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

Sunday, 03 August 2014

BBC News

• BA owner IAG moves into profitBritish Airways owner IAG moves into profit for the first half of 2014 after an improved performance by its Iberia airline business.
• BA to continue flying over IraqBritish Airways flights says it will continue to fly through Iraqi airspace despite concerns over the threat from Islamic militants on the ground.

Financial Times

• Airlines split over safety of Iraq routesConflict prompts US regulators to order carriers to fly higher over country ‘due to potentially hazardous situation’ after MH17 crash

The Guardian

• Labour's proposed rail shakeup leaves nationalisation firmly off the agendaTrain operators say the party's proposals won't work, but unions insist they don't go far enoughThe woman spearheading Labour's emerging vision to put the people back in charge of the railways recently had cause to take direct action of her own. On an overcrowded and late CrossCountry train limping its way from Plymouth to Newcastle, with its air conditioning failing and litter piling up, shadow transport secretary Mary Creagh led a mini-invasion of a first-class carriage by disgruntled passengers. Not in a George Osborne way, she stresses. Unlike the chancellor, who attempted to secure an upg...
• Crossrail facing two safety inquiries after falling concrete kills workerWhistleblower tells of near misses while shotcreting tunnel across London, but contractor BBMV denies accusationsCrossrail, the largest construction project in Europe, is facing two investigations by the health and safety regulator over allegations made by a whistleblower about the circumstances that led to the death of a worker earlier this year.The Observer has learned that the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is acting on a series of statements from the whistleblower in which safety standards on the £15bn project have been condemned. Continue reading...

The Telegraph

• Unmasked at last: the City high-flyer who dodged £43,000 in train faresInvestment executive Jonathan Burrows named as Britain's biggest fare dodger, who hoped to keep his name secret by quickly paying back the £43,000 within three days

Times Online

• Taken for a ride by poorly designed cycle projects [subscription]Costly initiatives to encourage more people to ride need more thought, says Andrew Warren
• When the blind can drive a car: that's when we'll finally be safe [subscription]As we watch the slaughter of young people in the Middle East, the overwhelming feeling is one of impotence. Yet there is also, year after year, the violent and random termination of many young lives in this country. In our case the deadly weapons travel at subsonic speeds and have wheels. They are called cars. And when the person behind the wheel is simultaneously using a telephone, the result can be carnage.

Mail Online

• UK's two-bed ebola unit: MP calls for fever scans at UK airports... but we have just one isolation facility There is only one operational High Secure Infectious Diseases Unit in the UK, at the Royal Free Hospital in London, pictured, which has an array of specialist equipment.

Derby Telegraph

• Trent Barton has its 100th 'talking bus' on the road A BUS company which operates services throughout Derbyshire has unveiled its 100th bus adapted to help visually-impaired people.
• Derby rail ticket offer today to mark 175 years All return tickets will be £17.50 as part of a "Red Dot Day" promotion. Children's tickets will be priced £5.

The York Press

• MP discusses disabled transport issues with youngsters YORK Central MP Hugh Bayley visited the Children's Society to hear about transport issues for disabled youngsters in the city.
• Rail company withdraws quiet coaches from its trains A RAIL company has been slammed after it removed 'quiet coaches' from its trains out of York.

Peterborough Telegraph

• MP calls on city council to act on flood risk Whittlesey roadA Cambridgeshire MP is calling on local authorities to look into raising part of the B1040 road which is at risk of heavy flooding.

Other Regional Press

• Rothesay bus shelter to be officially openedA brand new bus shelter in Rothesay town centre will be officially opened in the next few days.
• New bus route to run from Purley to Thornton Heath RESIDENTS who have complained they have been unable to get on buses because they are crammed with pupils from Harris Academy Purley should find things easier when the new school year starts in September.
• Kids risk lives on Keyle railwayCHILDREN in a Ross-shire village have been risking their lives by sitting, playing, lying and even cycling on the railway line during the summer holidays.
• Farewell to rail historyIt’s been a sad week for railway enthusiasts in South Holland who have seen the removal of historic signal boxes.
• Rail will stop the ‘neglect’A leading Scottish supporter of rail transport is vigorously waving the flag for the reconnection of the Levenmouth rail link.
• Ground breaking ticketing deal for Devon And Cornwall Rail Partnership Bodmin And Wenford Railway and First Great Western in association with the Plymouth based Devon And Cornwall Rail Partnership were able to announce their ground breaking inclusive ticketing deal.
• Elderly cut off after Flitwick Tesco buses axedBUS SERVICES which transported the elderly to and from a supermarket have been axed.

Airportwatch

• Haddington firm’s bus-rail link hits the buffersA bus service launched in February to improve transport links between the county and Edinburgh is to cease later this month.

Aviation Industry

• British Airways supremo Willie Walsh picks a fight with BAE Systems ...British Airways supremo Willie Walsh risked starting a dogfight with BAE Systems chief executive Ian King, as he criticised comments attributed to the defence boss about airline safety.
• Comedy Is The Most Popular Genre in the In-Flight Entertainment BusinessTo airlines seeking to attract more passengers and elicit ancillary revenue, giving passengers wide choice in in-flight entertainment, whether it is on seatbacks or through passengers using their own personal electronic devices, is serious business.
• Qantas and LAN extend codeshare agreementOneworld members Qantas and LAN have strengthened their codeshare agreement by adding routes in Australia and South America.
• Heathrow owner ‘considering’ UK airports sell-offHeathrow Airport Holdings expected to sell-off Southampton, Glasgow and Aberdeen