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Monday, 12 January 2015

BBC News

• Heathrow and Gatwick report record passenger numbers in 2014The UK's two largest airports, Heathrow and Gatwick, have both reported record passenger numbers for last year.
• Bus services suffering due to cuts in council subsidies, report shows NORTH Yorkshire County Council cut more bus services than any other local authority in the country last year, while other councils in the region stopped subsidising buses altogether, new research shows.
• Leicester's Haymarket bus station closes for £13.5m revampLeicester's Haymarket bus station has closed to the public for its £13.5m redevelopment.
• Leicester's Haymarket bus station closes for £13.5m revampLeicester's Haymarket bus station has closed to the public for its £13.5m redevelopment.
• Guernsey bus contract awarded to CT PlusBus company CT Plus has been named as the preferred company to run Guernsey's scheduled bus service.
• MP quits police volunteer roleMonmouth MP David Davies is asked to resign his role as a special constable for the British Transport Police after a new code of ethics was drawn up.
• Virgin reports rail passenger surgeVirgin Trains reports a surge in cross-border travel following investment in additional seating capacity.
• England's forgotten railway stationsMemories of Manchester Central station
• Campaigners warning of bus crisisBudget cuts by councils have left bus services facing a crisis, a report by the Campaign for Better Transport says.
• Jaguar to create 1,300 UK jobsJaguar Land Rover will create 1,300 new jobs in the UK to build Jaguar's first sports utility vehicle (SUV) model.

Department for Transport

• Transport Secretary sees Northamptonshire transport improvementsTransport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin visited Northampton today, Monday 12 January 2015, to mark the opening of a £20 million new railway station that will provide improved journeys for thousands of passengers every day.

The Guardian

• Jaguar Land Rover to recruit 1,300 new staff to build latest modelWorkers to be hired to help assemble new Jaguar crossover sports utility vehicle in SolihullCarmaker Jaguar Land Rover is creating 1,300 new jobs after announcing its newest model will be made in Britain.The announcement has been hailed by the government as a ringing endorsement of the health of the UK’s automotive industry and a boost for the economy. Continue reading...
• Bus crisis looms as councils cut services ‘at an alarming rate’, campaigners sayCampaign for Better Transport report shows more than 2,000 routes reduced or withdrawn since 2010 as funding has been cutHalf of local authorities in England and Wales are withdrawing or reducing their bus services as a result of funding cuts, according to a report from a public transport campaign group which warns that passengers face a “bus crisisâ€�.The Campaign for Better Transport (CBT) said that essential local services were being lost “at an alarming rateâ€�, with rural areas worst hit where communities were being cut off as route networks were destroyed by successive cuts. Continue reading...
• Petrol station cuts price of fuel to under £1 a litreBirmingham independent retailer believed to be first to break barrier after fall in global oil priceA service station is believed to have become the first in the UK to have slashed petrol prices below the £1-a-litre mark.It is reported the Harvest Energy service station in Birmingham cut the price of unleaded to just 99.7p over the weekend, in a move welcomed by motoring organisations. Continue reading...
• Nine-year-old boy to appear before parliament to oppose high-speed railAlex Rukin, son of manager of anti-HS2 campaign, will tell MPs that rail line will disrupt his sleepA nine-year-old boy is set to appear before parliament, when he petitions a committee of MPs investigating the case for the HS2 high-speed rail link between London, the Midlands and the north. Alex Rukin, son of the manager of the Stop HS2 Campaign, will tell the HS2 hybrid bill committee that the new rail line will run over a viaduct opposite his mother’s house in Balsall Common in the West Midlands and will disrupt his sleep, while construction works threaten to affect roads in the area for ma...

The Herald

• Pothole-ravaged roads cost taxpayers £108,000THE most pothole-ravaged roads in Scotland have cost taxpayers at least £108,000 in compensation payouts over the last five years.
• Surge in cross-Border rail travel as more passengers choose train over planeCROSS-BORDER rail travel is seeing a surge in popularity following investment in additional capacity, new figures show.

The Telegraph

• Christmas railway chaos could see engineering works carried out in SummerPatrick McLoughlin, the Transport Secretary, has said he wants Network Rail to look again at the 'conventional wisdom' of carrying out engineering works over the festive season

Daily Record

• Taxi boss who supported Better Together reveals his anger after SNP councillor calls for cab boycottGRANGE Radio Cabs owner Gordon Alexander says they've lost about 50 hires a day since David Alexander, ex-leader of Falkirk Council, urged people not to use his firm.

Mail Online

• Beware of the boar: Ministers draw up plans for new signs after huge rise in number of accidents  Transport ministers are considering bringing out a 'beware of boar' road sign following a fatal motorway collision involving one of the wild animals in Wiltshire last week.

Birmingham Mail

• Jaguar Land Rover announces 1,300 new jobs at Solihull's Lode Lane siteThe new sports car, which will go on sale next year, will follow this year’s launch of the Jaguar XE sports saloon, also produced in the region

Northern Echo

• Rusting engines at rest in derelict railway yardTWO shunter engines that first saw service in the late 1950s are enjoying a well-earned retirement.
• Jaguar to create 1,300 jobs CAR-MAKER Jaguar Land Rover is creating 1,300 new jobs after announcing its newest model will be made in Britain.

Wales Online

• Diversions begin as major Cardiff city centre road is shut for more than a year while new bridge is built in £8m projectDiversions to start from Monday when Windsor Road bridge is closed

Yorkshire Post

• ‘Beeching of the buses’ fears as rural areas take brunt of cutsMORE bus services have been cut in North Yorkshire than anywhere else in the country in the past year, a new report into the crisis facing buses has revealed.

East Anglian Daily Times

• Level crossing closures ‘could split communities’ along Suffolk’s London rail lineCommunities across Suffolk could be split with people facing miles of detours for everyday journeys if moves to close level crossings on the main rail line to London go-ahead.

Northamptonshire Telegraph

• Transport secretary to visit Chowns Mill ahead of improvement worksThe transport secretary will visit Northamptonshire today (Monday, January 12) to see first-hand the issues surrounding the Chowns Mill roundabout near Higham Ferrers.

Peterborough Telegraph

• Road repairs cut as council bridges £8 million budget gapAn £8 million gap in funding means only the most essential road repairs in Peterborough will go ahead.

Other Regional Press

• Fears over whether 'outdated' Pacer trains will be replaced when rail line is re-franchisedEasington MP Grahame Morris was given no guarantees when he wrote to the Transport Minister
• Deal for faster trains and more seatsRail services in Preston are set for a boost under new Government plans.
• Leaders make demands for more investment in county’s railway systemA TOP-level rail summit was held to launch a campaign for more long-term investment in Hampshire’s railways.
• Villagers set to give warm welcome at visit from rival airport expansion schemeThe village of Colnbrook would be deeply affected by two rival Heathrow plans – which would either see a new runway built to the north west of the current northern one, or the northern runway itself extended.
• MP asked to step down as a special constable MONMOUTH MP David Davies has been asked to step down from his role as a special constable for the British Transport Police (BTP) after a new Code of Ethics was drawn up.

Other News Sources

• Busiest Brighton to London commuter train late every day for a whole YEAR A TRAIN operator didn’t manage to get Brighton’s most popular morning commuter train to London on time even once last year, damning statistics reveal.