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

Sunday, 02 May 2010

BBC News

• Shetland Isles route gets extra weekend flightsAn airline adds extra Sheltand-Aberdeen flights on the back of an agreement to carry weekend newspapers to the isles.
• Disabled rail cash cut criticisedCuts in funding of more than 50% for disabled railway access come under fire from the Scottish government.
• Lorry fires closes M1 motorwayThe M1 motorway was closed at junction 10 city bound between Lurgan and Moira following a lorry fire.
• Bikers protest over fuel pricesHundreds of bikers travel slowly on the M62 and into Manchester city centre in a protest over record fuel prices.
• Bank Holiday 'misery' on the wayTemperatures are set to fall over the Bank Holiday weekend, as tube passengers face disruptions in London.
• Aircraft makes emergency landingRescue services are called to Glasgow airport after a Loganair plane from Stornoway makes an emergency landing.

Financial Times

• United-Continental tie-up draws closerUAL, the parent of United Airlines, and Continental Airlines estimate that combining the two carriers could generate about $1.1bn in cost savings and revenues. A deal...
• US airlines could yield $1bn merger benefitsCombining United and Continental in a stock swap could yield synergies, of which about $200m would be cost savings, net of additional costs associated with renegotiating labour contracts

The Herald

• BP faces £3.6bn bill as oil-spill environmental disaster unfoldsUS Air Force planes were ­preparing to dump chemicals on the massive oil slick threatening America™s southern coast as British firm BP said it would compensate those affected by what looks likely to be one of the worst-ever environmental disasters.
• Future of your bus service: dirty, late and dangerousBus passengers will not be seeing improvements in the frequency and quality of their services because the profit levels of the companies operating the routes have fallen to perilously low levels, new industry figures have revealed.
• Airport police accused of spy trap on MuslimsSpecial Branch has been accused of using stop and search powers to recruit Muslims as spies for the state at Scottish airports.
• Regional transport groups may be scrappedScotland™s regional transport partnerships could be wound up following the restructuring of Transport Scotland, according to expert observers.

The Independent

• Motorcyclists demonstrate against rising fuel costsA mass fuel protest involving hundreds of motorcyclists demonstrating against the record price of petrol took place in Manchester yesterday.

Times Online

• Drive of the week: Vauxhall Meriva 1.4 Turbo SE There are three surprising things about Vauxhall’s new Meriva. First, its rear doors are hung from hinges at the back like an old London taxi. Second is its size, which has jumped up an entire class so that now the Meriva is quite a lot wider and not much shorter than the company’s seven-seat Zafira. Third, there’s the missed opportunity for a new name: given that this car is so much bigger and better than the mediocre Meriva it replaces, a new name could have allowed this considerably improved model to wipe its predecessor clean off the slate.
• Gadget of the week: Porsche Hybrid RS Exotic materials and fancy gears can improve your cycling prowess only so far. If you’re still struggling to achieve Chris Hoy-like performance, Porsche has the answer: its Hybrid RS mountain bike has an electric motor concealed in the rear hub.
• Arrests in carbon trading caseTax officials made 21 arrests in the UK this week as part of a Europe-wide investigation into suspected tax avoidance in the carbon trading market.
• BP warned of rig fault 10 years agoBP faces fresh questions over the cause of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill after it emerged that problems with the type of equipment that led to the disaster were first reported a decade ago.

Mail Online

• BA caught short as all airliner's toilets failPassengers on a British Airways flight from Heathrow to the Cayman Islands were told not to drink for two hours because none of the plane’s toilets were working.

Birmingham Mail

• Car crashes as Labour launch final campaign bid in Hockley A LABOUR Party campaign launch attended by Prime Minister Gordon Brown and senior cabinet members including Lord Mandelson took a dramatic turn when a car careered into a bus stop.

London Evening Standard

• Bikers stage petrol price protestHundreds of bikers are expected to bring traffic to a standstill in a mass protest at the record price of petrol.

Sheffield Star

• Track project shuts routeA BUSY Sheffield road will be closed from midnight tonight until 5am on Tuesday so tram tracks can be replaced.
• £6m pot to fill holesA HUGE cash injection has been announced for work to fill potholes on Derbyshire's crumbling roads.

Carlisle News & Star

• Volume of traffic shakes plate loose on new Cumbrian road bridge Just over a week after opening, a plate on Workington™s temporary road bridge has come loose and is rattling.

Forbes

• Buffett-Backed Chinese Electric Car Maker to Open Offices in L.A.BYD, the Chinese electric vehicle maker backed by billionaire investor Warren Buffett, plans to loca

Railway Gazette

• Entertainment by tram AUSTRALIA: A 2·8 km western extension of Adelaide's Glenelg tram route from City West to the Entertainment Centre at Hindmarsh opened on March 22. The route is worked by 11 Bombardier Flexity Classic low-floor trams and six recently-acquired Alstom Citadis 302 five-section trams originally built for Madrid's Metro Ligero network. The extension project cost A$100m and included a new bridge across South Road and a Park & Ride facility at the redeveloped Adelaide Entertainment Centre. The state government plans to extend the tram route further to provide a coast-to-coast service from Glenelg ...

Other News Sources

• Attack over moves to cut disabled travel cashFunding for transport scheme set to be halved this year.
• Thieves target car fuelPolice investigating a spate of fuel thefts across Northamptonshire have issued a warning to motorists to be extra vigilant.
• London City Airport Denies Stealth TacticsLCA has dismissed allegations that it is using stealth tactics
• Lexus unveils concept electric bikeLexus has revealed its concept design for an electric bicycle.
• Climate change 'altering attitudes to motoring'Attitudes towards motoring are changing due to climate issues and the recent recessions, it has been suggested.
• First emergency launch for new Norfolk lifeboatA new Broads lifeboat was launched for the first time this morning to go to the aid of canoeists who were reported to be in difficulties. The new £31,000 South Broads RNLI boat, Jean Ryall, was called out at 3.