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

Thursday, 23 December 2010

Cogitamus

• The TransportInfo team would like to wish all of you the very best for the season.We will be taking a little break over the holidays. TransportInfo will not be updated on 25, 26, 27 and 28 December, and also on 1 January 2011. Well, that's unless something epoch making happens and we can't stop ourselves... Thank you for your continued interest and support.

BBC News

• Council praises gritting effortsBirmingham City Council praises the way staff are managing to keep the city's roads passable.
• Severn tolls 'should be slashed'Tolls on the Severn Crossings should be cut to as little as £1.50 once the bridges revert to public ownership, says a report by MPs.
• Roads busy but freeze continuesRoads are set to be congested as thousand of drivers continue the Christmas getaway, but the country remains gripped by icy conditions.
• Second A9 upgrade draws criticismA riding centre boss raises concerns over access rights that will be blocked by a new stretch of dual carriageway.
• System 'ready' for festive travelScotland's transport minister says he is confident the country is geared up to get people home for Christmas.
• Veolia wins Bavarian train dealFrench utility and transport group Veolia wins a 1bn-euro contract to operate Bavarian trains for the next 12 years.
• Tube drivers strike on Boxing DayA strike by Tube drivers on Boxing Day is to go ahead, after talks with London Underground (LU) broke down.
• Network Rail faces fraud inquiryAn independent inquiry will probe alleged financial abuse and impropriety at Network Rail, in response to a union campaign.
• BAA boss refuses bonus over snowThe boss of BAA says he is giving up his bonus following snow delays at Heathrow, as air and rail companies set about clearing their passenger backlog.

Financial Times

• BAA chief executive to forgo bonusColin Matthews, chief executive of Heathrow™s owner, BAA, has announced he will give up his bonus after the airport was plunged into chaos by snow more than four days ago
• Travel chaos eases as services resumeProblems with the quantity of de-icer that can be stored at Heathrow airport have emerged as a critical factor in the travel chaos that has hit thousands of passengers days before Christmas
• DP World sells $1.5bn Australian stakeOne of the world's biggest container terminal operators, is to raise $1.5bn by selling a 75 per cent stake in its Australian container terminal operations
• Heathrow service improvesAn estimated 70 per cent of‰scheduled‰flights‰managed to depart Heathrow on Wednesday as the airport struggled to get back into action

The Guardian

• BAA chief gives up bonusAnnouncement from Colin Matthews comes after winter weather crippled operations at Britain's largest airport for several daysBAA chief executive Colin Matthews today sanctioned a £10m investment in snow clearing equipment at Heathrow as he waived his annual bonus in the wake of the debacle that has crippled Britain's largest airport in recent days.Matthews, who received £944,000 in basic salary and bonus last year, said he would forego his 2010 payout following a storm of criticism from politicians, airlines and hundreds of thousands of stranded passengers.Speaking as Heathrow prepared to oper...

The Herald

• Snow 'has cost British Airways £40m in lost profits'Four days of snow disruption at Heathrow airport are thought to have cost British Airways £30m to £40m in lost profits, City analysts believe.
• Transport Scotland under fire over fares estimatesTransport Scotland leaders admitted to MSPs yesterday the original £9 million cost of smart card technology for the national concessionary fares scheme was hugely underestimated and they do not know how the figure was calculated.
• Heathrow chief gives up bonus as festive travel fears escalateUnder-fire Heathrow boss Colin Matthews turned down his annual bonus yesterday, as transport operators came under severe pressure to get the Christmas getaway back on track.
• Decline in cargo trade sees Clydeport profits dip £1.3mWest coast port operator Clydeport suffered a 10.7% decline in cargo passing through its facilities last year as the economic downturn hit global trade, knocking almost £1.3 million off annual profits.

