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

Tuesday, 11 May 2010

BBC News

• North-south Wales flights beginning again Flights between north and south Wales has resumed following a two-month break when the previous operator went into administration.
• Flax Bourton to Nailsea cycle track damaged by weeds A newly-surfaced cycle track in North Somerset is having to be repaired weeks after it was laid because weeds have started to break up the surface.
• Commuters given green enticementsA bike charity is given £750,000 to encourage commuters to use greener ways of travelling to work in Edinburgh.
• Ryanair admits ash in jet enginesRyanair admits that volcanic ash was found in the engines of two of its aircraft at Belfast City Airport over the weekend.
• Tube PPP deal a 'colossal waste'A public-private partnership (PPP) deal to upgrade the London Underground (LU) network "wasted a colossal sum of money", Mayor Boris Johnson said.
• Scottish airports hard-hit by ashBAA says passenger numbers from Scottish airports fell by more than 28% in April due to the impact of the volcanic ash.
• Car sale growth in China 'slows'The growth of car sales in China is slowing, a report by a private research group suggests.
• Box-mobileCan Lada make a comeback on British roads?
• Ash hits BAA passenger numbersUK airport operator BAA says the volcanic ash disruption cut passenger numbers by more than 20% last month.
• BA price-fixing trial collapsesThe trial of three ex-British Airways executives and one current employee on price-fixing charges collapses.
• Union urges fresh BA strike talksThe Unite union urges British Airways to hold more talks in a bid to avoid 20 days of planned cabin crew strikes.

Financial Times

• Volcano clouds air travel outlookAirlines and airport operators were yesterday counting the cost of the volcanic ash cloud that swept across Europe last month, even as they faced further disruption to...
• BA union's 20 days of strikes will hit World Cup travelA union representing British Airways cabin crew yesterday announced one of the longest walkouts the airline has faced, throwing the holiday plans and travel to the...
• Bank of China to invest $1.1bn in rail network Country's third-largest lender by assets will invest $1.1bn in a railway line as Beijing encourages state-controlled financial institutions to help pay for the world's most ambitious rail network expansion
• Watchdog turns on Virgin over case failureSir Richard Branson's airline faces a potentially expensive legal battle over the sudden collapse of a landmark criminal cartel case
• Labour rule change opens airlines to unionsChanges passed by labour officials will, in effect, lower number of votes needed to form unions and could affect carriers such as Delta and JetBlue

The Guardian

• Boris Johnson urges David Cameron to shelter London from cuts Conservative mayor of London says it is in the national interest to protect the capital from spending cuts
• BA strikes confirmedCabin crew union votes for series of four-day walkouts starting on 18 May in bitter dispute with airlineNearly 2 million British Airways passengers face 20 days of strikes including during the school half-term week after the Unite trade union called a new round of walkouts.Five-day strikes will begin on 18 May, 24 May, 30 May and 5 June. Crews will go back to work for 24 hours between each five-day block.Unite has said it is preparing to hold a further ballot of 11,000 flight attendants over the withdrawal of staff travel perks from thousands of members who joined two strikes over consecutive ...

The Herald

• Climate target may be missedScotland looks set to miss major climate-change targets after planting fewer trees last year than at any time since the Second World War.
• Cabin crew plan new series of stoppagesBritish Airways cabin crew are to stage a series of five-day strikes in their bitter row over jobs, pay and conditions, threatening travel chaos in the run-up to the summer holidays.
• Megabus rolls out new destination listStagecoach has expanded its Megabus intercity coach service after more passengers switched to the low-cost service.
• Extent of ash cloud disruption revealedPassenger numbers at BAA™s three airports in Scotland fell by 345,000 people last month after an ash cloud that spewed out of an Icelandic volcano led to a widespread cancellation of flights.

The Independent

• BA price-fixing trial collapses after discovery of new evidence Virgin Atlantic denied withholding evidence from a price-fixing trial of airline executives, which collapsed yesterday amid bitter recriminations.

The Scotsman

• World cup fans hit by BA strikeBritish Airways passengers heading to the World Cup and going on school holidays face travel chaos in the coming weeks after the airline's cabin crew announced a series of

The Telegraph

• More misery for BA passengers as cabin crew announces more strikes British Airways passengers are facing weeks of chaos after the union representing the airline's cabin crew announced plans for a wave of five-day strikes.

