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UK rail inefficient compared to Europe

Tuesday, February 7th, 2012

A report by a thinktank in the UK which examines the state of the country’s railways when compared to several other European countries does not show the network in the best light. Trains in the UK were judged to be more expensive, less comfortable, slower, less affordable and more inefficient than services in Germany, Spain, France and Italy.

According to Just Economics, the authors of the report, Britain comes last in terms of bang for buck and even manages to spend a relatively large amount of money getting itself to the bottom of the table.

The report claims that by providing a more comfortable, faster and more affordable railway system the UK would actually generate billions of pounds in social value. The paper suggests that this could add up to some £324 billion by 2050. The reduction in accidents, emissions and congestion could also equate to well over £150 billion by the same year.

RMT union leader Bob Crow said that the study showed how privatisation has failed and how the UK is having to find billions to finance this failure. The report has come out ahead of the McNulty review which is looking into the future of the country’s railways.

Mr Crow has slammed McNulty for proposing further cuts and franchises instead of looking at the real advantages of the socially beneficial and cheaper options which would come with a publically owned service.

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Computer failure delays airline passengers

Tuesday, January 31st, 2012

A computer crash has disrupted the travel plans of thousands of airline passengers including customers of Cathay Pacific, British Airways, Qantas and Iberia. The glitch in the Amadeus system meant that staff at airport check-in desks were forced to manually input passengers’ data rather than just scan their passports.

An industry source said that the meltdown had caused hours of irritation for passengers as they waited for the Amadeus system to be restored. The airlines affected by the disruption are all members of the oneworld alliance.

However, industry experts said that the problem had occurred at a time when airlines are not as busy as they are during peak holidays.

There are four main distribution systems used by the industry, but other booking programs run by Worldspan and Galileo were unaffected. Amadeus is yet to announce what caused the breakdown, but has issued an apology to all customers who have been affected, as well as the airlines.

A number of travel agencies were also affected by the disruption as they were unable to book airline tickets on behalf of their customers. The booking systems play a vital role at a time when airlines are encouraging as many customers as possible to complete processes such as reserving a seat and checking in over the internet before they turn up at the terminal.

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Thomas Cook holiday bookings down

Tuesday, January 24th, 2012

Troubled travel company Thomas Cook has confirmed that bookings for summer holidays in the first two weeks of January have dropped by 33 per cent. Although this is seen as an important time for tour operators, the firm is denying that the fall is solely to do with dented consumer confidence following last years refinancing.

Thomas Cook claims that the drop in bookings is because it is attempting to cut costs by reducing capacity. Rival operator TUI, which owns Thomson Holidays, has reportedly seen an 11 per cent fall over the same two weeks.

In a statement issued by Thomas Cook, the company said the last time it reported on booking figures in the UK was in December, adding that the results suggested that going into January the operator’s order book was ahead of the market. However, because of weaker consumer sentiment, the company also announced that it would be slimming capacity by 8 per cent.

This apparently meant that a drop in the number of holidays being booked was to be expected as margins were to become the focus, not volume. Thomas Cook pointed out that the latest UK figures did not reflect performance in overseas sales or its specialist arms.

Shares in the company lost around 75 per cent of their value in November 2011 after it was announced that extra financing needed to be secured from the banks. Thomas Cook said that it had faced a number of problems including the flooding of large areas of Thailand and unrest in North Africa.

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HS2 likely to cause delays and disruption at Euston

Tuesday, January 17th, 2012

Passengers using Euston Station in central London are facing years of disruption after work starts on the HS2 project which will link the capital to Birmingham. The evidence has been uncovered in a report which was sent by HS2 Ltd to the Transport Select Committee as it was deciding whether to give the scheme the go ahead or not.

The scheme has been green-lit by Transport Secretary Justine Greening who claims that the project will produce widespread economic benefits. Supporters also claim that the new route, which is supposed to continue on to Manchester and Leeds, is a better option than putting the £33 billion budget into improving the existing train network.

