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

Friday, 21 December 2012

Cogitamus

• The TransportInfo team would like to wish all of you the very best for the season! We will be taking a little break over the holidays. TransportInfo will not be updated on 24, 25, 26 and 31 December and also on 1 January 2013. Well, that's unless something epoch making happens and we can't stop ourselves... Thank you for your continued interest and support.

BBC News

• Christmas getaway rail disruptionPassengers travelling to and from London's Paddington station are hit by delays and cancellations.
• VIDEO: Heavy rain hits Christmas travelMore than four hundred flood warnings and alerts are in place in England, Wales and Scotland, ahead of one of the busiest travel weekends of the year.
• Airports gear up for festive rushNorthern Ireland's three airports are preparing for one of their busiest weekends of the year.
• Christmas holiday getaway beginsThousands are expected to head off on what is set to be the busiest day for Christmas travel, amid warnings of disruption as heavy rain caused flooding.
• Rail firm compensating travellersLondon Midland is told to offer a £7m package of benefits to passengers who have seen weeks of cancellations and delays.
• Wireless car phone charging in 2013Charging your smartphone while driving could soon be as easy as simply tossing it onto a pad.
• VIDEO: Black box tech to drive down insuranceDrivers can attempt to reduce the cost of their car insurance premiums by having a black box fitted to their vehicle, which monitors how safely you drive.
• 'Big fall' in UK petrol stationsMotoring organisations express concern about the fall in the number of petrol stations and fuel reserves shown in a government-commissioned report.
• Monte Carlo rally back in GlasgowOrganisers of the 2013 Monte Carlo Classic rally confirm Glasgow as a host city for 2013.
• VIDEO: Busy day for Christmas getawayFriday is expected to be the busiest day for Christmas getaway as people descend on airports, railway stations and take to the roads.
• Bus and Tube access to increaseMillions of pounds is to be invested to increase disabled access at London's bus stops and Tube stations, it is revealed.

The Herald

• Port had no plans for bad weatherACCIDENT investigators have criticised contingency plans at a Scottish port after a P&O ferry suffered a number of accidents while berthing in heavy winds.
• Union boss hails above-inflation pay settlementsBRITAIN'S biggest rail union has boasted of securing inflation-beating pay rises for thousands of Network Rail staff.

The Scotsman

• Britain™s petrol stations are ˜dangerously low™ on fuel, according to reportTHE Petrol Retailers Association (PRA) claimed today a new Department of Energy and Climate Change report “indisputably confirms” that most filling stations were operating with “dangerously low levels” of fuel.

The Telegraph

• More than four in 10 trains are late, new figures showMore than 40 per cent of trains are not arriving on time according to new figures released by the Department for Transport.
• Christmas exodus begins earlyVast numbers of Britons are taking a two-week festive break this Christmas, with the exodus already well under way, according to transport experts.
• Families pay £40 more for petrol in 2012Families have paid £40 more to fill up their car over the course of 2012 than they did the previous year, figures show, despite the Government's rise in fuel duty being delayed and then cancelled.

ATOC

• Train companies on latest (Period 9) rail performance figuresResponding to publication of the latest data covering the four weeks from 11 November to 8 December, Michael Roberts, ATOC Chief Executive,...

Journal Live

• North East councils to share £11.8m road budget fundingTHE North East has been handed an £11.8m road budget boost by the Government.

Liverpool Echo

• New flight from Liverpool John Lennon Airport to CopenhagenEUROPE’S third-largest budget airline will start offering flights from Liverpool to Copenhagen from spring next year.

London Evening Standard

• Signal failure: fewer than six out of 10 trains in London and surrounds run on timeSome train companies are running fewer than 60% of services on time, according to "real" punctuality figures.
• Go-Ahead forced to compensate for cancelled trainsThe Government is forcing Go Ahead to give thousands of passengers on its London Midland route £7 million worth of free tickets after the rail operator cancelled hundreds of services.
• 700,000 cycled to work during Olympic GamesLondoners took to their bikes in massive numbers during the Olympics to escape packed Tubes and buses, figures reveal today.
• Paralympics boost disabled access to bus and TubeLondon's Tube and bus services are to be upgraded to make them more wheelchair friendly as a legacy of the Paralympics.