Times Online

• Unite announces three weeks of BA cabin crew strikes from next weekMore than a million British Airways passengers risk being caught up in the airline™s longest cabin crew strike after the Unite union called stoppages over the Whitsun Bank Holiday weekend, the school half-term holidays and the lead-up to the World Cup.
• BAA passenger numbers fall under ash cloudThe volcanic ash cloud from Iceland led to passenger numbers at BAA™s airports in Britain falling by nearly two million last month.
• BA threatens to bite back after collapse of price-fixing trialBritish Airways has hinted that it might refuse to pay a £121 million price-fixing fine after four of its executives walked free from their criminal trial yesterday.

Mail Online

• British Airways price-fixing trial collapsesRichard Latham, QC, prosecuting for the Office of Fair Trading, told the judge and jury at Southwark Crown Court in London he will offer 'no evidence'.

London Evening Standard

• Prime Minister's in-tray: Challenges awaiting the incoming leaderThere are two massive issues requiring attention: Crossrail and the Tube. Both need assurances that vast amounts of public cash will continue to head their way.
• Mayor pledges less disruption after TfL takes over Tube linesBoris Johnson today pledged to slash the number of disruptive evening and weekend closures on the Tube after securing a deal to bring some of the busiest Underground lines back under state control.
• World cup fans hit by BA strikeBritish Airways passengers heading to the World Cup and going on school holidays face travel chaos in the coming weeks after the airline's cabin crew announced a series of five-day strikes.

Metro

• Boris Johnson unveils his London transport shopping list Mayor Boris Johnson has revealed his ’shopping list’ for improving London’s transport over the next 20 years – and pleaded with the incoming government not to cut funding.

The York Press

• Results of York transport survey revealed YORK is split on whether congestion- charging should be introduced on the city™s streets.

Blackpool Gazette

• Battle begins tackle pothole-filled roadsTHE battle to save Blackpool's crumbling roads is set to begin.

Bucks Free Press

• Sofa put in bus shelterBUS shelters usually have hard plastic seats - Not so in Wooburn Green!

Campaign for Better Transport

• I agree with Boris (but not on congestion charge)10 May: London Mayor Boris Johnson is today calling for the new Government to protect funding for London's public transport. We agree. But at the same time he's going ahead with a consultation to remove the western extension of the congestion charge which will cut vital income for London's transport. read more

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Mayor of London unveils transport strategyA new programme to improve transport services around London has been set out by mayor of London Boris Johnson. In his Way to Go document, the mayor outlined plans for Crossrail, the new construction of underground links below central London and new crossings over the east of the Thames, Planning Resource reports. The Crossrail scheme will involve a new Chelsea to Hackney line, as well as extensions of the Northern and Bakerloo lines into the south of London, which will effect both underground and Thameslink services. "London's transport system should excel among those of world cities,...

Transport for London

• One thing leads to another - Everything is connectedA new series of artworks commissioned for the Jubilee line from Stanmore to Stratford. The first exhibition by Art on the Underground presented at City Hall.

Aviation Industry

• BA cabin crew to stage new strikesBRITISH Airways cabin crew are to stage fresh strikes over pay and conditions, just two months after their industrial action brought misery to thousands of travellers.
• Rule change favors unions at airlines, railroadsIn a major victory for organized labor, unions will have an easier time signing up airline and railroad workers after the Obama administration Monday changed a 76-year-old rule on union elections.

Other News Sources

• DLR operator found guilty of failing to stop a train after a passenger fell onto the track A jury at Southwark Crown Court has found Serco Limited (Serco), the operator of the Docklands Light Railway, guilty of a serious health and safety offence following a prosecution brought by the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR).
• BA marketing chief cleared of price fixingBritish Airways has expressed its delight that sales and marketing director Drew Crawley has been cleared of colluding in price fixing.
• Tube PPP a waste of money - JohnsonLondon™s Mayor has said that a pet project of Gordon Brown had been œruthlessly scuppered while the Prime Minister was œclinging on to power.
• Unions in strike warning over Tube dealUnion leaders warn of industrial action unless assurances over jobs are given following the return of maintenance work on London Underground to the public sector

Other Subscription Services

• Johnson plans to axe charging zone by year endMayor of London Boris Johnson has published the final version of his transport strategy, confirming plans to dismantle the western Congestion Charge zone.In the introduction to the document,...