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Transport 2002
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The information below comes from the UK Activity Report.
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Scottish Executive has invited tenders to run a new ferry service between Campbeltown and Ballycastle in Northern Ireland, which could be operational by summer 2003. 31-Dec-2002 Go NorthEast is recruiting 35 new bus drivers for its Gateshead depot. 24-Dec-2002 Associated British Ports has submitted proposals for a multi-million pound improvement scheme at Teignmouth Quay in Devon, including new warehouses and a longer quay. 24-Dec-2002 Postcomm has awarded a seven-year licence to Hays to deliver business mail across the country from January 2003, and TPG of the Netherlands has also won a postal licence. 24-Dec-2002 British Airways has sold its 50% stake in the Concorde Travel Group of Australia to a consortium of investors for £5.4m. 23-Dec-2002 Belfast International Airport has announced plans to extend its existing terminal building, as the existing facility is operating close to capacity. 23-Dec-2002 George Walker Transport is relocating its Leeds-based freight business to a larger 60,000 sq ft site in Morley this month. 20-Dec-2002 Translink has announced a £80m investment in public transport as part of the Northern Ireland Budget, including £40m for new buses and £40m for railway track improvements. 20-Dec-2002 Redhill Aerodrome has submitted a £800m proposal to the government to transform its airstrip into an international airport capable of handling 15m passengers a year. 19-Dec-2002 Bristol City Council is considering plans from First Group for the £40m redevelopment of the city's bus station to create a modern transport interchange. 19-Dec-2002 Associated British Ports is to build a new £1m terminal on Immingham Dock to handle pulp and paper imports for Bowater. 19-Dec-2002 AEA Technology is to create up to 30 jobs at its Derby-based rail technology business next year, having won a £3m contract to work on the West Coast Line. 19-Dec-2002 British European is to set up an operating base for its FlyBE regional airline at Southampton airport, with the creation of 150 jobs. 19-Dec-2002 Scottish Executive has announced a £5.4m funding deal that will enable ScotRail to carry out a tendering process for 22 new trains. 18-Dec-2002 Associated British Ports is to invest £4.6m in new storage facilities at Newport docks, having won a long-term contract to import timber from Scandinavia and the Baltic states. 18-Dec-2002 British Airways is to pull out of Cardiff and Leeds-Bradford airports, as part of a £20m cost-cutting programme involving the loss of 21 routes from its UK regional network. 18-Dec-2002 City of York Council is to look into the possibility of building an ultra-light rail system, in order to reduce congestion in the city centre. 12-Dec-2002 The Strategic Rail Authority has awarded a £58m subsidy to Connex South Eastern for improvements to its train services from London to Kent and Sussex. 12-Dec-2002 The Department for Transport has announced a £3bn investment in road widening schemes around the country, while a new tram line will be established in Liverpool and Manchester's tram system will be extended. 11-Dec-2002 Redrow has submitted plans for the development of a warehouse distribution complex at the Western Approaches near Avonmouth, although a buyer has not yet been found. 10-Dec-2002 Royal Mail is to switch the transport of most first-class post from rail to road, using its fleet of 40,000 vehicles. 06-Dec-2002 Gulf Intermodal has acquired a six-acre site to double the size of its freight container depot in Widnes, in order to house new storage, paint shop and manufacturing facilities. 05-Dec-2002 Port of Felixstowe has announced plans for another multi-million pound expansion project, which will involve the creation of extra deep-water berths and 400 new jobs. 05-Dec-2002 CP Ships is considering plans to consolidate its three UK shipping offices, casting doubt over the future of 100 jobs in Ipswich. 05-Dec-2002 Stagecoach is planning to close about half its transport operations in the US due to a fall in profitability, including charter, tour, sightseeing and taxi businesses. 05-Dec-2002 Parsons Brinckerhoff is to relocate the UK head office of its rail consultancy business and nine staff from Bristol to Swindon early next year, and eight new jobs will be created. 04-Dec-2002 Christian Salvesen is considering plans to train refugees from eastern Europe to help ease the shortage of 20,000 drivers in the road haulage industry. 04-Dec-2002 Amey Rail is planning to recruit up to 100 army leavers a year from the Royal Signal Corps, in order to ease the shortage of signal and telecoms engineers in the rail sector. 04-Dec-2002 Tees & Hartlepool Port Authority is planning a £20m expansion of Teesport's container capacity, with the creation of more than 100 jobs over the next year. 03-Dec-2002 Reading Borough Council has announced a long-term strategy for dealing with the town's transport problems, including a tram system, the relaunch of Reading Buses and a new bridge over the Thames. 03-Dec-2002 Exel has submitted plans to expand its distribution centre at Eastern Avenue in Burton, with the creation of 140 jobs for warehouse, managerial and office staff. 03-Dec-2002 Teesside Airport is in talks with a number of potential partners to help with its expansion plans, and an announcement is expected by the end of the year. 28-Nov-2002 BAA Lynton is to sell its 15-acre Heathrow South Cargo Centre to US freight company Expeditors for £37m, and BAA will lease the site to support construction of the new airport terminal. 25-Nov-2002 Pall-ex is setting up a new £6.5m headquarters for its pallet distribution business at Bardon in Leicestershire by March, with the creation of 20 jobs. 25-Nov-2002 Simon Group is to relocate its headquarters from central London to Redhill next year, and has also announced that talks are taking place to sell its ports and logistics business. 