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

Friday, 03 February 2012

BBC News

• Jaguar's largest apprentice planJaguar Land Rover says it is launching its largest recruitment of apprenticeships.
• VIDEO: Tunnel helps otters cross highwayA tunnel under a busy road in Herefordshire is helping to save the lives of otters.
• Disused tunnel searched for bombsA disused tunnel under the Royal Docks in east London is searched by Crossrail for unexploded World War II bombs and devices.
• Air India asked to pay fuel billAir India assures it will pay its dues for jet fuel to three state-owned oil firms by Friday after its fuel supplies are cut.

Financial Times

• MPs set sights on Network Rail pay-outsLabour, backed by the government, demands directors turn down awards, given worsening performance and looming prosecutions for two fatal accidents

The Independent

• The 'ghost bike' revolt: Families demand action on cyclist deaths Minister accused of failure to act as protest against rise in fatalities gathers momentum

The Telegraph

• Dead bodies stored in cupboards on the TubeThe bodies of people who commit suicide on the London Underground network are often stored in cleaning cupboards and store rooms until an undertaker can collect them, a new documentary has revealed.
• Five drivers aged 100 and 101 with penalty points still on the roadTwo 101-year old women motorists are still driving despite having put penalty points on their licence within the last three years, it has emerged.
• Massive bonus for Network Rail chief The head of Network Rail should have his potential £336,000 bonus blocked because of the poor punctuality of Britain's railways, the shadow transport secretary said yesterday.

Daily Express

• BAA's Stansted blowAIRPORTS group BAA must sell Stansted after losing an appeal against a ruling by the competition watchdog.

Mail Online

• Bonus row moves to the railways as Network Rail chief is under pressure to reject £340,000 awardChief executive Sir David Higgins, pictured, will qualify for an annual bonus of up £336,000 on top of his £560,000 ‘basic’ salary.

This is Money

• Car insurance speeding points: Land Rover drivers really are the worst (and are paying for it)An incredible one in four drivers of the Land Rover Discovery HSE V6 TD have been caught breaking the speed limit.

Belfast Telegraph

• BAA told it must sell StanstedAirports operator BAA has lost its appeal at a tribunal against a ruling that it must sell Stansted Airport, the Competition Commission said.Related StoriesValue cigs sales boost ImperialManufacturing sector powers ahead to 10-month highFacebook flotation may make Bono a billionaireFacebook flotation may make U2's Bono a billionaireOsborne has scope to make £20bn tax cuts: think tank

Birmingham Mail

• Could Birmingham be a better Boris Island?Thanks to London’s tousle-haired Mayor, airports have become front-page news.

Birmingham Post

• Nationalise "failing" M6 toll says MEP Mike Nattrass The Government should take over the M6 Toll to stop the owners pushing up prices, according to a Midland politician.

Bristol Live

• Bristol Evening Post published New rail depot wins approvalArticle

London Evening Standard

• Bonuses for rail bosses double their payNetwork Rail Chief executive Sir David Higgins, whose basic salary is £560,000, could be awarded up to £336,000 on top in annual bonus as part of a new scheme being demanded by rail bosses
• I'll pay for fares cut with £300m surplus, says KenKen Livingstone says his pledge to slash fares is
• Tube bosses' safety policy 'is to cross their fingers'Tube staff today claimed their bosses had a

Metro

• Dead bodies stored in 'cupboards and bins' on London UndergroundThe bodies of people who kill themselves on the London Underground are kept in cleaning cupboards and bins until undertakers arrive, a new documentary has claimed.

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• Grit mountain builds up due to mild winterA grit mountain has built up in Staffordshire and the West Midlands, meaning there is surplus stock available for the current cold snap.
• HS2 bosses to pay £1k for surveysLandowners along the route of the controversial £32 billion high-speed rail line will be offered an initial payment of £1,000 for allowing surveyors access to their land, it has been announced.

Bucks Free Press

• HS2 environmental study "too late" say campaigners AN environmental study into the effects of HS2 is to start this month - but campaigners say the work should have been done months ago.

Other Regional Press

• Essex Chronicle commented Better railway service pledgeESSEX trains were voted the worst in the country by passengers this week, but the head of the rail operator that will take over...
• 50 up and still flying high GLASGOW AIRPORT SALUTE MARKS LOGANAIR™S HALF-CENTURYAN airline that operates lifeline services from Glasgow Airport to some of Scotland™s most remote communities has celebrated its 50th birthday.

Global Rail News

• Rail safety performance moves aheadLatest industry figures suggest that both rail passengers and workers are benefiting from higher levels of safety. The RSSB’s ‘Overview of safety performance for 2011‘ suggests that, rather than increasing in line with growth, the overall number of incidents is decreasing. 2011 was the fourth year in a row where there were no passenger or [...]
• Wise men follow ElectrostarThe future for Bombardier™s Litchurch Lane works looks brighter this year after it secured an additional order for 130 Electrostar cars for Southern. The new trains will beef up Southern™s existing fleet and the contract is valued at £189 million. ˜We are delighted to be awarded this contract by Southern. This is a significant project [...]
• Scottish Ministers set out ˜utterly convincing™ case for high speed railScottish Ministers have set out their ’utterly convincing’ case for high speed rail to reach Scotland. Ministers highlighted the Scottish Partnership Group’s advice that work to build a high speed rail network ‘could actually start ahead of planned completion’ in England. At the ˜Making HS2 Happen’ conference last week, Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure and Capital Investment [...]

Transport for London

• TfL reveals design for transformed Euston Circus junction Junction will provide new public space as well as better facilities for pedestrians and cyclists.
• Mayor announces innovative bus technology set to deliver cleaner air across LondonTrials show abatement equipment reduces bus nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions by 88 per cent and particulate matter (PM10) emissions by 77 per cent.
• Transport for London Board rejects London 2012 Games taxi fare increaseThe Transport for London (TfL) Board has today rejected a proposal to increase taxi fares by 22 per cent during the London 2012 Games.

Aviation Industry

• Confusion and inefficiency holding back add-on salesSurvey reveals frustrations when booking airline ancillaries
• European airlines boosted by ˜robust™ business travelSigns of hope for world economy but 2012 will still be tough

Green Miscellany

• It's not about cyclists but people I welcome The Times campaign for cyclist safety for the single reason that it raises the debate to a wider public. But it fails to address the bigger question “ why do we allow cars and trucks to dominate our townscapes? Why aren™t the centre of towns designed for people first. Why do we, in this country, aspire to so little? Surely, we are like frogs being slowly boiled to death.read more

Other News Sources

• Local authorities to get borrowing boost from Welsh Government for investment in highwaysTransport Minister Carl Sargeant and Finance Minister Jane Hutt have announced that local authorities across Wales will now benefit from a new scheme to address pressures on road maintenance budgets.
• Night buses could be set to return to Winchester HOPE is rising that Winchester could soon see a return to late evening buses after the recent axing of services.
• New TfL figures show cycling not getting safer 2 February, 2012 Abstract: New figures fail to support Mayor™s claim that cycle safety has improved in the last few years.  Newly published official figures show that whilst cycling in London is safer than it was in 2000, the trend has reversed since around 2007/08. The annual casualty figures where already known, but the Travel in London report has now issued revised figures for the number of cycle journey stages per day, broken down by each year since 2000. 360-house-thumb.jpg ...
• £3.7m railway station for Stratford-upon-AvonWarwickshire council advertises design and build contract