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

Monday, 11 July 2011

BBC News

• RMT considers legal action over Thameslink contract Rail union bosses said they may take legal action over the decision not to award the Thameslink contract to Bombardier.
• Nottingham gets £5m to help boost green travel Nottingham City Council has been given almost £5m by the government to invest in low carbon transport.
• Bombardier cuts: Union warns of more Derby job losses A rail union has warned that as many as 13,000 jobs could be at stake in and around Derby due to Bombardier losing out on a £1.4bn government contract.
• Guildford and Woking sustainable travel bid wins £3.9m A bid to improve pedestrian, cycle and bus transport and install electric car charging points in two Surrey towns has secured nearly £4m from the government.
• Driving an electric 'bubble' car designed to avoid crashing General Motors have unveiled a two-seater electric car with a wheel on either side and a communication system that prevents it from crashing.

Financial Times

• S America and Africa seen as new port hot spotsNew trade routes will link the regions more tightly into the world trade system, according to one of the main contributors to new research
• Virgin Trains advises on US rail saleUK group vies to play a role in the privatisation of the US rail industry in a move that could earn it the operation of the 457-mile route from Washington to Boston
• BAA set to be told to sell StanstedBAA, the owner of Heathrow airport, is set to be told early next week that it must begin the process of selling off Stansted airport and one other of its Scottish hubs

The Guardian

• Business confidence at its lowest for two years The prospects for Britain's economy remain bleak as consumers continue to cut back on their spending and export sales fail to take up the slack, according to a number of gloomy reports . A week after the National Institute of Economic & Social Research said the slump could last until 2013 and Bombardier announced 1,400 jobs would go at Derby after the government failed to award the company a £3bn train contract, a report from accountants BDO shows business confidence in the manufacturing sector has dropped to a two-year low
• How to get our railway industry back on track Christian Wolmar (Driven off the rails, 6 July) is right to say that the government could have included a wide range of factors other than price in the consideration of the bids for Thameslink trains
• Will electric cars ever take over our roads?Their detractors say are they too pricey and tricky to charge. But a select fleet of drivers in Oxford and London has been testing a prototype electric Mini. Were they won over?On 6 July last year, the US Patents and Trademark Office in Virginia received an application from General Motors to trademark the term

The Telegraph

• High-speed rail will not correct our London-based economy [letters]The Mayor of London and the debate over HS2.
• Anger over BA's move to cut pension payout Two unprecedented mass meetings of members of British Airways pension scheme are to be held in the next 24 hours as pressure grows on trustees to reverse a decision to reduce payments.
• Andrew Davis' Von Essen Aviation could lose Battersea Heliport The Telegraph has learned that accountant Deloitte has been appointed by bankers to the company that owns London's only commercial helipad to begin a review of the business.
• Ministers scale back coastguard closure plans The Sunday Telegraph revealed proposals last year to reduce the number of stations from 19 to eight – of which only three would operate around the clock – in a move to save £7.5 million a year
• Terra Firma's Guy Hands prepares £4.2bn RBS Aviation bidCity financier Guy Hands has emerged as a likely bidder for RBS Aviation Capital, which is valued at up to $6.8bn (£4.2bn).

Daily Express

• UNION LAUNCHES LEGAL BID TO KEEP £1.5BN TRAINS DEAL IN BRITAIN PRESSURE was growing last night for a rethink on the £1.5billion trainbuilding contract handed to a German firm.
• WHY DO WE SHUNT BRITISH WORKERS INTO THE SIDINGS? [Jimmy Young]LAST TUESDAY the Government announced the latest betrayal of Britain’s manufacturing industry. It revealed its decision to award a £1.5billion contract for commuter trains to the German company Siemens rather than the Canadian group Bombardier which is based in Derby.

Mail Online

• 'Ryanair drinking water is 12 times more expensive than supermarket': The huge mark-ups of budget airlinesA family of four could easily spend around £45 for a sandwich, drink and pack of crisps, according to research by travelsupermarket.com.

The Mirror

• Boris Johnson attacked over failure to support high speed rail Furious council chiefs have condemned Boris Johnson for trying to wreck the new £34billion high-speed rail link to the Midlands and North. 95p! Vouchers collectable in the Daily and Sunday Mirror until 11th August . Click here for more information

The Sun

• Scandal of MPs' free first class rail travel MPS are STILL enjoying first class train travel at the taxpayers' expense.