25-Nov-2002 EuroManx is expanding its new airline business with the launch of five daily flights from the Isle of Man to Liverpool. 20-Nov-2002 West Midlands Passenger Transport Authority is set to approve plans for a seven-mile extension to the Midland Metro light rail system between Wednesbury and Brierley Hill. 20-Nov-2002 Trent Barton is to renew its bus fleet by investing £7m in 64 new vehicles, with the first batch being delivered next April. 19-Nov-2002 Devon County Council is to consider revised plans from Gill Associates for the development of a £60m rail freight terminal on a Church of England site next to Exeter Airport. 19-Nov-2002 The Scottish Executive has awarded £59m of grants for 23 public transport schemes, including £10m for the introduction of electronic bus displays in Edinburgh. 18-Nov-2002 Sutton Harbour Holdings is to unveil proposals for the development of a new airport on the outskirts of Plymouth, in response to the government consultation on plans for air travel over the next 30 years. 15-Nov-2002 VT Group is planning to shed 100 jobs in the UK and US by closing its oil and gas-based operations and absorbing its motion and electrical controls operation into shipbuilding, affecting sites in Witney and Great Yarmouth. 14-Nov-2002 Land Rover is seeking government permission to build a 2.5 mile rail link between its Solihull factory and the West Coast Main Line. 14-Nov-2002 Port of Felixstowe is recruiting an extra 150 quayside staff immediately and may add a further 150 early next year, in order to improve customer service levels and compete against other European ports. 14-Nov-2002 Menzies Aviation Group is recruiting 60 staff to provide baggage handling and passenger transport services for Bmibaby at East Midlands Airport. 14-Nov-2002 Business Post is seeking bolt-on acquisitions worth up to £10m to expand its express delivery service. 13-Nov-2002 Excel Airways, the charter airline operating from Gatwick, Manchester and Glasgow, is planning to float on Aim with a valuation of about £85m. 11-Nov-2002 Royal Mail is considering plans to close Mail Rail, the underground rail network that links mail centres in London, and wants to hear suggestions from business and heritage groups about what to do with the track. 11-Nov-2002 Plymouth City Council and the South West Regional Development Agency are preparing a funding bid for the development of a £6m National Centre for Marine Research & Development at Devonport Dockyard. 08-Nov-2002 Wincanton is seeking acquisitions to expand its logistics business into continental Europe, and has also announced joint ventures with Genco and Kuehne & Nagel. 07-Nov-2002 The International Air Transport Association is to shed 70 jobs in London, Montreal, Miami and Geneva, and a further 60 London-based staff will leave in 2003. 07-Nov-2002 Lufthansa of Germany has strengthened its position at Heathrow Airport by increasing its stake in BMI British Midland from 20% to 30%. 04-Nov-2002 Tate & Lyle is planning to build a 100-acre distribution hub at Burnaston near Derby in a joint venture with Pilot Fields Estates, and a planning application will be submitted once an occupier has been found. 04-Nov-2002 North Tyneside Council has approved plans for a £7m facelift for the Metro and bus interchange at Four Lane Ends in Newcastle. 01-Nov-2002 British Waterways has announced a £5.6m plan to rejuvenate canals in Birmingham and the Black Country, having secured a £2.2m grant from the Advantage West Midlands development agency. 01-Nov-2002 P&O Ferries is to shed at least 120 jobs in Hull, having decided to base its administration in Dover. 31-Oct-2002 KLM is planning to expand its Buzz low-cost airline by opening a second UK base at Bournemouth by next March, with the creation of 200 jobs, while a third site will open later in 2003. 31-Oct-2002 Royal Mail has announced plans to set up a £40m transport hub for up to 600 staff at the Drift Logistics Park in Daventry by next August, and existing sites in Wednesbury, Nottingham and Northampton will close. 30-Oct-2002 BAe Systems and Thales have both selected Rosyth as the preferred assembly site should they win a contract to build two Royal Navy aircraft carriers, although some of the manufacturing work will be allocated to other yards around the country. 30-Oct-2002 Vosper Thornycroft is to relocate its group headquarters to Hedge End next month, as part of the company reorganisation that will see the closure of its Woolston shipyard and the transfer of production to Portsmouth. 25-Oct-2002 One NorthEast has outlined proposals to roll out Sunderland's £100m Metro extension across East Durham, in order to regenerate communities between Sunderland and Middlesbrough. 25-Oct-2002 Dart Group is to set up a base for its new JET 2 low-cost holiday and freight airline at Leeds-Bradford airport, with the creation of up to 200 jobs. 24-Oct-2002 Rotherham Council and the South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive are considering plans to expand the Sheffield Supertram system out to Rotherham town centre. 23-Oct-2002 Argyll & Bute Council is looking to raise £4m to upgrade Oban Airport so that scheduled flights can start next year, and a funding application is being lodged with the Department of Transport. 23-Oct-2002 EasyJet, the low-cost airline, is planning to set up a new regional base in Newcastle with the creation of more than 100 jobs. 22-Oct-2002 The Strategic Rail Authority is said to be considering plans to replace rail franchises with short-term service contracts. 21-Oct-2002 A&P Tyne is to create up to 400 jobs at its shipyard in Hebburn, South Tyneside, having won a contract to convert a De Beers ship into a diamond mining vessel. 17-Oct-2002 Consignia has submitted plans to build a mail distribution centre in Central Park, Rugby, which could create up to 840 jobs. 17-Oct-2002 Bombardier Transportation is to create 150 new jobs at its factory in Derby, to handle a rise in orders for its Electrostar and Turbostar trains. 