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

Tuesday, 14 August 2012

BBC News

• Rail fares will rise by 6.2% in January Some rail fares in England will rise by 6.2% in January - about double the rate of inflation - although other price rises may be higher.
• Luton Airport owner and operator set to submit expansion plans Plans to increase capacity at Luton Airport will be submitted this autumn after its owner and operator formally agreed to work together.
• 2012 Olympics transport strategy hailed a success Only about 30% of Games Lanes in London were typically needed each day of the Olympics as one third of Londoners changed their travel habits, said Transport for London (TfL).
• U-turn over Waverley taxi banTaxis will continue to operate from Edinburgh's Waverley Station following a U-turn by rail chiefs.
• Wrightbus wins Singapore contractBallymena company, Wrightbus, has secured a three-year contract worth £41m to supply 550 double-decker buses to Singapore.
• Coaches set on fire in car parkAn arsonist sets fire to three coaches and damages a fourth in an attack in a Salford car park.
• Italian airline suspends flightsAn Italian cash-strapped budget airline, Wind Jet, suspends all its flights, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded at Rome airport.
• Easyjet chairman survives voteEasyjet founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou fails in his attempt to oust Sir Michael Rake as the airline's chairman.
• Rail fares set for sharp increaseRail fare increases from next January are set to be revealed, with some commuters braced for increases of more than double the rate of inflation.

Financial Times

• Coalition squabbling over need for new economic legislation [blog]You may have read in several places over the last week about a new “jobs bill” which is being drawn up for the autumn and will somehow launch the Heathrow expansion, slash red tape and kickstart the economy.
• FirstGroup “ West Coast dreamingShare price rise suggests the market thinks it will win the franchise but much lies with the company™s ability to cut costs and raise fares
• Greening vows push to ease rail faresThe transport secretary has promised to lobby the Treasury to avert inflation-busting increases in order to ease the pressure on household budgets
• EasyJet founder loses vote to oust chairmanInvestors representing 53.3% of shares cast in a shareholder vote rejected the motion to force out Sir Michael Rake at the budget airline

The Guardian

• Protests may herald U-turn on coalition's rail fare risesGovernment hints it may back down over planned increases in the face of mounting oppositionPassenger groups and unions are stepping up pressure over train fares with a day of action, as the government hinted it may back down over planned rises that would result in some season tickets costing £1,000 more in 2015 than in 2011.Fares will rise in January by three percentage points above the July RPI figure, announced on Tuesday. That is expected to leave fares between 5% and 6% higher. Passenger groups said train fares were going up three times faster than salaries. With train operators allowed to...

The Herald

• Bus takeover approved by commissionA CONTROVERSIAL bus company takeover, which saw responsibility for 70% of services in Renfrewshire handed to McGill's Bus Services, has been approved by competition authorities.
• Rail bosses in U-turn on taxi ban at WaverleyPLANS to ban taxis from Edinburgh's Waverley Station have been dropped by Network Rail.

The Telegraph

• FirstGroup could rename West Coast service Horizon Trains FirstGroup is considering ditching its company name from the West Coast rail franchise and rebranding the operation Horizon Trains, should it win the controversial bid for the London to Scotland service.
• No punches pulled in easyJet encounter If the City had been expecting a lull following the drama of the Olympics closing ceremony, there was plenty to be found at a bright orange hangar next to Luton airport today.
• World shipping crisis threatens German dominance as Greeks win long game Germany’s shipping industry faces a wave of bankruptcies over coming months as funding dries up and deepening economic woes across the world cause a sharp contraction in container trade.
• Luton airport row ends as council scales back expansion Luton airport’s council owners have abandoned their long-term ambition to triple passenger numbers to 30m a year following a row with the airport’s operator, Spanish group Abertis.
• West Coast rail bids look an accident waiting to happen It's not just FirstGroup's rail bid that looks absurdly optimistic. Sir Richard Branson's does too. Maybe the Department for Transport is just having a laugh. You know, giving Sir Richard Branson the impression he’s being kicked off the railways just to watch him huff and puff.
• Rail fares set to rise three times faster than salariesThousands will face rises of more than more than 10 per cent because a system known as

Reuters News

• London's Heathrow airport braced for Olympics exodusLONDON (Reuters) - London's Heathrow airport is braced for one its busiest ever days on Monday with around 15,000 Olympic athletes and officials expected to leave the capital following the end of the Games.

