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

Saturday, 11 January 2014

BBC News

• Airport express bus under reviewAn express bus service to Cardiff Airport is being reviewed, five months after it was launched to reverse the airport's falling passenger numbers.
• Tube 48-hour strike dates announcedTwo 48-hour strikes on the Tube will take place on 4 and 5 February and 11 and 12 February, the RMT union announces.
• Heathrow calls price cap 'draconian'Heathrow accuses the UK's aviation regulator of draconian action, after it capped the amount it is allowed to charge its airlines.

Financial Times

• Regulator and Heathrow collide over feesAirport regulator CAA has proposed a real-terms cut to the levy that Heathrow is allowed to charge airlines over the next five years
• London Underground faces strike actionRMT union plans to co-ordinate campaign against ticket office closures with other transport unions, while TfL claims turnout in ballot was low
• Heathrow embarks on a bumpier rideThe UK regulator’s decree that the landing charges paid by airlines to Heathrow should be cut in real terms over the next five years is right

The Herald

• Driver has 24 points but is still on the roadSCOTLAND'S worst driver has an astounding 24 points on his or her licence and lives in a leafy Glasgow suburb, officials have revealed.

The Independent

• Inquest into Red Arrows pilot death told 'resources were a big issue' The squadron leader of the Red Arrows was shocked by the lack of resources in the team when he returned after time away, an inquest into a pilot’s death was told.    

The Scotsman

• Free wifi plan for all Edinburgh buses and tramsTRAMS and buses across the Scottish capital are set to be fitted with free wi-fi services for passengers as part of a new project to boost connectivity and enhance tourist visits.

The Telegraph

• Ford boss retracts claim that 'we know everyone who breaks the law'Ford's sales boss has retracted claims that the company
• Fire at Portsmouth Naval yard after HMS Illustrious returnTen fire engines called as blaze breaks out at Portsmouth Naval yard after return of HMS Illustrious    
• Wife's tribute to pilot killed in Norfolk helicopter crashCapt Sean Ruane was a decorated US Air Force combat rescue pilot who saved many lives and gave his wife Rachel

Reuters News

• Heathrow says new price cap threatens growthLONDON (Reuters) - London's Heathrow warned it could struggle to grow its business after accusing the industry regulator of imposing a

Daily Express

• Daddy's home, girls: An Illustrious welcomeHMS Illustrious' commanding officer got a big family welcome yesterday when the ship returned from its mission to the Philippines helping survivors of Typhoon Haiyan.

Mail Online

• Last delivery of new VW campervans arrives in UK after Brazil factory stops productionNinety-nine of the final batch of vans rolled off the production line and onto a container ship bound for Britain after manufacture ceased for good in Brazil in December.

The Mirror

• Richard Hammond: It's about time councils were ordered to stop treating motorists as the enemyThe Mirror motoring columnist is glad the Government is finally reining in local authorities who see drivers as a cash cow
• Costa Concordia could be dismantled in Britain in £250million contractPorts in eight countries have been asked to tender for the job of breaking up the 114,000-ton ship which sank off the Mediterranean island of Giglio

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Repairs start on Cambrian Coast railway line after storm damage Earth movers are brought in to move the debris so assessors can see the full extent of the damage

London Evening Standard

• Ministers look to cut fines for minor parking offencesParking fines could be cut for minor infringements and grace periods introduced under plans being considered by ministers.

Metro

• Trouble finding a space? Motorist finds vehicle stranded after car park demolitionLeaving a car in storage should be one of life’s simple tasks, but this wasn't the case for one Chinese motorist...    

Nottingham Evening Post

• Nottingham Post published County Hall set to back tram growthArticle
• Nottingham Post commented Government considering giving councils the power to decrease...PARKING fines in Nottingham should be lowered, businesses have said – as the Government announced that councils would be able to reduce fines if they wished.Penalties in the city can be as high as £70 – with Wollaton Street the hot spot for parking tickets. Latest figures show 938 tickets were handed out between January and mid-September last year.This is down on the previous year, when 1,841 tickets were handed out on the same road.But the Government says it is considering...

Sheffield Star

• Police warning to illegal bikers in north DerbyshireOff-road motorcyclists are being warned not to use their vehicles in illegal areas.
• Fire destroys two buses in DoncasterTwo buses were completely destroyed in a fire at the Warmsworth Halt industrial estate last night.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Pilot relives drama of door falling off in flightAn Orkney pilot told yesterday of the hair-raising moment when a door fell off his aircraft as he flew at 100mph above the Pentland Firth.