16-Oct-2002 Highlands & Islands Enterprise is to conduct a feasibility study into plans for the development of a £60-100m airport on Skye. 15-Oct-2002 Bmibaby is setting up new booking call centres for its budget airline in France, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Ireland and the Czech Republic. 15-Oct-2002 Macfarlane Transport is linking up with seven other hauliers to form a new transport group called Jigsaw, which will operate 1,400 vehicles from 30 depots. 14-Oct-2002 New Wave Logistics is to create 320 jobs at a new 500,000 sq ft distribution centre at the Brackmills industrial estate in Northampton. 11-Oct-2002 GNER, the rail operator, is said to be planning to shed up to 80 of its 350 middle management jobs. 10-Oct-2002 Ballast is to build a £12m distribution warehouse at Manton Wood near Worksop for household goods retailer Wilkinson. 10-Oct-2002 Harland & Wolff has announced plans to shed 265 of the 386 jobs at its Belfast shipyard, due to poor demand from the ship completion and oil rig markets. 08-Oct-2002 McNulty Boats, the South Tyneside-based leisure boat builder with 13 staff, has gone into liquidation. 07-Oct-2002 P&O is to acquire eight cold storage facilities in California and two in Texas for £45m, in order to become one of the leading operators of refrigerated warehouses in the US. 07-Oct-2002 South Beds District Council is to consider plans from ICP Commercial for the development of two distribution centre warehouse buildings at the former AWD industrial site in Dunstable. 04-Oct-2002 East Midlands Airport is considering plans to build a new £40m terminal over the next four years, and is expected to submit a planning application next year. 04-Oct-2002 Lok n Store has secured a further £10m to fund the opening of up to 35 self-storage sites over the next four years. 02-Oct-2002 Sab Wabco is to shed 80 of the 190 jobs at its train braking systems factory in Bromborough, and the remaining 110 jobs will relocate to a new facility nearby. 30-Sep-2002 Burford is planning to set up a £750m fund to develop rail distribution centres across the UK and continental Europe. 30-Sep-2002 Railtrack has announced plans to overhaul its rail maintenance procedures by reducing the role of contractors and taking over the management of repairs, renewals and inspections, and will recruit 200 engineers over the next 12 months. 27-Sep-2002 Wales & Borders Trains has announced plans for a £2.5m investment in a new passenger information system, which will be installed at 54 stations by 2003. 26-Sep-2002 Gloucestershire Airport has announced proposals for the development of ten new hangars. 25-Sep-2002 Aviance has secured the future of 47 jobs at Cardiff International Airport, having won a new baggage handling contract from budget airline Bmibaby. 23-Sep-2002 Carillion is planning to set up a £4m training centre in Stafford for its 4,000 rail staff, and the site could become part of the proposed National Rail Academy. 23-Sep-2002 Railtrack is recruiting 30 extra staff in the West Midlands to form a rapid-response team to deal with track problems. 19-Sep-2002 Coventry Airport is to submit expansion plans to Warwickshire County Council next month to handle up to 500,000 passengers a year by 2004, including a new £3m terminal. 19-Sep-2002 GNER has announced plans to invest £30m upgrading its trains on the East Coast main line route. 18-Sep-2002 Railtrack is forming a joint venture company with Mott MacDonald and Fluor Daniel to develop the use of PFI on the railways, in order to attract private finance for the upgrade of the East Coast Main Line. 12-Sep-2002 Weymouth & Portland Borough Council is looking at the possibility of selling off Weymouth Harbour to a private company. 11-Sep-2002 Bombardier is looking to sell off Belfast City Airport, which employs about 360 staff, by the end of the year. 10-Sep-2002 East of England Development Agency has identified five potential locations for a new airport for Cambridge, including sites at Waterbeach, Alconbury, Wyton, Mildenhall and Stansted, which could lead to Marshall Group's existing airport being used for housing. 10-Sep-2002 British Bakeries is planning to offer logistics services to rival bakeries and supermarkets, as part of the recently-announced reorganisation of its distribution network. 09-Sep-2002 Midland Mainline is creating 150 new jobs to help run a £160m fleet of new Meridian trains and refurbished High Speed Trains on the London-Sheffield line. 06-Sep-2002 Arriva is planning to introduce an additional 200 buses in London next year, following a rise in passenger volumes. 06-Sep-2002 Associated British Ports is setting up a new £1m warehouse and storage terminal at Immingham, to enable IAWS Fertilisers to produce and distribute granular horticultural products. 04-Sep-2002 Carmarthenshire County Council and the Welsh Development Agency are seeking £1.7m to extend the runway at Pembrey airport, in order to facilitate commercial flights. 04-Sep-2002 EasyJet, the low-cost airline, has decided to set up its new headquarters in Luton, and is seeking a site large enough to include a telephone sales and customer service centre. 02-Sep-2002 Leeds Bradford Airport has awarded a contract to Ilkley-based Quarmby Construction for a £2.9m terminal refurbishment and expansion project. 30-Aug-2002 Postcomm has awarded a one-year licence to Deutsche Post of Germany to collect and sort 40m items of mail, providing new competition to Royal Mail. 29-Aug-2002 James Fisher has appointed corporate finance boutique EC Hambro Rabben to seek acquisitions to expand its marine services division. 29-Aug-2002 Chiltern Railways is planning to build a £14m rail maintenance depot at Wembley in north London, and is considering bids from Galliford, Amec and Fitzpatrick. 29-Aug-2002 Amec has been selected as preferred bidder for the £300m 30-year concession to extend the Docklands Light Railway to London City Airport, and its investment partner is Royal Bank of Scotland. 28-Aug-2002 British Airways has announced plans for more than 100 new jobs at its direct sales call centre in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. 27-Aug-2002 Bmibaby is planning to set up a third UK base for its budget airline, and a number of airports have been invited to tender. 