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

Friday, 02 April 2010

BBC News

• RMT 'still has confidence' over strikes [Today Programme- Audio]A planned four day national rail strike has been called off after it was challenged in the High Court.
• Tube staff 'ageing', managers' document says Tube managers have described their workforce as "ageing and entrenched" with a "blinkered view of reality" in a document seen by BBC London.
• First steps on people's bridgeThe £5m Pont y Werin bridge linking Cardiff Bay and Penarth has been completed.
• The 2.5 metre 'smallest cycle lane' gets short shriftCyclists dub road markings 2.5m long
• Virgin Blue to buy new aircraftAustralian airline Virgin Blue says it will buy up to 105 new aircraft from manufacturer Boeing in its biggest single order.
• Vow to re-run rail strike ballotA planned national rail strike by the RMT union is called off after Network Rail challenges it in the High Court.
• Motorists hit by fuel duty riseMotoring organisations predict petrol prices could hit a record over Easter after fuel duty rises by one penny a litre.
• Daimler admits worldwide briberyGerman carmaker Daimler pleads guilty to US corruption charges and agrees to pay $185m (£121m) to settle the case.

Department for Transport

• New rules to help reduce road worksNew guidance to make sure that companies who dig up the road replace it properly - reducing the risk of potholes forming - was published today by Transport Minister Sadiq Khan.

Financial Times

• Stalemate over return of O’Toole to Tube Lines Efforts by the company that maintains track and trains on some of London Underground’s busiest lines to recruit the underground’s former managing director as chief executive have reached a stalemate.
• Daimler pays $185m to settle bribery caseA US court gave the green light for Daimler to pay $185m in fines as part of a deal to settle bribery charges brought by the Justice Department and SEC against the German car and truck maker
• Network Rail wins halt to strikesThe threat of the first national rail strike in 16 years was averted after a High Court judge issued an injunction barring signallers from staging a series of strikes next week.
• Virgin Blue to buy up to 105 Boeing 737sAustralia's second largest airline has agreed to buy up to 105 Boeing 737 aircraft in its most significant fleet upgrade since its launch a decade ago

The Guardian

• Tube Lines boss's arrival in doubt after Transport for London row The surprise return of the former head of London Underground to run the tube's last surviving public-private partnership contractor has stalled amid accusations of a lack of support from the capital's mayor, Boris Johnson. Tim O'Toole, who quit LU abruptly last year, has agreed a contract as chief executive of Tube Lines, but the appointment is in peril because he cannot reach an accord with Johnson and his transport authority, Transport for London.
• Judge blocks national rail strike¢ Passengers spared chaos of four-day walkout¢ Gordon Brown avoids risk of strike on day election calledMillions of commuters have been spared the chaos of a national rail strike next week, and Gordon Brown has avoided further political embarrassment, after the high court blocked a walkout.Network Rail argued that a signallers' ballot was riddled with irregularities and should be ruled unlawful. Mrs Justice Sharp granted an injunction against the Rail Maritime and Transport union today, stopping a crippling four-day strike by 5,800 staff starting next Tuesday “ the day the prime minister could...

The Herald

• Rail strikes are called off after court injunctionAn injunction preventing the first national rail strike in 16 years going ahead was granted by the High Court in London yesterday after evidence of widespread irregularities in a ballot of signallers.
• Island flights to resume after dealAir services between Oban and the islands of Tiree, Coll and Colonsay will resume on Tuesday with a new operator following the demise of Inverness-based Highland Airways last week.

The Independent

• Ryanair raises full-year profit guidance to at least €310m Ryanair boosted its annual profit forecast yesterday thanks to a spate of bookings at higher-than-expected prices in late February and March.
• Rail strike off, but there's still travel misery ahead A four-day national strike that would have brought the rail network to a halt on the day the general election is due to be called was cancelled yesterday after being ruled unlawful.

The Telegraph

• Ryanair raises profits guidance as bookings soar Ryanair has raised its full-year profits guidance thanks to better-than-expected bookings and average fares in the run-up to the Easter break.
• Transport chaos averted as judge outlaws signallers' strike Four days of transport chaos have been averted after the High Court granted Network Rail an injunction blocking a walkout by 5,800 signallers.

Times Online

• Toyota™s sales accelerate at home despite global recall of 8.5m vehiclesToyota™s Japanese dealerships sold nearly 40 per cent more cars in March than in February, suggesting that the carmaker™s domestic image has comfortably survived the global recall of 8.5 million vehicles, a string of class-action lawsuits and a grilling by members of the United States Congress.
• Ryanair raises profit forecast for third time as rivals wait for a tail windRyanair indicated yesterday that the worst recession to hit the global aviation industry may be easing as the budget carrier increased its profit forecast for a third time.
• Relief for passengers and a reprieve for Brown as judge halts national rail strikeA High Court judge rescued the travel plans of millions of Easter holidaymakers and commuters returning to work next week by granting an emergency injunction against a national rail strike that threatened to halt 80 per cent of trains.

Network Rail

• NETWORK RAIL ANNOUNCES EXTENSION OF TRACK RENEWAL CONTRACTS
• RAIL TUNNEL IN CORNWALL NAMED IN TRIBUTE OF SPERRITT
• NETWORK RAIL SUCCESSSFULLY INJUNCTS RAIL STRIKE

Edinburgh Evening News

• Tram tax: 'It is difficult to make the case for large sums'IT is not surprising in the current economic downturn that the council has made little progress in getting anywhere near its target in raising developer contributions to help
• Hotels plan derailed by 'trams tax'A PLAN for two hotels on Leith Walk is in doubt amid a row about the amount the developer should pay towards the tram project.