Manchester Evening News

• Ministers asked to intervene over £85m rail link bridge that could cut access to former Liverpool Road stationMinisters have been asked to step in over fears a new £85m bridge will sever the world™s oldest train station from the rail network. Bosses at Network Rail are consulting on plans to build the new bridge over the River Irwell in Castlefield to link Victoria and Piccadilly stations for the first time.
• 620,000 flock to Manchester Airport to swap the cold for a Christmas in the sun Hundreds of thousands of holidaymakers are jetting out of Manchester Airport in search of some winter sun at Christmas and new year. Around 620,000 passengers are expected through the terminals between tomorrow  and January 4 “ up 27,000 on the same period last year.

Metro

• Millions prepare for festive getaway¦ if tickets allowRail services are expected to be packed to capacity and roads gridlocked as millions of people begin their Christmas getaway today.

Newcastle Evening Chronicle

• Flooding hits North East roads - weather warning for more rainWARNINGS for heavy rain across the North East have been issued for every day until Christmas Eve.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Spotlight falls on efforts to make trunk road safeThe treacherous rockface operation to make safe parts of the A82 Glasgow to Fort William trunk road is revealed in dramatic detail today.

Wales Online

• Plaid calls for 'hands off' approach by Wales Office to rail franchise renewalRhodri Glyn Thomas, the party’s transport spokesman, said he expected the Secretary of State for Wales, David Jones, to stand up for Welsh interests in the Cabinet

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• London Midland ordered to cut packed train carriagesA train company has been told to cut overcrowding on services in and out of the West Midlands after being named among the worst for packed carriages in the country.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Rudolph™s sober warning on dangers of drink-drivingPolice officers have enlisted the aid of the world’s most famous designated driver to help campaign about the dangers of getting behind the wheel after too many Christmas drinks.

East Anglian Daily Times

• Stansted: Airport™s price controls likely to remain under new ownershipTHE next owner of Stansted Airport is likely have the amount it can charge airlines controlled by aviation regulators.

Other Regional Press

• Rail passengers face further disruption due to signal fault DISRUPTION to train services between Oxfordshire and London Paddington is expected to continue for much of today.
• Port of Dover sell-off plan rejectedPlans to privatise the Port of Dover have been scuppered today when the government rejected the idea.

Bus and Coach.com

• NatEx benefits from rail strike threatsFollowing widespread threats of disruption to rail services National Express says that advance bookings for Christmas coach travel are up 50 per cent on last year.
• NatEx to close Crawley?National Express looks set to close its Crawley depot, which employs 140 people.
• Stagecoach invests in Wigan upgradeWithin weeks of taking over First's Wigan operations Stagecoach will this month replace a quarter of the fleet with 31 new buses valued at £3,9million.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Planned rail strikes called offTwo planned rail strikes that would have caused chaos in the run up to Christmas have been called off. Members of the Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) union at ScotRail had threatened to walk out on December 22nd and 24th after they felt a colleague was harshly dismissed. In addition to this, the union was scheduled to hold a 24-hour strike on the CrossCountry service tomorrow (December 21st) as a dispute over industrial relations rumbles on. However, the disgruntled employees will now work as normal, as a "satisfactory agreement" was reached. RMT general secretary Bob C...

Global Rail News

• London Midland forced to give free travel to delayed season ticket holdersThe government has forced London Midland to give season tickets holders five days of free travel to make up for the mass disruption caused by the operator’s train driver shortage. The £7 million package includes 500,000 cheap advance tickets as well as free travel for season ticket holders. Norman Baker said: œLondon Midland has cancelled [...]

Other News Sources

• Winchester bus charity recreates services on January 1 THE chance to step back 50 years is being offered on New Year™s Day with a unique free bus service  around the Winchester district.
• Women likely to face higher insurance costs (News) A European Union ban on insurers using gender to set prices, which comes into force today (21 December), will likely lead to higher insurance costs for consumers. More »
• Monarch Airlines Announces Winter 2013/14 Flying Programme from Leeds Bradford AirportMonarch, the leading scheduled leisure airline, has today announced its winter flying programme for 2013/14 from its newest base, Leeds Bradford Airport. The flights go on sale today. An A320...