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

Friday, 30 March 2012

BBC News

• 'End of era' for Guernsey bus operator The end of a contract to operate the Guernsey bus services is "an end of an era", according to the managing director of Island Coachways.
• FirstGroup warns of weak UK bus market Aberdeen-based transport firm FirstGroup has warned that margins at its UK bus division will be squeezed from 13% to 8% this year.
• London mayor election: Ken Livingstone in lower fares pledge Labour's Ken Livingstone has launched his transport manifesto, saying he will save Londoners on average £1,000 in fares if elected mayor.
• Bid for EU funds for A14 trunk road Politicians from Northamptonshire are taking the lead in a bid to win funding for improvements to the A14 trunk road.
• Stansted Airport baggage handlers strike over Easter Baggage handlers at Stansted Airport in Essex have voted to strike over Easter in a row over pay.
• Talks focus on fuel strike planHauliers are to meet Energy Secretary Edward Davey to discuss any assistance they may be able to offer if a tanker driver strike goes ahead.
• Seven bids for three rail linesThe government says a total of seven firms want to become the next operators of the Great Western, Thameslink and Essex Thameside railway lines.
• Bus group warns of weak UK marketAberdeen transport firm, FirstGroup warns that margins at its UK bus division will be squeezed this year causing shares to slide.

Financial Times

• Coalition attacked as petrol advice fuels panicChaotic handling of a threatened strike by tanker drivers has left petrol stations across the UK without fuel after motorists flocked to fill up their tanks
• DP World lifted by emerging markets growthThe container terminal operator announced 2011 net profits up 67% to $751m on the same day that Zim Integrated Shipping reported a $397m net loss
• FirstGroup shares slide on margins warningUK™s biggest bus operator blames deterioration of economic conditions, cuts to subsidies and high exposure to the north of England and Scotland
• Seven shortlisted for three rail franchisesFirstGroup was the only operator to make all three shortlists, while the only newcomer was Hong Kong-listed, government-controlled MTR

The Guardian

• Ken Livingstone outlines his transport manifesto Livingstone casts election as 'a referendum on who will make Londoners better off' as he highlighted his promise to cut fares

The Herald

• Crisis talks on funding for bus industryEMERGENCY talks to discuss the funding crisis affecting Scotland's bus industry are to be held next week, Transport Minister Keith Brown has announced.
• MSPs back cycling assistance motionPOLITICIANS have backed measures to encourage greater take-up of cycling, including more 20mph-zones, cycle path investment and more on-street training for children.
• Anger on the forecourt about 'daft Government plot'A toxic mix of shock, dismay and anger was evident among drivers queueing at one of Glasgow's busiest petrol stations yesterday.

The Scotsman

• Glasgow Central now busiest rail station outside London IT HAS been Scotland’s railway cathedral, serving commuters and long-distance travellers alike for 133 years from the age of steam to today’s hi-tech tilting trains.
• For sale signs on FirstGroup bus routes as margins are squeezed FIRSTGROUP, the Scottish transport company, aims to raise about £100 million offloading more than a tenth of its UK bus business over the next 12 months.
• Major bicycle route upgrade in Edinburgh gets under wayUPGRADING work on a major cycle route in the capital is under way to improve safety.

The Telegraph

• George Osborne: fuel crisis is caused by trade unionsChancellor George Osborne lays blame for the panic at the pumps at the feet of the Unite union for causing disruption.
• Fuel strike in pictures: queues at petrol stations around the countryIn pictures: queues form at petrol stations around the country.
• Fuel strike: Don't panic, form an orderly queue hereWhen Pete Brown, a retired civil servant from Christchurch, Dorset, heard Francis Maude saying he should fill his tank he took him at his word.

Press Association

• Bus operator reports slow demand Britain's biggest bus operator has warned profit margins would be hit after the economic gloom was blamed for slowing demand.
• Transport groups vie for rail deals Major transport companies are among the bidders to run three new rail franchises.

Mail Online

• Pandemonium at the pumps: Police shut garages and profiteers look to cash in on fuel chaos.... and EVERYONE blames No.10 incompetencePrompted by ministers to fill their tanks to beat a strike that has not even been called, motorists besieged garages and lengthy queues formed around England.

The Mirror

• Easter travel chaos threat as Stansted Airport baggage handlers vote to strike Almost 150 union members “overwhelmingly” refused to work at Stansted Airport over the Bank Holiday weekend in a row over pay

Birmingham Post

• HS2 must not repeat the mistakes of HS1, insist engineersEngineers have warned that a planned high speed rail network with Birmingham at its heart must not repeat the mistakes of Britain’s first high speed railway line, which connects London and the Channel Tunnel.

