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

Sunday, 27 October 2013

BBC News

• Lifeboat tragedy tribute 60 years onAn east coast community remembers six lifeboatmen who lost their lives when their boat was overwhelmed by the sea 60 years ago.

The Guardian

• East coast mainline contest pits Virgin against foreign state rail companiesA host of foreign state-owned rail operators will be vying against Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Rail to run the last major route in public hands after the government launched the contest to reprivatise the east coast mainline franchise. The service is run by Directly Operated Railways, the government-owned company that took over in 2009 after National Express said it could not afford the payments under a £1.4bn contract
• Dozens of Saudi Arabian women drive cars on day of protest against banActivists say at least 60 joined call to allow female drivers – making it country's biggest ever demonstration against the banMore than 60 Saudi women got behind the wheels of their cars as part of a protest against a ban on women driving in the kingdom, activists have claimed.A Saudi professor and campaigner, Aziza Youssef, said the activists have received 13 videos and another 50 phone messages from women showing or claiming they had driven, the Associated Press reported.She said it had not been not possible to verify all of the messages. But, if the numbers are accurate, they would make Sat...
• UK universities urged to pull cash from fossil fuel giantsAnti-carbon divestment campaign targets £5bn of British fundsAn international campaign to urge large institutions to dump fossil fuel investments reaches the UK this week, following rapid success in the US.The year-old divestment campaign, Fossil Free, has grown even faster than similar efforts that once targeted apartheid, tobacco and arms manufacturers. It now aims to focus attention on the £5bn invested in coal, oil and gas by the endowment funds of UK universities. The move comes as financial giants such as HSBC, Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs are starting to take seriously the prospect t...

The Independent

• Naval bases could become nuclear dumps Fears that two major naval bases sited near large British cities could become nuclear waste storage facilities
• In too deep: Warship wreck 'bounty hunter' under scrutiny from Britain's marine watchdog A US marine salvage company is being investigated by Britain's marine watchdog for allegedly exploring the wreck of a 276-year-old British naval warship without permission. Odyssey Marine Exploration hailed the discovery of the HMS Victory, the predecessor to Nelson's famous flagship, as one of the most important maritime finds ever when they announced its discovery in the English Channel in 2008. It sank in 1744 with Admiral Sir John Balchen on board, and it was thought the wreck could well be carrying bullion and bronze cannon worth more than £600m.    

The Telegraph

• Apollo 13 commander: bring back traditional flying skills Apollo 13 should be a lasting reminder to astronauts and airline pilots of the dangers of relying on automated systems, the commander of the ill-fated mission has claimed. Capt Jim Lovell said it was basic flying skills that allowed him and his crew to navigate their way back to Earth after an oxygen tank exploded during their voyage to the moon in 1970.
• HS2: now Labour look at an alternative schemeDrive through the empty countryside west of Buckingham and you will see it: a bank of earth here, a grey-brick parapet there, and then suddenly a railway bridge crossing above your head.    
• HS2: Labour to examine cheaper rival planMore trouble for HS2 as Labour MP says a rival route would be cheaper    

Daily Express

• MEGASTORM: Power cuts and travel chaos will leave Britain with £1billion billA £1BILLION bill is feared in the wake of the devastating storm set to batter ­Britain tonight and bring a trail of ­damage, power cuts and travel chaos.
• HS2 vote looms: Ministers will promise to protect rail links across the countryTHE Government is to promise that users of existing rail links between London and the north west will not lose out when the proposed High Speed 2 route is built.

This is Money

• Why everyone should fight a parking ticketDespite the vast majority of us paying up without arguing, about half of those that take the parking ticket to appeal win their case. Carrie Haines was successful.

Bristol Live

• KenMcCormick published M5 and M4 to be closed overnight near Bristol this weekA SERIES of overnight closures will hit the M4 and M5 this week. The Highways Agency says that the southbound M5 will shut between Falfield in South Gloucestershire and Cribbs Causeway between 10pm and 6am, for five nights from tomorrow until Friday. The northbound carriageway will also be affected at the same times but only between the Cribbs Causeway and Patchway junctions. Slip roads and link roads joining the main carriageway will be closed from 9pm each night. The closures are part of work...

Northern Echo

• Council denies it is making money out of residents' parking zones, as councillor claims the system may be illegal A COUNCIL has denied claims that it is acting outside of the law in the amount it charges for residents’ parking permits, after a councillor asked for proof that the money was not being used for other projects.

Sheffield Star

• Bus driver takes a hike for appealA Sheffield bus driver and his wife pulled on their walking boots to help a local cancer charity.

The York Press

• Berwick Kaler launches road safety campaign A NEW road safety campaign in York has been officially launched.
• New aviation museum planned for city centre A NEW tourist attraction celebrating York’s aviation history is planned for the city centre.

Carlisle News & Star

• Railway shut after truck crashes on to track A railway line was closed for more than three hours after a truck rolled on to the track.

Other Regional Press

• £1.2m will bring better rail service Wiltshire Council has agreed to spend £1.2million to improve the TransWilts rail line.
• A shocking lesson for road safety PUPILS at Devizes School received a shocking but thought-provoking lesson in road safety on Monday when Wiltshire Fire and Rescue’s Safe Drive Stay Alive roadshow paid a visit.
• Port chiefs unveil plaques remembering worst peacetime disaster in Newport PORT authority bosses unveiled new plaques remembering workers who died building a lock in the worst peacetime disaster in Newport.
• New bus station in Newport could be delayed until December A NEW bus station for Newport could be delayed to as late as December despite demolition works starting next week.
• Major roadworks at Winnall interchange for six weeks from Monday MAJOR works are due to begin in Winchester on Monday as part of a scheme to improve the bottleneck Junction 9 roundabout connecting the A34 and the M3.
• Appeal for traffic lights at ‘crash danger’ roundabout DEMANDS have been made for traffic lights to be put up at a busy exit on to one of the city’s most clogged up roundabouts.
• The end of an era as Hercules planes make their final flight AS THE sun set across Oxfordshire so did it set on the career of the RAF C130K Hercules yesterday.
• Bus driver reverses blindly into junction in ClaphamA SCHOOL bus driver has continued to reverse dangerously into a junction despite complaints to his employer.
• FCC warns of possible delays and cancellations on Monday when storm hitsSTRONG winds unlike any seen in this country for 20 years could cause changes, delays and cancellations to rail services on Monday morning, First Capital Connect (FCC) has warned.
• Major search ongoing after reports of man swept off the Cobb at Lyme Regis  A MAJOR search has been ongoing through the night after reports of a photographer being swept off the Cobb at Lyme Regis.

Aviation Industry

• No more 19-hour flights between N.J. and SingaporeThe end of the world's longest non- stop commercial flight, a 19-hour slog between Singapore and an airport near New York, is bad news for Chia Teck Fatt.

Other News Sources

• Man arrested after boat runs aground in Brighton A man has been arrested after a 34-ft boat ran aground this morning (October 26).