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

Sunday, 21 March 2010

BBC News

• Rallying callSNP embarks on road to becoming 'champions'
• Police fired on at railway alertPolice officers involved in examining the scene of an ongoing security alert in County Down come under fire.
• BA strike affects city's airportUp to 500 passengers flying from Manchester Airport stand to be affected by the British Airways strike.
• BA strike hits Heathrow flightsAbout 40% of long-haul and 70% of short-haul British Airways flights from Heathrow T5 are cut due to the cabin crew strike.
• BA and union clash over walkoutThe strike by British Airways cabin crew enters its second day with both sides saying they have the advantage.

Financial Times

• BA stays in the air as cabin crew strikeThousands of British Airways passengers found themselves on Saturday boarding unfamiliar aircraft from carriers including no-frills Ryanair and Air Finland as British Airways mounts a huge operation to cope with its first strike in 13 years

The Independent

• BA and Unite in war of words British Airways clashed with union leaders tonight over the effect of a strike which hit flights and caused disruption for passengers.
• Cabin crew strike forces BA to cancel 1,100 flights British Airways and striking cabin crews both claimed the upper hand yesterday, on the first of three days of industrial action.

The Observer

• Labour desperate to end BA strike with election loomingDesperate attempts to end the BA cabin crew strike were being mounted by government ministers last night as Labour battled to prevent the dispute from wrecking its preparations for the general election.
• Darling to launch £1bn green fundAlistair Darling will announce plans to back low-carbon transport and energy projects in 'budget for growth'Alistair Darling will this week announce a £1bn fund to kick-start investment in green transport and energy projects as part of a

The Telegraph

• British Airways claims victory as the first day of the Unite strike turns nastyThe airline said that 100 per cent of its staff had turned up to work as normal at Gatwick and half had reported for duty at Heathrow. It predicts around two thirds of its passengers will take up their scheduled flights during the three-day strike.
• Late-night revelry of the BA cabin crews British Airways cabin crews enjoyed drunken nights of revelry in the lead up to the strike that has disrupted the travel plans of thousands of passengers.
• Threats and abuse for the BA staff standing up to the strikers British Airways staff who were opposed to the strike by cabin crew were threatened and abused in the run-up to the industrial action.

Times Online

• Insight: ’I’m like a cab for hire – at up to £5,000 a day’Former Transport Minister Stephen Byers MP caught out by undercover reporter working for the Sunday Times and Channel 4's Dispatches programme who posed as a potential employer. Byers claimed he would lobby ministers on behalf of the “executive” and also gave examples of occasions when he claimed he had successfully done this before. He said he had saved hundreds of millions of pounds for National Express through his contacts with Lord Adonis, the transport minister, and had delayed and amended food labelling proposals for Tesco after phoning Lord Mandelson, the business secretary.
• BA calls up 5,000 strike breakersBritish Airways is training 5,000 more staff to work as cabin crew after it claimed victory in the first round of its bitter industrial dispute yesterday.
• Air strike: will Gordon Brown be hit by friendly fire?In Heathrow terminal 5 yesterday Robert Scully, who was travelling on business, was angry to be at the mercy of British Airways strikers. œI shouldn™t have to go through this, he fumed.
• Warning of long, slow road to recovery as oil and factory prices point to inflation Fears over rising prices were fuelled as a Bank of England policymaker said the cost of oil could push up inflation and a survey showed the proportion of factories set to raise prices jumped to an 18-month high this month.
• Cadillac Escalade Range Rovers are big, Land Cruisers are bigger but biggest of the lot is the Cadillac Escalade. Conceived in America, the land that has made excess an art form, the Escalade is designed for people with big families and even bigger wallets. You’ll be familiar with it, as the bruising 4x4 has been the transport of choice for FBI agents in countless Hollywood blockbusters.
• The £6 gallon looms The £6 gallon could hit Britain later this year as higher oil prices and fuel duty relentlessly drive up prices.
• Hunt for ˜rogue trader™ over recycled carbon creditsA TINY London trading firm is at the centre of a shadowy chain of international deals involving the carbon market™s first œrogue trader.
• French gatecrash Arriva train bidFRANCE™s state railway group is planning to derail an attempted £1.4 billion takeover bid for Arriva, the British transport company that owns the Cross Country rail franchise.
• Lord Mandelson hits out at US ˜protectionism™THE Obama administration is showing œdangerous signs of moving towards protectionism, said Lord Mandelson, the business secretary, adding there was the risk of œa real falling out between America and Europe on trade.

Birmingham Mail

• Tamworth train vandal attack condemned A VANDAL attack on a train which struck a pile of concrete blocks at 90mph could have had catastrophic consequences, police warned.