Liverpool Post

• High Speed Rail plans will be changed to benefit Liverpool, vows Transport SecretaryTHE Transport Secretary has vowed to rewrite £32bn high-speed rail plans to prevent them damaging Liverpool, in a major victory for the Post.

London Evening Standard

• EC poised to give clearance for BA owner’s bmi buy to get off ground The owner of British Airways is expected to win the backing of European regulators for its £172.5 million deal to buy smaller rival bmi tomorrow, insiders said today.
• Ken vows to freeze C-charge in a car-friendly transport manifesto Ken Livingstone today promised to freeze the congestion charge at £10 for the next four years if he wins the race for City Hall.

Manchester Evening News

• Bus woes put skids under FirstGroup shares Shares in transport operator FirstGroup crashed after it warned profits from its UK bus division will suffer from a growing north-south divide and increasing fuel costs.

Metro

• Passenger numbers up on the rails as busiest stations get more crowded Hayden Smith Passenger numbers up on the rails as busiest stations get more crowded  Some of the busiest railway stations in the country are becoming even more crowded. Train stations, like Euston Station, are at risk of becoming even more crowded (Picture: Stock) Euston in central London dealt with more than 34million passengers, an increase of 13.3 per cent, last year, according to figures from the Office of Rail Regulation. Paddington handled 32.2 million travellers, an increase of 10.6 per cent, while 55.8million passed through London™s Liverpool Street, a rise of 8.1 per cent. Associat...

Wales Online

• First Minister Carwyn Jones' Cardiff Airport criticism rejectedFIRST Minister Carwyn Jones’ criticism of Cardiff Airport has been rejected by the chief executive of a low-fare Spanish airline which will operate flights from Cardiff to Barcelona.

Blackpool Gazette

• Fuel shortage - station closures latestFUEL station owners have sold more than triple the fuel they expected to as motorists rush to fill up.

Bucks Free Press

• Stop panic-buying petrol, say police POLICE have called on the public to stop panic-buying petrol and be sensible when refuelling their vehicles. var options = {ballot_id: '3797'}; panelHandler.loadPanel('ballot', 'ballot_18354101283797', options);

Other Regional Press

• Drivers continue to panic-buy fuel at Hampshire petrol stationsMOTORISTS continue to panic-buy at Hampshire petrol stations as fears grow over the fuel drivers dispute.
• Open-top buses will return to Southsea seafront to boost tourismTHERE was a time when they ruled the seafront and now classic open-top buses are set to make a comeback in Portsmouth.
• Petrol pumps run dry as drivers ˜panic™Petrol stations in Lancashire were forced to close on Thursday as drivers flocked to garages to fill up ahead of a possible fuel tanker drivers’ strike.
• Northern Rail on the gold trailTRAIN operator Northern Rail has been praised for its community spirit.
• Empty pumps and long queues at petrol stations across Yorkshire as AA urge normal fuel buyingSOME petrol stations have run dry in Yorkshire, while others have been inundated with drivers hoping to fill up.
• Bus bosses defend shock move to hike fares by 28% DEFIANT bus bosses have defended a shock plan to introduce inflation-busting fare increases of almost 30% on short journeys.
• Chaos on railways as power lines collapseRAIL commuters faced chaos today when train services in and out of Glasgow were cancelled because of collapsed power lines.
• Bus fares set to rise by average of 4%BUS fares in the North-east are set to rise by an average of 4%.
• Aberdeen drivers urged not to panic buy fuelDRIVERS in Aberdeen and across the region were today told not to panic buy fuel as potential tanker driver strikes may still be weeks away.

Bus and Coach.com

• Lincs operator rescuedLincolnshire operator A C Williams Coaches of Grantham has been rescued from administration by an investment fund manager, Glenn Pratt.
• Australia seeks Irish driversAustralian bus operator Ventura is recruiting drivers in Ireland.
• Dublin coach parking under fireThe lack of adequate coach parking in Dublin has been attacked by the Coach Tourism and Transport Council, the body representing Ireland™s coach operators.
• Operators advised to prepare for strikeFollowing a ballot by trade union Unite, fuel tanker drivers have voted to strike.
• Bus Éireann invests €30million in wi-fi Bus Éireann is introducing 88 new wi-fi equipped vehicles to its fleet in an investment valued at €30million (£25million).
• Glasgow Citybus buys Morrow businessGlasgow Citybus is purchasing the business of John Morrow, which operates services in the Clydebank area.
• Lucketts buys ColiseumLucketts Travel of Fareham has taken over Coliseum Coaches of Southampton.
• Metro considers operators plansProposals by the Association of Bus Operators in West Yorkshire designed to halt plans to introduce quality contracts by Metro, the region™s ITA, are now being considered by the ITA.
• Scania-ADL to build gas buses for UKScania has entered the UK gas bus market, challenging MAN™s EcoCity, at present the only CNG-fuelled bus available.

