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

Monday, 07 January 2013

BBC News

• Families with the Tube in their bloodAs the Tube marks its 150th anniversary, BBC News talks to London Underground employees whose family histories have become intertwined with the rail network's.
• Gate to help M4 accident backlogA gate is to be installed on the central reservation of the M4 between Swindon and Newbury to stop motorists becoming stuck if the road is closed.
• Challenge over Euston HS2 choiceA rail expert is challenging the government's decision to route its planned high-speed rail link between London and Birmingham from Euston.
• Coach crash driver was 'unwell'A Dutch coach carrying at least 26 passengers overturns on the M3 in Hampshire after the driver loses consciousness, police say.
• Teen killed in police chase crashA 13-year-old girl dies in south London after the car she was travelling in was hit by another vehicle being pursued by police.

Financial Times

• Flight fares set to riseCombination of high fuel prices along with the cost of aircraft finance, which is expected to increase inexorably, is putting pressure on ticket prices
• High speed rail routes to be publishedAgreement on how to pump more cash into road network proves elusive as ministers prepare to publish plans to extend HS2 into northern England

The Guardian

• Dutch coach overturns on M3Eight of the 26 passengers taken to hospital after vehicle overturns on southbound side of motorway near FleetA coach carrying 26 passengers overturned while travelling on a motorway after the driver lost consciousness at the wheel, police have said.Eight people were being treated in hospital following the accident, which happened on the M3 southbound a mile from Fleet services at about 6pm on Sunday.The Dutch-registered coach was filled with cruise passengers on their way to set sail from Southampton, Hampshire police said.Seven people received minor injuries while one was more seriously hurt...

The Herald

• Bus travellers face service cuts over funding shortfallBUS passengers are facing a fresh round of service cuts over the next three months as a funding shortfall in the Scottish Government's free travel scheme widens, industry sources have warned.

The Independent

• Police officer killed while on 999 call is namedA police officer who died when his patrol car hit a tree as he answered an emergency call was named today as PC Andrew Bramma.Related StoriesMan arrested after gunshots during Belfast riotingNepalese army officer charged with torturePakistan officials say US drones kill 9 militantsPolice officer killed in road accident while on 999 callSurge in Belfast violence blamed on resurgent UVF

The Telegraph

• Rail inquiry demands bid change A major review commissioned in the wake of the £55m West Coast Main Line fiasco will put forward proposals for a new, independent body to oversee multi-billion pound rail franchises
• Great Train Robbers 'planned second Royal Mail rail heist'Criminals linked to the Great Train Robbery planned a second rail heist on another Royal Mail service only months later, newly released documents suggest.
• HS2 route set to trigger fresh protestsPlans to build a high speed rail network in Britain are likely to trigger a fresh round of protests as details emerged of the second phase of the project.
• Rail minister under fire for use of official carsSimon Burns, the rail minister, is using a chauffeur driven car to travel to and from work each day so he can avoid taking the train.
• HS2 route set to trigger fresh protestsPlans to build a high speed rail network in Britain are likely to trigger a fresh round of protests as details emerged of the second phase of the project.

Daily Express

• New big stores fuel fears for forecourtsTHOUSANDS of independent petrol retailers will come under renewed threat in 2013 from a raft of planned openings from the large supermarket chains and onerous new proposals governing tobacco sales.

Mail Online

• North Yorkshire Police officer dies after his patrol car crashes with a tree while answering 999 callPictured for the first time, PC Andrew Bramma, 32, was killed when his patrol vehicle collided with a tree in the village of West Tanfield, near Ripon, at 7pm yesterday.
• Drivers could face privatised roads: Firms may get green light to charge motorists to use new motorways and trunk roadsThe Prime Minister will today announce a road and rail building drive, but there are fears the plans could lead to a two-tier system for motorists – and cause accidents.
• Girl, 13, killed and family injured by car involved in police chaseThe girl died after a Peugeot 308 that was being chased in New Cross, south London, by a marked police car hit the Volkswagen Golf she was sitting in (pictured).
• Eight passengers injured in M3 coach crash after driver lost consciousness at the wheelHampshire Police said the driver 'became unwell and lost consciousness' before the coach overturned on the M3 one mile from Fleet services in Hampshire.

