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

Wednesday, 10 October 2012

BBC News

• Jersey bus strike: Minister considers legal action The States is speaking to lawyers about the "illegal" bus strike in Jersey as it enters its second day.
• Jersey bus strike: Minister considers legal action The States is speaking to lawyers about the "illegal" bus strike in Jersey as it enters its second day.
• Birmingham residents' HS2 fearsPeople in Birmingham fear a proposed high speed rail terminus will cut the area off
• Giant cycle lane causes confusionA new giant cycle lane over a Hertfordshire bridge causes pedestrians to be confused and stick to narrow walkways while crossing.
• Bus firm McGill's moves into lossWest of Scotland bus firm McGill's increases turnover but
• Council to step in after bus cutsFalkirk Council is to step in to maintain bus services that are being cut by operator First Scotland at the end of October.
• Boris praises bus firm in speechLondon Mayor Boris Johnson uses his speech at the Conservative Party conference to praise the work of Ballymena coach builders Wrightbus.
• Bus firm wins ambulance contractBus company Arriva is to run part of Greater Manchester's ambulance service, it is confirmed.
• In pictures: Vintage Tube mapsHundeds of vintage London Underground posters fetch more than £1m at auction
• Bus firm McGill's moves into lossWest of Scotland bus firm McGill's increases turnover but
• Maersk ceases Iranian operationsMaersk Line, the world's biggest shipping company, stops calling at Iranian ports as a result of sanctions against the country.
• Ryanair dismisses Stansted bidRyanair says it will not form part of any consortium to buy Stansted after saying the airport's owner BAA had excluded the budget airline from the sale process.

Financial Times

• Ryanair rules out Stansted airport bidLow-cost carrier said that owner BAA and controlling shareholder Ferrovial had excluded it from bidding for London™s third-biggest airport
• FedEx shifts focus to ground transportIn a significant change of tack, Fred Smith says cost reductions now key to achieving the company™s financial goals
• EU set to deal UPS blow over TNT bidEuropean Commission is close to completing its in-depth investigation into €5.2bn tie-up and will issue a ˜statement of objections™
• McLoughlin rejects doubts over HS2Transport secretary dismisses suggestions that the West Coast main line debacle could undermine the plan for a high-speed rail link

The Herald

• Virgin may keep hold of rail route for yearsVIRGIN Trains could run London to Scotland train services for

The Independent

• Exclusive: Minister - 'We will fast-track HS2 high speed rail'The Government will defy "grief and hassle" from its own backbenchers and fast-track plans for a new high-speed rail link between London and Birmingham, the Transport Secretary has told The Independent

The Telegraph

• City Diary: Richard Branson wheels out the brainstorming B Team Sir Richard Branson launches The B Team manifesto as Wonga.com comes under fire from Newcastle United supporters.
• DfT appoints headhunters to search for West Coast managers The Department for Transport has asked headhunters to search for senior managers who could run the West Coast rail franchise on behalf of the state-backed Directly Operated Railways (DOR) from December 9.

Mail Online

• 'Grief and hassle' from backbenchers won't stop HS2 rail line being fast-tracked, says minister The Government will not be deterred from going ahead with the High Speed 2 rail line by the 'grief and hassle' it is getting from backbenchers, the Transport Secretary said today.

Derby Telegraph

• Julie_Bayley commented Campaign to slash biker deaths hailed a successArticle

Journal Live

• OFT looking at Arriva takeover of Staffordshire bus company THE Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is looking into the acquisition of a Staffordshire bus company by Arriva.

London Evening Standard

• 430 Thomas Cook jobs under threatAround 430 jobs are at risk at Thomas Cook after the beleaguered tour operator revealed plans to cut its aircraft fleet to slash costs.

The York Press

• £175k earmarked to prepare business case for York traffic schemes CITY leaders were today set to approve spending £175,000 to work on congestion-busting schemes as part of a transport œwish list for York.

East Anglian Daily Times

• UK: 430 jobs at risk as Thomas Cook cuts airline fleetAROUND 430 jobs are at risk at Thomas Cook after the beleaguered tour operator revealed plans to cut its aircraft fleet to slash costs.

Other Regional Press

• Putney MP Justine Greening unaware of West Coast Rail fiasco, Minsistry say The Ministry of Transport has insisted that its former boss, Putney MP Justine Greening, was unaware of the problems which led to the disastrous flaws in the West Coast Main Line franchise process.
• Calderdale changes seat belt rules for taxis after children transported in pramsCHANGES to seat belt rules in taxis have been approved.
• Big order on buses for firmA TECHNOLOGY firm has won a five-year deal with a transport company to install its two-way radio system on 130 buses.

Aviation Industry

• British Airways™ loyalty move worries buyersTravel managers concerned about losing track of employees who use personal points to upgrade flights
• Qatar Airways to join OneworldCarrier will be the first of the major Gulf airlines to join a global alliance
• Ryanair pulls out of Stansted sale talksNo-frills carrier withdraws from negotiations about joining consortium to buy airport

Other News Sources

• Don't run the West Coast line off the rails, says Virgin Virgin Rail has told the Department for Transport that transferring the West Coast train franchise to a state-owned operator will be a bureaucratic nightmare. 'I said to them, 'you've just proved you can't run a procurement process. How can you prove you can handle 150 commercial contracts?',' says Virgin Rail chairman Patrick McCall. Talks going well then...
• Transport Minister Keith Brown presses Europe on ferry contracts The transport minister has pressed the European Commission to relax restrictions on the length of contracts the Scottish Government can award ferry operators.
• Transport Secretary: HS2 will go ahead The High Speed Rail link between London and the Midlands will go ahead according to the Transport Secretary and Derbyshire Dales MP Patrick McLoughlin.