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

Sunday, 25 April 2010

BBC News

• Blackout shuts New Street stationA power failure at Birmingham's New Street railway station leads to it closing for about 30 minutes.
• Biker dies in collision with 4x4Police name a 38-year-old motorcyclist killed in a collision with a 4x4 on the A9, just north of Perth.
• No agreement on transport directionThe three main political parties agree on little when it comes to transport, says BBC London transport correspondent.
• Volunteers asked to miss flightsUK airlines are seeking volunteers to change flights so people stranded since the ash cloud disruption can return home.

Financial Times

• Bribe probe for Deutsche Bahn unitEurope's biggest railway company has called in auditors to investigate its international consulting arm after discovering evidence of payments of millions of euros in bribes

The Herald

• Call for radical reform to curb rail™s reliance on public cash and get service back on trackScotland™s railways require radical reform to curtail œballooning levels of public funding and undo the mess created by rail privatisation, an influential academic has claimed.
• Ministers face court challenge over £400m bypass decisionPlans for one of Scotland™s major new roads will be thrown into doubt this week when campaigners announce they are taking the Scottish Government to court.
• Demolition firm bids to build a rescue plan for Nigg shipyardThe beleaguered Nigg ­shipyard in Easter Ross is the subject of a rescue plan involving the creation of up to 1,000 jobs only days after proposals to turn it into a renewables powerhouse looked to have collapsed.

The Independent

• Virgin boss criticises blanket flight ban Sir Richard Branson today criticised the blanket ban on flights because of the volcanic ash, saying it was

Times Online

• No planes. No airports. No hassle... it's flight-free travelCantabria, Spain
• As airlines warn of weeks of delays, Brits find their own way homeArriving off the 2.10pm sailing from Calais to Dover, the Ajulo family were finally on the last leg of their epic journey home to Britain from Nigeria.
• Lotus Elise It is a sign of the times that what Lotus is crowing about with this new Elise is not its handling, power or how much fun it is to drive, but its emissions. Historically such matters would have concerned Lotus not at all, but these days the notion of a sports car being in the same emissions category as a 1.4-litre Peugeot 207 and yet can pull away from anything this side of a supercar down a winding road is compelling. And that is what the third generation Elise is capable of.
• Put up or shut up, insists Forth Ports to biddersFORTH PORTS will seek an end to months of bidding uncertainty this week when it asks the Takeover Panel to issue a œput up or shut up deadline to a consortium of shareholders.

Birmingham Mail

• MG ZERO concept car could be built in Birmingham THIS trendy little car could be the latest MG scheduled to be built in Birmingham.

London Evening Standard

• Brits still stuck despite flightsBritons still stranded abroad after Europe's skies reopened are facing the prospect that they could be stuck for another week.
• Branson criticises ash flights banVirgin Atlantic boss Sir Richard Branson has condemned ash cloud flight restrictions as an

The York Press

• UCI Mountain Bike Cross-Country World Cup trail blazers at Dalby Forest THE heat was on at Dalby Forest as the UCI Mountain Bike Cross-Country World Cup got under way.

Other Regional Press

• Deadline looms for transport awards THE deadline is looming for nominations for the community transport awards in Devon.

Washington Post

• Ford Fiesta: America finally joins the party SAN FRANCISCO Global automobile manufacturers are betting that an America whipped by recession, upset by unpredictable fuel prices and humbled by the costly collapse of things too big to fail is ready, at long last, to accept high-quality, fuel-efficient small cars at prices that redefine
• U.S. high-speed rail's ship finally comes in Like the gleam on the tracks from an oncoming locomotive, high-speed rail transportation in the United States may be finally coming into sight. Before the end of the decade, rail backers promise, Americans will be traveling on bullet trains, the way Europeans and Asians have been doing for half a century. At speeds of up to 220 mph, high-speed rail will make it possible to travel from Los Angeles to San Francisco in less than three hours, or half the time it takes to drive. Tampa to Orlando will take less than an hour, or 35 percent faster than by car. You'll be able to get from Chicago to St...

Other News Sources

• Landslip hits train servicesA landslip is affecting trains on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway near Cheltenham.
• M11 Essex | Northbound | Serious incident, road closed The M11 northbound is closed between junctions J6 and J7, with the northbound access slips from the M25 J27 closed, 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.)
• First time driver goes liveA new independent information portal and community for learner drivers and their families, partners and friends went live today. FirstTimeDriver.info is the only place learner drivers will need to come to find everything they need to get started, including: a driving school finder; tips and tools to get through driving tests; and a comprehensive guide [...]
• New parking scheme to be discussedPROPOSALS to include a busy street in a parking scheme in a bid to ease congestion problems are set to be discussed by civic chiefs.
• £168k for extra trains and busesPLANS to spend £168,000 towards extra trains and buses to cater for thousands of visitors during the Tall Ships Races have been approved.
• Step forward on air pollution from shippingThe world’s largest marine Emissions Control Area (ECA) has been approved by the International Maritime Organisation. Ships operating in waters off the North American coasts will be forced to use dramatically cleaner fuel and technology. The move is likely to make it easier for the EU to designate ECAs in European waters.
• Say No to Neighbourhood NoiseNoise Action Week will take place on 26-30 April 2010.
• TfL issues electric vehicle tenderNew electric vehicles will be put into service by TfL after it issued a new multi-million pound tender.
• UK's first road-legal golf buggy is launchedAn electric golf buggy for roads has been launched in the UK.
• Cardinal Maritime declares record profitCardinal Maritime Ltd, the Manchester freight forwarding and logistics company has unveiled record profits despite a fall in turnover due to the recession. Pre-tax profits for 2009 topped £1.
• 'Torpedo blast' sunk S Korean ship'Torpedo blast' sunk S Korean ship