The Independent

• The great Christmas trek The Christmas hopes of millions of Britons hang the balance today as travellers, undeterred by continuing Arctic conditions and the prospect of further snowfalls, begin their holiday travels across the UK by road, rail and coach.
• Boris Johnson: 'Heathrow chaos must teach BAA serious lesson' Mayor of London Boris Johnson said airport operator BAA had
• Road chiefs warn over grit stocks Highway chiefs are warning they have already used almost half their winter stocks of salt.
• Christmas travellers given glimmer of hope Christmas travel misery began to ease today - a day late for Heathrow Airport's boss who decided to sacrifice his 2010 bonus.
• BAA in war of words with BA as Heathrow disruption continues As 50,000 more travellers saw their Christmas plans wrecked by yesterday's flight cancellations at Heathrow, a war of words broke out between the airport owner, BAA, and its biggest customer. British Airways cancelled 150 flights on the basis of what it says turned out to be misleading guidance from the airport operator about when the second runway would reopen.

The Telegraph

• BAA to be fined if Heathrow snow chaos is repeatedAirport operator BAA faces multi-million-pound fines for any repeat of this week's fiasco at Heathrow, under a new regulatory regime being pushed through by the Government.
• BAA 'refused offers of help clearing snow' Offers from airlines rejected for "health and safety" reasons.

Press Association

• National Express wins C2C extensionTransport group National Express has offered some cheer for its rail business as it announced a two-year extension on its London to Tilbury and Southend franchise.

Mail Online

• Heathrow airport boss Colin Matthews 'failed' to order enough de-icer for snowThe world's busiest airport has drawn widespread criticism after holidaymakers were left to sleep on cold terminal floors during the festive period.

ATOC

• Tom Smith appointed independent chairman of ATOCTom Smith has been appointed as the independent chairman of the Association of Train Operating Companies, subject to formal ratification by ATOC Council....

Birmingham Post

• HS2 benefits 'must be spread widely', says Business Voice WM The Government needs to ensure that the benefits of high speed rail are spread as widely as possible, a lobby group has warned.

Derby Telegraph

• Runway open as airport staff keep their cool during big chill​Workers at East  Midlands Airport have been working around the  clock throughout the  cold weather. Rachel Butler reports. AS soon as temperatures dip below freezing, staff at East Midlands Airport prepare themselves for long days to ensure it stays open.And despite the hassle of delaying flights and de-icing the runway, operations at the airport have gone so smoothly it has not had to close. Managing director Brad Miller puts it down to the dedication of the staff, who have been working 12-hour days, seven days a week, to cope with the demand during the r...

London Evening Standard

• Passenger fury as rail boss says network is 'working well'Rail boss Robin Gisby provoked passenger fury today after declaring the national train network was "fully open" and "working well."
• National Express wins right to keep c2c rail lineNational Express will run the c2c commuter line between London and Essex for a further three years after winning the right to keep the franchise.
• West London unwraps Boris Johnson's C-charge 'Christmas present'Boris Johnson says the abolition of the western extension of the C-charge zone is his 'Christmas present' for west Londoners
• ’Ban cars from West End for sales to help shops over Christmas disaster’Traffic should be banned from the West End for the post-Christmas sales to boost the number of shoppers and save chains from 'disaster', a top retail boss said
• Heathrow chief in snow fiasco gives up bonus (but still keeps £1 million pay)Heathrow chief executive Colin Matthews said today he would not take his bonus for 2010 as BAA admitted it would not be able to clear the huge backlog before Christmas
• Boxing Day Tube strike to go ahead after crisis talksBoxing Day Tube strike will go ahead after talks aimed at preventing the walkout broke up without agreement

Manchester Evening News

• Metrolink disruption after two trams fail in city centre Commuters are facing diversions on the Metrolink network this morning after two trams ground to a halt in the city centre. Services will continue but trams will not stop at Piccadilly Station or Piccadilly Gardens until engineers can fix the problem.

