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

Monday, 24 August 2015

BBC News

• Rethink needed over Scottish carbon targets, study saysScotland needs to shift a fifth of its spending on new buildings and transport towards backing for its targets of big cuts in carbon emissions, a new study has claimed.
• More than 50 bus services axedMore than 50 bus services have been reduced or axed in Greater Manchester over the past year because of a lack of funding.
• Revolutionising motorcycle taxisHow a city’s fleet of motorcycle taxis are embracing technology
• Rail workers hold 24-hour strikeRail services are disrupted as workers at First Great Western stage a 24-hour strike in an ongoing dispute over new trains.

Financial Times

• Train attack puts spotlight on SchengenGunman was known to security agencies and moved between Spain, France and Middle East
• Wizz Air continues steady ascentLow-cost carrier targets growth as eastern European incomes and appetite for travel rise

The Guardian

• Will the 24-hour tube kill off London’s night-bus drama?On 12 September London could at last shake off its reputation as The City That Often Sleeps.
• Talks scheduled in attempt to avert tube strikeRail union leaders will meet London Underground managers in a last-minute attempt to head off two 24-hour walkouts this weekLast-ditch talks aimed at averting strikes by London Underground workers in a row over plans for an all-night tube service will be held on Monday.Rail union leaders will meet London Underground managers under the chairmanship of the conciliation service Acas, with time running out for reaching a deal. Continue reading...
• Passenger crash-lands plane in Spain after pilot collapsesWoman is seriously injured after taking controls of light aircraft after pilot lost consciousness A woman was seriously injured Sunday in an ultralight aircraft crash in Spain after she was forced to fly the plane – despite having no flight experience – when the pilot lost consciousness, officials said.The woman suffered burns and multiple contusions, while the pilot died, though it was unclear if that happened before or after the plane crashed near Seville airport in south-western Spain, an emergency services spokesman said. Continue reading...
• Shoreham crash: mother of victim urges limits on airshows as 11 feared deadSue Grimstone joins MPs in calling for rules to be tightened as police warn death from airshow crash may rise furtherThe mother of a Shoreham airshow disaster victim has called for aerobatic displays to be held over the sea as police warned that the death toll may rise.Sue Grimstone, whose son Matthew, 23, was killed when a 1950s Hawker Hunter crashed onto a road in West Sussex, joined MPs in calling for a tightening of rules governing flying events to avoid a repeat of the tragedy. Continue reading...
• France train attack heroes to be awarded Légion d’honneurBritish businessman Chris Norman and three American friends – Spencer Stone, Anthony Sadler and Alek Skarlatos – to receive France’s highest honour A Briton and three Americans are to be awarded France’s highest honour – the Légion d’honneur – by the president, Francois Hollande, on Monday for their roles in stopping a suspected terrorist attack on a train.Briton Chris Norman helped US fellow passengers Spencer Stone, Anthony Sadler and Alek Skarlatos as they wrestled a suspected jihadi gunman to the ground after he opened fire on the train travelling from Amsterdam to Paris. Norman...

The Herald

• Packed Edinburgh train like 'last plane out of Saigon'PASSENGERS have criticised a rail operator amid claims commuters are struggling for places on shorter trains on a flagship service between Scotland's two largest cities at peak times.

The Scotsman

• Taxi drivers face revealing medical recordsTAXI drivers in the north of Scotland could soon be told to submit a medical report with their licence applications.

The Telegraph

• Tube strikes August 2015: Will I be able to get to work next week?When will TfL Tube strikes start and end? And how can I get around without London Underground - on buses, trains, river boats and in cars?
• Shoreham Air Show crash: display should not have been held so close to main road, says mother of victimExclusive: Football teammates Matt Grimstone and Jacob Schilt are among at least 11 people who died in the Shoreham airshow disaster, but questions are now being asked to whether the event should have taken place
• Police open investigation after Labour councillor is injured after bicycle brakes cutSaboteurs struck before he cycled home from work, when he also found a carrot wedged in his saddle

Mail Online

• French train gunman denies terrorism and says he found his guns in children's playground Morocco-born gunman Ayoub El Khazzani, 26, insisted that he was not trying to carry out a terror attack, and claimed that he had found the arsenal of weapons used by chance under a bush in a park.

The Mirror

• London Underground strikes: Unions in crunch talks with Tube bosses over all-night serviceThree unions are set to walk out for 24 hours on Tuesday nd Thursday evenings, with time running out to strike a deal

This is Money

• Eurostar hit record one million passengers last month thanks to sun-hungry Britons flocking south Demand for a new route to the south of France helped see users of the the Channel Tunnel high-speed train increase by 5 per cent on the same period last year.

