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

Saturday, 26 May 2012

BBC News

• Row over north-south train changeOpponents criticise the Welsh government for reducing the number of daily express trains between Holyhead and Cardiff.
• Woman dies after mountain crashA woman dies in hospital after a van plunges 250m down a ravine after hitting an embankment on a mountain road.
• VIDEO: Holiday caravan tax U-turn to come?The government could be set for a climbdown on plans for a
• Cameras in cars to cut insuranceHigh-definition (HD) cameras placed in cars are the latest idea to try to bring down the cost of insurance for young drivers.
• Sailing towards boating successMarinas and harbours bank on anchoring more business
• MP in 'kill oaf' Twitter outburstA Labour MP says on Twitter an annoying rail passenger should be killed
• New press chief for Boris JohnsonBoris Johnson names a senior BBC journalist as his new director of communications.

Financial Times

• Private spacecraft reaches space stationHistoric docking of the first private spacecraft at the International Space Station heralds the dawning of a new era of commercial space endeavours

The Herald

• Auditors to probe crisis-hit ferry firmAUDITORS have been asked to look at a troubled Clyde ferry service which has been restricted to carrying only 12 passengers after it emerged the crew were not adequately trained.
• Legal bid over ferry contractTHE Scottish Government will go to the Court of Session today to get permission to sign a £243 million northern isles' ferry contract.
• Clyde ferry operator may face chargesTHE operator of a publicly funded ferry service on the Clyde Estuary could face criminal charges for employing crew that were not adequately trained, The Herald has learned.
• Crew jailed over ship's groundingTHE captain and the navigator of a ship that ran aground on a New Zealand reef last year in the country's worst maritime environmental disaster have been jailed for seven months each.
• Fines for bus lane violations less than expectedNEW bus lane enforcement powers introduced in Glasgow have resulted in nearly 6000 fewer fines than expected and avoided the fiasco produced by a similar clampdown in Edinburgh.

The Telegraph

• British Airways has been embroiled in a row with musiciansBritish Airways has been embroiled in a row with musicians over new restrictions it has imposed on cabin luggage.

The Mirror

• Yes, we have no bananas: Cocaine worth £6.5m found on ship meant to be transporting fruitCustoms officers discovered 65kg of the drug on the vessel Hope Bay  bringing bananas and pineapples to the UK

Derby Telegraph

• Derby Telegraph published Impact of £5m transport boost will be far reachingArticle
• Derby Telegraph published £70m bid to upgrade rail tracks in DerbyTHE Department for Transport is being urged to spend £70 million on track improvements in Derby.
• Derby Telegraph published Telegraph scoops national awards in its fight to save city...THE Derby Telegraph's campaign to save city train-maker Bombardier has been recognised as the best run by the country's regional...

Edinburgh Evening News

• Council to refund thousands of bus lane chargesTRANSPORT chiefs are to waive every fine handed out to motorists caught in bus lanes on one of the city’s main roads.

Liverpool Echo

• A council watchdog is set to release a report into Wirral’s multi-million pound highways contractA COUNCIL watchdog is set to release a report into Wirral’s multi-million pound highways contract early next month.

London Evening Standard

• Why I now back a third runway at Heathrow, by the man who tunred the Tories greenLong before David Cameron hugged his huskies, another senior Tory was banging on about climate change and trying to persuade his colleagues to turn against the relentless growth of aviation. Eight years ago, the former Environment Minister Tim Yeo drove a revolution in Tory thinking that embraced the science of climate change and questioned the conventional arguments for air expansion. Yeo, one could say, is the father figure of the Coalition’s embargo against a third runway at Heathrow.
• Mayor demands report from Transport for London into Jubilee Line nightmare that left hundreds of commuters trapped for hours undergroundMayor Boris Johnson has demanded a full report into Wednesday's Jubilee line fiasco when hundreds of thousands of commuters suffered massive disruption.

Manchester Evening News

• Stockport to see Greater Manchester's first park-and-ride scheme to cut A6 congestionGreater Manchester is set for its first park-and-ride bus scheme “ to cut congestion on one of the region™s busiest roads. The plan would see a free 455-space car park for commuters built on a plot of wasteland at the junction of Buxton Road and Macclesfield Road in Hazel Grove, Stockport. Drivers would then pay standard fares for buses running on a stretch of the heavily-congested A6.
• Greater Manchester police officer charged after high-speed chase ends in four-car smash in LeighA police officer has been charged with dangerous driving after a high-speed chase ended in a four-car smash. Pc Daniel Aimson, 30, has been summonsed to court following an investigation into the crash by the Independent Police Complaints Commission. (IPCC)
• What a fuel! Motorists stranded as blundering tanker driver puts diesel into the petrol pumps at Sainsbury's in SalfordDozens of motorists were left stranded at the roadside after a blundering tanker driver put diesel into a petrol storage tank at Sainsbury's on Regent Road, Salford, meaning they filled up with the wrong type of fuel.

Northern Echo

• Airport expansion plan revealed by firm AN expansion plan is being drawn up for loss-making Durham Tees Valley Airport and will be handed to the Government within weeks.
• Alfred James Welch, ringleader of Darlington car clocking scam, jailed A MAN has been jailed but his two sons spared immediate prison sentences following a £370,000 car clocking scam.
• Bedale biker is fastest Briton on three wheels AN engineer who spent 21 years building a high-powered trike has spoken of his delight after becoming the fastest Briton on three wheels.

Yorkshire Post

• Campaign to stop caravan tax goes to the political topOne of the leaders of the campaign against the Government’s controversial caravan tax has said he is “optimistic” about the movement’s chances following meetings with the Prime Minister and the Chancellor.

C.N.N.

• The golden days of air travel: How glorious were they?How glorious were the golden days of air travel? CNN.com's five-week series
• Canadian man arrested after disruption on airliner in MiamiA 24-year-old Canadian man will probably face federal charges after a disruption on a plane Friday in Miami, the FBI said.

Global Rail News

• Skanska awarded contract for Bermondsey diveunderSkanska has been awarded a contract worth up to £60 million by Network Rail for the design and construction of the Bermondsey diveunder and associated structure strengthening works. Network Rail said the contract is a crucial component of the final phase of the £6bn Thameslink programme. With a projected completion date of spring 2017, the [...]
• Wabtec to provide components for New York Subway carsWabtec Corporation has signed a contract valued at about $34 million to provide components for 473 subway cars being supplied by Kawasaki to MTA New York City Transit. The cars are scheduled to be delivered in 2013-15. Wabtec will provide the rakes, couplers and current collectors, door operators and event recorders. Of the 473 cars, [...]