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

Friday, 09 November 2012

BBC News

• Steel skin to 'transform' stationThe look of New Street station will be transformed by adding 8,000 stainless steel panels as an outer skin, says Network Rail.
• £40m rail station upgrade widenedMulti million pound improvements at several more rail stations have been announced as part of a £40m investment.
• BA owner IAG in bid for VuelingThe owner of British Airways and Iberia, IAG, makes an offer to buy Spanish budget airline Vueling.
• Bid to postpone 3p fuel duty riseLabour is to force a Commons vote on Monday that it hopes will lead to the postponement of a planned 3p per litre rise in fuel duty in January.

Department for Transport

• New headquarters for rail accident investigatorsTransport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin today officially opened the new premises of the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB).

Financial Times

• Finmeccanica sees hurdles as profits riseChief operating officer declined to provide more details on issue troubling investors “ plans to raise €1bn by disposals of energy and transport units
• Regulators split on Eurotunnel ferry dealFrench watchdog approves the acquisition of SeaFrance vessels, a ruling that is at odds with a decision by the UK™s Office of Fair Trading
• Job cuts loom as IAG buys Spanish rivalThe acquisition of Barcelona-based low-cost carrier Vueling is seen to lead to a restructuring of Iberia, IAG™s lossmaking subsidiary
• Flybe meets earnings forecastsHalf-year results bring some relief as regional airline both meets earnings forecasts and reveals cost-cutting target of £2 per seat

The Guardian

• Cycling safety campaigners fear effect of Bradley Wiggins crashActivists insist sport's benefits outweigh risks after cycling star and his coach hurt in separate accidentsShane Sutton can't remember what happened on Thursday morning. All he knows is that he had headed out for his usual spin before going to the velodrome in Manchester, where he is head coach for the GB Cycling Team. He likes to get a few hours in on the bike before work.But as for what happened when he rode along the Stockport Road, the A6, near to the junction with Clare Road in Levenshulme just after 8.55am? Nothing. All he knows is that when he came to, he was en route to Hope hospital....

The Herald

• Better ways to invest in transport links than £348m spend on Borders railway The benefits of the Borders rail project are grossly exaggerated ("Green light for £348m rail project as new deal signed", The Herald, November 7).
• Car clubs help to slash number of vehicles on roadsAROUND 200 vehicles have been removed from Scotland's roads in the last two years due to the spread of Government-backed car clubs, a report has found.

The Independent

• Calls for Government to put cyclists 'at the heart' of transport policy after Bradley Wiggins and Team GB's head cycling coach Shane Sutton are hospitalisedBritish Cycling is leading angry calls urging the Government to put cyclists “at the heart” of transport policy after its star athlete and the man behind Team GB’s gold medal haul in the Olympic velodrome were both injured in separate road accidents within 24 hours of each other.

The Scotsman

• Rail thieves steal or damage half a mile of new power cables THIEVES have stolen or damaged more than half a mile of overhead power cables just after they were installed during electrification work on the Glasgow-Paisley Canal line, forcing Network Rail to cancel more trains for repairs.
• Traffic jam will be seven years long at notorious Aberdeen roundabout MOTORISTS are facing at least another seven years of commuter misery before an improvement scheme is completed at one of Scotland’s worst traffic bottlenecks.

The Telegraph

• Aviation chief attacks 'prevarication' over airports policy The Government’s “prevarication” over aviation policy makes the performances in the BBC comedy Yes Minister “look like a class act”, according to one of the airline industry’s longest-serving leaders.
• If even Bradley Wiggins isn't safe what hope is there for the rest of us?The serious injuries suffered by Bradley Wiggins and Shane Sutton in a matter of days should be sending alarm signals in Whitehall, says The Daily Telegraph's Transport Editor David Millward
• George Osborne facing vote to delay fuel duty riseChancellor will be challenged to fund delay in next year's planned rise in fuel duty by closing loopholes in the tax system.

Daily Express

• FirstGroup set for legal battleTRAIN and bus firm FirstGroup froze its half-year dividend yesterday as it threatened to take legal action against the Government over its
• BA owner's offer for Spanish flyerINTERNATIONAL Airlines Group, the owner of British Airways and Iberia, has made an £89million offer for Spanish budget carrier Vueling.

Mail Online

• Ryanair chief Michael O'Leary calls seatbelts on planes 'useless' and calls for standing room only on flightsMichael O'Leary claims legislation forcing passengers to wear seatbelts is unnecessary and is preventing his airline from introducing cheap 'standing room only' sections.

ATOC

• Train companies praised at new accessibility forumIn the last 10 years the number of journeys made using the Disabled Persons Railcard has increased by 165% to nearly 4,000,000,...

Network Rail

• Network Rail responds to ORR efficiency assessmentNetwork Rail today responded to the Office of Rail Regulation's assessment of the company's efficiency savings made in the first three year of the current control period (CP4, 2009-2014)

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Fears station plan bid has hit buffers Transport authority Metro has insisted plans for a new railway station at Low Moor, Bradford, will not be scrapped.

