asked former GNER Chief Executive Chris Garnett and Ingénieur-Général des Ponts et Chaussées Claude Gressier to investigate the failure of five trains inside the Channel Tunnel, the subsequent evacuation and suspension of services, and the lessons that needed to be learned to prevent a recurrence. ...

Aviation Industry

• UN agrees to new aircraft standards, but UK plans for airport noise fall short of the markTim has spent the fortnight at the eighth plenary meeting of the UN™s body on aviation and environment “ the Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP) of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) “ where he has been representing a coalition of environmental NGOs from around the world. Aircraft standards have dominated the discussion, and, [...]
• UK union says British Airways suspended 15 crew members for Facebook commentsBritain's largest union says British Airways PLC has suspended 15 cabin crew members because they allegedly posted inappropriate comments on their Facebook pages.
• EasyJet in legal spatTHE founder of budget airline easyJet has threatened to sue rival Ryanair over an advertising campaign that claims easyJet has been 'hiding' punctuality statistics because they are worse than those of Ryanair.
• Flybe to launch Bournemouth-ManchesterFrom May 27, Flybe will start offering flights between sister airports Manchester and Bournemouth. The flights will run every day except Saturdays. read more

Green Miscellany

• Intelligent bicycle light senses approaching traffic The Firefly bicycle light uses a passive Infrared sensor to detect vehicles approaching from behind “ the closer they get the brighter it shines. Its other clever trick is that it uses a set of white LEDs to illuminate the rider™s back and the road beneath the bike.read more

Other News Sources

• Motorist makes legal historyThe first motorist in Northamptonshire convicted of causing death by careless driving was banned from driving for two years.
• £2.5M annual bill to repair humpback bridgesBritish Waterways is paying £2.5M a year to repair damage to historic humpback bridges caused by cars.
• Midlands designated Low Carbon Economic AreaThe Midlands has been named a Low Carbon Economic Area after its automotive industry received a £19 million funding boost to research and develop low carbon vehicles.
• £400m funding boost for renewables under Lib DemsThe Liberal Democrats have committed to spending £400 million on upgrading UK ports if they win the general election.
• Green light for Stena ro-ro projectNew terminal near Cairnryan will cut crossing time to Belfast
• Hereford railway crossing still causing fears PEOPLE living in Moretonon- Lugg are still concerned that a level crossing is not working properly - just weeks after a woman died in the village.
• American and JAL officially file for anti-trustAmerican Airlines and Japan Airlines (JAL) have submitted an application to the US Department of Transportation (DOT) seeking anti-trust immunity to form...
• Gatwick Airport passenger numbers down in JanuarySevere weather conditions affected the number of travellers passing through Gatwick Airport in January.The airport has released figures which show a decrease of 5.4 per cent in the number of passengers using the facility last month compared to the same time last year.However, despite the many days of disruption 1.87 million passengers used Gatwick Airport during the month.Compared to last year, the number of passengers using Gatwick Airport decreased for nearly all destinations, with flights to North America being particularly affected. The number of passengers taking scheduled flights to Eur...
• Edinburgh Airport to connect Scotland with MarrakechEdinburgh Airport has announced the creation of a new route which will connect Scotland with Marrakech for the first time.Ryanair is set to launch the service between Edinburgh Airport and the Moroccan city from May this year. The move is part of a wide ranging expansion plan from Ryanair at the airport. It was also announced this week that a flight will soon run between Edinburgh Airport and Kaunus in Lithuania.Gordon Dewar, managing director of Edinburgh Airport, said that the new routes highlight that it is "quickly becoming Scotland's airport of choice".Michael O'Leary, from Ryan...
• French unions fight port movesFRANCE™S national ports and docks federation today started further industrial action in response to government port changes.
• Shipping hails Norway rulingNORWAY™S Supreme Court has ruled against the government's changes to its tonnage tax system and attempts to make shipping companies pay tax on reserves.
• 12/02/2010 - Weekly newsletter Energy and Transport in Europe
• Black cabs to run on hydrogen in time for OlympicsBlack cabs run by fuel cells are to put to use across the capital in time for the Olympics.
• Midlands awarded low carbon vehicle research fundThe Midlands has been awarded a multi-million pound fund in order to develop low carbon vehicles.
• Ford saves thousands of bumpers from landfillCar manufacturer Ford saved thousands of car bumpers from landfill and scrap sites last year.
• Scrappage scheme drives interest in green cars British drivers are using the scrappage scheme to buy fuel-efficient vehicles, new statistics show.
• Smartcar revealed as emissions 'champion' Smartcar has refined its smart fortwo model, allowing it to retain its champion status of having the lowest carbon dioxide emissions worldwide.
• Latest Honda hybrid on show in GenevaThe latest hybrid car from Honda is to be featured at the Geneva motor show.
• Construction finishes on Wells outer harbourConstruction work has been completed on a new outer harbour in Wells which port authorities hope will welcome a prosperous future into north Norfolk.
• Lotus unveil marque that returns them to Formula OneIt was last in Formula One 16 years ago - now the legendary Norfolk marque is back. In a hail of flashbulbs and in the presence of Formula One luminaries, Lotus last night unveiled its 2010 car amid anticipation and excitement at the Royal Horticultural Hall in London.
• Midlands to be eco car centre Attempts to rekindle the Midlands motor industry in a greener shade were unveiled today with a £19m cash injection from Government.
• Council urged to charge for own car parkCALLS have been made for a council to start charging its employees and councillors to park in their own car park if they are to push ahead with controversial charges for the public.
• Cold facts of £20million damage to roadsURGENT repairs to ensure Suffolk's roads are safe for motorists are needed after it was revealed a staggering £20million worth of damage was caused by the cold weather.
• Former Laing O'Rourke director to run Jarvis RailFormer Laing O™Rourke director Phillip Price has joined Jarvis as the managing director of its Rail and Plant divisions.
• Eurostar report: Disneyland train worst hitAn independent report into the breakdown of five trains in the Channel tunnel before Christmas details the "appalling" conditions endured by trapped passengers.
• Eurostar crews unpreparedCrews aboard Eurostar trains trapped in the channel tunnel on December 18 and 19 should have received better training, according to the independent review published today (February 12). read more