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

Thursday, 06 January 2011

BBC News

• MPs call for recount on train punctuality figures Three MPs are calling for rail operator Southeastern to re-examine its punctuality figures for the past 12 months.
• Electric car 'not yet affordable'Most global car executives do not see a reasonably priced electric vehicles being available in the next five years, a survey suggests.

Financial Times

• China eyes creation of global rail leaderProposal to merge two dominant state-owned railway equipment producers to lead a high-speed rail export drive
• Three Renault executives suspendedThe suspension comes after a four-month internal investigation by the French carmaker into suspected leaking of secrets about its electric vehicle programme
• Sabre move escalates American Airlines rowThe privately held company, which provides flight data to travel agencies, says it will raise the prices it charges the carrier and will end its contract in August

The Independent

• Leading article: An opportunity to kick our fossil-fuel addiction Pressure on Opec, which has a vested interest in a high oil price, offers no long-term solution. Is the world on the brink of another ruinous oil shock? The International Energy Agency (IEA), which speaks for the big industrialised consumers in the West, is nervous.

The Scotsman

• Edinburgh trams running in 2011 (for 880 yards, that is) IT will run half a mile from one unpopulated place to another and it's the culmination of years of not-so-careful planning. Yes, Edinburgh's trams could actually run in 2011.
• Go to bed in Scotland, wake up in Paris under new rail plans Scottish travellers could benefit from direct rail journeys to mainland Europe, under plans unveiled by Labour.
• Marketing director latest to join exodus from Lothian Buses A SENIOR executive at Edinburgh's main bus company has been made redundant, the latest in a string of high-profile departures from the firm. It emerged yesterday that Lothian Buses marketing director Iain Coupar has left after being told he was being made redundant just before Christmas.
• Flight delays soar across UK airports PLANE punctuality plunged at main UK airports last summer, including Edinburgh, official figures show.

The Telegraph

• Invensys Rail delays payments to suppliers Suppliers to Invensys Rail face rising costs after the group told key UK contractors they would wait up to twice as long to be paid. The decision has been heavily criticised by suppliers who now face further financial pressure after a fallow period of new works from Network Rail, which owns and operates the rail infrastructure.
• Thousands of airline passengers' bags mislaid during snow Luggage belonging to thousands of airline passengers was mislaid during the heavy snow before Christmas, it has emerged.

Daily Express

• EasyJet lands Airbus deal for Euro expansionEASYJET yesterday signed a deal worth hundreds of millions of pounds for new aircraft to underpin its drive into continental Europe. It is buying 15 Airbus A320s with a list price of $1.1billion (£705million), although the company said it had negotiated a substantial yet confidential discount.

Mail Online

• Road signs that confuse drivers are to be scrappedMinisters have ordered a review of dozens of traffic markings which they say are out of date and bewildering to the motorist.

Network Rail

• NEW IMAGES SHOW DENMARK HILL WILL BE MORE ACCESSIBLE FOR ALL
• REVAMPING ARNSIDE VIADUCT - PUBLIC ROADSHOWS

Belfast Telegraph

• Ryanair faces OFT probe over its Aer Lingus stakeThe UK's Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is to proceed with a probe into Ryanair's near-30% holding in Aer Lingus after it determined that it remains

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Easyjet orders 15 Airbus A320s BUDGET carrier Easyjet is to boost its fleet with new orders from aircraft manufacturer Airbus.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Results of tram project probe set to be publishedTHE results of an official probe into the Capital's tram project are set to be published later this month.

Journal Live

• Rail ticket prices soar higher than inflation NORTH East rail users have been hit by above-inflation price hikes. Travellers on the regions rail networks have seen the cost of travelling shoot up by around 5.8% on some of the most popular routes as a result of New Year price rises.

London Evening Standard

• Boris Johnson 'should offer electric cars for hire'London should have a fleet of electric cars for hire just like Boris bikes, an MP has told the Mayor
• Victoria is the new nightmare Tube lineVictoria and Jubilee lines top a new London Underground 'league of shame' based on customer complaints

The News (Portsmouth)

• Government cuts £1m from free bus-pass schemeOne million pounds has been removed from Hampshire's free bus pass for pensioners scheme.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Major £2.5m boost for plan to revamp Scrabster portPlans to make Scrabster harbour the main service base for the far north™s fledgling marine energy industry received a major fillip with a £2.5million European Regional Development Fund pledge towards a tanker pier revamp.
• ScotRail under attack over north rail services disruptionsScotland™s train operator has been accused of failing to learn lessons from last winter on how to keep services running through a prolonged freeze.
• Ex-transport minister tells of day he quitScotland™s former transport minister Stewart Stevenson has spoken publicly about his resignation for the first time.

