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

Tuesday, 16 December 2014

BBC News

• Half of rail lines at flooding riskAlmost half of the length of Devon and Cornwall's main rail lines are at risk of flooding because of climate change, an internal Network Rail report says.
• 10,000 hit by Heathrow flight chaosUp to 10,000 passengers at Heathrow alone were affected by an air traffic control computer failure, the transport secretary confirms.
• Three deny £814,000 bus firm fraudThree people deny claiming a bus firm carried more concessionary passengers than was true.
• Extra trains for Bristol and CardiffFirst Great Western is providing three extra train services on Sundays for people travelling between Bristol Temple Meads and Cardiff Central.
• Child car smoking ban bill launchedSouth of Scotland Lib Dem MSP Jim Hume is formally launching a bill at Holyrood to prevent smoking in cars when children are in them.
• 10,000 hit by Heathrow flight chaosUp to 10,000 passengers at Heathrow alone were affected by an air traffic control computer failure, the transport secretary confirms.
• Tram fares frozen until August 2015Metrolink fares across Greater Manchester are to be frozen until August 2015, while new smart ticket users will not pay more until 2016.
• Most car-dependent places revealedPeterborough is the most difficult place in England to get around without a car, according to a transport survey which says other place can learn from London.
• Independent inquiry into flight chaosAn independent inquiry is to be set up to investigate the air traffic control computer failure which disrupted flights at UK airports last week.

Financial Times

• Nats defends system as failure scrutinisedGroup monitoring UK skies has dismissed MP’s criticism it has underinvested

The Herald

• Bike-back: new cycle-only lane on commuter route from Milngavie, Bearsden to Glasgow A MAJOR commuter road linking East Dunbartonshire into Glasgow is to get a segregated cycle lane to tackle

The Independent

• Air-traffic chaos: Transport Secretary hints at compensation for 'unacceptable' failure The tens of thousands of passengers whose planes were cancelled because of Friday’s air-traffic control collapse may be in line for compensation, the Transport Secretary has hinted.

The Scotsman

• SNP accused of U-turn on Edinburgh Trams cashFORMER Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray has accused the SNP of a U-turn on the controversial Edinburgh Trams project by offering funding “through the back door”.

The Telegraph

• Air traffic boss suggests he will still be entitled to large bonusRichard Deakin refuses to outline how pay could be affected, insisting that company performance over the year had been

The Mirror

• American Airlines passenger jet turns back to London after on-board emergencyThe Boeing 777 had left Heathrow at midday and was at a point north of Scotland when the decision was made to turn back

This is Money

• Don't get stung at the car hire desk: How to beat the sneaky fees Car hire excess insurance is the bugbear of many holidaymakers, who are often forced into buying the policy at the rental desk through fear of facing a high bill following an accident.
• Brompton Bicycle rides high as 45,000 bike fans join the fold in a year Results for the company, based in Brentford, West London, for the year to March 31, 2014 showed sales up 28 per cent to £27.2million while pre-tax profits increased by 42 per cent to £3.5million.

Network Rail

• Fans of festive football urged to plan their travel through London BridgeWith a good Christmas vital to football teams’ chances of glory – or avoiding the drop - Network Rail is urging fans to plan their journeys over the festive period as the rebuilding of London Bridge railway station gains pace.
• Christmas boost as Stratton Green bridge in Swindon is to reopenNetwork Rail is hoping that the reopening of a bridge near to the centre of Swindon will help ease traffic congestion over the festive period.

Bolton News

• Disruption warning as £276,000 resurfacing work starts on major town centre route RESURFACING work that will cost the council £276,000 has started on a major route into Bolton town centre.

London Evening Standard

• City high flier who used Oyster trick to avoid £43,000 in train fares banned from working in financial services A City high flier described as “the biggest fare dodger in historyâ€� after he avoided paying rail tickets worth almost £43,000 has been banned from working in financial services.
• Double-decker trains plan considered to ease crowding on London commute Double-decker trains are being considered as a solution to overcrowding on London’s busiest rail services.
• South coast line must get better, says rail minister Rail minister Claire Perry today condemned services on one of London’s busiest commuter lines as unacceptable — and demanded improvements.

Manchester Evening News

• Metrolink bosses extend Kids Go Free offer to say sorry for weekend tram meltdownAn 'extreme combination of weather conditions' forced nearly all trams to shut down leaving shoppers stranded on Saturday

Northern Echo

• 'Better way' to monitor traffic fumes TRADITIONAL methods of modelling traffic pollution could be under-estimating emissions by as much as 60 per cent, according to North-East scientists.
• Ladies encouraged to get on their bikes A WOMEN only bike ride is taking place around the outskirts of Darlington on Saturday with a stop-off for some chilly refreshments.

