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

Tuesday, 07 September 2010

BBC News

• Flybe announces new routes from Belfast City Devon-based airline Flybe has announced new routes from Belfast City Airport to three locations in the UK.
• Fears over street light cut-backsThe growing number of councils across the UK switching off street lights prompts criticism from MPs and road safety groups.
• Minister makes ferry cuts U-turnScotland's transport minister backs down on controversial plans to make £1m of savings to Northern Isles Ferry Service.
• UK car sales suffer sharp declineNew car sales fell 17.5% in August - the second consecutive month of declines, says the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
• BA boss reveals takeover ambitionBritish Airways and Iberia draw up a shortlist of 12 airlines which the firms hope to buy or merge with.
• Passengers face Tube strike chaosSevere disruption is expected on London Underground on the first morning of a series of 24-hour strikes.

Financial Times

• Unite‰seeks‰BA meeting‰to resolve dispute Union leaders are seeking talks next week during the Trades Union Congress to avert further strikes and break the stalemate in the long-running dispute over British Airways cabin crew
• Services begin to feel impact of Tube strikes Services on much of the London Underground began to suffer severe disruption on Monday night from the first of a series of planned 24-hour strikes by two of the system's largest trade unions

The Guardian

• Londoners take to buses, boats and bikes as tube strikes bite Main bone of contention is axing of 800 jobs, including hundreds of ticket office posts, which unions claim threaten safety

The Herald

• Bus firms ˜cherry-pick™ best routesBus firms have been attacked by local authorities for abandoning Scotland™s rural areas, with large swathes of South Lanarkshire and East Lothian enduring some of the worst gaps in public transport.
• Capital tram project running two years behind scheduleEdinburgh™s tram developer has privately admitted that the project is now running almost two years behind schedule.
• Transport agency knew of contractors™ cash demand 11 months before publicTransport Scotland was first warned about attempts by contractors to drive up the cost of Edinburgh™s crisis-hit tram scheme some 11 months before the dispute became public knowledge.
• New car sales in Scotland tumble by 20%Car sales in Scotland have slumped further than the rest of the UK.

The Telegraph

• Ely rail bridge 'the most bashed in Britain' Although it may lack the majesty of Brunel's masterpieces, the humble structure at Stuntney Road in Ely, Cambridgeshire is no ordinary railway bridge.
• Low-cost flights travel boost Ryanair has continued to outstrip budget airline rival easyJet in passenger growth as both cut-price carriers reaped the benefits from buoyant holiday traffic last month.
• Rail chiefs 'cash in as accidents go unrecorded' Network Rail directors, who shared £2.36m in bonuses last year, alleged to have pocketed bigger awards than they should have.
• Carmakers expect little relief from new '60' registration plate as car sales skid Carmakers, struggling to arrest a collapse in car sales, are expecting only limited relief from the introduction of the new '60' registration plate this month.

Mail Online

• Easyjet passenger numbers soar as customers chose foreign holidaysBudget airline Easyjet (up 4.7p at 381.1p) saw passenger numbers soar last month as customers rediscovered their appetite for foreign holidays.

The Mirror

• Millions hit by Tube staff strike Millions of commuters are facing travel chaos on Tuesday after London Underground workers began a fresh wave of 24-hour strikes - a move that will cost the economy almost £50 million.

Network Rail

• NEW FOOTBRIDGE ARRIVES AT CANTERBURY WEST

Belfast Telegraph

• EasyJet and Ryanair passenger numbers rise Two leading budget airlines enjoyed healthy rises in the number of passengers they carried last month, according to figures out today. Related StoriesClosure threat looms over 150 Nationwide agenciesBank vows customer services overhaulFord tops best sellers as new car sales fallTwo new schools open after £40m investmentSales of new cars tumble again in August

Liverpool Post

• Source claims maritime giant Maersk is looking to refinance its loans A P MOLLER-MAERSK, the Danish-owned shipping and energy giant, is getting ready to refinance its loans, according to banking sources.

London Evening Standard

• End of scrappage scheme puts brakes on car salesNew car sales plunged 17.5% in August after the scrappage scheme was phased out and ahead of the new 60 registration plates which came in this month
• Boris Bikes expansion put on hold to sort out glitchesThe Mayor delays expansion of his bike hire scheme until a host of teething troubles have been solved
• British Airways in last ditch cabin crew strike talksUnion bosses are to hold last ditch talks with British Airways before holding another strike ballot among cabin crew
• Millions hit by Tube staff strikeMillions of commuters are facing travel chaos on Tuesday after London Underground workers began a fresh wave of 24-hour strikes - a move that will cost the economy almost £50 million.

Metro

• Unite seeks deal to end BA rowTallks aimed at ending the British Airways cabin crew row will be held next week, it was confirmed.

Northern Echo

• Fury as peak-time free travel is axedPensioners in Darlington are no longer entitled to use their bus pass early in the morning as a result of cutbacks.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Massive cuts to Leeds roads fundingThe budget for repairing potholes and crumbling roads in Leeds is heading for a triple whammy of funding cuts, the YEP can reveal.

