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

Saturday, 14 February 2015

BBC News

• UK armoured cars delivered to UkraineFormer British military Saxon armoured vehicles has been delivered to Ukraine by a private firm, the Ministry of Defence confirms.
• Aer Lingus ups support for IAG dealAer Lingus reaffirms its support for a £1bn takeover offer from British Airways owner IAG, saying it believes the deal makes commercial sense.

Financial Times

• Google hopes robot car will pay off soonTechnology company believes its autonomous vehicles are on the cusp of commercial viability
• Aer Lingus board recommends IAG bidPressure mounts on Irish government to support offer

The Guardian

• Teenager was driving tipper truck in fatal crashPhillip Potter, 19, was behind wheel of truck that apparently careered out of control on steep hill in Bath, killing four peopleThe driver of a runaway tipper truck involved in a collision that killed four people, including a four-year-old girl, was a teenager who had celebrated qualifying to drive an articulated lorry just five days earlier.Phillip Potter, 19, received the congratulations of friends and relatives after posting a picture on Facebook in which he posed proudly in front of a lorry holding his new licence. Continue reading...
• An Apple car? Computer firm hires automotive engineersReports suggest Apple employees are designing and building a car Apple is reportedly hiring automotive engineers to work at a top-secret lab in Silicon Valley, fuelling rumours that the company may be designing a car.Dozens of Apple employees led by managers from its iPhone unit are researching automotive products, according to the Financial Times. It reports that the company has poached the head of Mercedes-Benz’s Silicon Valley research and development unit, while Sir Jonathan Ive, senior vice-president of design at Apple, has held regular meetings with automotive executives and engineers. C...

The Herald

• Stalemate hits flagship hospital bus service A FLAGSHIP bus service which promised to cut journey times to and from Scotland's newest hospital will not be ready when the first staff and patients arrive on site.
• 1000 electric cars are now on Scotland's roads More than 1,000 electric vehicles are now thought to be on the road in Scotland, with Edinburgh, Dundee and Glasgow the apparent hotspots for use.
• Sleeper stock to be built by Spanish trams firmTHE new Caledonian Sleeper fleet will be built by the same Spanish manufacturer behind the Edinburgh trams.
• Sheriff tells Ryanair: never mind flap asymmetry, you need to compensate delayed Scots tourist after two-year battle A SCOTTISH holidaymaker whose flight from the Canary Islands was delayed by more than 18 hours has won his two-year battle for compensation with a budget airline.

The Independent

• Bath tipper truck crash: Driver, Philip Potter, passed HGV test ‘days before’ incident The driver of a tipper truck who crashed in Bath last week, killing one child and three adults, is believed to have passed his HGV test days before the incident.

The Telegraph

• Bath truck crash: teenage driver had only held licence for five daysPhoto emerges of Philip Potter, 19, proudly holding up his hauliers licence after he posted it on his Facebook page on February 4
• 'What's the matter with you?': headteacher hits out at 'maniac' parents who drive to school too fastIn a 500-word personal message, headteacher Jim Holditch tells parents: 'If you're late, tough. Get up earlier. Get yourself sorted'
• Car insurance: league table of professions that make the most claims'Stressed' doctors are the most accident-prone drivers, research shows. What other jobs made the list?

City AM

• Virgin Atlantic's Steve Griffiths is going UndergroundVirgin Atlantic’s chief operating officer Steve Griffiths is leaving to take up the same position at London Underground.  Griffiths will join in May, and take on responsibility for LU operations and maintenance, reporting to managing director Mike Brown. Griffiths has been at Virgin since 1995, initially as a senior engineer, rising to director of engineering, before being made chief operating officer in 2009, where he was responsible for engineering, operations, airports, cabin crew, product and cargo. Brown said: Steve comes to us from Virgin Atlantic Airways, ...

Daily Record

• Passenger takes budget airliner Ryanair to court for 18-hour delay.. and WON AN ALLOA judge has ordered Ryanair to pay Donld Cowan £600 after a delayed flight caused him major inconvenience.

Network Rail

• Kingsferry Bridge to return to full operation in one weekKingsferry Bridge, which links the railway of the Isle of Sheppey to the Kentish mainland, will return to normal operation by next weekend (February 21).
• Transport Secretary visits Harbury landslip to see progressTransport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin MP has visited the Harbury landslip to see the work Network Rail is doing to reopen the line between Banbury and Leamington Spa.
• School struck by level crossing tragedy helps create rail safety filmThe school attended by Olivia Bazlinton and Charlie Thompson, who were killed at a level crossing in Elsenham in 2005, has worked with Network Rail to create a new safety film to help raise awareness of the dangers at level crossings and how to stay safe.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• VIDEO: Airline surprises passengers with baggage carousel full of gifts for Random Acts of Kindness week Jet2.com greeted each passenger on one of its flights with a personalised gift to mark International Random Acts of Kindness Week, which runs until today.
• Mother's fears over proposed changes to school transport for disabled youngsters A MOTHER has warned that proposed changes to school transport for disabled youngsters could be devastating for families.

