02 February 2009

January Review

Well, we said we'd post almost daily and think we managed it! Below is a summary of the entries we carried for January 2009:

3rd: We started with a summary of 2008.

5th: Inflation-linked rail fares made the news, as ever!

6th: News broke that Stagecoach had approached Preston Bus, with an offer for its purchase.

7th: We reviewed the new 'people car', whose deployment on the Stourbridge Town branch line had been delayed.

8th: Doncaster is gearing up for Quality Contracts.

9th: A LibDem MP attempts to score points but insults rail enthusiasts in the process.

12th: The LibDems make headlines with scores of new rail lines & stations proposed.

13th: Waterloo breaks a curious Euro record for automated barrier gates.

14th: We produce a brief round-up of the work done to upgrade the West Coast Main Line.

15th: Peterborough City Council's transport budget deficit of £1m is revealed.

16th: How would Hitler have reacted if he worked for a rail company in Cornwall and had his request for leave refused?

17th: We detail perhaps the luckiest aviation landing this century.

18th: The BBC is told to use public transport.

19th: The government give the go-ahead for a new runway at Heathrow, but protesters vow to resist.

20th: Trent Barton announces an order for 43 new vehicles this year.

21st: First Group blows out 20 candles and a day after announcing new vehicles, Trent Barton's MD steps down, but the firm remains "fiercely independent".

22nd: Atheist adverts cause a stir, with a First Southampton driver refusing to drive a bus carrying an advert claiming 'there is probably no god'.

23rd: National Express East Coast considers introducing a fee to reserve seats on its trains.

24th: So annoyed are MPs at the atheist bus adverts that they request Christian groups start a counter ad campaign.

26th: Preston Bus employees cash in their shares and agree to sell to Stagecoach.

27th: Transit magazine produce their annual Power 50 and we detail perhaps the funniest complaint letter ever.

28th: Soon after buying their competitor in Eastbourne, Stagecoach announce its closure and we ponder quite what the OFT will make of it all.

29th: Bad news is brewing in Derbyshire, in order for the county council to meet its transport budget next year.

30th: The National Railway Museum request financial assistance to overhaul the iconic Flying Scotsman.

31st: A curious name is spotted on the side of a National Express coach in London.