Daily Express

• EasyJet's investors reject Stelios coupEASYJET investors rejected a bid by the budget airline's founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou to oust its chairman but the row is set to continue.
• West Coast franchise in the balanceTHE battle for the West Coastrail franchise could be settled as early as today withFirstGroup widely expected to snatch it from Virgin Rail.
• BP in £1.7bn US spill saleBRITISH oil giant BP yesterday unveiled more than £1.7billion worth of sell-offs in the US as part of its £24billion disposal plan to reshape the business following the Gulf of Mexico disaster in 2010.

Mail Online

• Rail ticket prices: Commuters set to suffer train fare increases of up to 20% over two yearsTrain companies are likely to be allowed to increase some season tickets by nearly 11 per cent next year - adding to a massive 8 per cent hike in some fares this year.

ATOC

• National Rail helps deliver an outstanding Olympic GamesWith trains the most popular way to travel to London 2012 events, a historic increase in capacity and high levels of punctuality,...

Belfast Telegraph

• Sir Stelios to lose his latest fight with easyJetEasyjet is set to rebuff an attempt by the low-cost airline's founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou to oust Sir Michael Rake as chairman.Related StoriesProduction lines boost economy but growth still lackingTravel firm takes off thanks to £35m deal with universities across the UKBank glitch fear for customers' credit ratingsTravel firm takes off thanks to £35m deal with universities across the UKWind farm built at H&W on its way to power Wales
• Travel firm takes off thanks to £35m deal with universities across the UK A Belfast travel firm has won a deal with universities across the UK worth up to £35m and with the potential to create 12 jobs. Related StoriesProduction lines boost economy but growth still lackingTravel firm takes off thanks to £35m deal with universities across the UKBank glitch fear for customers' credit ratingsSir Stelios to lose his latest fight with easyJetWind farm built at H&W on its way to power Wales

Edinburgh Evening News

• Rail chiefs in U-turn over Waverley taxi banRAIL chiefs have backed down over a planned taxi ban at Edinburgh Waverley, the Evening News can reveal, in favour of an advanced anti-terror vetting system to screen vehicles.

Journal Live

• Locals get chance to have their say on Morpeth Northern BypassLOCAL people are being given a final chance to help shape the design of a new £30m link road aimed at cutting traffic congestion in the heart of a Northumberland market town.

Liverpool Post

• Liverpool MP Maria Eagle warns rail passengers will ’lose out’ in Virgin battleA LIVERPOOL MP today claimed rail passengers will “lose out” whoever is picked to run train services between the city and London.
• Jaguar Land Rover switches to 24-hour production at HalewoodCARMAKER Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is moving to 24-hour production at its Merseyside factory for the first time in 50 years.

London Evening Standard

• EasyJet fends off attempt to oust chairman SteliosEasyJet fended off an attempt to oust its chairman today in the latest spat between the low-cost airline's founder, Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, and its directors.
• Athletes fly home praising LondonA journey through Heathrow airport - not always a happy experience - has been made near perfect for thousands of departing Olympic athletes.
• Protests over rising rail faresUnions, transport campaigners and rail passenger groups have launched a day of action to protest at "massive" fare increases and cuts to jobs and services.

Manchester Evening News

• End of the line for Virgin running West Coast trains?Sir Richard Branson could lose his West Coast rail franchise to FirstGroup this week, with a transport union warning that the switch in ownership could mean higher fares, poorer services and job losses.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Details emerge of Tyneside bus shake-up plans TAXPAYERS will be asked to underwrite a £100m-a-year council plan to take control of bus routes in Tyne & Wear.