Northern Echo

• Hitachi contract ’could prevent ice problems’PROBLEMS caused on the country’s rail network by ice could become a thing of the past if the Government awards the Intercity Express Programme (IEP) to Hitachi, ministers have been told. The Japanese company said its bi-mode IEP trains would change to diesel at the flick a switch if problems with the overhead electric cables were encountered

Sheffield Star

• Cold comfort for bus driversSHIVERING South Yorkshire bus drivers have criticised their bosses for sending them out for five-hour shifts in freezing temperatures on vehicles where heating was "broken

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Transport: Road chiefs warn over grit stocksHighway chiefs are warning they have already used almost half their winter stocks of salt.
• First: Leeds bus fares on hold for 2011The biggest bus operator in Leeds has handed cost-conscious passengers the perfect early Christmas present.

Bucks Free Press

• Transport chaos 'down to Mother Nature, not Government'NOBODY is to blame for the chaos on Britain's transport network “ it is just down to Mother Nature -half of readers who voted in a poll say.

Peterborough Telegraph

• Rail chaos: Train nightmare for stuck passengersFrom the ET: A passenger left stranded on a freezing train for more than four hours has spoken of her nightmare journey yesterday (21st December).

Other Regional Press

• HS2 will bring "massive benefits" to Coventry, says Bob Ainsworth GROWING opposition to high speed rail from councils and campaigners in Coventry and Warwickshire is wrong and has been misled by “vested interests”, according to city MP Bob Ainsworth.

New Scientist

• 2011 preview: Charge of the electric carAt long last, major car companies will offer electric cars as part of their regular product line

Campaign for Better Transport

• Traffic reduction can work22 December: We've probably all lost count of the number of times when talking about transport that someone has said to us "But people want to drive cars!". But are things so simple? read more

Railnews

• News: Weather threatens to trigger Network Rail overspends The early onset of winter, and forecasts that the freezing conditions could last for some time, are threatening to trigger unplanned overspends at Network Rail. As the Arctic winter closes in, the cost of keeping the main network open at night is starting to mount up.

Aviation Industry

• United sees 4Q revenue measure risingA Continental Airlines jet takes-off as a United Airlines jet taxies at the Salt lake International Airport April 15, 2008 in Salt Lake City, Utah.
• U.S. 'vigilant' for holiday terror attackU.S. President Barack Obama sent out his top White House anti-terror adviser Wednesday to assure Americans that everything possible was being done to keep them safe from attack over Christmas.
• Continental Airlines and Spanair set to begin codeshare flightsContinental Airlines and Spanair have announced a new codeshare arrangement on flights across the Atlantic and to destinations in Spain and Africa.
• Bombardier CRJ1000 NextGen receives US FAA type certificate Bombardier Aerospace confirmed Wednesday that US FAA awarded aircraft type certification approval to the 100-seat CRJ1000 NextGen on Dec. 17. US approval follows type certification by Transport Canada and EASA (ATW Daily News, Nov. 11). The first two CRJ1000NGs have been delivered to launch customers Air Nostrum and Brit Air, Bombardier said. Air Nostrum has firm orders for 35 while Brit Air has firm orders for 14.
• KLM and Malaysia Airlines investigate closer linksDutch carrier KLM and the Malaysian national airline plan to fortify the connection between Amsterdam and Kuala Lumpur
• Travellers on the move againThe backlog of travellers at Heathrow is beginning to ease, with around two thirds of flights operating today
• Scotland welcomes Finnair advancesA Scottish travel boss said "starved" airports north of the border are in dire need of extra services

Other News Sources

• Call for action over 500 sailors held hostage by pirates Leading shipping organisations and the International Transport Workers™...
• Extra trains running on Christmas EveScotRail are running later trains between Glasgow and Edinburgh amid the travel chaos.
• ScotRail forced to cancel services across Central ScotlandAs temperatures plummet, the train operator has cancelled several routes and reduced many more timetables.
• RMT rejects 5.2% pay offer for Network Rail operational staff and calls for further talks to improve dealRAIL UNION RMT confirmed today that it has rejected an offer of 5.2% for Network Rail operations and customer services staff next year, plus RPI in 2012, and is holding further talks on improving the package next month.
• 2011 The next two years will be "make or break" for the electric vehicle market in the UK, one expert has claimed.