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

Saturday, 04 July 2015

BBC News

• Airport's first China flights startCharter flights begin between Beijing and Birmingham Airport in a move bosses say will boost the West Midlands' economy.
• Megabus crashes into scaffoldingThe windows of a Megabus were smashed as it drove through Newport city centre in south Wales.
• Stuck: Motorway stacks and migrantsRoad to nowhere: Operation Stack and Calais migrant camps
• Talyllyn Railway's 150th birthdayThe inspirational railway behind Thomas the Tank Engine is 150
• New fleet of buses is unveiledA new fleet of buses connecting Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire is officially unveiled.
• Ireland may get its own tall shipA cross-border project could mean that Ireland gets its own tall ship.
• VIDEO: High hopes for Irish tall shipIreland is hoping to get its own tall ship, thanks to a £12m (16m euro) cross-border project.
• New cameras catch over 1,200 driversMore than 1,200 drivers are caught in the first week of a new crackdown on illegal use of Belfast bus lanes, raising £50,000 in fines.
• 'Tension high' over car crash deathsA man charged with causing the deaths of two men in a two-car crash has been banned from entering a County Antrim town because
• Rail workers vote for strike actionCommuters could be set for a summer of delays as rail workers on several train routes vote for strike action.

Financial Times

• Ryanair threatens to exit DenmarkWarning follows Danish court ruling allowing strike action unless airline signs collective agreement
• History and the Heathrow expansionHistory shows that UK eventually builds the infrastructure it needs, writes Andrew Adonis

The Guardian

• Solar Impulse lands in Hawaii after longest non-stop solo flight in historyVeteran pilot tested to the limit of endurance on record-breaking solar-powered flight across the Pacific, on the eighth leg of round-the-world journeyA solar plane attempting the world’s first flight around the globe has landed in Hawaii, after breaking the record for the longest non-stop solo flight in history.Solar Impulse 2, piloted by the Swiss pilot André Borschberg, took off from Nagoya in Japan at 3am on Monday, for the five-day crossing of the Pacific Ocean, the riskiest leg of its journey. Continue reading...
• At least 50 dead as five more bodies pulled from capsized Philippine ferryVictims found after crane pulled 36-tonne vessel that sunk on Thursday off port of Ormoc city to shoreRescuers have retrieved five more bodies from a ferry that capsized shortly after departing from a Philippine port, raising the death toll to 50.The bodies were recovered hours after coastguard spokesmancommander Armand Balilo said all 187 passengers and crew members on the Kim Nirvana had been accounted for, with 45 dead, 142 survivors and no reports of anyone else missing. Continue reading...
• Rail strikes planned after workers at two train companies vote for actionWorkers on Northern Rail have voted to strike over jobs and safety while Southern engineers are to walk out after breakdown in industrial relationsTrain passengers face disruption after employees at two train companies voted to go on strike.Workers on Northern Rail have voted to strike over jobs and safety, while engineers at Southern are to stage a five-day walkout after a “comprehensive breakdownâ€� in industrial relations. Continue reading...
• 'What matters is that it works': Peter Hendy on TfL, Network Rail and mayorsLondon’s ex-transport chief was hired to fix troubled rail operator – and his first task is to review which parts of a £38.5bn upgrade plan can still be deliveredIt only took five days. On Saturday 20 June, Sir Peter Hendy was approached to be the new chair of Network Rail. By 5pm on Wednesday he had accepted, and less than 24 hours later ministers were publicly admitting the depth of the crisis in the railways, scrapping pledges of major upgrades and announcing the new faces being parachuted in to run the system.The speed of Hendy’s move, after almost a decade as London’s transport commission...

The Herald

• Days of misery for Channel Tunnel travels is overDays of misery have ended for lorry drivers who languished in miles of queues in southern England following strike action in France by ferry workers.
• Ferry workers at CalMac and Argyll Ferries to strike again next week FERRY services face major disruption again next week as crews strike for the second time in a fortnight.
• New police advice for foreign drivers on Scottish single track roadsTourists who are not used to driving on Scotland's rural single track roads have been given new advice by police.

The Independent

• Transport police have very British reaction to man 'threatening to blow up a train' Transport officers in York have issued a very British response after a man threatened to blow up a northern-bound train.
• Next week's Tube strike will be most chaotic for a decade Prepare to dust down your bicycle, scooter or Segway – or at least get ready to cram on to an overcrowded bus.
• Cars and pedestrians don't mix well, concludes study into shared-space schemes Traffic and pedestrians should no longer be made to share street space, as the modern trend for removing kerbs and road surface markings has turned town centres into “dangerous Third World traffic free-for-allsâ€�, a former Paralympian has warned after conducting a review.

The Telegraph

• Train travel is steaming back into its romantic pastYears after Beeching and British Rail killed the glamour of trains, things are looking up. High Speed 2 is a more attractive project than you might imagine
• Forth Bridge set for World Heritage recognitionIconic bridge, built in 1890, will be Scotland's sixth Unesco World Heritage Site site if proposals approved next week

Daily Express

• BREAKING: Chaos as 150 migrants heading for Britain 'storm the Channel Tunnel'BRITISH truckers have been forced into long queues on the motorway again after 150 migrants tried to storm the Channel Tunnel in a desperate bid to get into Britain.