London Evening Standard

• France train shooting: French police 'were warned more than a year ago' about gunman on Amsterdam-Paris trainFrench police were warned more than a year ago about the radical views of a gunman disarmed by US and British passengers on a train, according to reports.

Wales Online

• Cancer patient 'was told to get off family holiday plane because tickets had been oversold' - claim A family holiday turned into a nightmare after airline company oversold tickets
• First Great Western Cardiff to London services slashed during strike action Services are cut by 50% on the key route as unions fail to reach agreement with bosses in dispute

Bucks Free Press

• Free guided bike rides aim to get residents in the saddle this summer Summer may not have thrown up the best of weather conditions so far for outdoor pursuits, but a new cycling initiative hopes to get residents off the sofa and into the saddle over the next month.

East Anglian Daily Times

• Video/Gallery: Thousands of cyclists take part in Sky Ride Ipswich 2015Thousands of cyclists took over the streets of Ipswich in a traffic-free bike ride through some of the town’s most picturesque settings on Sunday.

Plymouth Herald

• Plymouth rail users asked to contribute to Dawlish storm disaster research RAIL passengers from Plymouth are being asked to contribute to a study on last year's disaster on the line at Dawlish.

Reading Evening Post

• Reading Buses: What is it like to drive a bus? getreading's Hugh Fort spent an afternoon learning to drive a bus - and was impressive at the engineering, rather than his own driving skills.

Sleaford Standard

• Motorists parking on cycle lane will be breaking lawParking on a cycle lane in Sleaford’s Boston Road has become illegal after plans by Lincolnshire highways chiefs upgraded it from advisory to mandatory.

Other Regional Press

• Harrogate MP supports rail fare pledgeHarrogate’s MP has supported the Conservative pledge after commuters were told rail season fares will increase by one per cent in January following the release of new inflation data.
• Rail campaigners stage fare rise protest at King’s Lynn stationTransport campaigners have held a demonstration outside Lynn’s railway station to demand lower fares and the re-nationalisation of the rail network.
• atroughton published Police oppose Leicester railway station coffee bar's bid to sell...A coffee bar at Leicester railway station has applied for a licence to sell alcohol.The Gourmet Coffee Bar and Kitchen wants to sell alcohol, to drink in and take away, between 11am and 11pm seven days a week.Concerned police officers have asked Leicester City Council to prohibit take-away sales of alcohol on days when Leicester City play at home, if they grant the licence.Pc Jonathan Webb, licensing officer for Leicestershire Police, said: "During the football season, Leicester station is...
• CitizenNews published ​The discovery of a suspicious package closed Bristol Airport for...A 'bomb hoax threat' closed Bristol Airport overnight for six hours.The written threat was found on a Ryanair flight which landed in Bristol from Alicante at about 11.45pm last night.No planes could land after the discovery was made and passengers were evacuated over safety fears.Thousands of people on planes headed for Bristol had to be diverted to alternative airports, meaning there was a scramble to put on transport to bring them home.It has reopened this morning after police gave it the...
• West Briton published First Great Western rail strike disrupts trains in Cornwall todayTRAINS in Cornwall may be disrupted or cancelled today due to a rail strike.Train operators First Great Western are running 70 per cent of their regular Sunday services but they are likely to be busy and disrupted.The strike has gone ahead today despite talks between First Great Western and the RMT.The following services in Cornwall are running:London Paddington – Plymouth: hourly in each directionPlymouth – Penzance: every two hours in each directionPaignton - Exmouth via Exeter St...
• Changes to train services in Oxfordshire as workers take strike action A PLANNED rail strike is set to cause disruption on some of the county’s trains today.
• Rail worker academy will boost Northampton’s economy when it opens next month, says ministerAn academy for train engineers in Northampton will attract highly-skilled people from across the country, the secretary of state for transport has said.

Bus and Coach.com

• First pays tribute to Badgerline heritage with special livery
• Safety data released by Transport for London
• IPPR calls for new Total Transport Authorities
• Consultation launched for new Tameside interchange
• App launch for RATP’s Yellow Buses
• First Wrightbus-approved open-top conversions enter service in Dublin
• Engineering accolade for Edwards Coaches
• Growing rental fleet for Close Brothers coach and bus division
• Spending review consultation draws fire from campaigners

Railway Gazette

• High speed rail priority in 2016 budgetSPAIN: Appearing before a parliamentary committee on August 19, Secretary of State for...

Other News Sources

• Falkirk Council calls for nationalised busesFalkirk Council will write to the Scottish Government to demand it looks at how to improve bus services.
• Stagecoach bus route change to 'improve punctuality' has upset passengersThe bus company has announced a new route for the No 2 bus to make it more reliable