Bolton News

• Speed limit review for danger road in Westhoughton SAFETY campaigners have called for a change in the law after a youngster was left with permanent learning difficulties in a car smash in Westhoughton.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• We'll keep Airbus A400M jobs in North Wales says Ian Lucas A GOVERNMENT minister has pledged to keep a crucial contract to build military aircraft parts in North Wales and stop jobs going to Spain.

Journal Live

• Another junction in history of bus journeys BUS deregulation, which came into force in 1986, allowed for competition between local bus operators for the first time.
• BA airline staff start strike as peace effort falls apart THOUSANDS of air and rail passengers face travel misery after moves to prevent a three-day strike by British Airways cabin crew collapsed and signal workers voted to take industrial action over jobs.

London Evening Standard

• War of words over BA strike supportBritish Airways has clashed with union leaders over the effect of a strike which hit flights and caused disruption for passengers.
• BA reinstating cancelled flightsStrike-hit British Airways is reinstating a number of cancelled flights as the airline fights a war of words with union leaders over the walkout's success.
• Just 25% of voters back BA strikeOnly one in four voters supports the strike by British Airways cabin crew, according to an opinion poll carried out in the days before the walk out.

Metro

• Just 25% of voters back BA strikeOnly one in four voters supports the strike by British Airways cabin crew, according to an opinion poll carried out in the days before the walk out.

Sheffield Star

• Green party see red over accident blackspots fundingGREEN Party councillors have slammed 'dangerous' Lib Dem plans to hand out road safety funds across the city instead of focusing on accident areas.
• TRAGEDY: Meadowhall train horrorTRANSPORT police are today continuing their investigations after a person was hit by a train near Sheffield's Meadowhall shopping mall.

The News (Portsmouth)

• Residents plead for better transport to hospitalRESIDENTS have stepped up the fight for better transport to and from Portsmouth's Queen Alexandra Hospital.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Ferries cancelled as high winds batter the northHigh winds battered the north and north-east yesterday, gusting up to 113mph on the summit of Cairn Gorm and tossing caravans into the air on each side of the country.
• Council faces £10m repair bill for roads in north-eastThe worst winter in decades has left a north-east council facing a £10million road repair bill.

Wales Online

• Ministers pledge to safeguard Welsh Airbus jobs A UK Government minister has pledged to keep a crucial contract to build military aircraft parts in Wales and stop jobs going to Spain.
• Plaid calls for a ’fuel duty regulator’ ahead of Budget PLAID Cymru’s parliamentary leader Elfyn Llwyd yesterday called for a “fair fuel regulator” ahead of this week’s Budget.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Leeds: World's oldest working railway gets ready for new seasonThe world's oldest working railway, the Middleton Railway in Hunslet, Leeds, is preparing for a grand reopening for the 2010 season next Saturday, with a whole host of ac

Sunderland Echo

• Driving crime off our roadsA CRIME blitz on the roads has led to a number of arrests and vehicles being seized.

Other Regional Press

• Easter disruption feared through rail network strikeRailway signal workers have voted to go on strike in a bitter row over jobs and safety, it was announced yesterday. There are fears the...

International Herald Tribune

• British Airways Cancels 1,100 Flights as Crews Begin StrikeBritish Airways canceled 1,100 flights on Saturday as some cabin crews started a three-day strike in protest over working conditions and pay.

Washington Post

• GM's SKorean unit recalling nearly 60,000 vehicles SEOUL, South Korea -- General Motors is recalling nearly 60,000 automobiles in South Korea due to potential problems with steering wheels, fuel hoses and seats, the company's local unit and the government said Sunday.

Railnews

• News: New hope over Network Rail disputes with ACAS talks There are fresh hopes of resolving the disputes which threaten Easter train services, following the news that talks between Network Rail and the RMT are moving to the conciliation service ACAS.

Other News Sources

• Strike-hit BA reinstating cancelled flightsBA said it was reinstating some cancelled flights as the airline fought a war of words with union leaders over the walkout's success.
• Is Darling ready to freeze fuel tax?Alistair Darling is set to impose a temporary freeze on fuel duty in a bid to quell a revolt by motorists over soaring petrol prices.
• We need a new railway bridge in GloucesterThat is the plea from disabled protestors fed up with access problems at Gloucester railway station.
• SCR trucks failing to hit Euro-5 standardsOperators of SCR-equipped Euro-5 trucks will be forced to modify their vehicles making their trucks less fuel efficient if the EU decides to back recommendations put forward by the Dutch government.
• M20 Kent Closed Both Directions The M20 is currently closed in both directions between J8 and J9 due to a serious incident.Further updates will be posted as available. For live traffic information, please select www.highways.gov.uk/traffic or phone the Highways Agency 24-hour voice activated telephone service on 08700 660 115. (Calls from BT landlines to 0870 numbers will cost no more than 8p per minute; mobile calls usually cost more.)