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

Wednesday, 16 May 2012

BBC News

• Rail firm London Midland 'to save £1.25m by job cuts' Leaked documents show that the rail firm London Midland plans to save £1.25m a year by closing ticket offices and cutting staff, a union says.
• Cycle route 'best in the Borders'A survey of cyclists in the Scottish Borders reveals a scenic, circular route as their favourite in the region.
• VIDEO: London airport queues 'not acceptable'Damian Green said some queue levels at London's Heathrow and Stansted airports were
• VIDEO: Heathrow queues: 'Get a grip' warning [video]The government needs to "get a grip" on queues at Heathrow Airport, the chief executive of London First says.
• Minister 're-moding' for OlympicsTransport Secretary Justine Greening has appeared in a government video explaining how she plans to "re-route, re-mode, re-time" as part of a drive to cut travel during the Olympics.
• Empey seeks Heathrow guaranteesUlster Unionist peer Lord Empey asks Westminster to guarantee landing slots at Heathrow for Northern Ireland flights.
• New checks for some EU flightsAdditional security measures are being introduced on plans departing from Dublin Airport for other EU airports.
• Taxi green lights 'xenophobic'The Irish transport minister has described the green lights that have been put on some Dublin taxis as
• Flybe ends Belfast-Bristol routeFlybe is dropping its Belfast City Airport to Bristol route from 10 June due to
• Plea to fix landslide-hit roadA group of councillors make a plea to MSPs at Holyrood for major investment on a landslip-hit road.

Financial Times

• Indian and Chinese airlines snub EU on carbonThe carriers “ two from India and eight from China “ could face fines unless they respond to requests for data
• ECJ official backs flight delay damagesEuropean Court of Justice advocate-general says passengers delayed by three hours or more have right to compensation from their airline
• Lufthansa loss brings change in the airAsset sales and cost cuts form key parts of chief executive™s drastic steps to improve profitability at Europe™s largest carrier by revenues
• Lufthansa bid to Tap into LatAm marketThe German airline, which is keen to play a role in the industry™s consolidation, is likely to launch a bidding war for the Portuguese flag carrier
• AMR unions back contract changesBankrupt parent of American Airlines hopes plan, which hinges on labour costs falling by $1.25bn, will return group to profitability

The Guardian

• Damian Green grilled by MPs over Heathrow delays: Politics live blogDamian Green's evidence on Heathrow - summary

The Independent

• Minister blames wrong type of wind for chaos at Heathrow Emergency plans to hire 70 more staff at troubled Heathrow were announced by the Immigration Minister yesterday as he acknowledged that the huge queues at the airport may be damaging Britain's reputation abroad.
• The Department of Transport 'remodes' itself into comedyTrending on Twitter yesterday: an unlikely YouTube clip courtesy of the Department of Transport. "The Government is aiming to positively change its travel by 50 per cent during the Olympics to help manage demand on the capital's transport system," it announces.

The Scotsman

• Keith Brown faces questions over state of lifeline A83A HOLYROOD committee hopes to question transport minister Keith Brown about problems on a “lifeline” road.

The Telegraph

• Business leaders call for urgent Government meeting over aviation strategy A group of business leaders has accused the Government of damaging the British economy and allowing the country to lose business to continental Europe because they do not have an aviation strategy.

Press Association

• Rail company accused over cuts A rail firm has been accused of planning to make £1.25 million a year in profits from closing ticket offices and cutting jobs.

Mail Online

• Joan tweets in fury at Theresa May over Heathrow hold-up... And look out Mrs May, she has 68,000 followersJoan Collins yesterday joined the attack on Britain’s shambolic border controls after getting stuck in a queue of ‘thousands’ of travellers at Heathrow.

The Mirror

• "Need more officers!": Joan Collins' anger over Heathrow Airport queue crisisIt comes as panicked ministers ordered dozens of new border staff to be sent to Heathrow
• Ministry of silly words: Transport Secretary urges Londoners to "re-mode" to work during OlympicsThe Transport Secretary came out with the invented word while telling people how to travel in London during the Olympics

Birmingham Mail

• Transport secretary Justine Greening opens new £1.2m control centre in the West MidlandsA HI-TECH command centre has opened to combat crime and anti social behaviour on the West Midlands’ public transport network.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Police say cab driver can use buslane but council wants £1600A MINIBUS driver who transports severely disabled children to school has been hit with 27 fines for driving through bus lanes despite being assured by police that his vehicle was eligible.

London Evening Standard

• Women rail staff mind the £4,500 pay gap, says union Rail bosses were today accused of treating women employees as “second class citizens” by paying them thousands less than men for doing the same job.

Metro

• Rail operator 'plans to slash ticket offices to save £1.25million'A leaked document suggests a train company plans to save £1.25million a year by closing or cutting dozens of ticket offices, a union said. RMT general secretary Bob Crow has attacked the plans (Picture: Getty) London Midland was ˜blazing a trail™ for other operators with cuts to 86 out of 90 offices and the loss of 100 jobs, the Rail and Maritime union warned. The measures were a warning of the cuts in the rail industry recommended in Sir Roy McNulty™s ˜value for money™ report last year, which is still being considered by ministers, it added. RMT general secretary Bob Crow said: ˜These lea...