HS2 said that redevelopments at Euston were likely to result in services running at off-peak levels at times. It added that there could also be some alterations to timetables and that there would be service disruption, for example, during public holidays when the station might have to be closed.

Stop HS2 Alliance spokeswoman, Hilary Wharf, said it was unacceptable that HS2 was only offering a guarantee of off-peak levels of service at peak travel times. She added that this will result in an even worse service for those trying to catch a train into work.

A spokesman for Network Rail said that plans were still at a very early stage, and that it would be working extremely closely with the project, and with other train operators using Euston, to make sure that any disruption is kept to a minimum.

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Job losses in Dover as SeaFrance liquidated

Tuesday, January 10th, 2012

Following the suspension of services last November, SeaFrance has now been told by a French court that it is to be liquidated. The decision by the Tribunal de Commerce is likely to result in hundreds of French workers losing their jobs and will mean the loss of 127 positions in Dover.

The cessation of activity comes after the European Union declared that an offer of a bailout by the French authorities would be contrary to current legislation. The court has also denied a request by workers that a cooperative take over the running of the firm.

Eurotunnel has said that it is considering putting in a future bid for SeaFrance, but Dover and Deal MP Charlie Elphicke has said that he is worried that an offer to buy the company will be made so that Eurotunnel can scrap the ferries in order to cut capacity across the English Channel.

Eurotunnel said that it would be looking closely at the value of SeaFrance’s assets before deciding on whether to make an offer. A spokesperson for the French firm said that every effort had been made to find a financially viable solution to the problem. She added that it was a sad day, and that everybody who already had a booking for travel would be able to claim back a refund.

SeaFrance operated three ferries to Calais from Dover and was responsible for transporting some 3.5 million passengers annually.

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Olympic VIPs to travel in fleet of BMWs

Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012

The organisers of this summer’s London Olympic Games have been keen to advertise the event as the greenest ever. However, this claim has been damaged by the decision to bring in a fleet of 4,000 BMWs from Germany to be used by officials, dignitaries, athletes and politicians.

Around 250 VIPs are expected to be given their own car which will come with a chauffer to be used exclusively by them for the duration of the Games. Jenny Jones, a member of the Green Party who sits on the London Assembly, said she could not understand why so many of the new vehicles were needed. She added that there was obviously a need for some VIPs to have a secure way of getting around the city, but questioned why more people weren’t being encouraged to take advantage of the public transport network.

The fleet of 3 and 5 Series cars is expected to start arriving over the next few months. Officials will be allowed to travel around London in specially designated games lanes.

Chairwoman of the London Assembly Transport Committee, Caroline Pidgeon, also questioned the need for so many new vehicles. She said that if the 2012 Games was to live up to its green reputation then organisers should have made sure that any vehicles being used were electric powered.

She went on to say that the BMW fleet would simply add to the air pollution in the capital, and that organisers had missed out on a chance to promote cleaner transport technology.

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Air pollution in Scotland fails to meet EU targets

Tuesday, December 27th, 2011

An environmental charity has condemned the Scottish authorities for continuing to ignore the health issues caused by high levels of pollution created by traffic in many of the country’s major cities. WWF Scotland said that European Union targets were being breached in areas of Dundee, Aberdeen, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Perth.

Dan Barlow, WWF Scotland’s head of policy, described the findings as unacceptable, adding that rather than continuing to delay deadlines for improving air quality, the government should start to do something proactive. He explained that if the authorities continue to focus in investing in the roads, rather than trying to improve public transport, or get more people to walk or use a bike, then Scotland may continue to miss pollution targets until at least 2020.

Mr Barlow said that it was the failure of governments to come up with a sensible strategy of pollution reduction which has led to the current situation and that this was causing human health to suffer.

Every year, millions of tonnes of carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide are pumped into the atmosphere by vehicles in the UK. According to the government’s Environmental Audit Committee, the pollution created by cars and other transport now means that residents of the UK have a life expectancy which is six months shorter than it should be.