27-Aug-2002 Lok n Store is to open a 33,000 sq ft storage centre in Luton in October, taking its total network to 17 sites. 23-Aug-2002 The Ministry of Defence is to create up to 700 jobs at RAF Brize Norton by locating the Airbus A400M heavy lift transport aircraft at the Oxfordshire site. 23-Aug-2002 Liverpool City Council has approved plans for the £26m expansion of Liverpool John Lennon Airport, and work will start next spring. 22-Aug-2002 Transrent has received a £30m funding package from Aberdeen Murray Johnston Private Equity and Penta Capital to expand its trailer rental business. 21-Aug-2002 Denbighshire County Council is appointing consultants to look into the feasibility of developing Rhyl's Foryd Harbour for both commercial and leisure use. 16-Aug-2002 Arriva Northumbria is to close its bus depot in Berwick with the loss of 15 jobs. 16-Aug-2002 Ryanair is to set up a £12m aircraft overhaul and maintenance facility at Prestwick Airport, with the creation of 180 engineering jobs over the next three years. 16-Aug-2002 Network Rail is said to be planning to decentralise the management of the country's railway network away from the Railtrack headquarters in London to a number of regional offices. 15-Aug-2002 May Gurney is to seek permission to build a £5m rail depot on the edge of Norwich, which would handle mixed aggregates used in roads and construction. 13-Aug-2002 MyTravel has announced plans to launch a budget airline called MyTravelLite, flying from Birmingham to Belfast, Paris, Geneva, Malaga and Alicante. 08-Aug-2002 Serco is forming a joint venture with Netherlands Railways to bid for UK rail franchises, starting with Wales and Borders. 30-Jul-2002 Cumbria County Council is considering plans to hand over the operation of the Port of Workington to a private company, following a review by independent consultants. 25-Jul-2002 North West Aerospace Alliance is seeking a suitable location for the development of a £20m Aerospace Innovation Centre, which could lead to the creation of more than 5,000 jobs in the north west over the next five years. 24-Jul-2002 Express Dairies has won a 12-month licence from Postcomm to use its milk floats to deliver up to 4.6m packages to households. 24-Jul-2002 The Department for Transport has announced proposals for a major expansion of the country's airport capacity over the next 20 years, and options include a third runway at Heathrow and up to four additional runways in the south-east. 24-Jul-2002 Eurotunnel is considering plans to introduce trains that would enable "drive on" freight lorries to use the Channel Tunnel, which would require new railway infrastructure and intermodal terminals. 23-Jul-2002 Cardiff International Airport is to get a new passenger rail link from Cardiff Central railway station by the end of next year, and a station will be built at nearby Rhoose village. 22-Jul-2002 Consignia is considering plans to close its Royal Mail sorting office in Derby, which employs about 700 staff, in order to transfer the work to its Nottingham site. 22-Jul-2002 British Airways is forming a commercial alliance with Iberia of Spain, in order to co-operate across their global networks in areas such as marketing, schedule planning, capacity and pricing. 22-Jul-2002 Associated British Ports has acquired a 100,000 sq ft building at Finningly airport, Doncaster, to store illegal imports on behalf of HM Customs & Excise. 22-Jul-2002 Stena Line has announced plans to introduce a new £60m super ferry on the Holyhead to Dublin route next summer, capable of carrying up to 1,500 passengers. 17-Jul-2002 Air Wales has announced plans to introduce flights from Cardiff and Swansea airports to Glasgow and Edinburgh next month. 15-Jul-2002 British Airways has agreed to pay an estimated £30m for the acquisition of seven take-off and landing slots at Heathrow airport from SN Brussels Airlines. 12-Jul-2002 Virgin Express is to set up a base at Cologne-Bonn airport in Germany, offering low-cost flights to about eight destinations by next summer. 11-Jul-2002 Virgin Atlantic is recruiting 300 additional staff in preparation for the re-introduction of a number of daily and weekly flights to the US. 11-Jul-2002 GB Railways is facing the prospect of a takeover approach from Freightliner's holding company, in order to create an enlarged rail freight business. 11-Jul-2002 P&O is to close its North Sea Ferries operation at Felixstowe later this month, and the three vessels will be sold to Stena Line for £12m. 08-Jul-2002 EasyJet has narrowed down the search for a new headquarters following the acquisition of the Go airline, and is considering two sites near Luton and Stansted airports. 08-Jul-2002 Railtrack has received the backing of the Scottish Executive for the reintroduction of a £12m freight line from Dunfermline to Stirling by late 2005. 04-Jul-2002 Bmibaby is to set up a second base for its low-cost airline at Cardiff International airport, where it will handle 1m passengers a year and create about 100 jobs. 04-Jul-2002 Stena Line has confirmed plans for a £12m investment in a new double decker berth at the Port of Holyhead, with the creation of 56 jobs. 03-Jul-2002 Longs Transport, the Rotherham-based freight company, has gone into voluntary liquidation with the loss of 18 jobs. 03-Jul-2002 The Ministry of Defence has selected Portsmouth as the future base for two new aircraft carriers, while amphibious assault ships will be based at Devonport, Astute-class submarines at Faslane and Type 45 destroyers at Portsmouth. 03-Jul-2002 The Strategic Rail Authority has announced plans for a £29m investment in new trains and the extension of 90 suburban stations on the South West Trains network. 02-Jul-2002 Trinity Rail is to close the Thrall Europa freight wagon factory in York in December, with the loss of 260 jobs. 01-Jul-2002 Newark & Sherwood District Council has approved plans for the development of a distribution centre for Mastercare, Dixons and Currys at the Newlinc Business Park, which will create almost 500 jobs. 28-Jun-2002 Sheffield City Council is considering plans from Robert Turley Associates for the development of a rail freight distribution centre between the M1 motorway and the airport, which could create more than 1,000 jobs by 2009. 