Derby Telegraph

• Union considers legal challenge over contract RAIL union RMT has confirmed it is looking at the possibility of making a legal challenge following the Government's decision not to award the Thameslink contract to Bombardier.
• Petition boosted by 9,000-plus names in two days as city backs Bombardier WHEN Bombardier worker Dennis Bailey began his rail-engineering career 32 years ago, he was continuing a family tradition.
• MPs should work as team to help save our heritage [letter]I SHARE Anne Johns' anxiety about the future of Derby as companies "leave, shrink or fail the city" (Soapbox, July 4).
• Stop the mud-slinging and just consider the human cost for once "Why did neither of them at least say sorry?'' My son had just listened to two high-ranking politicians pick over the bones of Bombardier.
• Why we must back fight for Bombardier workers MORE than 1,400 more workers in Derby to be thrown on the dole, the end of railway engineering apprenticeships and the potential closure of the last rail rolling stock works in the country – that's what the policies of privatisation, and a refusal to invest in jobs and a British manufacturing base to its economy are leading to.
• FAMILY 'DISTRAUGHT' OVER JOBS CRISIS A FAMILY that has given 123 years of service to Derby's railways said they were "distraught" about the jobs crisis at Bombardier.
• A typical day at Bombardier since job loss announcements; Since we lost the Thameslink contract, and redundancies were announced, it's likethe sword of Damocles is slowly but surely swinging towards us. Everyday when we go to work, to work hard building a world class product, there is a nagging feeling "will it be me going?
• Disgusted at decision but don't give up on industry [letter]HAVING come from a railway family, and having worked for British Rail myself, the least of my feelings is absolute disgust at the decision not to give Bombardier the contract it so desperately needed.

Liverpool Post

• Merseyside councils repair potholes on road ... days before it’s due to be dug up TAXPAYERS’ cash was used to fill in potholes on a stretch of road which is due to be completely dug up next week to lay a gas main.

London Evening Standard

• Rail union plans legal action to save 1,400 Bombardier jobs A leading rail union is considering legal action in a bid to save 1,400 jobs which are being axed by manufacturing giant Bombardier after it failed to win a £1.4 billion contract to build new carriages.

The York Press

• York to get depot for train maintenance work UP to 20 jobs are being created through the return of railway industry to a depot on the York Central site.

Other Regional Press

• Council vote on Kirkgate A MULTI-million pound plan to staff Kirkgate Railway Station and bring it back to life is set to be rubber stamped next week.
• Union ponders rail deal challenge A leading rail union is considering legal action in a bid to save 1,400 jobs which are being axed by manufacturing giant Bombardier after it failed to win a £1.4 billion contract to build new carriages.
• MP dismisses Norwich rail line nationalisation call Shadow transport secretary Maria Eagle said the running of the line should be handed over to the publicly owned Directly Operated Railways to make sure it can handle the thousands of people expected to travel to and from London for the 2012 games.
• Deputy mayor launches new sensory garden by Huddersfield Railway Station A NEW garden has been created beside the platforms at Huddersfield Railway Station.

Wall Street Journal

• Qantas domestic fares to rise on carbon tax, fuel excise QANTAS says the Gillard government's carbon tax will slash up to $115 million from its bottom line in the financial year 2013 and raise fares by $3.50 per flight sector on average.

The Business Desk

• Midland rail network nears capacity crunch warns transport chief THE West Midlands is facing a capacity crunch on its railways and a new high speed line is the best solution, a regional transport chief has said.

Other News Sources

• Time for a a change of heart in public procurementUK Transport Secretary, Philip Hammond, went to great pains last week explaining how his hands were tied when it came to awarding the Thameslink Rolling Stock contract to Siemens ahead of Bombardier. There is no doubting that public sector procurement often does operate with at least one hand tied behind its back and will continue to do so until it relaxes its processes, writes Trade Extensions CEO Garry Mansell in this guest post.
• Rail line cash boostA £40 million bid has been put in to help bring back a piece of missing railway track between Lancashire and Yorkshire.
• Phone app helps rail passengers A MOBILE phone app that allows passengers to buy railway tickets is now available on certain phones.
• Train-travelling public urged to add their support to calls for rail future TRANSPORT chiefs in South Yorkshire are calling on the public to add their voices to calls for a High Speed Rail system to include the county.