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

Saturday, 07 February 2009

BBC News

• 'God exists' buses take to London streetsBuses that say God exists hit London's roads, a month after atheists began a 'No God' campaign.
• Weak economy hits British AirwaysBA makes a loss of £70m in the nine months to 31 December, bruised by further economic weakness and the weak pound.

Financial Times

• BA falls to loss and warns of further cutsThe airline is reviewing 'every aspect of the business to control costs' and had opened talks with unions over pay and productivity, after it fell to a £70m third-quarter loss
• Clarkson buoyed by shippingClarkson was in demand yesterday, rising 7.3 per cent to 495½p as traders belatedly woke up to recent movements in the shipping market. On Wednesday, the...

The Guardian

• Price of carbon credits slumps againThe price of carbon has hit new lows as power generators and industrial companies continue to cash in credits to bolster their balance sheets.The price of European Union allowances under the second phase of the emissions trading scheme has plunged to €10.15 (£8.85) a tonne, compared with highs over €30 seen in July last year.
• Bad weather spreads across UKThe two Severn bridge crossings between England and Wales were among hundreds of roads and routes closed while snow continued to create chaos across regions of Britain yesterday, with more than 20,000 homes left without electricity.

The Telegraph

• Train passengers warned to expect severe disruption during weekend rail strikes Rail passengers have been warned to expect severe disruption this weekend due to an unofficial strike over pay.
• Flash mob mimicks T Mobile advert and closes train station One of London's largest railway stations was forced to close after 12000 people congregated to mimick a mobile phone advert in an event publicised on Facebook.
• Snow Britain: Geoff Hoon tells drivers to stop 'whingeing' Motorists who have endured days of misery on Britain's snowravaged roads were told to stop moaning - by Geoff Hoon the minister charged with getting the country moving again.

Times Online

• Passengers forced to walk to snowbound Luton airport I now fully understand the meaning of Parkway, as in Luton Airport Parkway station. It means that if the shuttle bus service between the train station and the passenger terminal is suspended, as it has been today because of the snow, then you have to lug your suitcases across a park - and it’s a bloody long way.
• Zac Goldsmith: The maverick on why he is against Heathrow expansionA soaring jet draws a perfect Etch A Sketch line in the sky over Sipson. Soon the planes could be here; the pebble-dashed semis, the primary school, the 16th-century inn flattened beneath Heathrow’s new runway.
• Racing past: how the old models can speed green futureThierry Farges unplugged his gleaming electric car at the Paris exhibition centre yesterday, jumped in and sped off before a crowd of admirers.
• Unions square up to British Airways and bmi as airlines seek to freeze staff payBritish Airways (BA) and bmi are on a collision course with trade unions representing nearly 50,000 workers as both airlines try to impose pay freezes.

London Evening Standard

• 'Evil' train gang robbed and beat up studentsThese are the faces of an armed gang which carried out a double steaming attack on a South London train
• Boris: Right decision to take buses off the roadsBoris Johnson has defended the decision to return buses to their depots early on Monday morning, which brought the network to a halt

Newcastle Journal

• Carbon catalyst could herald cut-price fuel cellsThe high cost of the platinum needed to make fuel cells work efficiently has been a major barrier to their use, but carbon nanotubes might be a cheap replacement

The News (Portsmouth)

• Cyclists in head-on bid to take on trafficA cycling group says bike riders should be allowed to pedal the wrong way along one-way streets in Portsmouth.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Railway signs sell for stunning £20,000 at auctionFive old north-east railway signs which were bought for pennies have stunned collectors after fetching nearly £20,000 at auction.
• Granddad™s school bus safety plea wins campaigners™ supportA north-east grandfather™s campaign for changes in the law to improve safety on school buses has been boosted, it emerged last night.

This Is Local London Network

• London Midland trains hit by more delaysA national rail service is facing further delays after a day of problems earlier this week.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Transport Secretary backs Leeds trolleybus schemeMINISTERS will "help and encourage" Leeds to make its trolley bus dream a reality, a cabinet minister has pledged.

Blackpool Gazette

• Huge boost for Blackpool AirportSUNSEEKERS will be able to venture nearer the equator thanks to a £1m cash injection at Blackpool Airport.

Sunderland Echo

• Nissan in talks over green carsDiscussions are under way between the Government and Nissan in a bid to bring the green car revolution to Wearside.

The Shields Gazette

• Car parts firm to axe 60 workersSouth Tyneside was facing a double jobs blow today.
• Bring back our bus, say trapped OAPsA pensioner is calling on transport chiefs to put on better bus services.

Railnews

• News: Snow and ice mean more delays, cancellations There are further delays and cancellations to some train services today following overnight frosts and snow spreading across South West England, the West Midlands and the South Midlands.

Other News Sources

• Manufacturing woes hit transporter sectorAs new-car sales plummet, the fallout has left vehicle carriers with dwindling volumes and unavoidable redundancies.
• BVRLA: VOSA fee structure is 'wholly unfair'VOSA is planning to increase its annual commercial vehicle test and inspection fees by 9%, netting the government agency an extra £9.6m in revenue.
• New truck and van sales continue to fallCV registrations last month were down 44.7% on January 2008, while the rolling year to date saw a fall of 14.3%.
• Consultants 'concerned' by Network Rail settlementCivil engineering consultants are "concerned" by the prospect of huge cost savings implicit in the £28.5bn settlement made between the Office of Rail Regulation and Network Rail between 2009 and 2014.
• Costa Cruises Invests $28m in FleetCosta Cruises, a tourism group based in Italy, announced that in the space of three months five Costa ships were dry-docked to carry out scheduled maintenance.
• Cancellations exceed orders at both Airbus and BoeingBoth Airbus and Boeing have dipped into negative net orders for the year to date, having suffered more cancellations than secured sales.Airbus' newly-released...