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

Sunday, 24 July 2016

BBC News

• Rail police step up Cardiff Central station patrolsBritish Transport Police increase patrols at Cardiff Central station to cut down on
• Dover port queues: 'Where are the police?Motorists have been venting their frustrations at delays of up to 12 hours through Kent to get to the Port of Dover.
• Cheltenham school pupils injured in France coach crashFifteen Britons are injured as a bus carrying a group of school pupils from Cheltenham crashes in eastern France.
• Dover delays: UK border staff to help amid 14-hour queuesUK officials are to assist with French border checks at the Port of Dover, as the government says motorists have suffered
• Airport expansion decision needed 'urgently' - MPsThe government must make an
• RMT strike begins in ScotRail driver-only train disputeMembers of the RMT union stage another one-day strike in their ongoing dispute with ScotRail over the extension of driver-only train services.

The Guardian

• 'It's the hope that gets you': commuter diaries of the Southern rail nightmareSouthern, part of Govia Thameslink Railway, is facing calls to be stripped of its franchise over delays, engineering works, staff shortages and industrial disputes. Four passengers describe their weeks trying to get to work on timeMany train passengers have complaints about their local train service but an epidemic of delays and cancellations on Southern trains has driven commuters to despair. Southern, part of the wider franchise operated by Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) since 2015, has seen industrial disputes and staff shortages piled on top of major engineering works – and suffering passe...
• UK pupils injured in coach accident in FranceBus carrying British teenagers involved in crash on A39 near Swiss borderTwo British school students have been seriously injured after a coach crashed in France near the Swiss border.The two students, one described as being in a life-threatening condition and another in a serious condition, were airlifted to hospital from the crash site on the A39 motorway at Lons-le-Saunier. Continue reading...
• Heathrow delay is harming economy, MPs warn Theresa MayGo-ahead for third runway will be a test of new leadership’s mettleTheresa May faces the first big challenge to her fledgling premiership as 36 Conservative MPs, led by the former party chairman Grant Shapps, demand an urgent decision on Heathrow airport’s expansion, warning that continued delay is damaging the UK economy. Related: Brexit vote has bolstered Heathrow's fortunes, says airport chief Continue reading...
• Enough of bridges and trains that are only vanity projects | Catherine BennettTheresa May should call time on the wasteful follies that have become nothing but politicians’ playthingsIt said much about Boris Johnson’s eight-year performance as mayor of London that when the reviews came in, the highlight was often a fleet of buses. Designed by Thomas Heatherwick to satisfy some nostalgic, icon-hungry mayoral whim, they were widely taken at their instigator’s word to be an awe-inspiring success story, as well as one in the eye for “doubters”.“They said I was mad,” Johnson crowed in 2013, in one of the Telegraph columns in which he would occasionally conduct an auto work a...
• The Observer view on Uber and business practices | Observer editorialThe law must be changed to thwart exploitative employersUber now provides an average of more than 5m rides a day, stellar growth for a company that launched its app just five years ago. For many of its customers, the Uber brand is synonymous with a reliable, efficient – and, above all, cheap – way of getting around. But at what cost?Last week, a legal challenge against Uber began in the UK. The case is being brought by 19 drivers, supported by the GMB union. Uber stands accused of misclassifying its drivers as self-employed, denying them rights they would be entitled to were they employed by t...
• Families stuck on roads into Dover told chaos will last until MondayHolidaymakers and lorry drivers trapped in traffic for up to 12 hours, with delays blamed on shortage of French border staff Holidaymakers trapped in their cars on the roads to Dover have been told the travel chaos will continue until Monday.The first day of the holiday season turned into a traffic nightmare for travellers, with many stuck in traffic jams on the A2, A20 and M20 for up to 12 hours while they waited to cross the Channel and start their summer breaks in France and beyond. Continue reading...

The Herald

• Union to ballot Virgin workers over possible industrial actionAnother train company is facing the threat of industrial action after the biggest rail union said it will ballot its members for strikes in a row over jobs and working conditions. Another train company is facing the threat of industrial action after the biggest rail union said it will ballot its members for strikes in a row over jobs and working conditions.
• Labour urge Scottish Government to broker deal in ScotRail driver-only trains rowLabour has urged the Transport Minister to intervene and broker a deal between unions and ScotRail to head off planned industrial action.

The Huffington Post

• Dover Travel Chaos Sees Motorists Stranded In Sweltering Heat, Police Hand Out Water Holiday makers and truck drivers have been caught in “traffic chaos” outside Dover, as terror fears led to severe delays at the port of Dover as the summer getaway begins. Hundreds of motorists were stranded overnight after security checks were heightened at the request of French authorities and there were huge queues on the A20 and the A2 on Saturday, leaving many stuck for up to 10 hours. Motorists reported nearby service stations had run out of water and food. Many got out of the cars and begun kicking footballs about and camping. Police had to hand out water to stranded motori...

The Scotsman

• Transport minister urged to broker deal in driver-only trains rowLABOUR has urged the Transport Minister to intervene and broker a deal between unions and ScotRail to head off planned industrial action.

The Telegraph

• Thousands stranded overnight as terror fears prompt extra security checks at Dover
• Nice killer ‘made 12 reconnaissance trips in illegal lorry’ without being turned back
• Solar plane takes off from Egypt on final leg of world tour
• Inquiry launched into 'rip-off' rail ticket machines�

Daily Express

• EXCLUSIVE: Brit tourists STRANDED in Europe & drivers sleeping in cars amid Dover chaosBRITISH holidaymakers heading to Dover spent last night stranded in their cars as the border chaos shows no sign of stopping.

