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

Tuesday, 06 September 2011

BBC News

• Bombardier suppliers likely to make redundancies: Unite Fifty British firms which supply trainmaker Bombardier say they are likely to cut jobs after German rival Siemens won a £1.4bn contract.
• First buses in Devon and Cornwall to get swipe cards A swipe card ticket system is being introduced on buses in Devon and Cornwall.
• Debit card surcharges must go, says Which? A consumer group has stepped up pressure on the government to ban surcharges on online debit card travel purchases.
• Arriva Trains Wales has 'no ticket office closure plan' Arriva Trains Wales says it has no plans to close any of its ticket offices after a union reveals details of a review which recommends closing hundreds in Wales and England.
• Shipping blues in China [video clip]One of the world's largest bulk transportation firms, China's COSCO, is to merge some of its businesses after a row over the price it pays to lease containers ships and tankers.
• Hundreds of rail ticket offices face axe, union warns One in four railway ticket offices in England and Wales could close under recommendations in a government-commissioned report, a transport union has warned.
• Bus station reopens after revampWalsall's main bus station reopens after shutting for five weeks for a £430,000 revamp.
• New deadline set in tram disputeEdinburgh City Council has a new deadline to settle the contract dispute with its main trams contractor Bilfinger Berger.
• Heathrow £500m rail link proposalUK Transport Secretary Philip Hammond is said to be drawing up plans for a £500m rail scheme linking Wales with Heathrow Airport.

Department for Transport

• Flying the flag for Merchant Navy DayThe Red Ensign flag will fly over the headquarters of the Department for Transport to mark the UK's twelfth Merchant Navy Day on Saturday 3 September.

Financial Times

• Painting the Forth Bridge finally set to endThe reputedly interminable task will be completed in December, thanks to a coating that is expected to last for 25 years
• Air France-KLM imposes deeper cutsAirline launches fresh cost reductions and a hiring freeze following a share price decline and widening economic gloom in Europe and the US
• EasyJet founder calls for non-exec's removalSir Stelios Haji-Ioannou steps up his protracted dispute with the low-cost airline by seeking a vote to oust Rigas Doganis, a consultant
• Six groups in running for Spanish airportsThe airport authority approves bidders competing for Madrid's Barajas airport and Barcelona's El Prat airport as part of a €5.3bn privatisation

The Guardian

• Survey predicts huge job losses as Bombardier loses Thameslink contract More than two-fifths of companies in train the manufacturer Bombardier's supply chain will cut jobs as a result of the company losing out to Siemens in the bid to build the Thameslink rail fleet.

The Herald

• Never-ending task draws to closeTHE supposedly endless task of repainting the Forth Rail Bridge is due to finally end this year as the results of a £130 million paint job are revealed.
• Tram row council in running for major UK awardAFTER a week in which Edinburgh made headlines around the world for all the wrong reasons, it was heartening to see some of its good work is being recognised.

The Independent

• Move to tackle Oyster overcharging Moves to tackle overcharging of London travellers who forget to touch out with their Oyster pay-as-you-go card at the end of their journey were announced today.

The Telegraph

• One in four railway ticket offices faces the axe One in four railway ticket offices in England and Wales could close, with the loss of over 1,000 jobs, under recommendations in a Government-commissioned report ''buried'' in the small print, a leading transport union warned.
• List of 675 railway station ticket offices to closeA list of the stations that will lose their ticket offices if Government-commissioned report reccommendations get the green light.
• The Coalition's vision for renewable transport Secretary of State for Transport Philip Hammond sets out the Coalition's vision of a low-carbon transport sector leading the world in renewables and kick-starting the economy.

Press Association

• Bombardier snub 'to hit suppliers' Scores of firms which deal with Bombardier will be forced to cut jobs after the train-maker lost out on a lucrative Government contract to build new carriages, according to a new report.

Daily Express

• ’10,000 JOBS AT RISK’ OVER TRAINS DEAL UP to 10,000 British jobs have been put at risk by the Government’s decision to hand the £1.5billion Thameslink trains contract to German giant Siemens, a study by the Unite union claimed yesterday.
• Stelios takes aim at another easyJet directorA ROW between easyJet and its largest shareholder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou flared up again yesterday after he called for the removal of another director.

Mail Online

• Want a rail ticket? Use a machine, customers told as one in four manned offices faces the axeMore than 1,000 jobs could be lost around the country. Is your local station one of the 675 to be affected? Click here to find out.
• 'Non-intrusive' scanners spare travellers' blushes at Heathrow - by turning them into stick-menScanners at Heathrow have caused concern by showing security staff images of people's naked bodies - but new software turns the images into a stick-man like cartoon.
• Airline card charges are costing us £100m a yearDespite the Office for Fair Trading ordering airlines to stop the charges, many have refused to scrap them, adding up to £48 to the bill of a family holiday for four, research has found.