Nottingham Evening Post

• Nottingham Post published Nottingham City Council reveal where £27 million of cuts...DRIVERS will only be allowed five minutes grace when parking without a ticket in Nottingham to increase income – as part of budget plans which will see 240 job losses. The city council will cut the standard leeway given to motorists from 10 minutes as it seeks to tackle a budget gap of £27 million.in some cases more grace will be given, in others less. Other proposals to save money include increasing council tax by 1.95 per cent, increasing charges for school means and day care, as...

Sheffield Telegraph

• Fears ‘someone will die’ without Sheffield gritting cut U-turnPressure is growing on Sheffield Council to reverse its controversial gritting cuts after scores of smashes on icy roads caused ‘carnage’.

The York Press

• Rail academy to close next summer BRITAIN'S first Rail Academy, which opened in York a decade ago, is to close down next summer.

This Is Local London Network

• A lorry the latest casualty of notorious low bridge A lorry has become wedged under the railway bridge today

Wales Online

• Railway workers protest over feared cuts to buffet cars on First Great Western mainlineThe Rail, Maritime and Transport union says new trains could allow buffet cars to be dropped
• Bus users face 'two years of pain' when Cardiff bus station closes for redevelopmentThe bus station is to close in June 2015 and services will operate from streets around the city until the new transport interchange opens in 2017

Doncaster Free Press

• Doncaster Sheffield Airport wins awardDoncaster Sheffield Airport has won the Customer Service Award at the annual Doncaster Business Awards.

East Anglian Daily Times

• Network Rail makes U-turn on Gipsy Lane crossing proposals in Needham MarketNetwork Rail has reversed its proposal to build a stepped footbridge to replace a dangerous pedestrian crossing after the views of disabled people were taken into account.

The Shields Gazette

• Motorists warned about new restrictions in South TynesideDRIVERS in South Tyneside are being warned about bus lane restrictions which could see them fined £60.

Other Regional Press

• Pupils' letters add weight to campaign for road safety improvements YOUNGSTERS have added their voice to hundreds calling for action to improve safety on a road that they will soon have to cross to get to school.
• 20 weeks of roadworks to begin on Southampton bridge ONE OF Southampton's main bridges is to see five months of road works begin in the next few weeks.
• Probe launched into safety of fatal crash road TRANSPORT chiefs will launch a full investigation into safety on a stretch of road where two teenagers were killed in a horror crash, the Daily Echo can reveal.
• Cycle group details ‘shiny’ projects in bid for funding CYLING campaign group Cyclox has revealed projects it wants made priorities from an Oxfordshire County Council share of £114m from the Government.
• Western Daily Press published As many as 10,000 Heathrow passengers were affected last week's...As many as 10,000 passengers at Heathrow were affected by the cancellations caused by last week's air traffic control computer failure, Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin has told MPs. He said that the failure, at the Hampshire headquarters of air traffic control company Nats, caused 16,000 minutes of delays. This compared with 126,000 minutes of delays when there was a computer glitch at the Swanwick centre in December last year. Although Mr McLoughlin repeated his earlier statement that...
• First major redesign of First Great Western mainline rail timetable The first major redesign of First Great Western’s mainline timetable in Devon and Cornwall for seven years has seen a faster early morning service introduced and more capacity during the summer.
• Stratton Green Bridge to reopen a month after closing for rail electrification STRATTON Green Bridge will re-open on Saturday morning, a month after it closed to allow the railway line to be electrified.
• HS2 Ltd to carry out survey work in Maple Cross and West Hyde Three Rivers District Council had been alerted after HS2 Ltd. said they would be carrying out further surveys in the area, but in a statement, they confirmed they would only be

Other News Sources

• Near £50m staked on new river crossing for Hereford Report says river crossing route is
• Airport Education Centre prepares for take-offConstruction work has begun on a £500,000 airport themed education centre that is set to boost skills across science, technology, engineering and maths subjects (STEM).
• UK opens upgrade to A11 dual carriageway UK Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin has opened the upgraded A11 dual carriageway.
• World's longest rail journey delivers 40 boxes as planned An 8,000-mile rail journey - the world's longest - from Yiwu in Zhejiang province, 170 miles southwest of Ningbo, came to an end as planned in Madrid when 40 containers arrived in the Spanish capital, hopefully opening a new landbridge to Europe.While China is hopeful of freeing itself from air and ocean freight dependence, the eye-catching overland journey is small beer. Eight million TEU go by ship to Europe every year against the 13,000 TEU that go by rail.Travelling through Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Germany and France, the train brought toys, tools and other retail goods, with ...