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

Sunday, 08 August 2010

BBC News

• Island sees largest crusise ship docking upA 10-deck cruise ship with 2,000 passengers, thought to be the largest cruise liner to dock at Anglesey, arrives for a day visit.
• Crowds gather for Tall Ships RaceA fleet of majestic sailing vessels have arrived in Hartlepool after a journey across the North Sea from Norway for the 54th Tall Ships Race
• Car smoking 'child abuse' GP saysPeople need to do more to look after their own and their children's health, a leading GP has warned.
• Ship examined after trawler crashOfficials inspect the ferry involved in a collision with a prawn boat which left a young fisherman missing in the North Sea.
• Hoy reassures fans over car crashCycling champion Sir Chris Hoy reassures fans that a car crash in Manchester will not affect his training.
• Police name biker killed in crashPolice name a motorcyclist who died after he lost control, was thrown from his bike and hit a stationary bus.

The Herald

• RMT leaders face revolt as members say they were abandoned in ScotRail disputeBritain™s biggest rail union is involved in a furious internal row with Scottish train conductors attacking the famously militant leadership of the RMT following the collapse of a long-running dispute with ScotRail this week, the Sunday Herald has learned.
• Fire service won™t rule out charges for false alarms and crash call-outsBusinesses could be charged hundreds of pounds by Scotland™s fire services for false call-outs triggered by automatic fire alarms under radical plans to deal with the economic downturn.
• Trams firm staff got £130,000 bonus for rail-link project that was scrappedThe company behind the Edinburgh trams debacle is under huge pressure after a Sunday Herald investigation revealed a catalogue of œoutrageous spending decisions.

The Observer

• Italy fears boozy invasion of beachesNew law that permits parties by the sea every night of the week will lead to more deaths on the road, officials sayThe mayors of some of Italy's most elegant resorts have expressed outrage at a new regulation introduced by Silvio Berlusconi's government that allows beachfront premises to stage drink-and-dance parties seven days a week.Bizarrely, the measure was introduced as part of a revision of the traffic laws whose main purpose was to cut down on drink-driving. The vast majority of Italians get to the seaside by car, scooter or motorbike. Once at the beach, they will now have access to as ...

The Telegraph

• Union tells BA cabin crew not to lower blinds because of 'health and safety' Cabin crew at British Airways have been told by union activists to refuse to close aircraft window blinds after each flight because it could risk their health and safety.
• Speed camera switch-off sees fewer accidents Fewer people have been killed and injured on roads following a decision by a local council to switch off its speed cameras.

Mail Online

• Spitting yob and grinning accomplice jailed for trying to derail passenger trainVandals Richard Hamilton and Ashley Leedham piled wooden pallets, concrete posts and bags of cement in the path of a 100mph passenger train

Manchester Evening News

• Sir Chris Hoy escapes injury in car crash drama Olympic cycling champion Sir Chris Hoy™s £80,000 Jaguar car was badly damaged following a collision in Manchester. The 34-year-old™s luxury XKR Jaguar collided with a Vauxhall Vectra on Ashton New Road near to the City of Manchester Stadium and the National Cycling Centre. No one was hurt.

Metro

• Two men jailed after 'ludicrous' vandalism caused train crashTwo men have been jailed after they built a barrier to block a rail line.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Man, 70, killed in Ashington cycling accident A PENSIONER was killed and a motorcyclist was seriously injured in two separate collisions. The 70-year-old man died after being knocked off his bike on the A189 spine road, near North Seaton, Ashington.

Northern Echo

• 30% funding cuts put bus routes at risk RURAL communities could lose vital bus services from next year as a 30 per cent cut in Government funding looms.
• Hearses run risk of parking tickets A CHURCH minister has criticised a council™s decision to impose a no-stopping zone right outside her church “ leaving hearses and bridal cars at the mercy of parking attendants.

Sheffield Star

• Tram staff to strike over union official disputeSTRIKING transport workers will try to bring Sheffield's Supertram system to a halt for an indefinite period after bosses broke off links with one trade union official.

The York Press

• Friends ˜poached™ customers from Autoglass York Ltd TWO motor firm executives plotted to use their employer™s customers to set themselves up in business, York Crown Court heard.

Wales Online

• Stroke man to sue police for £100k for stress after attack on his car A DISABLED pensioner who had his car windows smashed by police after being pulled over for not wearing a seatbelt is launching a lawsuit against force chiefs.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Otley to Leeds: Bus link cut back for lack of useA bus service linking Otley and Leeds is to be cut back in a blow to residents north of the River Wharfe.

Yorkshire Post

• Colin Speakman: Do not cut our national parks – they are our greatest asset A major casualty will be high-profile green transport schemes such as Moorsbus and Dalesbus which give access to thousands of people who have no other means to reach the National Park and attract many visitors, including many from overseas, for whom well integrated public transport networks linked to walking and cycling trails are a prime reason to visit the area.

Other Regional Press

• Volunteers wanted for Ring and Ride fun day ORGANISERS of a fund-raising Family Fun Day are asking for volunteers to help run the event at Moorhayes Community Centre in Lea Road, Tiverton on August 21.
• Walking maps aim to get families out and about FAMILIES are being urged to swap buses and pavements for fresh air and green fields with the help of a new series of walking maps.

Washington Post

• Essay: Cutting it close at the airport I have a fantasy of air travel, and it goes like this: I cab to the airport with my pre-printed boarding pass in hand, go through an efficiently moving security line and get to the gate just as the flight is starting to board.
• In sign of good times, Ford to pay Bill Ford again DETROIT -- After a five-year wage freeze, Ford Motor Co. Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr. is getting paid again.
• Boeing reports loss of 26 airplane orders DALLAS -- An aircraft-leasing company in the United Arab Emirates has canceled orders for dozens of planes from Boeing Co. and Airbus.
• Chrysler sales rise but problems lurk behind gains DETROIT -- A year after getting billions of dollars in federal aid to stay in business, Chrysler now brags each month about growing sales, insisting it is rolling down the road to recovery.

Other News Sources

• LAX starts screening 100pc of cargo on passenger jets Los Angeles International Airport has started requiring air freight shippers to screen 100 per cent of cargo placed in the bellies of wide-body aircraft passing through its gates as part of the Certified Cargo Screening Programme, the Shipping Gazette reported. Some of the security screening will be completed by independent facilities such as Mercury Air Group that has a Cargo Screening Facility near LAX equipped with a US$200,000 X-ray machine. However, a bulk of the work will be done by freight forwarders, which book cargo on passenger airlines.
• Greener buses a winner for travelling publicNearly 40 per cent of non-bus users surveyed by Lothian Buses said they would be attracted by more environmentally-friendly vehicles.And more than a third of passengers would also use them more if the...
• OFT publishes new car dealer obligationsThe Office of Fair Trading yesterday released new guidance for second-hand car dealers that outlines their obligations to customers
• We back British Airways cabin crewCivil aviation workers have been urged to back cabin crew at the British Airways (BA), where a dispute has been raging since the beginning of the year.
• Seafarers ’bill of rights’ on course to be ratifiedCleo Doumbia-Henry, international director of labour standards at the International Labour Organization, told the seafarers’ section conference on Friday that the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) was on course for ratification.