The Mirror

• Going underground: A metro-spective to celebrate 150 years of the tube In 1863, beneath Victorian London, MPs and dignitaries boarded the world™s first underground railway leaving Paddington Station going five miles through sooty tunnels to Farringdon
• Girl, 13, killed in police chase car crash: Her parents and brother also injured The family's Volkswagen Polo was hit by a Peugeot 308 which was being pursued by a marked police car

London Evening Standard

• Minister lets car take the strainRail fares minister Simon Burns is under fire after it emerged he shuns commuting by train in favour of a costly chauffeur driven government car.
• Tree crash Pc's family 'devastated'A police officer who died after his car crashed into a tree as he responded to a 999 call has left behind a "devastated" young family.

Manchester Evening News

• PC killed in north Yorkshire car crash named as former Greater Manchester Police officer Andrew BrammaA police officer who died after his car crashed into a tree as he responded to an emergency call in north Yorkshire had transferred there from the Greater Manchester force just a few months ago. PC Andrew Bramma, 32, who was killed in the accident in the village of West Tanfield, near Ripon, at 7pm yesterday, spent nearly four years serving in GMP's Rochdale division.

Northern Echo

• Police describe their A POLICE officer who died whilst responding to an emergency call, was a married father-of-two who had joined the force just months earlier.

Sheffield Star

• Concentration plea to driversdrivers are spending almost a fifth of their journey time ignoring the road, according to a recent study.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• ˜Suspicion™ over U-turn by airport™s operatorOpponents of a proposed windfarm south of Inverness have raised concerns about the swift U-turn made by the operator of the biggest airport in the Highlands.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Leeds bus services in new shake-upPublic transport bosses have launched a sweeping review of bus services in Leeds.

Bucks Free Press

• Council leader reveals £25m road repairs plan IN AN open letter to Bucks residents, Cllr Martin Tett, Leader of Buckinghamshire County Council, reveals he hopes to embark upon a new £25 million programme to repair roads in the area and also discusses the ongoing battle against HS2.

Crewe Chronicle

• UK & World News: Girl, 13 dies in police chase crashA 13-year-old girl has died in a crash involving a vehicle which was being pursued by police.

Daventry Express

• HS2 developers looking for firmsTHE developers behind HS2 are looking for the help of local firms.

Other Regional Press

• Green fleet to hit city streetsFour new carbon-busting double-decker buses will hit the streets of Preston by the end of the week.

International Herald Tribune

• Plane Carrying Vittorio Missoni Lost Near VenezuelaVittorio Missoni, the head of the prominent fashion house, was aboard a small plane that has disappeared, a company spokeswoman said.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Tax increase could reduce airport congestion The congestion afflicting many of the UK's biggest airports could be reduced if taxes are increased at some of these hubs, encouraging Britons to use regional sites instead, a report has claimed.Research commissioned by Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs found that increasing taxation levels by around 50 per cent at Gatwick and Heathrow could persuade passengers to airports like Luton and Stansted, reports the Guardian.The study, entitled Modelling the Effects of Price Differentials at UK Airports, is being studied by several politicians including former green advisor Zac ...

Other News Sources

• Rail minister 'dodges commuter trains' A Tory transport minister's excuses for using dodging the commuter trains he is responsible for appear to have been defeated by government press officers.
• Researcher says EU regulators overlook flight safety risks (News) A British academic who has spent hundreds of hours in cockpits studying pilots’ performance says proposed EU regulations for airplane crews overlook important safety risks, including changes in the aviation industry that mean pilots may no longer live close to where they work. More »
• Chinas bullet trains still a controversial rideChina's bullet-train system remains a controversial issue, even as it zoomed past a new frontier with the world's longest high-speed rail route between Beijing and southern Guangzhou ...