A spokesman for the Scottish Government said that its Infrastructure Investment Plan proved that the authorities were keen to promote active travel, invest in public transport and develop greener transport alternatives.

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Sixt bookings up as rail disruption announced

Tuesday, December 20th, 2011

The threat of severe winter weather, Tube strikes and engineering work across the rail networks, has caused Sixt UK to experience a large increase in the number of enquires being made for cars over the festive season. In London, bookings have shot up by 38 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Boss of Sixt UK, Paul McLoughlin, said it was an extremely frustrating time of year for travellers trying to get home to be with their families for Christmas. He explained that poor weather, a raft of engineering work, and the threat of strike action meant that more people were seeking the assurance of having a car to use.

Midland, West Coast and Great Western have all announced engineering works over Christmas and the New Year. A strike by workers on the London Underground on Boxing Day will just add to the misery of those trying to get out of the capital. Travellers are being warned that a number of train lines will stop services at 5pm in Christmas Eve, and will not resume services until after Boxing Day.

Sixt said that the demand was particularly high for larger vehicles including the Volvo 350, BMW 3 Series and VW Touran as forecasters warn that severe weather could strike many areas of the UK.

McLoughlin said that although Sixt had been prepared for a spike in seasonal calls, the company had been a little surprised by the sheer number of enquires, adding that phones really were literally ringing off the hook.

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Lufthansa considers Virgin and IAG for Bmi deal

Tuesday, December 13th, 2011

Lufthansa has confirmed that it now has separate deals with both International Airlines Group, parent British Airways and Iberia, and Virgin Atlantic for the sale of Castle Donington based carrier Bmi. A deal was signed with IAG at the beginning of November, but the German airline said that it was not exclusive and confirmed a similar agreement was then signed a few weeks later with Virgin.

In 2008, Lufthansa was compelled to purchase a 50 per cent stake in Bmi from its chairman and founder Sir Michael Bishop. This gave the airline a large majority share, but it has never succeeded in producing a profit with the carrier.

For the first nine months of the financial year, Bmi has recorded losses of £133 million. The problems have been caused by a range of factors including a slump in consumer confidence, the rise in the price of fuel, and the political and social unrest in the Middle East and North Africa this year.

Both IAG and Virgin are keen to acquire Bmi because of the landing slots it owns at Heathrow Airport. The company has an 8.5 per cent share. If IAG is allowed the slots, it will push its ownership at Heathrow to well over 50 per cent. Virgin has already said that this would be bad for competition. Any deal would have to be passed by the regulators before being allowed to proceed.

Virgin is keen to acquire Bmi’s European network as it will use it to feed more passengers onto its transatlantic routes.

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Road safety campaign launched by Brake and Carrentals.co.uk

Tuesday, December 6th, 2011

The annual Road Sense safety campaign has officially been announced by leading car hire comparison site Carrentals.co.uk, and Brake, the road charity. Each year a particular theme is chosen, and this year the campaign will focus on making drivers aware of how important it is to keep tyres and brakes in good condition. The message is particularly apposite as the winter weather starts to become increasingly poor.

Managing director of the website, Gareth Robinson, pointed out that: “During the winter, when UK roads are icy and dangerous, we want people to be sure to get their tyres and brakes inspected. By doing so we can all help to have a positive impact on the number of accidents on UK roads this year.”
Brake is particularly concerned about the number of younger people who are being killed or badly injured on the roads because of unnecessary accidents. The charity claims that one in four involve people under the age of 25, even though only one in eight of drivers on the UK roads are below this age.

Brake’s director, Katie Shepherd, said: “It is an honour to partner with Carrentals.co.uk this year on the new Road Sense campaign. With Road Safety Week taking place in the UK Brake wants to encourage people to consider the safety of other road users, get their cars checked out regularly and to ‘have a heart at the wheel’.”

Mr Robinson added: “Drivers should listen to safety specialists like Brake – and our Road Sense campaign has a goal of pulling everyone together to help raise awareness of key issues and lower the number of serious accidents on UK roads.”

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