The Mirror

• Bombardier allies set for £500,000 court battle over trains deal A £500,000 fighting fund has been set up to stop the Government throwing Bombardier Trains on the industrial scrapheap.
• Rail ticket offices to disappear at one in four stations, claims union A SECRET hit list will force the closure of one in four railway ticket offices in England and Wales with the loss of more than 1,000 jobs – a union claimed yesterday.
• Airlines hit passengers with £18million in card charges despite OFT ruling over hidden booking fees PASSENGERS are being stung for £265,000 a day in hidden booking fees as airlines fail to end a card rip-off.

ATOC

• ATOC responds to TSSA claims on ticket officesIn response to the TSSA’s campaign on ticket offices and station staffing,...

Network Rail

• MORE SERVICES FOR BUSHEY STATION
• FORTH BRIDGE MAKES FINAL BRUSH WITH A MODERN MYTHPainting due for completion by December
• HUNDREDS OF JOBS FOR MK AS NETWORK RAIL KICKS OFF RECRUITMENT DRIVE

Derby Telegraph

• We'll fight rail deal in court with city cashLEADERS at Derby City Council want to provide the money needed to mount a legal challenge against the Government's decision to award the £1.4 billion Thameslink contract to a German company instead of Bombardier.
• Anger over Government's refusal to release details of rail contract bidsBUSINESS leaders have been left fuming after the Government refused to give details about the bids from Bombardier and Siemens for the Thameslink rail contract.
• Bombardier fall-out would be felt across UK, says unionMORE than 800 firms would be forced to lay off staff if Bombardier decided to close its Litchurch Lane plant and pull out of the UK, according to a union survey.

Edinburgh Evening News

• City willing to hand more tram power to governmentCity leaders have admitted that they would be willing to hand more control of the tram project to the Scottish Government.

Journal Live

• Traffic levels falling thanks to toll road THE re-introduction of a £2 toll has led to a dramatic fall in traffic in a city centre, transport bosses say.

Metro

• Honda to recall almost a million cars over fears of component catching fireHonda is recalling 962,000 vehicles worldwide due to faults including melting power window switches and defective engine units.
• TfL introduces new system to cut overcharging on Oyster cardsForgetful Tube travellers have been charged a small fortune for not touching out with their Oyster pay-as-you-go cards at the end of a journey but that's all set to change as TfL introduces a new scheme.
• One in four railway ticket offices set for closureA quarter of railway ticket offices across England and Wales have been earmarked for closure, it has emerged.

Northern Echo

• Safety concerns as railway ticket offices face the axe THE threat of removing ticket staff from hundreds of railway stations has been criticised for jeopardising services and travellers’ safety.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Trams on track to be running by 2014 after project rescuedTHE first tram from Edinburgh Airport to the heart of Scotland™s capital could be running as early as 2014 after a decision to rescue the project.

The York Press

• Safety warning over rail ticket office axe planA NUMBER of railway stations across North and East Yorkshire could be at risk, after a report suggested manned ticket offices could close around the country to save money.

Wales Online

• More than 20 Welsh railway ticket offices could close under 'buried' Government plans More than 20 railway ticket offices in Wales could close under recommendations in a Government-commissioned report

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Transport and industry: 675 rail ticket offices face axeOne in four railway ticket offices in England and Wales could close, with the loss of over 1,000 jobs, under recommendations in a Government-commissioned report “buried” in the small print, a leading transport union warned today.
• Crumbling tunnels threaten Leeds inner ring roadSections of one of Leeds’s busiest roads could be forced to close unless vital repairs are carried out within the next few years, councillors are being warned.

East Anglian Daily Times

• Essex: Railway ticket offices face closureRAILWAY ticket offices in Tendring and Colchester are among those recommended for closure in a Government-commissioned report, a transport union has warned.

Plymouth Herald

• Builder gets £1.8m contract for stationSTAVERTON-based Britannia Construction has won a contract for the installation and landscaping of the new £1.85 million Swindon Railway Station Forecourt development.

Other Regional Press

• £700,000 railway station makeover is under way A LONG-awaited £700,000 refurbishment of Burton’s run-down railway station has finally begun.
• Multi-million rail link could boost Westcountry economyA new railway station linking the Great Western main line with Heathrow could bring a major boost to the far South West, according to regional business leaders.
• Train station ticket office hit-list 'risk to safety'Rail passengers could be put at risk if plans to leave as many as 18 train stations in the West without staff get the go-ahead.
• Commuters to benefit from rail extensionWork has begun to reopen a disused platform at Bushey railway station to make way for a later train service.
• Dozens of railway ticket offices 'could close'A union reveals a list of 28 ticket offices in Kent which it says could be left unmanned.
• Opposition grows to threat to Dover cruise businessDover District Chamber of Commerce has added its voice to the opposition to Liverpool being allowed to have cruises starting and finishing at the port.
• Call for firms to fund Aberdeen road upgradeA COMMUNITY council leader was today demanding that businesses do their bit to improve a controversial Aberdeen road.
• New taxi rank for Aberdeen A NEW move to transform night-time transport in Aberdeen is set to come into operation later this month.