Sheffield Star

• Second strike ballot at rail firm serving SheffieldRAIL firm East Midlands Trains could be hit by strike action from a second union over planned changes to staff pensions.

Peterborough Telegraph

• Thomas Cook warning over aircraft fleet saleMajor Peterborough employer Thomas Cook has warned its shareholders that their failure to back two planned disposals could lead to the travel giant going into administration.

Other Regional Press

• Redevelopment of Northampton™s railway station are ˜key™ to the growth of townWORK will begin this year to transform Northampton’s railway station after the Government announced a £10 million investment in the scheme.
• Manston Airport night flights opposedProposals for night-time flights at Manston Airport have been thrown into doubt after Thanet District Council said it will not support the plans.

Global Rail News

• Bombardier and Carillion announce new Infrasig joint ventureBombardier Transportation and Carillion have announced the launch of a new UK joint venture, named Infrasig. The new venture is already making a ‘significant contribution to the upgrade in UK infrastructure,’ having recently been appointed as one of the suppliers awarded a framework agreement by Network Rail for its rail signalling upgrade programme. This will [...]
• ˜Support builds™ for new Heathrow rail routeWandsworth Council™s proposal for a new direct rail services between Waterloo and Heathrow has ‘won support from more London boroughs’, the Council has said. Hounslow and Hammersmith & Fulham Councils are ‘backing the scheme as a key measure to improve surface access to the airport and to ease congestion on the Piccadilly Line’. The service [...]
• Rail operator penalties ˜to benefit customers™The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) has outlined changes it wants to make to its enforcement policy which would encourage operators to make improvements for customers, where there has been a breach of licence. A more flexible approach to accepting ˜reparations™ would encourage rail operators to spend money within the industry to ˜make good™ the [...]
• Funding agreed for redevelopment of Northampton rail stationMinisters have approved £10 million of Government funding for the redevelopment of Northampton station. The redevelopment is the first step in a regeneration project in the town which will ‘stimulate the growth of Northampton™s economy creating opportunities for thousands of new jobs’, the Department for Transport said. Transport Secretary Justine Greening said: œNorthampton deserves a [...]
• Train operator urges union to end strikesEast Midlands Trains has challenged trade union ASLEF to ‘let train drivers decide’ on the company™s proposals to resolve the current pensions dispute which has disrupted thousands of journeys over the past couple of weeks. The company accused the ASLEF central negotiating team of ‘deliberately keeping its members in the dark as the trade union [...]
• Transforming TrojansWhen the Corus steelworks at Port Talbot needed new, more powerful industrial locomotives for its internal rail system, it turned to Corus Northern Engineering Services at Scunthorpe to design and build them. Four locomotives were built, with many delays and redesigns, between 2008 and 2011. The first œTrojan locomotive, No.920, was supplied in October 2009, [...]
• Rapid transport on offer for wildlife at Crossrail siteWild orchids, fish, reptiles and giant eels have been given new homes thanks to Network Rail following the start of its works on behalf of Crossrail in the Stockley Junction area in West London. Before work began on the Stockley Interchange in late March, which will allow Crossrail services to operate to and from Heathrow [...]

London TravelWatch

• London TravelWatch welcomes Law Commission™s recommendations on taxi and private hire regulation London TravelWatch has welcomed the Law Commission™s recommendations on taxi and private hire regulation. The independent passenger watchdog is especially pleased to see the Commission recommend national minimum safety standards for both taxis and private hire vehicles and an increase in enforcement powers for licensing officers against out-of-borough vehicles and drivers.
• London TravelWatch expresses disappointment that there will be no additional Southeastern services for commuters from Peckham Rye and Denmark HillLondon TravelWatch is disappointed at the Department of Transport™s (DfT) decision that Southeastern trains should not make additional stops at Peckham Rye and Denmark Hill during peak hours. The independent passenger watchdog has campaigned for these improvements and wrote to the Secretary of State for Transport in January 2012 to ask for the Government™s support.

Aviation Industry

• British Airways outlines plans for BmiBA has revealed more details of how it will integrate Bmi over the next few months and years
• GTMC 2012: Government criticised for 'lack of vision' on airport expansionCoalition™s aviation policy is just 'bits of Elastoplast over gaping wound'

Other News Sources

• Third runway at Heathrow 'would boost GDP by £8bn', peer claims A third runway at Heathrow Airport would “add about £8bn to the GDP” of Britain and would cost the public nothing, a peer has claimed.
• RMT begins balloting for action on pensions on East Midlands TrainsRAIL UNION RMT will begin balloting members tomorrow for strike action and action short of a strike in a dispute over pensions on East Midlands Trains - the ballot will close on the 30th of May.
• Leaked documents show London Midland planning to pocket £1.25 million a year from closing ticket offices and sacking staffRAIL UNION RMT today published leaked internal documents showing that London Midland plan to profit to the tune of £1.25 million a year from their programme of savage cuts to ticket offices and staffing levels.
• DfT approves £10m for Northampton railway station fundingThe Department for Transport has approved £10 million in funding for the regeneration of Northampton Castle railway station.