Global Rail News

• Rail franchise bidders announcedThe Department for Transport today announced the shortlisted bidders in line to run three rail franchises. A total of 13 firms are in the running to become the next operators of the Great Western, Thameslink and Essex Thameside rail franchises. The firms bidding to take over the franchises have been chosen following a pre-qualification process. [...]
• Exciting times for Training and Assessment ServicesIn the last Training Matters edition, Bridgeway Consulting announced the launch of a new training academy at West Horndon in Essex. The interest and footfall at the Academy centre has exceeded Bridgeway Consulting™s initial expectations. Pino De Rosa, Bridgeway Consulting Managing Director, says, ˜These are exciting times for Bridgeway™s rail training and assessment services. The [...]
• Alpine to build railroad tunnel for Stuttgart 21Alpine has been awarded a contract by Deutsche Bah worth €290m to build the Bad Cannstatt tunnel as part of the Stuttgart 21 project in Germany. Alpine and its partners, Hochtief and Wayss & Freytag, will build the 3.8km tunnel to connect Stuttgart central station with the new Neckar Bridge by 2018. œAlpine was able [...]
• Rail journeys in West Midlands have ˜doubled™Rail journeys in the West Midlands have ‘almost doubled in a decade’, the West Midlands’ transport chief has said. Centro’s Geoff Inskip is set to tell a parliamentary inquiry into high speed rail that in order for the region ‘to cope with escalating demand for rail services’, the HS2 project ‘must happen’ as soon as possible. [...]
• Vital RecognitionVital Rail has received national recognition from Transport for London and the National Apprenticeship Service for its support for apprenticeships. Vital Rail recently recruited its 88th apprentice and plans to employ 270 by the end of 2012. The firm was recognised, along with other apprentice employers, at an event to mark National Apprenticeship Week 2012. [...]
• Bombardier awarded contract for Beijing Metro Line 14Bombardier Transportation has announced that together with New United Group (NU) it has signed a contract with Beijing MTR Construction Administration Corporation for the supply of its ‘MITRAC’ propulsion equipment. Bombardier will supply engineering, manufacturing, testing, commissioning and maintenance as well as initial propulsion spare parts for the new metro trains, which will be built [...]
• We ask the rail safety experts¦ Part 4In preparation for this year™s Rail Safety Summit, we sat down with leading figures from the rail safety industry and asked them a series of pressing questions about safety practices within the rail industry. Today™s question is: Has the profile and hence effectiveness of the Railway Inspectorate been reduced by being subsumed into the Office [...]
• London Overground stations to offer Wi-FiMillions of London Overground passengers will soon be able to access a free Wi-Fi service at every station on the network. A contract has been signed with Wi-Fi provider, The Cloud, to allow 60 minutes of free internet access at every London Overground station at ‘no cost to the fare or taxpayer’. Rollout of the [...]

Railnews

• Thirteen bidders compete for three franchises The Department for Transport has named thirteen bidders who have been shortlisted to run the next Thameslink, Great Western or Essex Thameside (currently c2c) franchises. Transport minister Theresa Villiers said:

Aviation Industry

• US airlines drop legal opposition to EU ETSNEWS RELEASE — March 28, 2012 Joint statement by Aviation Environment Federation, Center for Biological Diversity, Earthjustice, Environmental Defense Fund, Transport & Environment, WWF-UK U.S. airlines give up legal fight against EU anti-pollution law Environmental groups call for constructive action at UN aviation body (Brussels/ London/ San Francisco/ Washington “ March 28, 2012)  United, American [...]
• Runways, emissions and the EU ETS: why Tim Yeo is wrongThis week Tim Yeo MP announced that he had changed his mind about Heathrow expansion and now supported the idea of building a third runway. He had two reasons: that the economic case in favour has changed, he says, and that aviation is now part of the EU ETS. He didn™t mention noise, air pollution, [...]
• ANA to add premium economy seats on UK routeJapanese airline to roll out new premium seat from September
• BA parent offers more concessions on BmiIAG hopes to secure approval for deal as EU deadline for decision approaches
• Branson makes last plea to stop Bmi saleVirgin president calls on EU to block deal that would 'distort' competition in the UK

Other News Sources

• Plea to think again over busesCOMMUNITY leaders in Portishead are asking North Somerset purseholders to review a decision to cut a vital bus service in the town.
• PLA Appoints New Harbour Master (Lower)The PLA has appointed Chris McQueen harbour master for its lower district
• IATA asks agencies for permission on dataAirline association writes to TMCs across Europe about displaying agency data through its products