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

Tuesday, 31 December 2013

Cogitamus

• Merry Christmas From The TransportInfo Team We will be taking a little break over the holidays. TransportInfo will not be updated on 25 and 26 December 2013 and also on 1 January 2014. Well, that's unless something extraordinary happens and we can't stop ourselves… Thank you for your continued interest and support.

BBC News

• VIDEO: Rain and gales cause travel problemsFirefighters rescue three people trapped in their car in flood water as storms cause travel disruption with heavy rain and winds of almost 80mph.
• Gales and rain cause travel chaosBad weather continues to cause travel disruption after heavy rain and winds of almost 80mph and flood warnings for parts of Wrexham and Carmarthenshire
• VIDEO: Britain's first female airline pilotYvonne Pope Sintes started out as an air stewardess but always dreamed of doing something different and went on to become the first British woman to pilot a commercial jet.
• US announces six drone test sitesAmerica's aviation agency announces the six states that will test commercial drones, a step towards unleashing the pilotless aircraft in US skies.
• Plans for cycle highway in the skyPlans to build a network of cycle paths high above the streets of London with the first phase costing more than £200m, are being put forward for consultation.
• VIDEO: What next for Europe's airlines?Jeremy Howell asks whether further mergers may follow after the acquisition of the former Greek flag carrier Olympic by its rival Aegean.
• Bombardier sells 10 jets for $259mCanadian aerospace manufacturer Bombardier says it has sold 10 Challenger jets for $259m (£157m) to an anonymous buyer.

Financial Times

• London Tube plans grocery servicesRetailers are attracted by the 10m daily footfall on the capital’s transport networks but critics worry about adding to peak time congestion

The Guardian

• North Dakota oil train crash sparks fireballIncident sure to amplify concerns about the safety of carrying increasing volumes of crude oil by rail
• Antarctic rescue: helicopter to evacuate passengers from trapped shipVolunteers to clear a landing area on the ice after two icebreakers fail to reach the scientific research vessel Alok Jha
• Volgograd in lockdown as bombings raise security concerns for OlympicsRussian city under tight security after suicide bombing on trolleybus leaves 15 dead, one day after 18 people were killed at train stationA second suicide bombing in as many days in the Russian city of Volgograd has killed at least 15 people, injured dozens more and shredded Kremlin claims to have security under control in a region that will host the winter Olympics in less than six weeks.President Vladimir Putin ordered a security clampdown in Volgograd and across the country after the bombing of a crowded trolleybus, which came less than 24 hours after 18 people were killed in a suicide atta...

The Herald

• Inventors hope to get green light for electric highwaysA TEAM of inventors is hoping to collaborate with a Scottish ­university to develop a radical green transport concept which would see cars run on electrified highways.

The Independent

• London Underground admits plans to sell parts of stations to supermarkets The London Underground is in talks with major supermarket retailers including Marks & Spencer, Waitrose and Asda about opening a network of shops and “click and collect” grocery services on the network.    
• Plans for 'SkyCycle' highways above London's rail lines to be put forward for consultation Plans for a 136-mile (219km) elevated cycle route high above the streets of London are to be put forward for consultation.    

The Telegraph

• Google to compete with Apple over smart dashboardsGoogle and Apple are both working on competing technologies that would bring apps, navigation and music together into smart dashboards for cars based on their own mobile operating systems    

Mail Online

• Flybe passenger plane was just seconds away from crashing into a bridgeThe Flybe flight from the Isle of Man was coming in to land at John Lennon Airport when the pilot descended into a collision course with Runcorn Bridge in Cheshire.
• Flights and buses full as Romanians and Bulgarians head for the UKAlmost all flights from Romania to England are full - even though one airline doubled the number to meet demand - with one-way tickets selling for up to £3,000 each.
• Century of commercial airline flight to be marked with re-enactment of first fare-paying journey in FloridaOn January 1 1914 the St Petersburg-Tampa Airboat line was able to make a 23-minute flight across Tampa Bay in Florida.

The Mirror

• Shocking video shows huge fireball reaching into sky after train carrying crude oil crashes and explodes The train, which was carrying crude oil and was 106 cars long, crashed into another train leading to a series of huge blasts

Birmingham Post

• Drink-Drive warning for New Year revellersAccording to an AA/Populus survey of more than 21,000 drivers, some will drink so much they will be over the legal driving limit for most of New Year's Day

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Campaign group calls for Calder Valley railway line action A campaign group has written to Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin in protest at the Calder Valley Line, which links Bradord to the north west, being omitted from the government’s latest rail electrification plans.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Strong wind and rain wipes out power at more than 900 homes and businesses in North Wales Firefighters called to tackle flooding at properties, roads and rail

Liverpool Echo

• CCTV spy car catches over 3,000 offending Wirral motorists in two years Revealed: Roads where drivers get most fines

Manchester Evening News

• Protester at anti-fracking site locked himself to tanker truckThe man used a bicycle lock to attach himself to the vehicle's side as it pulled out of the Salford site.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Flushed with pride: loo at north airport is No 1Inverness Airport is on a new “high” after winning an award in the prestigious loo of the year competition.

