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

Wednesday, 04 February 2009

BBC News

• Rail overcrowding warning issuedAny plans by rail companies to cut services because of the recession must not "compromise" efforts to tackle overcrowding, a report has warned.
• Mobiles connect across the wavesMerchant ship crews will soon be able to ditch satellite phones and make calls to home using their own mobiles.
• Car-free homes call to boost playHousing estates should be built where cars park away from homes to allow children to play in the street, two charities say.
• SAS cuts workforce by 40%Scandinavian airline SAS is to shed thousands of posts and sell stakes in other airlines as part of a restructuring as profits fall.
• Scania cuts jobs as profit slumpsSwedish truck maker Scania cuts 2,000 jobs after quarterly profits fall heavily and orders collapse.
• US car loan firm GMAC in profitUS car financing firm GMAC, which has received government help, has returned to profit after more than a year of losses.

Department for Transport

• Less taxing taxi trips for disabled passengers New proposals to improve access to taxis for disabled people have been launched by Transport Minister Paul Clark.

Financial Times

• Lufthansa issues optimistic forecastGerman airline bucks the trend set by its European rivals, saying it expects 2008 operating profit to be higher than expected
• Tui shares drop over possible loan to HapagGerman travel and shipping group may need to step in to replace bank funding for Hamburg consortium buying container-ship operator
• Qantas plans A$500m share issueAustralia's largest airline is expected to announce plans to raise at least A$500m ($260m) in a share issue to bolster its balance sheet as the global economic downturn intensifies
• SAS launches sweeping turnround planThe Scandinavian airline plans a SKr6bn rights issue as it launches a drastic restructuring aimed at shrinking its activities and pulling the group out of heavy losses
• BMI chief faces no confidence votePilots are voting on a motion of no confidence in Nigel Turner, chief executive, after the airline decided to renege on a previously agreed pay deal

The Guardian

• Segways could be solution to snow, says Lembit ÖpikIt isn't often that you laugh out loud while reading the daily parliamentary bulletin of early day motions (the parliamentary device MPs use to highlight causes close to their hearts), but today is an exception. Former cheeky boy Lembit Öpik has tabled a motion entitled "Segways and the snow".
• London will choke on pollution planHalting the rollout of a low emission zone is bad for health and the environment, and could cost Boris Johnson dear
• London snowfall: Boris transport chief rejects Livingstone criticismTransport for London commissioner rejects suggestions that transport authorities in London did not do enough to ensure people could travel around the capital yesterday
• Government falls short of CO2 targetLabour looks almost certain to fail on its key environmental pledge to cut emissions of carbon dioxide, the most significant of the greenhouse gases blamed for global warming.The latest government figures show greenhouse gas emissions overall fell in 2007 and that the UK is on course to reduce the national total by double the target set by the international Kyoto agreement.However, although emissions of carbon dioxide also fell, its total decline since the baseline year of 1990 was 8.5%, substantially short of Labour's manifesto pledge of 20% by 2010. The decline by 2007 increases to 12.8% if ...

The Independent

• Johnson praises 'heroic' transport efforts after snow Boris Johnson praised the "heroic" efforts" of transport bosses to get the capital's buses running today as he refused to allow the snow-related problems to prevent him attending a grilling by MPs.

The Telegraph

• Citroën to relaunch iconic DS French carmaker Citroën is to relaunch its iconic DS the sleek 1950s car immortalised by Charles de Gaulle in the hope that a wave of nostalgia might save it from the economic crisis and a sales slump it has emerged.

Times Online

• Ferrovial's leader considers sale of BAA stake The chief executive of Ferrovial, the Spanish infrastructure group, yesterday for the first time raised the possibility of his company selling a stake in BAA, the British airports operator, which it owns.
• Vauxhall workforce rejects sabbatical solution When Vauxhall offered the 2,200 production workers at its Ellesmere Port factory a sabbatical of up to nine months, the move was hailed by many as innovative and imaginative.
• BP reports first quarterly loss for seven years BP yesterday reported its first quarterly loss in more than seven years as a spreading global recession sapped demand for crude oil while TNK-BP, its troubled Russian unit, was hit by a $700million tax and foreign currency charge.$

Mail Online

• Passengers' revolt over 'drunken pilot' who refused to get off and promised not to touch anything Passengers who suspected their pilot was intoxicated were astonished to be told by the airline that 'it's not such a big deal' to be drunk and in charge of a plane.

Network Rail

• MAJORITY OF RAIL NETWORK OPEN FOR BUSINESS

Edinburgh Evening News

• Airport chief pleads with city not to scrap marketing bodyEDINBURGH Airport's managing director today appealed to the city council not to pull the plug on a new initiative to promote the Capital.
• Drivers plug into chance to test out electric carsELECTRIC cars could be on the streets of the Capital from as early as this summer under plans being put forward by a group of green transport experts.

