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

Monday, 07 May 2012

BBC News

• Customs checks at airports 'down'The number of customs checks at airports has dropped because staff have been moved to work on passport control, the Immigration Service Union claims.

Financial Times

• IndiGo soars as Indian rivals struggleIn an infamously difficult aviation market, the no-frills carrier sticks to the basics “ flying on time and keeping fares lower than its competitors
• National Express eyes route into GermanyUK-listed group plans intercity coach services if market is opened to private operators “ a relaxation it hopes could happen within a year
• Oyster users face ˜rip-off™ summerTube and rail passengers using Oyster pay-as-you-go swipe cards stand to be ˜ripped off™ as the system is hit with crowds during the Olympics

The Guardian

• Tanker drivers' ballot results due on Friday Members of Unite trade union are voting on deal with fuel distributors over safety, training, pay and pensions
• Drug-drivers to face jail time under new law Legislation will mirror drink driving crime after police supplied with devices allowing them to test drivers for drugs

The Independent

• Stansted joins queue to attack security delays Passengers face two-hour wait but Border Agency says it won't cut corners

The Scotsman

• Heathrow-owner eyes £500m Enterprise FERROVIAL, the owner of Heathrow airport, is in advanced talks to buy Enterprise, one the of the UK’s largest council services outsourcing companies, in a deal estimated to be worth £500 million.

The Telegraph

• Heathrow border drug checks 'dropped over queues crisis' Customs checks aimed at preventing drugs and arms smugglers have been downgraded as officials battle to tackle with the queues crisis at Britain's major airports, front line officials have claimed.
• Lifeline for troubled Dales bus service A subsidised bus service that faced an uncertain future after police began probing irregularities in its operation is to run for another year.
• Drug drivers face jail term under new lawsDrug driving will become a criminal offence punishable by up to six months in jail, under new laws to be unveiled this week.

Press Association

• Warning on cost-cutting rail plans Tragedies like the Potters Bar train crash will recur if proposed cost-cutting measures are introduced on the railways, unions warned before the 10th anniversary of the disaster.

Mail Online

• Heathrow now an 'open passage' for drugs and arms smugglers as border staff shortages reach crisis point Officials at Heathrow Airport have been forced to stop screening passengers for drugs and guns because they're so short-staffed - a customs insider has sensationally revealed.

The Mirror

• No Border Control: UK Border chief warns of summer chaos at airports Terrorists and criminal gangs could sneak into Britain because of the crisis over queues at our airports, it was claimed last night

This is Money

• Wealthy travellers can pay £1,800 to jump immigration queues at Heathrow airportThe service, described as Heathrow's 'best kept' secret, has outraged critics at a time when many passengers are forced to endure three-hour queues to enter the country.

Bristol Live

• The Post commented Brunel's old train shed at Temple Meads is wrong place for new...AS A former railway man, I am writing to comment on a recently announced proposal, to bring the old Brunel Train Shed at Bristol...

Metro

• Heathrow Airport drops drug and arms checks in effort to cut border queuesBorder control staff at Heathrow Airport have been instructed to drop checks targeting drugs and arms smugglers in order to keep queues down.Frontline officials and immigration staff unions highlighted the pressures of staff shortages at major airports in the run-up to this year's Olympic Games in London. Passengers at Heathrow are facing fewer checks as staff battle to control queues (Getty) A senior officer told the Observer that the UK's busiest airport was becoming dangerously open for those who were looking to bring contraband into the country.The anonymous immigration worker told the new...

Sheffield Star

• Rail drivers set to strike again in SheffieldTWO days of strike action will affect rail services from Sheffield over the coming week as a dispute continues over pensions.

Wales Online

• Warning on cost-cutting rail plans Tragedies like the Potters Bar train crash will recur if proposed cost-cutting measures are introduced on the railways, unions warned before the 10th anniversary of the disaster.
• Welsh Government's long-distance bus network dreams dashed as Arriva goes it aloneMinisterial ambitions for a long-distance “TrawsCymru” bus or coach network have been scuppered because a private company has decided to run the main routes on its own.

Western Daily Press

• Four bidders left in race to run Great Western train franchiseA German firm, two operators better known for running coaches and the much-derided existing train company are the four bidders left in the mix to run the West’s train services in less than a year’s time.

Other Regional Press

• Western Morning News commented Watchdog 'worry' on council-run rail linesA passenger campaign group has said it is "very worried" about proposals which could see more control over railways...