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

Friday, 20 March 2009

BBC News

• Union boss starts anti-EU partyTransport workers' union boss Bob Crow has set up an anti-EU party to contest seats in June's European elections.
• Deadline looms over city tram rowThere are just hours left before the deadline to resolve a dispute that put Edinburgh's tram project on hold.
• BAA could challenge airport saleBAA says it may appeal against the decision by the Competition Commission to force it to sell three of its seven UK airports.
• US auto suppliers to get $5bn aidCar parts suppliers in the United States are to receive $5bn (£3.5bn) in financing from the government.

Financial Times

• Tata cuts target for low-cost Nano carThe Nano, the world's cheapest car due to launch in India on Monday, will have an initial production run of 40,000 “ a fraction of Tata Motors' original target
• First Group outlines plan to cut 3,500 jobsFirst Group has announced plans to cut 3,500 jobs “ representing 3 per cent of its cost base “ over the next year
• BAA ordered to sell three airportsThe UK competition watchdog on Thursday ordered the airport operator to sell three of its seven UK airports, ending its monopoly ownership of the leading airports in London and in Scotland

The Guardian

• London Underground faces funding crisis, warns City Hall committeeGovernment asked to meet cost increases incurred by maintenance firm in work on stations and tunnels
• BAA airports sell-off: Companies in the runningBAA will be selling three of its biggest airports into a market that is unrecognisable from nearly three years ago, when its indebted owners bought Britain's largest airports group for £10.3bn with a highly leveraged bid.
• BAA told to sell Gatwick and Stansted¢ Airport expansion project likely to face further delay¢ Warning that sale may not clear group's pile of debtThe Competition Commission further disrupted the government's airport expansion programme yesterday by ordering the break-up of BAA in a move that could push back the opening of a second runway at Stansted.The watchdog told Britain's dominant airport owner to sell Gatwick, Stansted and either Glasgow or Edinburgh. Christopher Clarke, chairman of the inquiry, said the disposal of Stansted could further delay a planning inquiry that has already been put on hold by ministers pending the o...

The Herald

• FirstGroup soars on updateFirstgroup, the Scottish-based transport group that operates bus and rail services in the UK and buses in North America, yesterday cheered City investors with an upbeat trading statement that boasted of a “strong performance”.
• Council plans services to replace post busesHighland Council is preparing to provide alternative transport to five postbus services that Royal Mail is withdrawing from remote communities in Caithness, Sutherland and Ross-shire.

The Scotsman

• 3,500 job cuts and 'resilient' revenues lift First's sharesTRANSPORT giant FirstGroup unveiled a £200 million company-wide cost-saving programme yesterday involving 3,500 job cuts, as it also flagged up resilient revenues in the downturn.

The Telegraph

• Passengers forced to use older trains finds Office of Rail Regulation Rail passengers are being forced to use older trains as the average age of rolling stock reached a five year high according to the Office of Rail Regulation.

Times Online

• 10 ways to make Britain's airports better Following the news today that BAA must sell Gatwick, Stansted and either Edinburgh or Glasgow airports, we've put together a plea for anyone thinking of buying them.
• BAA may challenge order to sell airports BAA may appeal against the Competition Commission's ruling that it must sell both Gatwick and Stansted airports, as well as either Edinburgh or Glasgow, within the next two years.
• US car suppliers thrown $5bn lifeline$ The US Government threw a $5 billion lifeline to American car-parts suppliers struggling to remain in business as vehicle manufacturers slash production.$

Press Association

• US-style school buses offer jobs hopeIntroducing US-style yellow school buses across Britain would create up to 13,000 new jobs, according to new research by a group headed by former Home Secretary David Blunkett.

Daily Record

• BAA may appeal over order to sell either Glasgow or Edinburgh airportAIRPORT operator BAA said today it could appeal against the decision to force the sale of either Edinburgh or Glasgow airport.

Mail Online

• Petrol prices to rise AGAIN as Government increases fuel tax by 2p a litre It is the second of three stealth tax rises to hit Britain's 33million drivers that will see duty rise by 5p a litre over a 14-month period to help bail out ailing Government finances.
• Landing a better deal: Cheaper flights promised as BAA is told to sell three airports Passengers were told to expect cheaper air fares and better treatment after yesterday's decision to force BAA to sell three of its seven British airports.

Network Rail

• MORE RAIL IMPROVEMENT WORK ON MERSEYSIDE

Transport Briefing

• BAA given two years to break up airport portfolioIn its final report into BAA's ownership of Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Southampton, Edinbugh, Glasgow and Aberdeen airports the Competition Commission said that within two years BAA must sell both both Gatwick and Stansted as well as either Edinburgh or Glasgow in that order. BAA put Gatwick up for sale in September 2008.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• A COUNCIL is set to save £40,000 by bringing by new LNG gas tanks to fuel its vehicles.Three new Liquid Petroleum Gas(LPG) tanks will help Anglesey County Council run its fleet of green vehicles.