Wales Online

• Cardiff's annual cycling festival is cancelled for 2014 because of budget cutsThe events has been

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Clegg says £1bn transport plan for West Yorkshire will go aheadA £1bn transport plan to kick-start dozens of road and rail projects across West Yorkshire will still go ahead despite concerns of obstruction from Whitehall, Nick Clegg has pledged.

Yorkshire Post

• Exclusive: Clegg vows to protect £1bn plan to revamp Yorkshire transportA radical £1bn transport plan to kick-start dozens of major road and rail projects across Yorkshire will still go ahead despite concerns of obstruction from Whitehall, Nick Clegg has pledged.
• Watchdog's probe into M62 deathAN independent watchdog is to investigate the way police handled calls about a 24-year-old man seen walking on the M62 before he was struck by a car and killed.
• Councils join forces to ask Ministers for A64 fundingA BID for £50m to pay for improvements to the A64 between York and Scarborough has been submitted to the Government by North Yorkshire councils.

East Anglian Daily Times

• Leiston: Relief road could take away Sizewell C trafficA bold attempt is being made to create “a legacy for Leiston” by securing a relief road to take traffic going to and from the Sizewell C nuclear power plant away from the town.

Other Regional Press

• £1m scheme gets under way with bus lane worksMOTORISTS and bus users will soon be able to get around Fareham quicker, as a £1m county council scheme to improve the town’s roads is due to start.
• Shipping information for Sunday, January 12 and Monday, January 13, 2014The latest movements for the port of Portsmouth.
• Leader blocks six-month closure of A338 for rail works A BID to shut off the Wantage to Oxford road for up to six months has been blocked.
• Dorset's roads hit by potholes and cracks after storms FOLLOWING the recent storms potholes and cracks have opened up at an alarming rate on Dorset’s roads.
• Long queues at pay machines for shoppers in NorthamptonShoppers who parked in the Grosvenor Centre car park had to deal with long queues to use new pay machines because the town centre was “really busy” over the festive period, a borough council spokesman has said.

Global Rail News

• Further £35m improvements planned for Tyne and Wear Metro in 2014The operator of the Tyne and Wear Metro has announced plans to spend £35 million on modernisation work in 2014. Enhancements this year will include a track and drainage renewal[...]

Railnews

• Vicious winter storms dent performance Train punctuality slumped in recent weeks, according to new figures just released by Network Rail. The company says 'sustained extreme weather' was the main cause. Train operators and users had been confronted by storm-force winds, which alone blocked lines by blowing down almost 400 trees, while 'torrential' rain caused 29 landslips and floods in nearly 130 places.
• Scottish route director 'sacked' from Network Rail Network Rail has confirmed that its route managing director for Scotland David Simpson has left the company. Mr Simpson, who was said to have been popular in the Scottish transport community, had been suspended following an internal investigation into the 'improper' promotion of a member of his staff.
• Remarkable Chinese interest in West Midlands HS2 links THE confirmation of Chinese interest in a scheme to reopen a disused line in the West Midlands – and in other projects that would provide new and important links to transport infrastructure in the region including HS2 and Birmingham Airport – has been hailed as ˜a remarkable development™ by Sir Albert Bore, leader of Birmingham City Council. The potential involvement of the China Railway Group was revealed exclusively in the latest print edition of Railnews, published on 8 January.

Aviation Industry

• Brazilian airlines request 1,500 extra flights for World Cup this summerBrazilian airlines have asked Brazil’s National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) to allow 1,500 extra domestic flights between June 6 and July 20 to meet a huge increase in demand during the FIFA 2014 World Cup, which will be held between June 12 and July 13. read more
• New Indian Tata-Singapore Airlines startup to launch with Airbus A320 The new Indian full-service airline planned by the Tata group and Singapore Airlines has chosen to launch with Airbus A320 aircraft. read more
• Heathrow fury at "draconian" measuresThe CAA has capped the amount LHR can charge airline for the next five years

Green Miscellany

• Toyota Prius heats house during winter stormA Canadian man caught up in the current spell of arctic winter weather that has seen temperatures plunging to 30 degrees below zero has used his Toyota Prius to generate power his radiators, lights, fridge and TV. Bob Osemlak braced himself for an expected one-day power cut last month by running a cord to the hybrid electric car in his garage.…