28-Jun-2002 Railtrack is to be taken out of administration by Network Rail, a new not-for-profit company that will have access to £11bn of government contingency funds. 28-Jun-2002 Railtrack has submitted plans for the development of a new railway station at the Thames Valley Business Park in Reading. 25-Jun-2002 Consignia is to close a regional office at Heathfield in South Devon next year, with the loss of 25 jobs. 25-Jun-2002 Lok n Store is to raise £10m in a share placing to fund the acquisition of new sites for its self storage business. 24-Jun-2002 Leeds City Council is considering plans from Eagle Star Life Assurance Company for the development of a storage and warehouse complex at the former Vickers tank factory in Cross Gates, which could create up to 500 jobs. 21-Jun-2002 Clarke Chapman has won a £7m contract to refurbish Railtrack's fleet of track laying machines, securing up to 140 jobs at its Cowans Sheldon rail division in Gateshead. 20-Jun-2002 Bibby Distribution is to create 100 new jobs at its two distribution centres on the Foxhills Industrial Estate in North Lincolnshire, due to rising demand from the Nisa-Today consortium of independent retail and wholesale companies. 19-Jun-2002 EasyJet is looking to expand its French operations by applying for 20,000 annual take-off and landing slots at Paris Orly airport. 18-Jun-2002 PA Freight is planning a £1.4m expansion at its export packing site in Newark, which will create a conference centre, warehouse and up to 50 jobs. 14-Jun-2002 The National Assembly for Wales is said to be in discussions with a group of companies operating under the name of Email4all about plans to set up an internet-based rival to the Royal Mail, and a data centre with 300 staff could be established in the Treforest and Nantgarw area. 14-Jun-2002 Tyne Slipway Engineering is reopening the former Cammell Laird dry dock in Sunderland, and expects to increase the workforce from 20 to 100 over the coming months. 13-Jun-2002 Consignia is expected to spend up to £1m changing its name back to Royal Mail, with the main cost being the alteration of signs on 3,000 buildings. 13-Jun-2002 Swansea Council has announced plans for the development of a £5m bus and train interchange at High Street station by summer 2004. 12-Jun-2002 Ryanair is planning to set up a new £15m maintenance base with the creation of 200 jobs, and sites are being considered at Prestwick and Bournemouth airport. 12-Jun-2002 Exel has won a £500m beer distribution contract from Interbrew, which will involve the transfer of 1,500 staff to Exel's Tradeteam subsidiary. 11-Jun-2002 Bmibaby is creating over 100 jobs for cabin staff at East Midlands Airport, due to an increase in the number of aircraft and destinations. 10-Jun-2002 Texaco is rolling out its new Relay Star parcels service to almost 1,000 petrol stations nationwide, which will enable retailers, carriers and others to drop off packages for later collection. 10-Jun-2002 Stagecoach is forming a joint venture with Wellington Regional Council to operate passenger rail services in New Zealand. 06-Jun-2002 First Group is looking to expand its transport business by winning UK rail franchises and acquiring small US school bus operators, and would also consider buying stakes in US railway company Amtrak and leading school bus operator Laidlaw. 05-Jun-2002 Crawley Borough Council is considering plans for the development of a £3m engine testing enclosure and aircraft maintenance facility at Gatwick Airport. 05-Jun-2002 Wincanton is to operate a new national distribution centre for Argos in Wolverhampton. 03-Jun-2002 Newark & Sherwood District Council is to help Richmond Preston find a suitable site for a new haulage depot for 20 lorries and 30 staff in Newark, having refused the company permission to use a site in Northern Road. 03-Jun-2002 Quickstore is planning to expand its self-storage warehouse in Torquay and open two more units in the South West. 03-Jun-2002 Aviance, the baggage handling company, is to pull out of Glasgow Airport with the loss of up to 100 jobs, and is also planning to withdraw its Cardiff operations. 29-May-2002 North Warwickshire Borough Council is supporting plans for the development of a £3m station at Coleshill, to provide an improved rail link for people to commute to Birmingham. 29-May-2002 The Mayor of London has approved plans for the development of two tram schemes over the next 10 years - a £300m north-south Cross River link and a £200m west London scheme from Uxbridge to Shepherds Bush. 29-May-2002 Express Dairies is seeking a licence to deliver letters and parcels to households along with the milk, and has held discussions with Dutch post office TPG about possible sorting arrangements. 27-May-2002 Pearson is considering plans to combine its Lutterworth and Heathrow warehouses onto a single 500,000 sq ft site, either in the Thames Valley or the Midlands. 27-May-2002 Nightspeed is creating 50 new jobs at its Tipton-based courier business following a rise in demand from major retailers for its new Printspeed overnight delivery service. 23-May-2002 Mersey Docks & Harbour has announced plans to build a grain warehouse for Arkady Feed at Seaforth Dock, with the creation of more than 100 construction jobs. 15-May-2002 Protec Research has put forward proposals for the introduction of a high-speed 400-seat ferry to link towns along the south coast between Falmouth and Hampshire during the summer months. 15-May-2002 The Ministry of Defence is looking into the possibility of opening up RAF Kinloss and Lossiemouth to commercial passenger flights, as part of a feasibility study being carried out by Strike Command into the commercial potential of bases. 15-May-2002 Semple Cochrane has sold the Garvel Clyde and Forth Estuary Engineering ship repair yards, in preparation for its expected reverse takeover by Teesland and the acquisition of most of its remaining operations by Tulloch. 