Daily Record

• Danger in the skies: Hundreds of laser pen and drone incidents over Scotland risk passengers' livesPOLICE and aviation experts are becoming concerned at the increasing number of planes being targeted by lasers.

Mail Online

• 15 injured as bus carrying British holidaymakers tips over on motorway in Lons-le-Saunier The bus, heading for Italy, crashed on its side on a motorway near Lons-le-Saunier, near the Swiss border, local police said.
• Wreck of 18th century warship Invincible to be rescued from the Solent Invincible, the impressive 18th-century French warship that was captured by the British in 1747, is going to be excavated from the Solent, near Portsmouth, in a �2 million project.
• Dover port chaos as thousands of drivers stuck in 15 hour queues and delays until MONDAY Thousands of British holidaymakers have been stranded in their cars for up to 12 hours after the Port of Dover was plunged into chaos because of increased security checks by French officials.
• Southern rail DOES have a service that always runs but it's a 'ghost train' from East Sussex The Mail on Sunday has discovered that the beleaguered operator has at least managed to run one train like clockwork which travels between East Sussex and Brighton.
• Miami Airport workers' disbelief as 'UFO' trailing blue smoke flies over the runway The incredible footage, believed to have been filmed at Miami Airport, led to those on the tarmac whipping out their camera phones to snap the strange phenomenon.

The Mirror

• Dover ferry port chaos forces motorists to sleep in cars and delays could last for DAYS Travellers spent hours at a standstill in huge queues while police helped deliver water supplies by helicopter

This is Money

• Are young people being priced out of driving? Average age of drivers taking their test Back in May, insurance comparison site comparethemarket.com said young drivers have to fork out an astounding �4,750 for their 12 months on the road - including the cost of a car.
• David Lloyd entering electric car market by launching company called EV Hub to provide UK-wide network of charging stations The centres will include office space and some could be located beside coffee shops where customers could work or relax while waiting for their vehicles.

Bolton News

• Bus passengers warned to look out for timetable changes this weekend BUS users are being told to watch out for services changes as new timetables are introduced.
• VIDEO: Roadworks cause traffic chaos in Bolton MOTORISTS have been caught up in gridlocked roads in Bradshaw today after two lots of roadworks closed off main commuter routes.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Passengers on Gwynedd coach in French crash not from North Wales Pupils on the Penygroes based Express Motors bus understood to be from Cheltenham
• Campaign against Anglesey nuclear train transporting radioactive waste The People against Wylfa B (PAWB) group leafleted railway stations across North Wales

London Evening Standard

• Dover delays: Londoners describe travel misery amid fears port delays could last until MondayLondoners have told of their hellish journeys after heightened security checks at Dover sparked travel chaos for thousands of motorists.

Northern Echo

• "It's fantastic to see the Flying Scotsman back in the North-East" say rail enthusiasts CROWDS are gathering to see the world’s most famous locomotive at a North-East railway museum.

The York Press

• East Yorks families urged to apply early for school bus passes FAMILIES in the East Riding are being urged to apply early for school transport passes – to increase their chances of getting a seat for their child.

Wales Online

• This is what it's like dealing with anti social behaviour on a train, according to British Transport Police Officers are cracking down this weekend and next weekend, too

Blackpool Gazette

• �22m tramway dream moves a step closerTransport chiefs have now formally asked the Government to approve a £22m extension to the Blackpool tramway.
• Bikers treated other road users ‘like obstacles in a video game’A Blackpool motorcyclist was among a pack of bikers who sped at more than 100 miles an hour, performed wheelies and swerved in and out of traffic.

East Anglian Daily Times

• Two passenger planes off Essex coast have near miss after controller instructed ‘wrong aircraft’Planes carrying a number of passengers came within 700ft of each other after instructions were given to the wrong aircraft, an inquiry has found.

Peterborough Telegraph

• How devolution could help transport - Peterborough City Council leader John HoldichLast week I shared with you what I think are the benefits for residents and businesses of our proposed devolution deal with government from the perspective of education and training.

Other Regional Press

• Dover and Deal MP Charlie Elphicke says delays at Port could have been avoided following Nice attackThe MP for Dover has said officials need to “get a grip” following the delays fiasco at the Port.
• Holidaymakers beware: Hampshire traffic bottleneck 'one of the worst in the country' HOLIDAYMAKERS attempting to make a break for the seaside or to the New Forest are facing motoring misery on a Hampshire road.
• Girl, 12, kicked down bus steps in St Paul’s Walden by grown man who boarded in HitchinA 12-year-old girl getting off a bus in a village near Hitchin was kicked down the steps by a grown man – and police are now appealing for witnesses.
• DVLA reports �93m lost revenue following ditching of tax disksThe RAC has raised concerns over the reduction in revenue to the DVLA following the abolition of paper tax disks last year.

C.N.N.

• MH370 search to be suspended if plane isn't found soonThe search for Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 will be suspended and rethought if the missing plane isn't found in the dwindling search area, officials said.

Other News Sources

• Transport improvements to improve air quality in Brighton and Hove’s most polluted street to be explored NEW transport improvements to improve air quality in Brighton and Hove’s most polluted street will be explored after hundreds of residents called for action.

Other Subscription Services

• BAM completes Acton dive-under for Crossrail A new dive-under at Acton in west London, constructed by Network Rail as part of the Crossrail programme, is now structurally complete and will be used by trains from next year.The Acton dive-under...
• Vivarail Underground train gets NUCKLE trial Former London Underground District line trains are to be trialled on the railway between Coventry to Nuneaton.A consortium led by the West Midlands Combined Authority has agreed to lease the...