The York Press

• National Railway Museum to feature classic transport films RAILWAY film enthusiasts are heading for the National Railway Museum (NRM) in York this month as the venue hosts a film week with a difference.

Other Regional Press

• ESSEX: Bus service 339 has been axed due to the lack of passengers A BUS service has been scrapped just three months after it was launched.
• New generation of Wirral apprentices on track DISUSED railway lines will be used to train a new generation of apprentices in Wirral. A £115,000 apprenticeship scheme is creating 100 places over the next year for teenagers and unemployed 16 to 24-year-olds to learn railway engineering skills at a training site in Birkenhead.
• Cash for congestion-busting projects slashedNO MAJOR new roads will be built in Wigan for years to come.
• Didcot rail centre takes charge of 100 miles of track CONTROL of trains running through Reading was successfully transferred to Network Rail™s Thames Valley Signalling Centre, alongside Didcot Parkway station, over the Christmas break.
• New superferry on her way to DoverThe first of the two new superferries being built for the Dover-Calais service is on her way to Dover. Spirit of Britain left the shipyard in Finland today (Wednesday) after successfully completing sea trials.
• Keeping roads, trains open cost extra £22mAn extra £22million has been spent by transport operators this winter to keep road open and trains running “ and the cost is predicted to soar further as icy conditions return to Scotland.
• Jaguar Land Rover challenge raises funds for Warwickshire care centre GENEROUS staff at Jaguar Land Rover swapped the factory floor for the great outdoors when they embarked on a two-day challenge to raise cash for a local charity.
• Rail travel and station car parks price hikeRAIL commuters face a 5.5 per cent rise in the cost of commuting to London from Bedfordshire in 2011 - but train bosses say the increase is still below the national average.

Aviation Industry

• Southampton Airport recruiting 100 people in 2011Southampton Airport is likely to be welcoming around 100 new employees throughout 2011 to join the team of 1,200 staff...
• Cardiff airport updates online presenceWales™ main airport has launched a new website, offering a customisable section for frequent users
• Sabre to downgrade AASabre has announced it is to terminate its contract with American Airlines (AA) and make the carrier™s air fares harder to find on its global distribution system
• Ryanair under investigation by OFTThe Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is reviewing Ryanair™s acquisition of a minority stake in fellow Irish carrier Aer Lingus

Green Miscellany

• Thermoelectric cycle helmets heat up or cool down on demand Clothing that can regulate temperature to protect its wearer from extreme conditions has long been used by astronauts and deep sea divers, but thanks to a new product called Climaware, cyclists could soon have access to climate-controlled vests, shoes and even helmets.read more

Other News Sources

• MAG seals £280m refinancing MANCHESTER Airports Group has completed a £280m five-year refinancing. MAG, which owns Manchester, East Midlands, Bournemouth and Humberside Airports, has agreed terms with seven major lenders ahead of July - when its present facility was due to expire.
• NR turns on the charm in 2011 [Blog]With ATOC floundering over fare rises Network Rail appears to be inveigling itself into the Tory party's good books.The new, improved, cuddly, Coucher-lite Network Rail has begun a discreet charm offensive designed to win industry, stakeholder and political support for reform to the company's corporate governance and accountability as mandated by Petrol-head.
• Updates from Bombardier, KBR, Sam Schwartz Engineering, The Whitmore Group and Invensys RailBombardier Transportation received approximately $485 million in firm orders at December's end for rolling stock from an undisclosed customer, the company announced Tuesday in a prepared statement.
• Got any cycling or other transport questions for Boris? Now's your chance to ask them! Whether you cycle in London or use other means to get around the city, this month provides you with a chance to put questions to Mayor Boris Johnson, his transport adviser Kulveer Ranger, local council respresentatives and other transport exports at a public meeting in West London.

News from Europe

• Swedish architecture firm proposes buildings on rails Swedish architecture firm that came up with a plan to roll buildings through a city on rails has won third prize in a competition to develop the Norwegian city of Åndalsnes.