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Friday, 04 January 2013

BBC News

• Steam railway asks for extra helpOne of Wales' oldest steam railways appeals for help from volunteers to meet a funding shortfall due to a drop in passenger numbers.
• Scotland 'world's top destination'The US broadcasting network CNN names Scotland as its top travel destination for 2013.
• Aviation firm shuts US operationScottish company John Menzies decides to shut its loss-making cargo business at Chicago Airport in the US, at a cost of £7m.
• Hate crime train incidents probedBritish Transport Police are investigating two unconnected hate crimes on board trains in central Scotland.
• Reveller drove forklift truck homeA man was caught driving a forklift truck home on Hogmanay while twice the legal alcohol limit, police reveal.
• Cruise ship checks 'detrimental'New immigration checks for cruise ship passengers could damage Scots business, according to the industry body.
• Higher peak-time rail fares opposedThe government should rule out using peak-time train fare rises to manage passenger numbers, says the Commons Transport Select Committee.
• NI road deaths lowest on recordForty-eight people died on Northern Ireland's roads in 2012, the lowest since records began.
• Metrolink firm claims extra £42mGreater Manchester's transport authority refuses to pay an extra £42m to the firm installing the new Metrolink signalling system.
• 'Unnecessary' road signs removedMore than 9,000 road traffic signs have been taken down in the past year, the government says, as part of a drive to remove
• Ferrari sales decline in ItalySales of Ferrari and Maserati cars fall sharply in the land of their birth as Italy's financial and economic woes bite even the richest Italians.
• US car sales hit five-year highUS car sales rise 13.4% in 2012, making it the best year for the industry since 2007, industry data shows.

Financial Times

• US auto industry shrugs off uncertaintyUS car sales jumped by more than 13 per cent in 2012, the fastest growth rate in more than two decades, as the sector fought through economic headwinds
• Container shipping “ a long journeyThe horizon may be brighter, but the industry™s journey through boom and bust is likely to remain choppy at best
• India™s Jet confirms Etihad talksAbu Dhabi group considers buying a stake in Indian carrier as part of a strategy of forming partnerships with other airlines
• John Menzies to close Chicago unitMove by the aviation services group caps a restructuring programme that already resulted in the closure of operations at four UK regional airports
• Call to rule out rail fares shake-upMPs fear proposals for more ˜flexible ticketing™ will end up being a ˜tax on commuters™ who in effect have no choice over travel

The Herald

• Fears port checks could scupper cruise ship tradeHugely lucrative tourism spin-offs from the frequent visits of cruise ships are being threatened by an abrupt change in the system of immigration checks, the industry has warned.
• MPs want clarity on train faresMPs have called for greater clarity on how rail companies benefit from taxpayers' support to prevent
• Pioneering ferries boost for islands' wind farmsTHE development of wind farms on Scotland's islands is expected to be given a boost over the next decade as more ferries are built that run on electricity and diesel power.

The Independent

• British Airways flight in emergency landing after 'drunk abusive middle-aged women try to storm cockpit' A British Airways flight was forced to make an emergency landing after two abusive women drunk on Malibu attempted to storm the cockpit it has been reported today.Related StoriesRight-to-die campaign will continue say family of Tony NicklinsonHappy, clappy, and out of the closet: Evangelicals who say being gay is OKAlfie Fripp, oldest surviving and longest-serving British prisoner of war, dies age 98All creatures great and small: Annual animal census begins at London ZooMore over-65s still in workforce

The Telegraph

• Government must 'shine a light' on profiteering by rail companies, MPs sayRail companies have been accused of profiteering by MPs, as a report calls on the Government to rule out 'super-peak' fares that would make rush hour passengers pay even more.

Daily Record

• CNN: Scotland is the best destination for tourists to visit THE American news channel says it reached its decision after accounting for factors such as bargains, significant events and airline routes to and from the country.

Mail Online

• Two men arrested on terrorism charges after police find suspect package near bus station in TorquayConcerned neighbours called police to Lymington Road, Torquay (pictured) where the 18 and 20-year-old men were arrested. The area was cordoned off for five hours.
• Rent-free, solar powered and it even has a movie room! The couple who turned a school bus into their home that sleeps TENWith a $12,000 budget, San Fransisco-based couple Richard and Rachel decided to turn a 39-foot school bus into their dream home - one that sleeps ten people.
• On the gravy train: Rail bosses in line to get big payouts as fares soar'Fat controller' rail bosses are to pocket as much as £4million in reward packages despite having to defend inflation busting ticket price hikes.
• MPs call for probe into the 'profiteers' as cash said to be leaking into rail firms coffers as 'unjustified profits'Private firms sharing up to £4billion in taxpayer subsidies were accused by MPs of using the ‘opaque’ nature of their industry to hide how much cash ‘leaks out’ into their coffers ‘in the form of ‘unjustified profits.’

The Mirror

• A close shave: One in six motorists admit to shaving or applying make-up while drivingThe survey by road safety charity Brake and insurance company Direct Line found drivers using their cars for work were most likely to be offenders
• 'Don't ramp up fares': MPs in warning to Government over soaring cost of railway travelRail union leaders said the committee™s report strengthened the case for taking the railways back into public ownership

Liverpool Echo

• Passengers anger after broken down train causes Merseyrail delaysRAIL commuters faced long delays after a broken-down train caused chaos on Merseyrail this morning.