Manchester Evening News

• Manchester's cycling boom – How life on two wheels is making us happier, healthier - and doing a lot of goodAs campaigners battle to get more people on two wheels in Greater Manchester, the humble bicycle is starting to change lives beyond the regular commute.
• Mind the doors: Manchester commuters 'could soon be going to work on old London Tube trains'Bosses at private company are buying up 30-year-old Underground stock and are offering it to Greater Manchester rail chiefs

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Nathan McStay: Newcastle school bosses in talks with council over road safety measuresThe Principal of Excelsior Academy has told how the safety of her pupils is paramount and is in talks with Newcastle City Council

Northern Echo

• Petition calls for Aycliffe Village Railway Station to be rebuilt A PETITION has been launched to reinstate a railway station on the East Coast Main Line more than 60 years after it closed.

This Is Local London Network

• Pupils launch UN-inspired campaign to improve road safety Pupils spearheaded a United Nations-inspired campaign to improve road safety outside their school.

Wales Online

• Bath tipper truck tragedy: Businessman killed in horror crash had planned to travel the world with his familyCwmbran businessman Bob Parker was one of four people killed when the 32-tonne truck ran out of control in a street on Monday

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• £160k repairs to 'deplorable' Wolverhampton roadA Wolverhampton road dubbed one of the worst in the Black Country is getting a £160,000 facelift.
• Motorists counting cost of council works delayMotorists are being stung by £50 fines for mistakenly parking in bays which have been removed.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Bus scheme slays lonelinessISOLATED elderly people in part of Wakefield now have a means of getting around after research on the extent of loneliness sparked a community transport scheme.

Doncaster Free Press

• East Coast rail employee sacked for telling passengers truth about train foodRail staff are threatening to strike after a colleague was sacked for telling angry passengers the truth about why they were being served sub-standard food.

East Anglian Daily Times

• Colchester traffic schemes welcomed by local councillorProposed road improvements for Colchester put forward by County Hall have been welcomed by a local councillor.

Sunderland Echo

• Drugs worth £8m seized at Port of Tyne after Amsterdam ship sails inA drugs haul with an estimated street value of £8m was seized after a swoop by Border officers at the Port of Tyne.

Other Regional Press

• Road lane closures to be put in place around former Northampton bus stationRoad lanes next to the former Greyfriars bus station in Northampton will be closed to traffic from Monday to allow experts to ready the building for demolition.
• Passenger ferry breaks down during channel crossingA FERRY lost power in the English Channel for three hours on a Portsmouth to Caen crossing.
• WBEsme commented ​Major road works near Falmouth School to start next weekThe major redevelopment of a busy junction in Falmouth is set to start next week.Motorists are being warned to expect delays when works to reconfigure the Union Corner junction, opposite Falmouth School, begin on Monday.The £2.3m project, due to be completed in July 2015, aims to increase the capacity at the junction and improve safety. Works, which will be carried out by CORMAC, will include the replacement of the double mini roundabouts which link Union Road, Trescobeas Road,...
• Grimsby Telegraph commented Final go-ahead given to vital link road to improve access to Port...A vital link road to improve access to the Port of Immingham and remove HGV traffic through the town will be built thanks to nearly £5-million worth of Government funding. The A18/A180 link road will improve capacity and remove heavy goods vehicles from the nearby town. The road will provide a new link at the A180, connecting to the B1210. It comprises approximately 1km of new single carriageway, a new 'arm' to the existing roundabout at the A180 Stallingborough Interchange as well as a...
• Western Daily Press published Bristol Metrobus protesters move into giant bird box to save...Protesters against the Bristol Metrobus scheme are living up a tree in a homemade bird box.Dav Kahyk, 35, and a team of campaigners have built a camp in trees due to be felled to make way for a new Metrobus scheme. Many of the protesters have set up netted hammocks between the trees at risk of being axed, but Dav decided to build a warmer structure for the eco-warriors.Dav, who ironically is a tree surgeon, built the 6ft by 3ft plywood box, complete with a perch and circular entrance - to...
• More than 30,000 tonnes of earth moved from railway landslip MORE than 30,000 tonnes of earth has been moved from the landslip blocking the rail line between Banbury and Leamington Spa.

Rail Magazine

• Porterbrook’s rebuilt Pacer set to enter traffic in AprilNorthern Class 144 will re-emerge after a trial refurbishment.

Rail Technology Magazine

• Northern Rail unveils new upgraded electric Class 319 trains UK rail operator Northern Rail has unveiled the first of its new upgraded electric Class 319 trains, which will enter into service in the near future.

Aviation Industry

• Air Canada boosts services on Dublin-Toronto routeAir Canada Rouge will add four weekly non-stop flights onto its Dublin to Toronto route this summer.