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

Saturday, 03 January 2009

BBC News

• Flybe offers free job loss coverRegional airline Flybe offers free insurance to its customers, allowing them to claim refunds if they lose their jobs.
• Latest train fare rises attackedAbove-inflation rail fare increases of more than 6% are

Financial Times

• Business told to help fund UK bullet lineAndrew Adonis, transport minister, is to tell business it has to help pay for the government's plan for a £20bn bullet train line from London to Manchester
• Stobart views straitened times as opportunity Stobart Group, the haulage company famous for its green-liveried trucks and uniformed drivers, is one of the few businesses that views the current economic uncertainty as an opportunity rather than a threat to its future

The Guardian

• Thousands face travel delays as two die in plane crash which shuts west coast mainlineTwo people died when a light plane crashed near the west coast main line in Staffordshire yesterday, forcing the ­suspension of services on one of the ­busiest rail networks in the country and leading to delays that are likely to spill over into the weekend.The single-engine aircraft, said to be a Piper Cherokee piloted by 59-year-old Alan Matthews from Walsall in the West Midlands, came down at Colwich ­Junction, between Rugeley and Stafford, after colliding with overhead power lines and bursting into flames, narrowly missing a nearby housing estate.Police said they could not rule out finding...

The Scotsman

• New fares 'ripping off' passengersA fresh row over rail fares flared as train companies were accused of "ripping off" passengers with rises well above the rate of inflation.

Times Online

• Transports of delight: Girl born on the TubeA woman who went into labour on a London Underground train gave birth to a girl, the first baby recorded to have been born on the Tube for 84 years.

Mail Online

• 'Spy-in-sky' trials get the go-ahead despite Government promise to scrap road-pricing planMinisters are pressing ahead with a £10million trial of 'spy-in-the-sky' road-pricing technology despite widespread public opposition.
• The 'great rail rip-off': Passengers furious as fares shoot up 11 per centRail bosses have been accused of daylight robbery for imposing inflation-busting fare increases of up to 11 per cent. Yesterday's rises led to calls for a fares freeze during the economic downturn.

ATOC

• ATOC COMMENTS ON RAIL IMPROVEMENTS AND JANUARY FARES CHANGESCommenting on the rail fares changes that come into effect on 2nd January, Michael Roberts, Chief Executive of the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC), said: œIt is important to be clear about the facts. Average rises for regulated fares are 6 per cent and for unregulated fares, 7 per cent. 

Daily Post (North Wales)

• North Wales rail users slam 6% fares hikeRail Fare hikes of 6% across Wales which hit home yesterday were blasted by union chiefs as a “rip off”.

London Evening Standard

• Disruption warning over Thameslink workRail bosses warned passengers to prepare for nearly three years of disruption as work on the £5.5billion Thameslink upgrade gets under way

The News (Portsmouth)

• Cycling to work means 144 miles in saddleIt is a feat which most of us would struggle to achieve once in a lifetime. Every Friday, Simon Tout rises at 4.30am, pulls on his cycling shorts and gets on his bike for an e

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Calls for new Bridge of Don bus routeAn Aberdeen councillor is calling for a dedicated bus service to be introduced to the Grandholm Village area of Bridge of Don.
• Transport solutions on way The north-east™s transport system could be facing its biggest year of development yet, according to regional transport body Nestrans.
• Figures reveal high death toll of cyclistsThe number of cyclists killed on Aberdeenshire roads is higher than anywhere else in the country.

The York Press

• York bus company makes trainers from old seat covers BENDY buses are perhaps one of the most hated sights on our streets, but now the people of York can get their own back and trample them into the ground “ literally.

This Is Local London Network

• Bikers to use bus lanesMotorcyclists will be able to use most red route bus lanes in London from Monday (January 5).
• Severe delays on trains through HarrowCommuters are experiencing severe delays on a main train line through Harrow following a fault in Watford.
• Croydon: Call for festive rail travel pass refundsCommuters who bought seven-day travelcards over Christmas are being urged to ask for their money back due to lack of services.

Wales Online

• Wales hit harder by rail fares hikeWALES appears to have been hit harder by rail price rises than some affluent parts of south east England, a leading transport expert said last night.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Keep off the grass - opposition forces road plan re-thinkPublic opposition has caused highways officers to halt progress on a proposed road-widening scheme.

Blackpool Gazette

• New air route gets off to flying startAirport bosses are confident of a flying start to 2009 as a new route to Dublin takes to the air today.
• Scrap this parking feeA Blackpool campaigner has renewed calls for hospital car parking charges to be abolished after sites in Scotland scrapped the fee.

Carlisle News & Star

• Plan for ˜gateway™ to boost Maryport A roads revamp will create a new gateway to Maryport “ boosting business and enhancing the town™s prestigious marina development.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Ministers to press ahead with spy-in-the-sky road pricing plansTrials of road pricing technology that uses satellites to monitor vehicles are to continue despite concerns about the scheme.According to the Daily Mail, a £10 million trial of so-called 'spy-in-the-sky' congestion charging technology will go ahead and test runs will be carried out in seven locations.

Other News Sources

• Rail fare hikes slammed by environmental and passenger groupsEnvironmental and passenger groups have slammed train fare rises that came into effect today as unacceptable, unjustified and damaging to the environment.