Liverpool Echo

• Transatlantic link could return to Liverpool John Lennon airportLIVERPOOL John Lennon Airport (JLA) is in talks that could re-open a transatlantic route to Toronto.

Liverpool Post

• Liverpool John Lennon Airport boss attacks Government for 'ignoring' regional airportsCraig Richmond, the chief executive of Peel Airports, which owns JLA, lambasted ministers for “ignoring” regional airports, as the company lodged its response to a consultation on future aviation policy.
• Jaguar Land Rover’s £10bn investment drive over seven yearsLUXURY car maker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is planning a £10bn investment drive over the next seven years to double production at its plants, including Halewood, in Knowsley.

London Evening Standard

• British Cycling seek Government actionBritish Cycling have called for a new Government-led safety drive after Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins' road accident was followed less than 24 hours later by a serious injury to their head coach Shane Sutton.

Manchester Evening News

• Let us take charge of our own trains, says Manchester Council boss Sir Howard BernsteinManchester's town hall boss has said the West Coast mainline fiasco has proved the case for the north west taking control of its own railways. Council chief executive Sir Howard Bernstein said the region™s train network is key to driving its economic growth. And he says Greater Manchester should forge ahead for plans to take over the Transpennine and Northern Rail services.

Yorkshire Post

• FirstGroup’s bus operation on the mendFIRSTGROUP said it was seeing green shoots of recovery in its embattled bus business despite reporting a 33 per cent plunge in half-year earnings at the division.
• Rail company on track for savings but not punctualityNetwork Rail (NR) is still failing to sort out long-distance train service punctuality, regulators have said.

Global Rail News

• Cable theft setback for Paisley Canal electrificationNetwork Rail has announced further closures on the Paisley Canal line after sections of cable were stolen earlier this month. The additional weekend and night time engineering works will be carried out between November 10 and 18, so that engineers can complete the £12 million electrification project between Paisley Canal and Glasgow Central. Network Rail [...]
• Russian Railways back in BerlinWith its vast collection, finding your way around the British Museum is difficult. Some readers may recall the Radio 4 series œA history of the world in a hundred objects which featured key exhibits and, if used as a focus, made visiting the museum far less intimidating. Berlin™s InnoTrans, the world™s biggest rail trade fair, [...]
• Network Rail on target to meet CP4 savings targetNetwork Rail is on course to meet its CP4 savings target, according to rail regulator the ORR. In the past three years, Britain’s rail infrastructure owner has made efficiencies of £775 million and is set to meet the £1 billion a year savings target set by Sir Roy McNulty. Transferring signalling to regional control centres [...]
• Consultation launched over Northern line extensionTransport for London (TfL) has launched a consultation over plans to extend the Northern line. From November 15, residents and businesses will be able to give their views on proposals to extend the Tube line from Kennington to Battersea via Nine Elms. The proposals remain subject to funding and permission from the Government. This latest [...]

Aviation Industry

• New hub airport would 'cost more than £100 billion' A Thames estuary airport would cost twice the current £50 billion estimate for the project, according to former transport secretary Lord Adonis. London™s mayor Boris Johnson has promoted the idea for an estuary airport and plans for a separate project in the area have been produced by leading architects Foster & Partners. Adonis said that Fosters™ £50 billion estimate for the new airport was likely to have œmany billions added to the cost if it went ahead. Adonis was the minister who approved a third runway at Heathrow in 2009 when the last Labour government was in power. œI would be...
• IAG launches €113 million bid for Vueling British Airways™ owner IAG is to make a €113 million bid to buy the rest of Spanish carrier Vueling. IAG said yesterday (November 7) that it was considering the purchase of the rest of Vueling™s shares. IAG currently owns 45.85 per cent of Vueling. The company has now formally launched a cash offer to buy the remaining 54.15 per cent of Vueling which it said will cost it €113 million based on an offer of €7 per share. IAG said the purchase would be funded œusing internal IAG resources. IAG chief executive Willie Walsh said: "With its leading position in Barcelona, European growth ...

Other News Sources

• Spectator debate: No ifs. No buts. Heathrow must have a third run way David Cameron knows that a third runway at Heathrow would be one of the most controversial and significant outcomes of his premiership, which is why he has kicked the decision into the long grass with the Davies Review.
• Four claim lucrative London roads deals worth up to £2.6bnLondon highways contracts potentially worth £2.6 billion have been awarded to four firms, with Balfour Beatty, Costain and Skanska among those to miss out.
• CAA advises winter sun-seekers to check the cost of airline extrasUK holidaymakers looking to book a foreign break this winter can make sure theyrsquo;re not hit by any surprise extra costs, by using the UK Civil Aviation Authorityrsquo;s newly updated...
• Amadeus announces results for first nine months of 2012Growth record supported by both Distribution and IT Solutions businesses Year-on-year highlights for year-to-date (nine months ended September 30, 2012) bull; Revenue grew 8.4%1 to euro;2,233.1...