Derby Telegraph

• I've worked tirelessly for city for 35 years – MPN Monday's Evening Telegraph, my Conservative political opponent in Derby North, one Stephen Mold, claimed that "MPs have failed people of Derby".

Edinburgh Evening News

• BAA wins the right to keep hold of Edinburgh AirportCOMPETITION watchdogs today stepped back from ordering BAA to sell Edinburgh airport.

London Evening Standard

• Gatwick and Stansted must be sold off by 2011, BAA toldBAA was today given less than two years to sell off Gatwick and Stansted in a damning final report from the Competition Commission.
• £1bn shortfall brings Tube upgrade to haltPlans to ease congestion, cool the tunnels in warm weather and install lifts and escalators may have to be shelved to allow Transport for London to focus on essential maintenance.

Manchester Evening News

• MAG circles Scots airportsMANCHESTER Airport Group (MAG) is plotting to bid for Edinburgh or Glasgow Airports in addition to its offer for Gatwick, sources confirmed today. MAG - which already owns East Midlands, Humberside and Bournemouth Airports as well as Manchester - is eyeing a swoop north of the border after the Competition Commission ordered Spanish-owned BAA to dispose of Gatwick and Stansted airports as well as either Glasgow or Edinburgh airport within two years.

Metro

• Passengers travelling on old trainsRail passengers are being forced to travel on increasingly old trains.
• Tube bosses told to mind the £1bn gapLong-awaited improvements to the Tube will be shelved unless a ’looming funding crisis’ is sorted out, the London Assembly warned.

The News (Portsmouth)

• Protesters to take to the streets over bus link bidA huge protest is to take place against a £20m high-speed bus route through Gosport and Fareham.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• A96 congestion plan in pipelineA plan to ease congestion on a main trunk road through Moray after two bypasses were left out of the national 20-year plan is being put together by Moray Council and the Scottish Government.

The York Press

• Site proposal for new Haxby rail stationA POTENTIAL site for a long-awaited new commuter rail link on the edge of York has been marked out – but it could still be four years before the first trains call there.

This Is Local London Network

• Last ever Moorgate to St Albans train on FridayTIMETABLE changes scrapping trains from St Albans to some City locations but doubling other services will come into operation on Monday.
• CHINGFORD: Fixed bus stop plan scrappedCONTROVERSIAL plans to build fixed bus stops in five Chingford streets have been ditched.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Yorks-Kent rail freight link axedA RAIL freight container business which operated between Yorkshire and Kent has been axed due to the economic downturn, it was revealed today.

Peterborough Telegraph

• Watchdog orders airport sell-offThe Competition Commission has ordered BAA to sell three of its airports, including Stansted.

Washington Post

• Auto Parts Makers Get $5 Billion Lifeline The Obama administration announced yesterday that it will provide $5 billion in financial aid to auto parts manufacturers, signaling the government's continued interest in propping up the domestic car industry and raising hopes that it will soon provide even more money.

Other News Sources

• CARNOUSTIE CYCLE PATH WORK UNDERWAYWORK has started on the £240,000 dedicated off-road combined footway/cycleway from Carnoustie to Easthaven.
• Train services to be cut at CambuslangTRAIN services to Cambuslang will be slashed when the new Glasgow to Edinburgh service via Shotts starts in December. Although passengers were expecting cuts, it appears that trains stopping at Cambuslang station could be reduced by 26 each day.
• Kilmarnock to Glasgow train saga rumbles onAN OFFICIAL timetable showing every train on the new Kilmarnock-Glasgow rail service stopping at both Kilmaurs and Dunlop has been unearthed by a councillor at the centre of the row.
• Met and Jubilee lines pay out most late-train refundsIn the latter half of last year more passengers were paid refunds for journeys delayed by late-running trains on the Metropolitan and Jubilee lines than on any other underground lines.
• After southern bypass delays ... two years of Lynn miseryLYNN faces the "short-term pain" of more than two years of traffic disruption in and around the town, a roadworks summit heard on Tuesday. The compensation on offer is a multi-million-pound package of road improvements and the prospect of long-term economic benefits for the area as a whole.
• Chance to quiz bus bosses in NorthallertonPEOPLE who use the buses in Northallerton and surrounding areas are getting a chance to meet those responsible for their local services.
• Maersk Tankers ready to enter market for CO2 transportation Maersk Tankers, owned by the Danish conglomerate A.P....
• Justin Fleming steps down as ABTA presidentABTA president Justin Fleming will step down on April 29 after three years at the helm.
• Green activists celebrate as BAA forced to sell StanstedGreen activists are celebrating the news Stansted will be forced to sell three of its airports “ throwing into doubt plans to build a new runway at Stansted.
• Luna Road Offers Customizable Solar Road Studs and Solar Cat Eyes.Luna Road, a company that specializes in the design, manufacture, supply and installation of the new high-tech
• Ryanair aiming for 1m passengers from Manchester in 2009Irish carrier Ryanair hopes to carry 1 million passengers from Manchester for the first time in 2009 by adding new routes and increasing frequency on others.