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

Sunday, 14 March 2010

BBC News

• Solar trike pedals Shawn to top engineering prizeA 19-year-old gap year student from Carmarthenshire wins the UK Young Engineer of the Year with a solar powered trike.
• Union hails 'solid' rail strikeLeaders of the RMT union have claimed there is "rock solid" support for a 24-hour walkout by rail workers.

The Independent

• 'Cool it' plea in BA crew disputeThe union representing British Airways cabin crew last night urged the airline's chief executive, Willie Walsh, to "cool the rhetoric and to get back around the table" to avert seven days of strike action later this month. Jack Dromey, deputy general secretary of Unite, called for BA to reopen negotiations.

The Telegraph

• Pothole Britain: councils disagree about when hole becomes a pothole Motorists face a postcode lottery of road quality due to the failure of local authorities to agree a definition of what exactly constitutes a pothole.

Times Online

• Stuck in a traffic jam, Lord Adonis sees the lightTRAVELLING by chauffeurdriven limousine, cabinet ministers are usually spared the miseries facing ordinary motorists on Britain™s congested roads.
• Little Chef to plug the gap for electric carsLittle Chef is bringing power to the motorist. The roadside chain, known for its Olympic breakfasts, will begin testing high-speed electric charging points at 10 branches within weeks, allowing cars such as the Tesla Roadster and Mini E to charge their batteries in as little as an hour. If successful, the trial could lead to a roll-out across all 173 branches.
• Varsity Express: Baby Branson™s bogus businessA YOUNG aviation entrepreneur, who styled himself œBaby Branson when he set up an airline at 19, has admitted his latest venture, which collapsed last week, was based on false claims and little more than thin air.
• German bosses run Mini, Rolls-Royce, Bentley and Aston MartinMEET Britain™s best carmakers. They are Ulrich, Ralf, Franz-Josef, Jochen and Torsten. They don™t sound like the pukka types who should be making walnut and leather motors ” because they are not. For the first time, the head of every big œindigenous British carmaker is German.
• Tough guy Walsh leaves BA flying high in the CityWork this out. The unions whacked British Airways with seven days of strikes last week. The disruption to services, lost bookings and damage to the brand could cost the airline hundreds of millions of pounds when it is already heading for big losses.

Daily Express

• BA strike bill ’to hit £250m' strikeTHE looming strike by British Airways' cabin crew could cost the airline more than £250 million, plunging it deeper into the red.

Birmingham Mail

• BBC's coffee powered car fails to make Birmingham appearance due to breakdown IT was more a case of bang goes the engine than Bang Goes the Theory when the star of a BBC television science programme broke down on its way to Birmingham.
• Bells Farm Primary School finally gets crossing after 10-year battle PARENTS and teachers are celebrating after a pelican crossing was finally installed across a busy Birmingham road after ten years of campaigning.
• Birmingham bus passengers to get bus swipe card system A HI-TECH new swipe card system which could pave the way for cashless travel on Birmingham’s buses is being trialled.
• Revealed: Carl Chinn was "banned from Longbridge" BIRMINGHAM’S best known historian Carl Chinn was barred from Longbridge on the very day of the Phoenix takeover, it can be revealed.

Journal Live

• Golfer furious over row with budget airline A GOLF holiday boss is threatening a budget airline with court action over unexpected charges.
• British Airways strike spells chaos for North East travellers TRAVEL plans for thousands of North East passengers are today hanging in the balance after the union representing 13,500 British Airways cabin crew called seven days of strikes.
• Minister rejected advice to include North East in high speed rail link TRANSPORT Secretary Lord Adonis rejected expert advice to link the region to a 250mph rail network, it emerged yesterday.

London Evening Standard

• Union: BA must end 'needless war'Union bosses have urged British Airways to end the

Metro

• Pensioner saved in car river plungeAn elderly man has been saved by two passers-by after his car plunged into a river.
• Union: BA must end 'needless war'British Airways chief executive Willie Walsh has launched a scathing attack on union bosses as the row over cost-cutting intensified following the announcement of seven days of strikes by cabin crew.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• M1 crash woman wants to trace good samaritan A WOMAN who cheated death when her car smashed into a central reservation is looking for the man who came to her rescue.

Sheffield Star

• Rail station's £2.8m boostWORK has started on a £2.8 million project to add a third platform to Chesterfield train station.
• Road plans for fields could be in jeopardyCONTROVERSIAL plans for a new road across playing fields in a Sheffield suburb could be in jeopardy - because nobody knows who owns part of the route.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Closure of rail footbridge prompts lessonBRITISH Transport Police were at Oban High School yesterday delivering a hard-hitting message about railway safety after the closure of a footbridge in the town.
• Police officers get on their bikesMORE rural police officers are getting on their bikes in Aberdeenshire thanks to a funding boost.

The York Press

• How will plans for a high-speed rail network affect York?How will plans for a high-speed rail network affect York? STEPHEN LEWIS investigates.
• £1m to be spent on road repairs COUNCIL chiefs have revealed the list of roads in York which are set to benefit from £1 million of extra maintenance cash.

Other Regional Press

• M25 to close for bridge workRICKMANSWORTH: A busy section of the M25 will be closed later in the month when work to re-instate a footbridge across the carriageway is carried out.
• Argoed residents to get potholes filled RESIDENTS living in a Valleys village with dozens of deep potholes are to have their roads repaired after months of complaining.
• Newport to host first walking festival NEWPORT will host its first walking festival next month, with people of all ages and abilities being urged to take to the highways and byways in and around the city.
• Aberdeen travellers could face chaos over BA strikesTRAVELLERS at Aberdeen airport could face major disruption after British Airways cabin crew voted to strike in the run-up to Easter.
• Transport minister set to rule over Haudagain roundaboutSCOTLAND™S transport boss has cleared the way to make a decision on the future of Aberdeen™s worst traffic bottleneck.

Forbes

• The Weekly Layoff Report: March MadnessChevron and Ford Motor Credit are among those that announced downsizings this week.

Washington Post

• China to bid on US high-speed rail projects BEIJING -- China plans to bid for contracts to build U.S. high-speed train lines and is stepping up exports of rail technology to Europe and Latin America, a government official said Saturday.

Railnews

• News: Third ScotRail strike goes ahead Members of the RMT working for ScotRail are striking again today, in protest at plans to use ticket examiners rather than guards on the Airdrie-Bathgate line when it opens in December. Trains on some rural routes have been replaced by buses, but ScotRail said many lines are offering a full service.

Other News Sources

• Rail union claims "rock-solid" support in strikeUPDATE: ScotRail says it ran
• BA cabin crew announce strike dates British Airways cabin crew are to strike for three days from March 20 and for four days from March 27 in a dispute over cost-cutting.Related StoriesUnion bosses to meet after BA peace talks failFresh general strike in GreeceUnite set to announce industrial action at BAMortgage ending down by half as tax break endsVauxhall given Government loan guarantee
• Shameless streets: potholes in WonderlandWhile Britain battles the rising number of potholes destroying its streets, a group of artists find a unique way of dealing with New York's own weather-battered roads.
• Lib Dems 'will not back early spending cuts'The Liberal Democrats accuse the Conservatives of "playing fast and loose" with the economy as leader Nick Clegg says he will not support plans to immediately cut public spending.