Liverpool Post

• Easyjet demands John Lennon Airport security investment LIVERPOOL John Lennon airport’s biggest customer has demanded it tackles security delays – which it claims cause dozens to miss flights every day.

London Evening Standard

• Easter train strike off as rail union ballot ruled unlawfulThe rail strike that was set to cause chaos for millions of passengers was called off this afternoon. A High Court judge granted a last-minute injunction against the walkout after ruling that the action was unlawful.

Manchester Evening News

• £42m scheme to expand city bus lanes gets go ahead A £42million scheme to massively extend bus lanes across Greater Manchester has been given the green light by the government. The plans “ which also include the controversial pedestrianisation of a half-mile stretch of Oxford Road in Manchester city centre “ were approved by transport minister Sadiq Khan yesterday.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Rail passengers™ seven-hour ordealA passenger on board a train stranded by heavy snow yesterday spoke about her seven-hour ordeal in the Highlands.
• Rail-strike ban ˜may result in worse dispute™Rail travellers were warned last night that court action which succeeded in outlawing rail strikes due to start on Tuesday could result in more bitter and prolonged disputes.

The York Press

• York rail headquarters decision to be discussed next week YORK™S case for remaining as the headquarters for one of the UK™s most crucial rail routes is to be thrashed out next week.

Burnley Express

• Metal thieves cause nine hours of East Lancashire rail chaos SCRAP metal thieves brought nine hours of chaos to East Lancashire train services after ripping out 100 metres of copper signalling cable.

Doncaster Free Press

• Crackdown on the railways this EasterBRITISH Transport Police is launching a crackdown on children playing on the railways this Easter.

Other Regional Press

• MP's bid to stop private parking firms 'fleecing' motoristsMAKE sure it's only the Easter Bunny you get something from this Bank Holiday weekend – and not an
• High court slashes rail strike in half after accusations of ballot irregularitiesKent braces itself for a week of travel chaos as strikes threaten to bring the county's train network to a grinding halt.

Railnews

• News: Rail strikes called off after judge rejects RMT ballot A High Court judge has ruled that a strike ballot held by the RMT was invalid, which means that next week's walkouts by signallers have been cancelled. The action would have involved two 4-hour strikes each day, between 06.00-10.00 and 18.00-22.00, in a dispute over flexible rostering.

Aviation Industry

• Ryanair lifts full-year profit expectation to €310 million
• Bombardier fiscal-year profit falls 31%Bombardier reported net income of C$707 million ($696 million) for its fiscal year ended Jan. 31, down 31.1% from C$1.03 billion in the prior fiscal year, blaming a

Green Miscellany

• Pimp my Segway: the electric bike with added style Designer Erik Lanuza has designed a stylish electric bike based on the self-balancing technology pioneered by Segway. The Taurus allows the rider to sit astride a motorcycle-style seat rather than stand as is the case with the Segway Personal Transporter. read more

Other News Sources

• DB takes over Tyne & Wear Metro UK: DB Regio Tyne & Wear Ltd formally took over responsibility for operating the local electric network around Newcastle and Sunderland on April 1. The concession agreement runs for seven years with an optional two-year extension, with regional transport authority Nexus paying the Deutsche Bahn subsidiary a fee based on meeting service quality and revenue protection targets.
• Tube stations ’a muggers’ paradise’ ELDERLY people will be too scared to travel if the Mayor of London presses ahead with proposals to close Tube station ticket offices, Labour leaders have warned.
• Traders angry at station revamp TRADERS fear their profits will be hit by the £3.5 million revamp of Kidderminster Railway Station. Although council bosses hailed the plans as vital for the future of travel in the town, business owners have slammed changes to the road system in Comberton Hill.
• Professor Stuart Cole Gives Evidence to the Inquiry into Funding Road InfrastructureToday Professor Stuart Cole is today giving evidence to the National Assembly for Wales Finance Committee who are looking at the national roads programme. Professor Cole’s evidence and the briefing note cover the economic, social and environmental evaluation process for transport schemes. It provides the committee with a guide to the full appraisal process used by the WAG (called WelTAG – Welsh Transport Appraisal and Planning Guidance). It also puts this into the governance context and shows how the objective process is then reformed by the political agenda being pursue...
• Recent trading to boost Ryanair's profitsA rush of bookings at higher prices in the last month will boost Ryanair™s annual profits by at least £22 million, the airline has claimed.
• Ford to fit Hohm in electric carsFord is to use new web-based software from Microsoft that it claims will make electric-vehicle ownership more affordable.
• New road-air option for US-Europe shippersCon-way links with TNT to expand intercontinental solutions
• Box sector still cautious on outlookAsia's container industry leaders talk of a 'new normal' with overall slower growth
• Database to rate airline safety MONTREAL - THE International Civil Aviation Organization pressed on Thursday for a new safety data sharing system to help reduce aircraft accidents worldwide and give travellers better information on carriers' safety records.
• Rail strike would cause "immense damage" - court claimsA four day national rail strike would cause "immense damage" to the British economy, the High Court in London was told today (April 1). read more

News from Europe

• Northland Resources S.A.: Swedish Government to Co-finance Rail to Northland Project AreaLUXEMBOURG Northland Resources S.A. Northland is pleased to advise that the Swedish Government has announced the decision of the Cabinet to co-finance an 18 km rail line from Northland's proposed industrial area in Kaunisvaara, Sweden to the existing rail link at Akesjokisuu, Finland.