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• Virgin faces losing West Coast rail lineVirgin Trains will find out this week whether it will lose its West Coast rail franchise to run trains through Stafford, Wolverhampton and Sandwell and Dudley.
• Plans in pipeline to improve busy Walsall islandTransport bosses in Walsall today revealed they are working on improvements for the busy Broadway and Sutton Road island.

The Shields Gazette

• Tunnel bosses™ pledge to passengersTRANSPORT bosses have pledged to help passengers stranded during the closure of the Tyne pedestrian and cyclist tunnels later this year.
• End of the road for transport firmA SOUTH Tyneside company which has provided a vital transport link for hundreds of disabled and elderly passengers over the last decade has gone off the road.

Other Regional Press

• UK & World News: Protests over rising rail faresUnions, transport campaigners and rail passenger groups have launched a day of action to protest at
• On track for rail fare risesKent's commuters are bracing themselves for another big hike in rail fares.

Global Rail News

• Boxwood aims to ˜transform™ Network RailAward-winning consultancy firm Boxwood has been brought in by Network Rail to improve transparency and value for money. Associate director Gitte Ganderup will head up a team which will work alongside the company with the aim of transforming how it operates. Toby Ashong, head of construction, rail and infrastructure at Boxwood, said: œFollowing a rigorous [...]
• Campaigners urge re-think ahead of predicted fare riseThe Government is expected to announce fare increases of as much as 5.7 per cent on Tuesday, but campaigners believe there is still time to ease passenger pain. The cost of train tickets is currently calculated using a formula of three per cent above the Retail Price Index (RPI). On Tuesday, July’s figure is expected [...]
• India and Belgium sign rail improvement pledgeIndia and Belgium have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the development and modernisation of the railway sector in both countries. The MoU was signed between Indian Railways Minister Mukul Roy and his counterpart Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and European Affairs of Belgium Didier Reynders, who was on [...]
• First Group expected to pip Branson to West CoastRail union RMT is gearing up to challenge West Coast favourites First Group over fears that jobs could be lost if the company is awarded the franchise later this week. The UK’s biggest operator is expected to cross the finishing line ahead of Virgin after submitting a bid thought to be around £1 billion more [...]
• East Coast responds to high complaint figureEast Coast has said it is continuing to improve customer service after a survey by Passenger Focus revealed it as the most complained about TOC. Out of 3,069 complaints dealt with by the watchdog, 774 related to East Coast trains. Complaints ranged from ticketing problems to the staff’s treatment of passengers. In response to the [...]
• Has London™s rail network coped with the Olympics?London’s ‘feel-good’ Olympic Games may have got people talking on the Tube, but how did the city’s rail network stand up to the task? More than half of spectators, around five million people, used rail at some point to travel to and from Olympic venues, according to figures released by the Association of Train Operating [...]
• Stratford Parkway set to open seven months earlyStratford Parkway Station is set to open seven months early after official contracts are agreed to build the transport hub. Buckingham Group Contracting has been awarded the detailed design and build contract for the new Stratford-upon-Avon Parkway Station by Warwickshire County Council. Work on the new station is due to begin later this year. The [...]

Railnews

• Railways set Olympics record As the main Olympics come to an end, the railway is celebrating what is probably its most sustained effort in the history of the industry. ATOC has revealed that since the opening ceremony, train companies have provided 12.4 million extra seats, an increase of 18.5 per cent on normal services. It is believed to be the most sustained increase in capacity in the railway’s 187-year history.

Aviation Industry

• Cameras to watch over workers packing airline foodExtra security guards and cameras have been added to monitor caterers at Pearson Airport who prepare food for aircraft, following the discovery of a sewing needle in a sandwich on an Air Canada flight to Toronto.

Other News Sources

• Arriva Midlands drives off with Liyell deal Arriva Midlands has bought the West Midlands operations and assets of bus and coach company Liyell, which trades as Midland.
• Hove MP slams motorbikes in bus lanes delay Council officials have been urged to stop dragging their heels over proposals to open up the city™s bus lanes to motorcycles.