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

Sunday, 22 March 2009

BBC News

• Close encounters of the Norfolk kind. New UFO files released.A boomerang-shaped object seen from an airport and a woman's encounter with an
• Call for school travel shake-upMinisters and local authorities must do more to provide alternatives to car travel for pupils, MPs say.

The Herald

• Mandelson maps out route for car industry recoveryCar manufacturers can survive and thrive if they take the right decisions now, Lord Mandelson has said.
• Tram works to restart next weekWork on the Edinburgh trams project will begin again next week after a breakthrough in talks last night.

The Independent

• Wheel-clampers face cap on release feesWheel-clamping companies and car parks will face new limits on the penalties they can charge under government plans to drive rogue operators out of business.
• Vanmaker in crisis as buyout collapsesThe future of the vanmaker LDV was in doubt last night after a planned management buyout of the troubled business fell through. The company, which has not built any vehicles for three months, employs 850 people at its Birmingham factory, and supports thousands more at component manufacturers.
• British outpost in Calais to speed deportationsThe British and French governments are discussing the creation of a new immigrant holding centre within the Calais docks which would be
• Public urged to report Google Street view fears People worried their privacy has been breached by Google's controversial new mapping service have been told to complain to the search engine or the information watchdog.

The Observer

• New UFO secrets are revealed in MoD filesRelease of classified documents sheds light on infamous 'alien' encountersAs close encounters go, the claim by a woman that an alien attempted to seduce her on a country road sounds far-fetched, but files released today reveal that it was considered serious enough for the Ministry of Defence to investigate.The Norfolk woman who claimed she was approached by a man who said he came from another planet similar to Earth was questioned by the MoD intelligence branch DI55, whose brief was to investigate credible UFO reports. She told them that, during their 10-minute chat, the man said his race was ...

The Telegraph

• Mother given parking ticket "for reviving her severely disabled son"A mother who says she stopped her car on a pavement to revive her profoundly disabled son was given a £100 parking ticket.

Times Online

• Mandelson must pick winners from the car crash Lord Mandelson made a tour of car companies in northeast England on Friday to highlight the exciting opportunities in the electric-vehicle industry. It is a worthwhile thing for a business secretary to do – Britain does, after all, have to think about how its manufacturing industries might develop, and encourage its fledgling champions.

Daily Record

• Sheriff's fury as prisoner tries to escape from the dockA PRISONER made a break for freedom yesterday as he was jailed for attacking a bus driver.
• Cops issue plea over mystery woman's rail line deathAN APPEAL to identify a woman who was hit by a train has been launched by police.
• Edinburgh trams project back on track as deal struck to end deadlockA DEAL has been reached in the Edinburgh tram dispute that saw work on the £500million project temporarily halted.

Mail Online

• Gap-year travel firm goes bust, stranding more than 150 teenagers overseas Gap-year travel firm goes bust, stranding more than 150 teenagers overseas
• Stasi HQ UK... where details of all your journeys are secretly logged and kept for a decade This anonymous office building near Heathrow Airport is where the Government has begun monitoring millions of British holidaymakers using its controversial new 'terrorist detector' database.

The Sun

• Cars worth £1bn are stockpiledMORE than 105,000 cars stand mothballed at dockyard as vehicle sales slow to a crawl

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Airbus in talks over jobs threat at BroughtonTALKS to discuss possible job losses were held at the Airbus plant at Broughton yesterday.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Family fury over bike death fineA DRIVER who was texting a friend before she hit and killed a motorcyclist walked free from court with just a £250 fine.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Honour for quick-thinking boys who prevented disaster on school mini-busTwo schoolboys who prevented a minibus full of classmates from crashing after their teacher collapsed at the wheel have been recognised in the Scottish Parliament.
• Hoon dismisses bid to improve school bus safety A north-east grandfather™s campaign to improve school bus safety has suffered a major setback, it emerged last night.

The York Press

• New hope in road safety campaign PARENT power has moved a step closer to winning the day in a battle to bring in new safeguards for children crossing a traffic-laden York road.
• Bar cycle path idea abandoned TRANSPORT bosses have abandoned plans to lay a cycle path beneath York™s historic Walmgate Bar, after conservationists objected to the plans.

Peterborough Telegraph

• M25 widening part of £1bn roads packageWidening parts of the M25 in Hertfordshire and Essex will be among a £1bn package of road schemes due to start in 2009/10 by the Highways Agency.

C.N.N.

• Tips for buying used carsThe main
• Bomb threat temporarily grounds Danish royalsA bomb threat at Copenhagen's airport Saturday prompted a temporary evacuation of Denmark's crown prince and his wife from their commercial flight, police said.

Forbes

• The Most Dependable Cars On The Road A new study reveals the brands and models that last the longest.

International Herald Tribune

• Auto parts suppliers may get aidThe administration of President Barack Obama has signaled its intent to provide broad relief to the American auto industry with the creation of a $5 billion fund to aid troubled parts suppliers.

Washington Post

• Chrysler-Fiat Alliance Is a Gamble Worth Taking Congress should approve the additional loans for General Motors and Chrysler.
• Dulles Rail Progress Revives Loudoun Development Proposals Fresh off the federal government's recent agreement to fund the first phase of Dulles rail, developers in Loudoun County have revived long-dormant plans for hotels, convention centers, shops and housing on property that surrounds the future Metro stops.

Other News Sources

• Car industry 'can survive downturn'