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

Thursday, 08 April 2010

BBC News

• British Airways and Iberia sign merger agreement British Airways and Spanish airline Iberia have signed a deal to merge and create one of the world's biggest airline groups.
• Heathrow told to improve manoeuvre warnings for pilots A report into a runway accident at Heathrow Airport involving two packed passenger planes has called for a tightening of procedures.
• Rail route 'could harm Northamptonshire battle site' Concerns have been raised over the route for the high-speed rail link which goes through a battlefield site in the South Northants constituency.
• Rail talks end without agreementTalks between ScotRail and the RMT to avert a strike by Scots rail workers end without agreement.
• Union to plan rail strike ballotPlans for a fresh national strike ballot among thousands of rail workers will be drawn up by union leaders.
• US car giant GM posts $4.3bn lossUS car giant General Motors reports a $4.3bn net loss for the period in 2009 after it emerged from bankruptcy.
• Car giants agree three-way tie-upNissan and Renault are to take a 3.1% stake in Daimler as part of a global tie-up of the three carmakers.
• Lufthansa pilots call off strikePilots at Lufthansa, Europe's biggest airline, have called off a four-day strike planned for next week.
• BA and Unite union resume talksTalks between British Airways and the Unite union aimed at resolving the cabin crew strike have resumed, Unite says.
• Two US airlines 'in merger talks'Two of the main airlines in the US, United and US Airways, are discussing a possible merger, reports say.

Financial Times

• AA patrols vote for first strike in its 105-year historyIndustrial action is a possibility in protest at plans to restructure the company's final salary pension scheme
• United and US Airways resume merger talksUS Airwaysand the parent of United Airlines have resumed talks about a merger between the two carriers, returning to a possible combination that the pair last discussed in earnest two years ago

The Herald

• Travellers face more rail strikes after talks collapseA fresh wave of strikes over ScotRail™s plans for a driver-only service with no conductors on the Airdrie “ Bathgate line will begin on Monday after talks at conciliation service Acas ended without resolution yesterday.
• Anger over payoff for scandal-hit SPT chiefThe former head of a crisis-hit ­transport body is to receive a £60,000 payoff as the organisation attempts to draw a line under a damaging expenses scandal.
• Forth Ports bosses could receive £1.1m takeover windfallDirectors and managers at Forth Ports are in line for a £1 million-plus windfall if the company is taken over, according to the group™s annual report.

Times Online

• ˜Serious progress™ in union talks with BABritish Airways will be spared a third round of strikes next week after the Unite union reported œserious progress during talks over changes to working practices.
• Road workers paint white line across 3ft wide pothole Council workers who were sent to renew the white lines along a busy road in Birmingham stuck to their task when they came across a 3ft pothole. Instead of having it repaired they just painted over it. Tina Mullins, 33, a resident, said: “The council should be doing something about it — not painting over them. Do they think we wouldn’t notice?”

Reuters News

• BA March traffic hit by cabin crew strikesLONDON (Reuters) - British Airways carried 11.4 percent fewer passengers in March year-on-year, hit by seven days of strikes which could cost the carrier nearly $70 million, and added its merger with Spanish airline Iberia was on track.

Daily Express

• BA strikes cost airline up to £45mSTRIKES by British Airways cabin crew last month cost the airline up to £45million and caused an 11.4 per cent fall in passenger numbers.

Network Rail

• LUTON BRIDGE UPGRADE BRINGS LONGER TRAINS A STEP CLOSER

Birmingham Post

• Birmingham rail passengers' views sought on Chiltern Railways upgrade Train passengers are being urged to comment on draft timetables put forward for the £250m upgraded Chiltern Railways route from Birmingham to London.

Liverpool Echo

• More trains laid on for Aintree Grand National days GRAND National racegoers are being urged to travel by public transport.

London Evening Standard

• New car sales continue to riseNew car sales will show another healthy rise when official figures for March 2010 are published.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• First under fire over late busesBuses in Aberdeen operated by transport company First are among the least punctual in the UK, a public inquiry heard yesterday.