The York Press

• Tributes paid to steam railway pioneers THE North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR) is mourning the passing of the 'Father of the Railway', Tom Salmon, and his wife, Erika, who died within 24 hours of each other.

This Is Local London Network

• Revellers treated to free travel on tube, buses, DLR, Tramlink and London Overground on New Year's Eve New Year's Eve revellers are being treated to free travel.

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• HS2 will boost numbers at run-down Wolverhampton train stationControversial high speed rail will lead to a 13 per cent surge in demand at a run-down West Midlands train station that has been turned down for a multi-million pound revamp, a report has revealed.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Heritage bid to save Wakefield nature reserve from HS2A CAMPAIGN has been launched which could ensure the proposed HS2 rail link does not impact on a historic Wakefield nature reserve.
• Milestone year sees airport set new recordAs centenary celebrations prepare to mark the first commercial airline flight, a Yorkshire airport has reported record-breaking passenger numbers.

Yorkshire Post

• Yorkshire gears up for cycling year with muddy off-roaderYORKSHIRE’S starring role in the 2014 Tour de France will be off to a flying start tomorrow for cycling of a different kind.

Blackpool Gazette

• VIDEO: On yer bike, SantaHundreds of festive cyclists took part in Blackpool’s first-ever Santa Cycle as the Promenade became a sea of red and white.

Northamptonshire Telegraph

• Northamptonshire roadworks: Coming to a road near youA list of roadworks planned for the next few weeks has been released, with a number of projects in the north of the county due to get under way.    

Other Regional Press

• Newport traders welcome 'long overdue' new bus station NEWPORT’S new bus station has finally opened, to a guarded welcome from passengers and traders who described it as “long overdue”.
• Bad weather takes its toll on transportCOMMUTERS across the area face more travel disruption as bad weather continues to take its toll on the transport networks.
• Councillors pay for bus service to the shops GROVE residents will have a new bus service to Didcot on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
• Bus boss raises safety fears over £400m Westgate plan ONE of Oxfordshire’s main bus operators has raised “significant concerns” about the £400m Westgate redevelopment in Oxford.
• Eurostar celebrates two record-breaking passenger milestones2013 is our best year ever reveals Eurostar boss, as passenger numbers break the 10 million barrier for the first time.
• Nightbus services for NYE revellersPARTIERS out on the town on New Year’s Eve will be able to catch an early hours bus home.
• Axing bus service will leave us isolated, claim residents RESIDENTS are protesting against plans to cut a bus service linking Oxford with Dean Court, near Cumnor, insisting it will leave them isolated.
• Grimsby Telegraph commented Lego F1 Ferrari has motorists in a spin at Grimsby garage on...MOTORISTS stopping to fill up their vehicles got more than they bargained for when they got a glimpse of a life-size Ferrari replica, built entirely from Lego bricks.A Lego version of Fernando Alonso's F138 Formula 1 racing car spent the day at Grimsby's Shell garage on the A180 last Monday, much to the delight of many racing fans.Weighing in at 700kg, the Lego car is around 100kg heavier than the real F138 car, which took Alonso to victories in China and Barcelona last season.It is made from...

Other News Sources

• Boris bus manufacturers threatened to block critical new book The manufacturers of Boris Johnson's multimillion pound new bus threatened to prevent the publication of a book criticising the design and construction of the vehicles.
• New British Warship Enters Service EarlyHMS Duncan, the Royal Navy’s sixth Type 45 Destroyer, has entered into service from BAE four months ahead of schedule. The 7,500 tonne vessel will now
• Navy's Unmanned Plane Take-Off a Seminal 2013 Navy EventThe first-ever launch of an unmanned aircraft from a modern aircraft carrier, the USS George H.W. Bush, was described by Rear Adm. Mat Winter 
Program Executive
• Councils join forces in call for quiet road surface on motorwayCouncillors expected to call on Highways Agency to lay noise reduction surface on all four lanes of the M3 as part of a widening scheme
• Sussex's train operators among worst in the UK for total crime Crime on Sussex’s trains is among the highest in the country, new figures show.
• Eurostar passes 10 million passengers milestoneCross-channel train operator enjoys record year for traffic