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

Wednesday, 17 November 2010

BBC News

• Bus drivers trained in the art of conflict resolution We've probably all seen it. A passenger starts giving a bus driver some hassle and abuse - perhaps they didn't realise they can't pay cash on a bendy bus - and then they storm off into the night.
• First Monster Challenge raises £188,000 for charities A 120km relay cycle and running duathlon held around Loch Ness and Inverness raised £188,000 for charities.
• Tube safety 'job cuts' plans attacked by unions A fresh row over job losses on the Tube has started after unions claimed safety staff were to be cut back.
• Calls for better rural transportA countryside campaign group urges improvements to rural public transport and equality with urban areas.
• First orders for Chinese jetlinerChinese firm Comac takes its first orders for C919 passenger jets as it seeks to take on Airbus and Boeing.
• Easyjet profits on passenger riseBudget airline Easyjet sees profits triple on rising passenger numbers and cheaper fuel, and announces its first dividend.
• GM share offer could raise $18bnUS car giant General Motors says its offer of shares to the public could raise $18bn - $5bn more than first hoped.

Financial Times

• EasyJet chief to get dividend up and runningLow cost carrier will begin dividend payments from 2012 after lobbying from founder and largest shareholder, as it reports a near-tripling of full-year profit

The Herald

• New fines for drivers who dodge camerasFines levied on motorists who obscure their number plates are to double from £30 to £60 next February, the UK Government has announced.

Daily Express

• Easyjet boss aims to 'turn Europe orange'EASYJET is to target business travellers as part of a quest to

The Mirror

• EasyJet targets business travellers as profits soar EASYJET is launching a no-frills business class after a rise in suited and booted flyers helped triple profits.

ATOC

• 'Attracting right people to rail industry is vital' - ATOCConfirmation of Government funding towards the establishment of the National Skills Academy for Railway Engineering (NSARE) was announced today (16 November) by Vince Cable,...

Birmingham Mail

• Serial luggage stealer is banned from every Midland rail station A FORMER soldier whose luggage stealing spree caused misery to Birmingham rail passengers has been banned from EVERY station in the Midlands.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Tram peace talks proposal 'simple and patronising'A PROPOSAL for peace talks on the troubled trams project was today dismissed as "simplistic and patronising" despite calls for both sides to give it serious considerat

Liverpool Post

• Easyjet annual profits soar 181.5% despite £98m of disruption costs EASYJET marked better-than-expected profit figures today by announcing plans to pay a dividend to shareholders for the first time.

London Evening Standard

• EasyJet flexi-fare targets business fliersThe new chief executive of easyJet launches a campaign to attract more business fliers

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Calls to give Scots control of closing rail level crossings MSP says Holyrood should have powers to make changed to infrastructure

Wales Online

• Airport parking problem is ’bad advert for Wales’ CARDIFF Airport is facing criticism from passengers and taxi drivers over broken parking machines that have forced weary travellers to queue to leave the airport.
• Fuel prices push inflation to 3.2% Britons were hit with another above-target hike in the cost of living last month as sharp rises in fuel prices sent inflation to 3.2%, official figures revealed today.

Blackpool Gazette

• Third bid for London rail linkTHREE train companies now look set to battle it out for the right to offer a Blackpool London rail link.

Other Regional Press

• London Bridge Bus Station: work to start this monthPreparatory works for the new London Bridge Bus Station will start later this month, Transport for London has confirmed.
• Checks on Huddersfield railway station facade after masonry fall SAFETY checks have been carried out at Huddersfield Railway Station after a chunk of stone fell from a pillar.
• Transport minister guarantees future of coastal railway line ENGINEERS have supported Newton Abbot MP Anne Marie Morris's call for a coastal railway line to be adequately maintained. In an Adjournment Debate, the Newton Abbot MP challenged the transport minister Norman Baker to give the Government's guarantee that the line's future was secure.
• National Express East Anglia rules out on-the-spot compensation for late trains A TRAIN operator has said it will not consider a proposal for on-the-spot compensation if rail journeys are delayed.
• Scheme could offer Kempston buses resolutionA ROW over bus services in Kempston could soon be resolved, after talks between Labour councillors and bus operator Stagecoach.

Aviation Industry

• McFly light up Heathrow this ChristmasHeathrow has switched on its first ever Christmas lights with the help of McFly...
• EasyJet reports $195 million net fiscal-year profitEasyJet, which celebrated its 15th birthday last week, reported a £121.3 million ($195 million) net profit for its fiscal year ended Sept. 30, a 70.4% increase on the £71.2 million it earned in the prior year.
• Easyjet turns profit after tough yearThe Luton-based carrier reports a £154 million pre-tax profit, and launches a flexible fare targeting business travellers
• Business travel community wooed by Easyjet faresThe launch of flexible fares by no frills carrier Easyjet has been welcomed by business travel bosses

Other News Sources

• The Bombardier-Alstom Consortium Confirms it has Received the Notice to Proceed for the Supply of 468 New Metro Cars for Montreal Montréal, Québec, U.S.A., Nov 16, 2010 (Thomson Reuters ONE via COMTEX) -- MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwire - November 16, 2010) - The consortium comprising Bombardier Transportation and Alstom Transport confirmed today it has received the Notice to Proceed from Societe de transport de Montreal (STM) on the supply of 468 metro cars (52 nine-car trainsets).
• Siemens selected for Rennes metro Line B FRANCE: Mayor of Rennes Daniel Delaveau announced on November 16 that Siemens has been selected as preferred bidder by transport authority Rennes Métropole to build the city’s second driverless metro line. The €200m contract will be submitted to the city council for ratification on November 18.
• Hopes of transport boost A SCHEME to boost transport across the Tees Valley, including Hartlepool, could have more chance of success thanks to Government announcements.
• Business travel will continue to grow in 2011Amadeus predicts that the global economies will continue their pull away from the downturn
• Air and rail can live together on London-Paris routeBA's new Heathrow-Orly route will not impact Eurostar sales says industry expert