The York Press

• Three companies vying to take over Jarvis rail work A MAJOR rail company is poised to take over the jobs that Jarvis workers were meant to do.

This Is Local London Network

• Former Chiltern District Councillor hits out at High Speed 2 plan A FORMER member of a council planning committee has backed the Bucks Free Press campaign opposing a planned high speed rail link through the county.

Yorkshire Post

• Yorkshire Post Manifesto: Transport NOWHERE is the sharp injustice of Yorkshire's funding gap with the South-East more pronounced than transport.

Bucks Free Press

• Ex-councillor backs BFP High Speed campaign A FORMER member of a council planning committee has backed the Bucks Free Press campaign opposing a planned high speed rail link through the county.

Other Regional Press

• Rises put city at top of fuel price table AVERAGE petrol prices in Southampton have soared to record levels, clearing £1.20 a litre for the first time “ the highest in the country.
• All change for new-look Oxford platform THESE images of how a planned new platform at Oxford railway station could look, has been released as part of public consultation.

Forbes

• Airline Merger TalksAfter hours: United Airlines and US Airways' shares soar; Nike releases new Tiger Woods ad.

International Herald Tribune

• China Offers High Speed Rail to CaliforniaChina is poised to play a role in supplying the technology to build high-speed rail lines in California.

Green Miscellany

• Robots to refuel electric cars in minutes A fully-automated robotic battery swap service for electric cars is to be tested this month in Tokyo.read more
• Retrofit bicycle brakes do without levers The current fashion for fixed gear bicycles may be partly explained by their light weight and low maintenance, but there is also something undeniably pleasing about their simplicity of form. read more

Other News Sources

• Glimmer of hope for Kemble Swindon re-doubling rail plan A FUNDING gap that threatens vital rail improvements in Gloucestershire has narrowed, the Government has revealed.
• Bus route could ease Colchester's traffic woes A BUS route could be built alongside a stretch of Colchester’s railway. A bus lane linking Colchester Town Station and Hythe Station is being assessed, a council report reveals.
• Train companies criticise franchise reform Bashing the franchise system that replaced National Rail has long been a British pastime, and now even the franchisees have joined in. The Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC), which represents the franchises of First Group, Stagecoach, National Express, Arriva and Go-Ahead, has told the Department for Transport (DfT) its January proposal for franchise reform "falls far short of what is needed".
• Lengthened Thameslink trains may not stop at Mill Hill and Hendon warns Lib Dem candidate PLANNED longer trains on the Thameslink route may not be able to stop at two of the stations in Barnet, according to the Lib Dem parliamentary candidate for Hendon.
• Bombardier successfully delivers first Phase of Project to introduce Automated Signalling System in Delhi, IndiaDelhi Metro Line 5 officially opens, showcasing first implementation of mass transit signaling system from Bombardier.
• Solar plane completes test flightSolar Impulse HB-SIA, an emissions-free aircraft that draws its power from solar energy, has made its first test flight, climbing 1,200m after take-off from Payerne airfield, Switzerland.
• Potholes will take longer to fix under new policy driveTHE head of transport and highways at Northamptonshire County Council has defended plans to take longer to repair potholes.
• Solar Powered Wavepiercer CatOn March 31, 2010 the roof at the HDW Shipyard in Kiel, Germany slid open to reveal to the daylight the what is claimed to be the world’s largest solar powered vessel,
• First Irish Electric Vehicle Charge Points Unveiled In DublinThe charge points were unveiled in Dublin city centre and mark the beginning of a nationwide infrastructure that will revolutionise transport in Ireland. Charge points will eventually be installed in homes, on-street and along motor-ways throughout Ireland so electric cars can be powered at a wide range of accessible venues.
• Stobart to launch low cost flights from revamped airportLogistics company Stobart Group Ltd (LSE: STOB) is planning to start low cost flights to Europe and North Africa from Southend Airport near London.
• Virgin Atlantic restores scheduled flights to Las Vegas Virgin Atlantic today announced the start of direct scheduled flights to Las Vegas from Manchester.
• Sabre signs deal with BASabre Travel Network and British Airways (BA) have extended their global distribution agreement by three years. read more