Burnley Express

• Free pensioners' bus travel costing £25m FREE bus travel for Lancashire™s pensioners is costing £25million a year, it has been revealed.

Peterborough Telegraph

• Rewards on offer for ’green’ travellers PEOPLE travelling by bike, bus or on foot can benefit from freebies on offer during Travelchoice Week from September 16.
• Crunch talks to be held over Stobart warehouse PROTESTERS battling plans for a huge distribution centre in Peterborough are warning civic leaders the venture will only pave the way for traffic chaos.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Carbon footprint of ferry trips 'lower than other transport'The greenhouse gas emissions produced by foot passengers on ferries is lower than other forms of transport, making it an environmentally-friendly option for travellers.This is according to an expert from website greentraveller.co.uk, who suggested that taking buses or trains to ports and then journeying by boat is "probably the greenest way you can get to continental Europe".Richard Hammond, the portal's chief executive and founder, stated that ferries nowadays are "much more comfortable, they've got fantastic services and they are much more like a ho...

Rail-News.com

• Report shows business confidence in UK transport sector holds upConfidence levels among businesses in the transport & storage sector increased in Q3 2010 while the outlook across the whole economy weakened, states the latest ICAEW/Grant Thornton UK Business Confidence Monitor (BCM).

Railnews

• Many Underground lines closed by strike A STRIKE by members of the RMT and TSSA unions has closed many London Underground lines today, although limited services are being maintained on some routes. Services began to deteriorate last night, when the walkouts began.
• News: As tube strike looms, TfL denies RMT safety claim London Underground services are likely to be seriously disrupted tonight and tomorrow, but as crews prepare to walk out on strike Transport for London has denied a claim by the RMT that unqualified staff are being asked to do safety-critical jobs to keep some services going.
• News: Baker signals way ahead for national transport card Transport Minister Norman Baker has revealed that the government is planning to create a national transport smartcard, which would cover trains, trams and buses. The Department for Transport has confirmed that it has already been making payments to Transport for London so that Oyster smartcard readers can be upgraded to accept the future national card.

Aviation Industry

• American Pilots Change the Flight PlanThe wide gap between American and its pilots union narrowed when Dave Bates, 55, was elected president of the Allied Pilots Association.
• BA crew vote for new ballotBritish Aiwarys (BA) cabin crew members of union Unite have voted for a new ballot on strike action. More than 1,000 BA crew met yesterday to discuss the next stage in the bitter wrangle. According to reports on Sky News, a majority voted to hold a new ballot, raising the possibility of strike action over Christmas. A BA spokesperson told ABTN the airline continues to be in contact with Unite, after talks yesterday.read more

Other News Sources

• Timetable protests prompt buses review Dundee City Council is to carry out a full review of bus services in the city following the introduction of a controversial revised National Express timetable.
• Ryanair launches £8 seat sale Ryanair, the world’s favourite airline, announced that from midnight (24:00hrs) Monday 6th September it will release 500,000 £8 seats for travel on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays in October.
• Bombardier on its way to Latvia – by Tram Bombardier Transportation is on its way to Riga, Latvia to Manufacture Trams, this move would position it as the gateway to Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) leading to better Business Development and Trade Links. Trams are quite a common piece of transport allowing movement more freely around built up towns and cities. They use electrical power where electric current is received from overhead lines via a Pantograph.
• Judge to decide fate of $2B Bombardier rail deal MONTREAL — The fate of a $2 billion rail contract for Bombardier and its partner AnsaldoBreda is expected to be decided by an Italian judge on Sept. 29 following a complaint by French rival Alstom.
• World rail market September 2010 UK: Consultancy Frazer-Nash has undertaken operations analysis of Hitachi Rail Europe and John Laing's proposed designs for a depot to support the proposed Intercity Express Programme train fleet.
• News from Caroline Pidgeon: Passengers and London™s economy are paying a heavy price for this unnecessary strike 6 September 2010 Speaking ahead of the industrial action starting later this evening on the London Underground network Caroline Pidgeon, Leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly and Deputy Chair of the London Assembly Transport Committee said:  "This is a strike that should not be taking place. Both London Underground and the unions are guilty of failing to put passengers first." 360-house-thumb.jpg Yes ...
• Electric cars 'should boast their own unique features'
• BA traffic fallsBritish Airways' figures continued to fall last month, with a drop in traffic, measured in revenue passenger kilometres, of 2.9% compared to August 2009.
• Easyjet passenger numbers soarBudget carrier Easyjet flew 5.2 million passengers last month.
• BA and Kingfisher announce codeshare agreement British Airways and Indian carrier Kingfisher are to start codesharing on each other's flights across India, Sri Lanka, the UK and continental Europe.
• Amadeus launches car rental tool Amadeus has starting rolling out a new booking solution aimed at online travel booking sites.