13-May-2002 P&O is said to be interested in selling its Trans European logistics business for up to £150m. 13-May-2002 Superfast Ferries of Greece is expected to be selected by East Port Great Yarmouth to operate a passenger and freight service from Yarmouth to Holland. 10-May-2002 Alstom Train Services is to shed a further 90 of the 570 jobs at its train renovation centre in Eastleigh over the next two months. 10-May-2002 West Sussex County Council has awarded a £13m contract to Edmund Nuttall for the development of a Fastway part-guided bus scheme for Crawley, Gatwick and Horley. 10-May-2002 Railtrack has announced proposals for the £150m revamp of Birmingham's New Street Station, which would more than double the size of the current concourse. 09-May-2002 GNER is to create 350 new jobs at its call centre in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, to cope with rising demand for train tickets. 09-May-2002 Dover Harbour Board is to spend £20m on the construction of two new ferry births, and has invited bids from Kier, Nuttall, Mowlem and Harbour & General. 09-May-2002 EasyJet has secured an exclusive option to acquire Deutsche BA, the German airline, from British Airways. 09-May-2002 Macfarlane Transport is planning to relocate its Leeds-based distribution business to a £5m site in the Aire Valley. 08-May-2002 Helios has acquired a 60-acre site at Thorne, Doncaster, to develop 1m sq ft of rail-connected warehouse facilities under the name of Nimbus Park, and the scheme could be used to satisfy BMW's local requirement for car storage space. 08-May-2002 National Air Traffic Services is looking to secure up to £50m of equity capital from the private sector, and negotiations are expected to take place with Serco and BAA. 08-May-2002 Thomas Gibb, the Fraserburgh-based refrigerated transport company with 30 vehicles, is to be closed with the loss of 21 jobs. 06-May-2002 Consignia is planning to shed 50 of its 150 senior postal managers over the next 12 months. 06-May-2002 Associated British Ports has taken over the management of the Hams Hall rail freight terminal near Birmingham from Parsec, with the transfer of 23 staff. 02-May-2002 National Air Traffic Services is planning to integrate with the Irish Aviation Authority, and is in discussions with other European counterparts about scrapping national borders above 29,000ft. 01-May-2002 Virgin Atlantic is to create 300 new jobs at Gatwick, including 200 cabin crew and 100 office staff, following an increase in services to destinations such as New York, Lagos, Orlando and Shanghai. 30-Apr-2002 Yellow Buses is planning to relocate its Bournemouth depot to Yeomans Way, in order to make way for a retail development by Castlemore Securities in Mallard Road. 30-Apr-2002 National Air Traffic Services is planning to relocate its centre of operations and about 750 staff to the Southampton area next year, and three possible sites are being considered. 26-Apr-2002 Angel Distribution is to set up a regional distribution centre in Sunderland with the creation of 13 jobs, in order to expand its Harker's Transport furniture haulage business. 25-Apr-2002 British Airways has announced plans to drop 12 UK regional routes with the loss of up to 500 jobs, and its BA Regional and Manx Airlines subsidiaries will be merged with CitiExpress. 25-Apr-2002 P&O is to pay £150m for Stena Line's 40% share of their cross-Channel ferry joint venture, and will close routes from Dover to Zeebrugge and Felixstowe to Zeebrugge and Rotterdam with the loss of up to 100 shore-based jobs. 24-Apr-2002 Mersey Docks & Harbour has acquired a 35-acre site at Queensborough on the Medway from Inchcape for £4.9m, in order to expand the volume of car imports through the Port of Sheerness. 23-Apr-2002 Morgan Stanley and Babcock & Brown of the US are said to have approached the Strategic Rail Authority about plans to finance an investment of about £30bn in the UK rail network. 22-Apr-2002 BAA has announced a £8bn 10-year investment programme for Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports. 22-Apr-2002 Teesside Airport is to announce plans for a £6m expansion programme next month, in order to cope with rising passenger and freight volumes. 18-Apr-2002 Nexus is looking into the possibility of a £920m extension of Newcastle's Metro transport system. 18-Apr-2002 British Midland is planning to open a second base for its new Bmibaby low-cost airline at an unnamed UK location next year. 17-Apr-2002 Edinburgh Airport is expected to get a second runway to cope with rising passenger numbers at airports across Scotland. 15-Apr-2002 Consignia and Balfour Beatty are planning a joint venture to manage Consignia's 3,000 properties, and the venture will be awarded a £1bn seven-year contract. 15-Apr-2002 Birmingham International Airport has announced that 150 new jobs are being created by the companies that operate the site's hotels, shops, food outlets and maintenance facilities. 12-Apr-2002 South Staffordshire Council has approved plans for the expansion of Wolverhampton Business Airport, including a new terminal building and the creation of up to 120 jobs. 11-Apr-2002 Consignia is preparing plans for the possible closure of up to 3,000 urban post offices, as part of a restructuring programme that will include a £270m government rescue package to compensate individual owners. 10-Apr-2002 The Ministry of Defence has sold the 136-acre Aston Down depot near Stroud to Leda Properties for £7.5m for the development of a major distribution hub, and will relocate its staff to other sites around the country. 08-Apr-2002 British Airways is planning to raise £80m from property disposals, and a further 1,500 staff will be relocated to its Heathrow headquarters. 05-Apr-2002 Virgin Express, the Brussels-based low-cost airline, is looking to set up a second base in Europe next year. 05-Apr-2002 National Express has revealed plans for the development of a £27m replacement for Birmingham's Digbeth coach station, including coach terminal, office and apartment block on a derelict site near the Jewellery Quarter. 