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

Monday, 26 January 2015

BBC News

• Complaints lead to bus station worksWork to improve access for visually impaired passengers and those with limited mobility is due to start at Aberystwyth bus station following complaints.
• Malaysia Airlines site 'compromised'A hacker group attacks the official website of Malaysia Airlines, but the company says bookings and user data are not compromised.

Financial Times

• The shape of things to come: the solar powered car of the futureIntergovernmental talks and expensie energy sources won’t save the world
• Bombardier struggles to break jet duopolyCanadian manufacturer’s C Series jet is running behind schedule and putting pressure on resources
• Dublin to consider Aer Lingus takeoverIrish government under pressure to protect country’s air connections before approving IAG bid
• Abellio’s ScotRail deal threatened by LabourScottish Labour wants public bidder to run train services

The Herald

• White Stag aims to help rail travellers rediscover romance of the Caledonian SleeperA WHITE Stag has been chosen as the emblem for the Caledonian Sleeper ahead of a major revamp in a bid to encourage travellers to return to the cross-border service.

The Scotsman

• Labour ‘can’t scrap ScotRail franchise until 2022’A party spokesman said the private sector would also continue to be allowed to bid for the contract, which is the Scottish Government’s largest, involving some £250 million a taxpayers’ money a year.

The Telegraph

• Potholes cause damage to cars every 11 mins, figures showBut councils are refusing to pay out in three quarters of claims and problem likely to get worse

Times Online

• IAG bid is cue for investors to jump on Aer Lingus bandwagon [Subscription]Aer Lingus shares are expected to soar when trading opens today after the owner of British Airways made a fresh approach for the Irish carrier.
• BA set for victory in Aer Lingus bid battle [Subscription]BRITISH AIRWAYS is poised to take control of Aer Lingus, with the Irish flag carrier’s board set to recommend a £1bn takeover.

Daily Express

• Safety fears as EU demands railways go metric BRITAIN’S rail network is to go metric on the orders of the EU, it emerged yesterday, sparking fresh safety fears.

Network Rail

• Thameslink services disrupted owing to burst water-main flooding London tunnelsNo service between London St Pancras International and Farringdon and a reduced service on all other routes until at least the end of service on Monday 26 January

Birmingham Mail

• Transport bosses in rapid transit network plans rethinkFar-reaching review considers faster links to boost employment and prosperity across West Midlands

Sheffield Star

• Rail fares ‘less affordable’ in Sheffield than London, report saysTrain fares into Sheffield are less affordable than those to London once local wages have been taken into account, research out today shows.

Wales Online

• Nearly 1,500 drivers make claims against Welsh councils for pothole damage in a yearThe total value of successful claims was £73,000 - and Cardiff was the council which received the largest number of claims in Wales

Yorkshire Post

• Revamping rail services key if region is to maximise benefit of HS2FOUR decades of cost cutting on local rail services in Yorkshire must be reversed soon if the region is to maximise the benefits from future high speed connections to London and Manchester, according to transport experts.

Burnley Express

• 153 people caught drink-driving over XmasMore than 150 people were caught drink driving by Lancashire Constabulary’s Christmas drink drive campaign.

Carlisle News & Star

• Cumbria road deaths at five-year low The number of people killed or seriously injured on Cumbrian roads has fallen to its lowest level in five years.

Doncaster Free Press

• Full steam ahead for Doncaster rail firm’s new baseA rail firm is on track for success after relocating to larger premises in Doncaster.

Peterborough Telegraph

• Residents speak out over Werrington North rail 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.

Plymouth Herald

• MPs report admits funding allocation for South West trains is 'unfair' - just as Plymouth has argued A SELECT committee report has back Plymouth’s repeated pleas for a fairer allocation of rail money.

Other Regional Press

• Rail passengers warned electrification programme will bring fresh disruptionPASSENGERS are facing major disruption on some train services that call in the St Helens borough as Network Rail steps up the electrification of railway lines.
• POLITICS: Will our MP levy the transport companies? see on the news that (prime minister) Mr Cameron is pleading with companies to pass the windfall made from falling oil prices to the workforce. “Obviously I want to see companies’ success passed through in terms of wage increases,” he says.

Airportwatch

• We have already lost too many station buildings ON January 16 a meeting was held about Network Rail wanting to demolish Avonmouth station. I fear that if nothing is done this could happen in just a few months' time.

Other News Sources

• EXCLUSIVE: David Cameron and George Osborne outline economic vision for South West David Cameron and George Osborne today say overhauling the South West’s fragile transport network is the bedrock of a strategy to boost the region’s economy by £6.4 billion.
• Free Bus Travel Deal Secured£414 million investment secures nationwide free bus travel for over 60s and people with disabilities. Building on an agreement reached in January 2013, Transport Scotland and Scotland’s bus industry have agreed terms for reimbursing operators for providing concessionary travel from April 2015.
• Network Rail must deliver record investment following Christmas disruptionMPs warn that Network rail must show it can deliver record investment, following Christmas disruption, in its report on the investing in the railway inquiry.
• King’s Cross fiasco puts northern rail projects in doubtDoubts have emerged over the ability of Network Rail to deliver much-needed Northern transport improvements.
• 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.