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

Sunday, 25 January 2015

BBC News

• Aer Lingus 'to accept' new IAG bidIrish airline Aer Lingus is set to approve a takeover bid by British Airways owner IAG, the BBC understands.

Financial Times

• Aer Lingus set to recommend latest IAG bidDeal cast as opportunity to join forces at a time when many flagship airlines are struggling to compete

The Independent

• Labour's drive towards diesel cars causing 'massive public health problem,' admits shadow Environment Minister The drive by the previous Labour government to encourage millions of Britons to opt for diesel cars in a bid to save the planet was wrong and a massive problem for public health Barry Gardiner, shadow Environment Minister, has admitted.

The Scotsman

• Jim Murphy: We'll nationalise Scots rail servicesscotland's railways would be returned to the public sector in a new non-profit ScotRail franchise under Labour, leader Jim Murphy has pledged.

The Telegraph

• More than 30 injured in M4 motorway crashFive pensioners had to be cut free when their coach was involved in one of two smashes on the M4 motorway in South Wales which saw more than 30 people injured
• Owner of ex-PM's Blair Force One jet revealed as former Labour donorJet used by Tony Blair belongs to Richard Caring, the owner of the Ivy and Annabel's, who once loaned the Labour party £2 million

Mail Online

• 28 injured after M4 pile-up which caused major tail-backs for 'miles'  One woman was airlifted to hospital and 28 others taken by ambulance after the incident on the M4 near Cardiff, south Wales, which caused miles of tailbacks.

The Mirror

• John Prescott on privatisation: Sir Brian Souter donations show Norman Baker's brass neckThe former Deputy Prime Minister says it’s time to cross-subsidise less profitable bus routes from profitable ones
• MS Norman Atlantic survivor: "I thought I was going to die on that BURNING ship" When Mia Daltas, 36, boarded the MS Norman Atlantic ferry in Greece at Christmas with her husband and two daughters, she was expecting a happy family holiday. What happened turned out to be her worst nightmare…

This is Money

• Rising ticket revenues and an increase in Government subsidy helped South West Trains deliver a £16 million dividend for its owner Stagecoach last yearThe train operator, which runs 1,600 trains a day in the South, South West England and on the Isle of Wight, saw revenues jump from £866.8 million to £910.1 million in the year to April 26, 2014 and revenue support from the Government increase from £133.5 million to £160.2 million.

Birmingham Post

• Sky Ride cancelled in Birmingham again Event organised with British Cycling is axed due to cricket fixtures at Edgbaston and ongoing developments around the city

Bristol Live

• Bus not turned up? Tell someone who cares - prank stickers taking...IT is no secret that Bristol bus users are often left frustrated when the city's traffic causes delays and cancellations to their journeys. But it seems someone has become so fed up with the buses, they have decided to pull a prank at bus stops across the city.Last week, some bus timetables in the city were given the addition of stickers, which on first inspection appeared to be the logo of bus operator First. But on closer look, the cleverly designed stickers were actually a prank,...

Metro

• Bomb threats reported on two US flights'We believe the threats to be credible,' airport spokesman Reese McCrainie said.

Sheffield Star

• Car cruises organisers in South Yorkshire aim to change its reputationOrganisers of a South Yorkshire car cruise are aiming to change the perception of the gatherings.

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• Woman killed when hit by train at Staffordshire stationDozens of rail passengers were forced to travel on the bus because of overhead line problems between Wolverhampton and Stafford - thought to have been caused by a death on the tracks.
• Big Brother ready to get zap happy with motorway stealth camerasBig Brother is zapping you and it’s no wonder the Government seems to have abandoned the idea of road tolls it;s got a much more lucrative plan.
• Trams and light rail linking key town and cities a priority for travel bossesTram lines and light rail services connecting the Black Country's key towns and cities and Birmingham are to be considered by transport chiefs.

Carlisle News & Star

• Carlisle firm's challenge to wheelchair cabs age limit fails A taxi firm operator has failed in his bid to persuade council chiefs to relax their rules and allow older wheelchair-friendly cabs to take to the roads.

East Anglian Daily Times

• Update: Gas tanker overturns near Eye after freezing temperatures cause country roads to become treacherousA gas tanker has overturned in icy conditions on a rural road near Eye.

The Shields Gazette

• Shipyards show is back on dry landA MUSICAL celebration of the region’s shipyards is returning to dry land in South Tyneside.

Other Regional Press

• Call for probe into Lincoln ral dealLabour's choice to become the next Gainsborough MP is demanding a halt to a rail franchise deal that promises extra trains between Lincoln and London. David Prescott has written to Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin after it emerged a former rail minister's local political party received £3,500 from Stagecoach chairman Sir Brian Souter.
• Crunch talsk over 'shambolic' East Grinstead rail servicePoliticians have held crunch talks over the "deplorable" rail service to and from East Grinstead station. Sir Nicholas Soames led a delegation to meet rail minister Claire Perry to discuss the problematic service provided to his constituents, particularly those from East Grinstead.
• Residents speak out over Werrington North plansResidents in the Werrington of Peterborough made their voices heard loud and clear at a meeting protesting about increased noise at a busy section of railway.
• WIN! Lunch on board new cruise ship Britannia She will be the largest cruise ship ever built for the British market. And her home port will be right here in Hampshire.
• BUSTED: Man jailed and another on the run as car smuggling plot out of Southampton Docks is foiled THEY were part of a plot to smuggle high-value stolen cars out of the country.
• VIDEO: Most of former Northampton bus station tower now demolishedThe majority of the structure of Greyfriars House near the empty Northampton bus station has been flattened.
• Inquest hears how driver 'died at the wheel' before crash A FORMER senior Royal Navy officer died at the wheel of his treasured campervan moments before it crashed into a truck heading in the opposite direction, an inquest has heard.
• We're working to keep Portsmouth's traffic flowingPortsmouth City Council insists it’s trying its best to keep the city’s traffic flowing.
• Bottle attack after couple asked for bus fare TWO have been arrested after a man hit another over the head with a bottle in Barns Road, Oxford after the victim was asked for money for the bus, police said.
• Marsh Lane, Marston closed after car and ambulance collision MARSH Lane in Marston has re-opened after a collision between a car and an ambulance which left three people with minor injuries.

Other News Sources

• British Airways' new Airbus A380 arrives at a hanger after landing at Heathrow airport in LondonA British Airways flight arrives at a hanger after landing at Heathrow airport in London July 4, 2013. REUTERS/Paul Hackett
• Call to switch night bus subsidies to evenings in Winchester MONEY to support Winchester bus services should be switched from late night routes to better-used mid-evening ones.
• RNLI rescue yachtsman trapped with his boat against Littlehampton harbour wall A YACHTSMAN whose boat was pinned against a harbour wall by a strong tide has been rescued by lifeboat crew.
• American Airlines Welcomes First Boeing 787 DreamlinerAmerican Airlines today officially welcomes its first Boeing 787 Dreamliner. American took delivery of the airplane, a 787-8 with registration number N800AN, on Thursday at Boeing's factory in...