London Evening Standard

• This transport collapse is inexcusableAdmittedly, it was the worst snowfall for a couple of decades and fell on a Sunday night, when traffic is light, allowing it to settle. However, it is still pretty inexcusable that London's transport system fell apart so completely yesterday morning.
• Many a slip as walkers tackle the ungritted pavementsONDON councils came under renewed fire today for failing to clear pavements of treacherous ice. Many commuters were wearing walking boots and carrying ski poles for fear of slipping and falling over.
• Transport round-upFind out how London's transport network is coping...
• Branson has eye on the East Coast LineTransport: Sir Richard Branson has begun lobbying to take control of train services out of King’s Cross and win Virgin Trains a monopoly on fast intercity trains to the North and Scotland
• We're doing the best we can, says transport chiefLondon's transport chief apologised for the disruption to services in the wake of the snow

Metro

• BP reveals £18bn profits boostBP announced its annual profits jumped 39% to 25.6 billion US dollars (£18.1 billion) as last year's soaring oil prices fuelled results.
• UK cuts carbon emissions by 1.5%The UK's carbon dioxide emissions fell 1.5% in 2007 - but the Government faced accusations of 'creative accounting' over the figures.

The York Press

• North Yorkshire Moors Railway passenger joy A LEADING attraction has defied both bad weather and the economic downturn.

Wales Online

• Council apology for sending travel cards to the deadA COUNCIL has said sorry to upset families after sending travel cards to people who had died.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• MP praises Leeds holiday firm Jet2holidays.com for creating local jobsA LEEDS MP has praised the city's low cost airline for creating "jobs for local people".
• "Trojan" bus ride for Leeds's young loutsA "Trojan" bus with police as passengers has been on patrol to catch problem-causing school children.

Chester Standard

• Cheshire Police pilot new programme to reduce bicycle theftsBIKE thieves in and around Chester will be stopped in their tracks with new measures geared to combat a growing 'stolen to order' internet trade.

The Shields Gazette

• Revealed - the car which could save NissanTHE future's bright “ the future's Qazana.

Washington Post

• US auto sales in reverse, plunge to 26-year low DETROIT -- Automakers started 2009 in reverse.

Transport for London

• Mayor announces proposed suspension of LEZ for vehicles affected from October 2010The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has announced his intention to suspend the third phase of the Low Emission Zone (LEZ), which was due to affect vans and minibuses from October 2010.

Other News Sources

• BAA Plans to Finance Heathrow Runway Expansion With Bond Sales BAA Ltd., the airport operator controlled by Spain’s Grupo Ferrovial SA, plans to sell bonds to help finance the construction of a third runway at London’s Heathrow.
• BAA announces £4bn plan for Heathrow improvementsBAA has revealed detailed plans to spend £4bn improving Heathrow Airport over the next five years.
• NASA analyses synthetic fuel emissionsIn a bid to understand synthetic fuels' emissions, NASA has fitted its McDonnell Douglas DC-8 airborne laboratory's engines with sampling probes for plume chemistry detection using a quantum-cascade-laser methane isotope sensor.
• BAA boss says restricting growth at Heathrow will not cut carbon emissionsAs chief executive of BAA for the last 10 months, Colin Matthews has watched as Heathrow airport turned into an iconic battleground for environmental campaigners furious at the prospect of a third runway.
• Bus fares frozen - for someMore than half of Arriva passengers will either see a reduction or no increase in fares when the transport company announces its annual price changes this Sunday.
• Disney World prez: Orlando needs commuter railAs the leader of a business that employs more than 60,000 Central Floridians, I find a lot to like about SunRail. It will provide another way for commuters to reach their jobs. It will open new access to existing businesses. And it will help bring new businesses here.
• Branson has eye on the East Coast LineSir Richard Branson has begun lobbying to take control of train services out of King's Cross and win Virgin Trains a monopoly on fast intercity trains to the North and Scotland
• Boris bashed for suspending low emission zoneLondon Mayor Boris Johnson has been criticised for yesterday suspending phase three of London's Low Emission Zone.
• Holden takes Crossrail top jobRob Holden has been confirmed as Crossrail chief executive, as predicted by NCE, to take up his post in April.
• Personal carbon trading trial successfulBy 2020, every person in the UK could have their own carbon budget, according to researchers who trialled the idea. Personal carbon budgets set a limit on the amount of emissions each individual person is allowed to produce through activities such as heating the home, watching TV, and travelling. People wanting to go over budget could buy [...]