04-Apr-2002 Consignia is looking at possible sites near Derby, Burton and elsewhere in the Midlands to set up a regional mail distribution hub, which could create hundreds of jobs. 04-Apr-2002 JacksonEve, the provider of railway infrastructure services, has established a new headquarters in York for 40 staff. 03-Apr-2002 Mersey Docks & Harbour has paid £10m for full control of the Princes Dock Development from joint venture partner David McLean Group. 03-Apr-2002 SchlumbergerSema has won a £80m contract from the Association of Train Operating Companies to upgrade ticket settlement systems on the rail network by April 2003. 03-Apr-2002 Iforce is negotiating a £5m investment from Lynx New Media Ventures and other investors to expand its delivery service for online retailers. 02-Apr-2002 Thales is looking into the possibility of using the Nigg yard on the Cromarty Firth to build aircraft carriers, should it be chosen as prime contractor for the £2.5bn contract. 02-Apr-2002 Ipswich Buses is considering plans to relocate its depot and offices within the next few years, to allow its existing Constantine Road site to be redeveloped as part of the Ipswich Village project. 28-Mar-2002 Highland Council has announced a £7.8m project to build a car ferry terminal on the Hebridean island of Eigg, which will be operated by Caledonian MacBrayne. 27-Mar-2002 The Ministry of Defence is to transfer warship maintenance work at the Clyde, Devonport and Portsmouth naval bases to Babcock International, DML and Fleet Support, with the loss of up to 750 jobs. 26-Mar-2002 EasyJet is creating 33 cabin crew jobs in Northern Ireland, and adding new flights from Belfast to Liverpool and Luton. 25-Mar-2002 Consignia has announced plans to shed at least 15,000 jobs, which will involve the closure of 50 Parcelforce depots and an end to the sorting of mail on night trains. 25-Mar-2002 WS Atkins has revealed proposals for a £300m Light Rail Transport system in Leicestershire, which, if approved, could be ready by 2011. 22-Mar-2002 British European is planning to create about 150 jobs at its Exeter-based airline business, having won a contract to maintain 170 aircraft for Bombardier Aerospace. 21-Mar-2002 Carillion is to recruit 400 additional engineering and management staff for its Birmingham-based railways maintenance division. 21-Mar-2002 Lichfield District Council has approved plans from Fradley Park for the development of a 390,000 sq ft distribution depot alongside the A38 in Staffordshire, which will create up to 300 jobs. 20-Mar-2002 A&P Group has announced plans for the £85m development of Falmouth Docks, in order to upgrade facilities to take larger cruise ships, secure the future of 2,500 jobs and provide shops, restaurants and a marina. 20-Mar-2002 Docklands Light Railway has won government permission to extend its network to London City Airport by 2005, at a cost of £115m. 20-Mar-2002 British Waterways has announced plans to invest £300m in nine canal development schemes throughout the country this year, which will involve reopening or building up to 300 miles of waterways. 19-Mar-2002 Bibby International Services is to shed 20 jobs at its Isle of Man headquarters following the loss of a shipping contract with Chevron. 15-Mar-2002 Widdowson Group, the Leicester-based haulage company, is to open a new £5m warehouse in Bardon over the next few weeks with the creation of up to 40 jobs. 15-Mar-2002 Go is planning a flotation in 2002 or 2003 to help fund the expansion of its low-cost airline fleet from 20 to more than 80 aircraft by 2008. 15-Mar-2002 GoVia has announced a £856m order for 700 new carriages from Bombardier for its South Central rail network. 13-Mar-2002 Virgin has agreed to sell a 50% stake in Virgin Blue, its low-cost Australian airline, to Patrick Corporation for about £96m. 13-Mar-2002 National Express is to receive an additional £115m subsidy from the Strategic Rail Authority to ensure that services are maintained on the ScotRail and Central franchises. 08-Mar-2002 The Port of London Authority is developing long-term plans for the expansion of its container facilities, which could lead to the creation of thousands of jobs. 07-Mar-2002 James Fisher & Sons has completed its withdrawal from the dry cargo market following the sale of its two remaining ships, and will now focus on the provision of services to the marine industry. 05-Mar-2002 Kent County Council is expected to oppose plans for the development of a new airport at Cliffe near Gravesend, one of a number of options being considered by the government to cope with a projected rise in air traffic over the next 20 years. 01-Mar-2002 Cygnific is to create 80 new jobs at its call centre at Norwich International airport, having won a contract to sell tickets for KLM's low-cost Buzz airline. 28-Feb-2002 Railtrack is seeking contractors for nationwide rail renewal work worth up to £8bn. 28-Feb-2002 London Borough of Hounslow is developing plans for a £290m tram link between Hammersmith Tube Station and Heathrow, with the line running along the A4. 27-Feb-2002 Business Post is considering plans to set up post boxes in shops and garages, in order to establish a rival service to the Royal Mail. 26-Feb-2002 Isle of Wight Council is in discussions with a consortium of local businesses about the possibility of setting up a new car ferry service from Cowes to Portsmouth. 25-Feb-2002 Tibbett & Britten is to shed 37 of the 57 jobs at its Fashion Logistics warehouse in Droitwich. 22-Feb-2002 A&P Tyne is creating up to 500 jobs at its Wallsend shipyard next month, having won the dry dock repair contract for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Fort Victoria. 21-Feb-2002 GoVia is planning to revamp six train depots in London and the south-east at a cost of £60m, and tenders will be submitted by Kier, Mowlem, Amec and Fitzpatrick in March. 21-Feb-2002 Vosper Thornycroft and BAe Systems have received government confirmation that a further three Royal Navy warships will be ordered, securing thousands of jobs at yards in Glasgow and Portsmouth. 