Global Rail News

• TSSA rail union claims one in four ticket offices to closeThe Transport Salaried Staffs Association has said that a ‘hit list’ of 675 station ticket office closures has been drawn up for Ministers. The claim comes from ...
• Work begins to reopen disused platform at Bushey stationWorks to reopen a disused platform at Bushey station to allow London Midland to provide more weekday evening and weekend services started today. Weekend improvement work ...
• Crossrail Chairman joins Boxwood BoardBoxwood, the award-winning management consultancy firm, announces the appointment of Terry Morgan CBE as a Non-Executive Board Director. Terry joins with immediate effect and will be ...
• Forth Bridge facelift to be complete in DecemberNetwork Rail and main contractor Balfour Beatty Regional Civil Engineering will preside over the end of a modern myth when painting of the Forth Bridge finally ...
• Northern Rail launches online ticket sales serviceThe UK™s largest rail operator, Northern Rail, has this week launched its new online ticket sales facility, offering its customers the chance to purchase tickets for ...
• TfL introduces new Oyster systemAs part of a series of innovations to improve customers’ experience of Oyster, Transport for London (TfL) has introduced a new facility for Oyster pay as ...

The Business Desk

• Manchester wins share of station improvement fund MANCHESTER's Victoria station, Congleton, Guide Bridge, Sandbach and Todmorden stations are all to gain improvements as part of the first round of awards made from a new £100m station improvement fund.

Aviation Industry

• London Stansted ˜Meet the Buyers™ 2011Local firms from across the East of England are being invited to secure their place at a highly acclaimed business networking event at Stansted Airport.
• Glasgow Airport lands two new routesPackage holiday specialist Jet2holidays has launched two new holiday destinations for Summer 2012 direct from Glasgow Airport “ the magical Greek Islands of Crete and Rhodes.
• Glasgow Airport lands two new routesPackage holiday specialist Jet2holidays has launched two new holiday destinations for Summer 2012 direct from Glasgow Airport “ the magical Greek Islands of Crete and Rhodes.
• ˜Security main aviation legacy of 9/11™Annual bill for industry now $7.4bn
• Stansted signs deal on fast tracking£5 tickets to speed through security

Other News Sources

• Nearly a thousand UK supply company's caught up in Bombardier betrayal as unions take case to ParliamentRAIL UNION RMT revealed today that nearly a thousand UK company's in the supply chain stand to lose out if the Government persists with the planned betrayal of Bombardier in Derby over the Thameslink fleet contract.
• East Lancashire hospitals' shuttle bus cutbacksHOSPITAL campaigners have slammed a decision to cut back the number of buses running between Royal Blackburn and Burnley General.
• News from Caroline Pidgeon - Far more still needs to be done to tackle the scandal of Oyster overcharging 5 September, 2011 Caroline Pidgeon, Leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, commenting on Transport for London™s new facility for Oyster pay as you go customers who occasionally forget to touch out at the end of their Tube, DLR Overground or National Rail journeys said: "After many months of campaigning to highlight the scandal of Oyster overcharging it is good news that they are at last beginning to accept that a problem even exists. 360-house-thumb.jpg ...
• News from John Biggs: Plans To Cut Staff At Some East London Stations 5 September, 2011 Following an investigation into the McNulty Report by the TSSA, it was today revealed that 3 stations in East London could lose all their staff. The McNulty Report was published on the 19th May 2011 and was commissioned by the Government to look into ways to provide more value for money on the rail network. The TSSA investigation has discovered that in the small print of the report is a recommendation to leave 675 stations across the country without any members of staff. This includes the following stations in East Lon...
• How will TfL™s plans change public transport ticketing in London? 5 September, 2011 - 10:00 From spring 2012 bus passengers will be able to use contactless payment to board.  Transport for London (TfL) then plans to introduce contactless payment on the rest of the transport network[1].  Will passengers take to using contactless bank cards as tickets? And does this spell the end of the Oyster card? oyster.jpg Yes read more
• Hactl announces 9% drop in August tonnage throughput Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (Hactl) has announced its air cargo tonnage throughput for August 2011. A total of 221,375 tonnes were handled in the month, registering a year-on-year drop of 9.3% (see Ti Dashboard “ Air Cargo: Airports). read more
• IAG sees large rise in premium traffic But domestic markets suffer loss
• GTMC reports "staggering" drop in rail bookingsFigures down for first time in five years