London Evening Standard

• BA flight forced to make emergency landing after middle aged women 'go on drunken rampage'Two middle aged women forced a British Airways flight to make an emergency landing after they allegedly got drunk and ran riot on board.
• 'A quarter' text while drivingMore than a quarter of motorists text while driving, with those using cars for work more likely to offend, a survey has found.
• MPs caution against rail fare risesThe Government should rule out possible plans that could see even higher fares for people travelling by train at the heart of the rush hour, a report by MPs said.

Manchester Evening News

• Police release CCTV of suspects in affray case on train to ManchesterDetectives investigating an affray on a train bound for Manchester have released CCTV images of two men the want to question. British Transport Police say the men were involved in an unprovoked attack on two passengers where one was grabbed by the throat and another was punched.
• Grid covers worth £250k stolen in six-month theft spree in StockportMetal thieves have stolen drain covers worth a quarter of a million pounds from the streets of Stockport “ in just six months. Around 1,000 iron grids have been wrenched from roads across the borough, putting motorists, pedestrians and bikers at serious risk.

Metro

• MPs damn rail ˜commuter tax™ as higher fares come into effectProposed super-peak rail fares will be little more than a ˜tax on commuting™, MPs are warning.

Wales Online

• Rail travel: 'Government must prevent even higher rush hour fares'The Government must rule out possible plans that would result in even higher rush hour rail fares, a cross-part group of MPs will demand today.
• Cardiff news: Residents fear new community centre could create parking problemsA planned new community centre could create parking problems, according to local businesses.

Yorkshire Post

• Call for more cash to reap HS2 successTRANSPORT chiefs in South Yorkshire were yesterday told they must find extra money from their dwindling budgets if the county is to reap maximum benefit from the Government’s HS2 rail project.

Blackpool Gazette

• Would you pay to park at your local supermarket?Business leaders today said supermarkets should be forced to pay a parking levy to help ailing town centre shops survive.
• Parish councillor fined for late night bus rowA PARISH councillor has been fined for throwing himself on the floor in a drunken rage during a late-night row over his bus fare.
• Passenger dismay at train fares risePASSENGER groups today demanded improved rolling stock to make up for rail fare rises.

Other Regional Press

• Plane in emergency landing at Aberdeen Airport A PLANE was forced to make an emergency landing after a smoke alert.
• Plea after woman gets stuck in Aberdeen bus doorsPOLICE are appealing for witnesses after a woman got stuck in the doors of a bus in Aberdeen.

The Economist

• Motorway food: Serviceable WITH its undulating roof and glass walls, Britain™s newest motorway service station resembles nothing quite so much as an airport departure lounge. Cobham, on the M25 south-west of London, has a food court with offerings ranging from McDonald™s and Starbucks to Papa John™s Pizza and El Mexicana. It also has a lakeside terrace and a business lounge”one of three now operated by Regus on the country™s motorways. Apart from a cluster of fruit machines, there is scarcely a reminder of the grimy, boxy services so familiar to, and disliked by, British drivers.Motorway service stations,...

Global Rail News

• Class 4000 depot starts serviceTranslink has opened a new engineering depot in South Belfast to maintain its new Class 4000 fleet. The £28 million site in Adelaide has been built to look after 20 new Class 4000 vehicles as well as the existing Class 3000 fleet. Transport Minister Danny Kennedy said: “This new building is one of the components [...]
• King™s Cross transformation in picturesNew pictures released by Network Rail show Lewis Cubbitt’s 19th century King’s Cross façad being revealed for the first time in 40 years. Demolition work began on the extension, which was designed to be a temporary structure when it was installed in 1972, in November. In Autumn this year the biggest transformation in the station’s [...]
• Santos tram deal given the go-aheadTransport officials have approved the purchase of 22 trams for Santos, Sao Paulo. The 90 million euro contract was awarded to the Santos Tremvia consortium – a partnership between Vossloh and Brazilian firm T’TRANS – in December 2012. The new vehicles will operate between Berreiros, Sao Vicente, and the Port of Santos. Construction of the [...]
• Rail 2020: MPs worried about McNulty savings targetMPs have raised concerns about the savings target set by Sir Roy McNulty in a report outlining recommendations to reform Britain’s rail industry by 2020. Members of the Transport Select Committee said they supported the approach outlined in the McNulty Report but worried that the £3.5 billion figure could have a negative impact on “safety, staffing [...]

Railway Gazette

• São Paulo calls bids for airport rail linkBRAZIL: Prequalification bids have been invited for construction of a rail link to São Paulo™s Guarulhos International Airport. Announcing the go-ahead for the project in December, state governor Geraldo Alckmin said the winning bidder would be selected in early 2013, with the aim of starting construction in March and completing the line by the end of 2014. Unlike earlier proposals for a dedicated airport express, the new line will form part of CPTM™s suburban network, designated as Line 13 Jade. The 11 km route will diverge from the existing Line 12 Sapphire at Engineer Goulart, near TatuapÃ...

Other News Sources

• Fears immigration checks will drive cruise ships away from ScotlandAn MSP claims new rules by the UK Government could have a 'detrimental effect' on the industry.
• DfT outlines £170m pinch point fund requirementsLocal authorities have until 21 February to bid for their share of a £170 million pinch point fund to remove bottlenecks after guidance for bidders was issued by the Department for Transport.