19-Feb-2002 Midland Mainline has announced a £160m order for 23 trains to be built by Bombardier Transportation in Wakefield and Bruges, with the creation of 210 jobs. 15-Feb-2002 British Airways is planning to shed a further 5,800 jobs, cut 10 loss-making routes and reduce fares on European routes, in order to return the business to profitability. 13-Feb-2002 The Scottish Executive has announced £9m of funding for a new freight rail line to Powharnal in East Ayrshire, in order to ease road congestion in central Scotland. 06-Feb-2002 Silverlink is planning to recruit up to 24 conductors and 12 drivers in Northampton, in order to improve local rail services. 05-Feb-2002 Stena Line is planning to build a new £13m terminal at Holyhead, which would double the port's passenger and freight volumes. 04-Feb-2002 Ryanair is planning to set up new operating bases in France, Italy and Scandinavia over the next three years, and is also looking to increase the number of flights in Germany and Spain. 01-Feb-2002 The National Assembly for Wales is to provide £7m of finance for a £15m project to reopen a passenger railway line between Ebbw Vale and Cardiff by 2004. 01-Feb-2002 The Scottish Executive is planning to seek tenders for the restoration of the Campbeltown to Ballycastle ferry service. 01-Feb-2002 Associated British Ports has agreed a 50-year lease to develop the old Ailsa-Troon shipyard, and will use the 5.5 hectare site for ship repair and other port-related business. 01-Feb-2002 Consignia is set to lose its monopoly in public postal services sooner than expected, following proposals from Postcomm to open up the market for bulk business mail to new operators within eight weeks. 31-Jan-2002 CPD Logistics is to create 20 new jobs at its Wellesbourne and Long Marston warehouses, having won toy distribution contracts worth £15m from General Creations, Paul Lamond Games and Zak Designs. 30-Jan-2002 Mersey Docks & Harbour has acquired a 50% stake in Northwestern Shiprepairers, the operator of six dry docks on Merseyside, for £0.5m. 30-Jan-2002 English Welsh & Scottish Railway is planning to recruit 144 new train drivers this year. 29-Jan-2002 The National Assembly for Wales has announced a £130m boost for public transport to add to the previously-announced five-year programme, including five new road schemes. 23-Jan-2002 The Strategic Rail Authority is planning to set up a new national rail academy to solve skills shortages in the industry, and Midland Mainline wants it to be sited in Derby. 23-Jan-2002 Grampian Holdings is to change its name to the Malcolm Group and return £45m to shareholders, as part of its transformation into a logistics business. 21-Jan-2002 Ryanair is to buy at least 100 aircraft from Boeing, in order to increase capacity in its budget airline business by 25% a year. 21-Jan-2002 British Midland is to recruit up to 100 airline reservations staff at its Donington Hall headquarters near Castle Donington. 18-Jan-2002 Glenalmond Timber is to set up a new timber import and treatment facility at Perth Harbour, with the creation of an unspecified number of jobs. 18-Jan-2002 Forth Ports is considering plans to launch a twice-weekly shipping service between Grangemouth and Tilbury to compete with road and rail freight operating down the east coast. 18-Jan-2002 The National Assembly for Wales is set to award a £5m grant to Advanced Transport Systems of Bristol for the development of a driverless taxi cab system in Cardiff, which could lead to a £45m project if trials succeed. 18-Jan-2002 Birmingham City Council has unveiled details of its £50m traffic management strategy, which will ban cars from key parts of the city centre to make way for a new 2.6 mile Metro route between Snow Hill and Edgbaston. 17-Jan-2002 BUE Marine has won an estimated £34m ten-year contract to operate an icebreaking vessel and provide logistics support for a consortium of oil companies in the Caspian Sea, which will create ten jobs in Edinburgh and 40 in Kazakhstan. 16-Jan-2002 Harrison Logistics, the Liverpool-based freight forwarding company, is to go into liquidation with the loss of 85 jobs. 16-Jan-2002 London City Airport is planning to open a purpose-built business aviation terminal for corporate jets this summer. 14-Jan-2002 Simon Group, the ports and logistics group valued at more than £100m, has put itself up for sale, and Associated British Ports has expressed interest in bidding for its Humber Sea Terminal. 14-Jan-2002 Arriva is to close the North Wales headquarters of its bus transport business with the loss of 19 jobs, and control of the business will move from Llandudno Junction to Aintree. 11-Jan-2002 Highland Council has awarded a £20m contract to Rapsons to provide school bus services throughout the Highlands over the next five years. 11-Jan-2002 British Midland has announced plans to launch a low-cost airline at East Midlands Airport, operating six routes to the Mediterranean. 11-Jan-2002 United Distribution is to close its Wellingborough-based logistics business later this month, with the loss of at least 124 jobs. 10-Jan-2002 Consignia has won a contract from the US Postal Service to handle parcels and delivery documents sent by air from the US to Europe, and the packages will start at its Amsterdam hub. 09-Jan-2002 Arriva has won two regional rail franchises in Denmark, worth £150m over the next seven years. 08-Jan-2002 A&P Holdings is planning to reopen the Cammell Laird shipyard at Birkenhead this summer, and talks are being held with unions and potential customers. 07-Jan-2002 St Modwen has submitted plans for the development of the 500,000 sq ft Access 18 distribution scheme at Avonmouth, Bristol. 07-Jan-2002 EasyJet is planning to purchase a further 75 new aircraft to take its low-cost airline fleet to more than 100 by 2008. 07-Jan-2002 Mid Beds District Council is to consider plans for the expansion of Cranfield Airfield, which would involve five new hangars, an increase in the number of business flights and up to 200 new jobs. 04-Jan-2002 The information below comes from the UK Activity Report. 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