Mail Online

• How to use toilet signs erected by Swiss railway 'for benefit of Asians' One of the places the pictograms are on display is Mount Rigi railway, at Lake Lucerne. Surrounded by the Alps, the site is popular with Asian tourists.
• Haulage chief calls for French army to protect lorry drivers from Calais migrants UK Road Haulage Association chief executive Richard Burnett has called on the French and British governments to work together and even deploy troops to protect lorry drivers from migrants.
• Forth Bridge set to become Unesco World Heritage site The cantilever railway bridge sits over the Firth of Forth estuary in the east of Scotland, nine miles west of Edinburgh City Centre. the decision is due to be finalised tomorrow night.
• British trucker blockaded Calais workers and they went to the police Folkestone-based driver Doug Wilson (pictured) decided enough was enough and he'd protest against striking French ferry workers, blocking their route just as they had blocked his.

The Mirror

• Shocking footage shows boy racers ignoring bans to speed around roads near major airportPolice were called about the alarming scenes but were unable to attend because of other 'emergency incidents'

Birmingham Post

• Liam Byrne vows sit-in if HS2 railroads deal to use land for jobs Birmingham MP Liam Byrne has condemned HS2 Ltd for failing to listen to the concerns of Birmingham City Council and MPs.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Northern Rail workers vote to take strike action WORKERS on Northern Rail, which runs services on the Airedale, Wharfedale and Calder Valley lines, have voted to go on strike in a row over jobs and safety.

London Evening Standard

• London faces 'secret pollution' from refrigerated vans taking food to smaller stores London’s residential neighbourhoods are being choked by “secret pollutionâ€� emitted by trucks delivering chilled food to the new generation of local supermarket convenience stores, according to a report.
• Week-long rail strike set to bring fresh misery for London commuters A week of rail strikes on some of London’s busiest commuter lines was ordered today by union chiefs.

Manchester Evening News

• Manchester Airport to fast-track families with autistic children Booklet and videos give children a step-by-step guide of what to expect at the airport

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• North East businesses join forces with Scotland and Northern Ireland in call for Heathrow backing The North East Chamber of Commerce said the region will be shut out of the Northern Powerhouse agenda if the PM fails to back the third runway

The York Press

• Bus wars loom in York, as rivals go head-to-head A BUS company is to run a rival
• Rail strikes loom for York passengers STRIKE action may be looming on Northern Rail trains in a row over jobs, services and safety.

This Is Local London Network

• 'Life saving' crossing a 'great relief' for disabled workers Staff and disabled workers who feared for their lives getting to work have said it is a

North Wales Live

• Queen Mary 2 returns to Liverpool The Cunard flagship is returning to the Mersey to celebrate the company's 175th anniversary

Peterborough Telegraph

• Peterborough roads gritted after melting in the heatIf you thought you were melting in the record-breaking heat on Wednesday, then you were not the only one. As it turns out, Peterborough’s roads suffered just as much.

The Shields Gazette

• North East set for train chaos as rail workers vote to go on strikeTrain staff in the North East will be among those who have voted to take industrial action.
• Bad parking leaves bus users stranded in Jarrow and South ShieldsBus passengers are being left stranded on two South Tyneside estates because inconsiderate parking is forcing a transport operator to divert services.

Other Regional Press

• Terror as scaffolding smashes through Megabus windows and injures passengers in Newport A MEGABUS window was smashed by nearby scaffolding as it drove through Newport on Thursday.
• First Great Western rail services likely to be hit with changes or cancellations during RMT strike Rail services will be affected by a planned strike by union members next week, First Great Western has confirmed.
• History to be made with first cross-Channel electric flight A Kent airport is set to host the first ever cross-Channel flight powered entirely by electricity.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Northern Ireland rail upgrades get £17m EU fundingEU funding of 24m euros (£17m) has been secured for two railway upgrades in Northern Ireland, including the Londonderry-Coleraine line. The Derry-Coleraine line will receive 14,373,993 euros (£10.2m), while the Knockmore to Lurgan line has received 9,684,520 euros (£6.9m). In April, work on a major update to the Derry-Coleraine line was delayed for four months. Transport Minister Danny Kennedy said the funding was

Aviation Industry

• The Heathrow noise sweeteners that act as a smokescreen for third runway pollutionThe Airports Commission has finally published its report on UK airport capacity,emphatically supporting a third runway at Heathrow over its rivals – a Gatwick second runway or the Heathrow Hub option (a runway on the end of one of Heathrow’s …
• Cityjet announces Cork-London City serviceAirline to operate route 18-times weekly

Other News Sources

• UPDATED: Southern Rail engineers to strike for five days Engineers on Southern Rail are to stage a five day strike over claims of a
• Calais chaos must end now, says FTACalais chaos must end now, says FTA “End this madness now,â€� is Freight Transport Association’s message to the French Government after ferry ...