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

Sunday, 29 December 2013

BBC News

• Fire engine skids off road in iceSix firefighters escape injury after the appliance they were in skidded off the road into a field near Coleraine.
• Bus station plagued by delays opensA new bus station built as part of the £100m regeneration of Newport city centre opens after months of delays.
• Car and lorry involved in crashFour people are taken to hospital for checks after a crash involving a car and lorry on the A90 in Aberdeenshire.

ITV News

• Step forward for South Devon road linkWork on the South Devon Link Road has taken a major step forward over the Christmas period with the demolition of railway bridge to make way for the new road. But the closure of the rail line from Newton Abbot to Torquay and Paignton hasn't gone down well with passengers.

The Independent

• Christmas miracle: Pair escape unscathed after car sliced in two on motorway A driver and his passenger had a miracle escape on Christmas Eve after a car was sliced in two on a motorway.    
• Even the pilots pay on some low-cost flights Pilots' unions and trainee pilots are warning that only the wealthiest, rather than the best, candidates will become pilots because growing numbers of airlines are having cadets
• North Sea ferry blaze: Passenger held as six people airlifted to hospital A passenger suspected of starting a fire on board a ferry in the North Sea sparking an emergency evacuation has been detained by ship staff, Humberside Police have said.    

The Observer

• Richard Rogers attackes Crossrail station designsRichard Rogers, the architect behind Paris's Pompidou Centre and Heathrow's Terminal 5, has warned that the Crossrail train link is set to produce poorly designed stations that will fail to live up to Britain's "great railway heritage". Construction work on the £15bn London line, which will stretch 73 miles from Maidenhead in Berkshire to Shenfield in Essex, via the city centre, is well advanced and due to be finished in 2018.

The Scotsman

• Scapa Flow treasure trove on brink of oblivionWARTIME artefacts from ­battleships sunk off ­Orkney are being lost forever due to the wrecks collapsing in on themselves, according to concerned divers.

Daily Record

• MSP backs drive to force private bus operators to take on unprofitable routesSCOTTISH Labour leader Iain Gray has published a Bill which will allow councils to bundle profitable routes with ones that are not so well used.

Mail Online

• Labour golden boy Keir Starmer joins HS2 debate claiming it breaches the human rights of residents along the routeLabour’s new golden boy Keir Starmer has waded into the row over the HS2 rail link by claiming it breaches the European Convention on Human Rights. The former Director of Public Prosecutions, claims homeowners hit by the £50 billion project have not been offered proper compensation – and urged them to use human rights laws to get more.
• Seven airlifted to hospital from packed North Sea ferry after 'passenger sets fire to cabin' on Amsterdam-bound shipMore than 1,000 people were aboard the King Seaways service (pictured) which left North Shields, near Newcastle, at 5pm and was heading for Ijmuiden near Amsterdam in the Netherlands.

Bristol Live

• The Bristol Post commented What would YOU do to improve Bristol's transport problems?When we looked back at the most commented-on stories of 2013, there was a definite trend. Many of you have opinions on Bristol's transport problems - so what would you change if you were in charge? Is there one thing you think you could change that could fix everything? What do you think is wrong with Bristol at the moment? Are there enough buses? Enough cycle lanes? Too many traffic lights? Let us know what you think by commenting below.

Northern Echo

• Community bus scheme hailed a success A COMMUNITY bus launched to provide transport to residents in rural areas of Darlington has proved a huge success, with hundreds using the service each month.
• Biker dies after colliding with bus on icy road A motorcyclist died after hitting a patch of ice and colliding with an oncoming bus.

The York Press

• Friends celebrate life of tragic stunt pilot THE widow of a North Yorkshire pilot who died in a biplane crash in Australia has spoken for the first time following a celebration of his life.

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• Nationalising M6 Toll road would be more beneficial than HS2, claimNationalising the M6 Toll would be better for the West Midlands economy than the controversial HS2, it was claimed today.
• Half-hour terror drive in Wolverhampton road rage attackA man suffered serious head injuries after being taken on a terrifying half-hour drive during a suspected road rage attack.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Leeds: 2,500 caught out by new parking feesALMOST 2,500 extra parking tickets were issued in Leeds city centre just ONE MONTH into the introduction of controversial new evening and Sunday parking charges for council owned spaces.

East Anglian Daily Times

• Travel: Engineering works to disrupt rail travel between Ipswich, Woodbridge and FelixstoweEngineering work taking place tomorrow (Sunday) will affect rail passengers travelling between Ipswich, Woodbridge and Felixstowe.
• Gallery: New rail bridge is hoisted into placeEngineers are working round the clock over the Christmas holiday period to ensure a new rail bridge is ready on time.

Other Regional Press

• The Cornishman published St Just bus stop to be boarded up after being found smashedA BUS stop designed by residents in St Just is to be boarded up temporarily after its window was again found smashed.Thought to have been an act of criminal damage, at a recent town council meeting a police officer and community support officer, alongside members and Sue James of Cornwall Council, discussed what could be done to prevent the breakages - which reportedly cost £600 to repair.Mrs James said since being elected in May it is the second time the glass has been broken and that it...
• Fury over 'more fore less' on Bolton's overcrowded trains New Year rail fare rises have been met with fury by campaigners calling for better services for the town. The price of season tickets and ’walk up’ fares, where tickets are bought on the day of travel, will go up by an average of three per cent although First Trans Pennine Express will be freezing all advance fares.
• HS2 campaign gains 'new momentum'Plans to bring HS2 to part of the Advertiser district are gathering support from the community after councillors took the case for the line to benefit the area’s villages to a public consultation. Selston county councillor Gail Turner and Pinxton councillor Paul Wilson have led calls for the high speed railway, which will connect the UK’s major cities, to lave a long-lasting positive impact here.
• Action group slams 'expensive charade' on Luton airport expansion meetingMichael Nidd, secretary of the London Luton Airport Town and Village Community Committee, has described the delayed, eight-hour meeting in which the decision was made as a “very, very expensive charade” which included presentations about the airport throughout the morning on Friday, December 20.
• Surrey Chambers of Commerce backs Davies review on Gatwick expansionBusinesses in Surrey will benefit from the Airport expansion plans recommended in the Davies Review, according to Surrey Chambers of Commerce
• Roads closed as high winds wreak havoc across TeessideGale force winds of up to 70mph wreaked havoc on Teesside, forcing road closures, rail delays and urgent repair works to properties
• Probe into fake bus pass used on Leigh Park to Cosham busTHIS woman is wanted by police probing a report of a fake bus pass being used in Portsmouth.
• Landslide set to cause train travel woe into JanuaryA SEVERE landslide on Portsmouth’s direct railway line into London Waterloo is set to cause travel problems for passengers into January.

Other News Sources

• Memorial to Tay Bridge disaster victims unveiled 134 years laterThe Tay Rail Bridge collapsed during a storm on the evening of December 28, 1879.