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

Thursday, 01 May 2014

BBC News

• Taxi firm rejects MP's claims of Tory donation 'influence'Green MP Caroline Lucas has questioned whether a donation to the Conservatives made by a cab firm owner is behind changes to taxi regulation.
• MP Blenkinsop: 'Deregulated taxi firms could discriminate'An MP has warned proposed deregulation of taxis could allow firms to discriminate against disabled people.
• Government backs UK spaceport planThe government backs plans for a UK spaceport and a huge expansion of the UK space industry, which it hopes can achieve a value of £40bn by 2030.
• Widened M25 'smart motorway' opensWork to widen the M25 between Kent and Surrey to create a
• Delays to travel caused by IT faultPassengers have faced disruption at airports and sea ports across the UK after an IT glitch resulted in lengthy queues at immigration desks.
• Disruption as Tube strike endsTube services continue to be disrupted as a 48-hour strike by London Underground (LU) workers ends.

The Guardian

• Airport chaos after UK immigration computer failureFault on UK Border Force machines sees queues forming at major airports, with some international arrivals waiting four hoursAirline passengers faced disruption on Wednesday night after an IT glitch resulted in extended queues at immigration desks. Lengthy queues started forming at airport terminals across the country after a fault on UK Border Force computers earlier in the afternoon.Extra staff had been drafted in to try and reduce the queues. A government spokesman said: "We are currently experiencing temporary IT problems which may add to the time taken to conduct passport checks. ...

The Herald

• £400,000 paid out for pothole and crater accidentsALMOST £400,000 has been paid out to pedestrians in two years for slip and trip injuries in Glasgow.
• CalMac challenged over high number of cancellations to island ferry servicesISLANDERS have questioned the reliability of a 27-year-old vessel after bad weather in 2013 caused the highest number of cancellations on the main ferry service to Mull in 15 years.

The Telegraph

• Boris: Cameron will ban 'wildcat' strikesDavid Cameron will make it harder for London Underground workers to strike if he wins the next election, Boris Johnson claims
• Travellers hit by airport delays after computer glitchAir passengers across the country reported problems at passport control desks, mostly affecting those trying to enter the country
• Does Britain need its own space port?Science Minister David Willetts wants to build a launch site for space rockets in Britain within the next tens years - but why does Britain need one?

Mail Online

• UK Border Force computer glitch causes IT system failure at all British airports Lengthy queues formed at airport terminals across the country and thousands of passengers faced disruption because of a fault on UK Border Force computers.

Birmingham Post

• DLA Piper advises DfT on one of first new rail franchise dealsThe Greater Anglia franchise, which encompasses over 150 stations in the Greater Anglia area and provides local, suburban and express services from London to, and within, destinations in Essex, Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Suffolk and Norfolk was directly awarded to Abellio Greater Anglia.

Derby Telegraph

• Derby Telegraph commented East Midlands Airport: 20-hour closure could cost millionsOFFICIALS at East Midlands Airport are today counting the cost of a 20-hour closure. A legal expert specialising in flight delays estimated that the closure, caused when the landing gear of a cargo plane collapsed seconds after landing, could result in claims for compensation from passengers alone of more than £2 million. The incident occurred at 2.30am yesterday and the frustration went on for staff and would-be travellers until the Castle Donington airport reopened for flights just...
• Derby Telegraph commented MPs 'sickeningly ill-informed' about HS2A CAMPAIGN group against the HS2 rail scheme has accused MPs of being "sickeningly ill-informed" after voting through a Bill about the project.The accusation comes after MPs voted on Monday to continue with plans for the controversial high-speed rail link between London and the north of England.The HS2 Hybrid Bill was passed despite a rebellion by a few dozen Tories. HS2, which is costing £42.6 billion, will run from London to Birmingham and the split off to Manchester and...

London Evening Standard

• Enough is enough, say commuters hit by Tube strikeCommuters today said “enough is enough” as they spent hours battling through travel misery to get to work.
• 'Invest in London commuter trains not HS2', says senior Tory MPBillions more should be invested in train services for London as almost two thirds of rail journeys in the country are in the South-East, a senior Tory MP said today.
• Unions and Tube bosses to hold last-minute talks to avoid another strike next weekLast-minute talks are to take place in a bid to avert a fresh round of Tube strikes next week following a row over London Underground ticket office closures.

Manchester Evening News

• End of the line for Metrolink's first tram fleetBut now the last of Metrolink’s original blue-and-grey trams has finally hit the sidings - and after 22 years service will be seen on the region’s rails no more

Sheffield Star

• £1.5m of improvements at Sheffield railway stationExtra ticket machines and platform seating at Sheffield railway station were among £1.5m in improvements delivered in the last year.

The York Press

• New storm over use of parking camera-car in York YORK'S transport bosses have come under fresh fire, over the use of their controversial camera-car.

This Is Local London Network

• Passengers trapped as train services suspended on Wimbledon Loop UPDATE 3.10pm: All services along the First Capital Connect loop have been suspended until further notice after an

Yorkshire Post

• Richard Wellings: HS2 is sold as cure for all economic illsHS2 is not the first transport project to have ambitious aims. Back in the 19th century, government in the USA subsidised vast transcontinental railroads to bridge the east-west divide, rebalance the country’s economy and unify the nation.

Bucks Free Press

• Gillan's HS2 amendment proposals thrown out CHERYL Gillan was unsuccessful in her attempts to persuade MPs to agree to an amendment stating HS2 should be scrapped.

Sunderland Echo

• First driver passes test in Nissan Leaf as Government reveals £500million electric car spending planNISSAN bosses have welcomed details of how the Government will spend £500million to boost the uptake of electric vehicles.

Other Regional Press

• Government plans could halve Stevenage train serviceThe Department for Transport (DfT) has issued an invitation to businesses interested in taking over the InterCity East Coast rail service.
• Vandals target M6 linkRuthless vandals are targeting construction vehicles at the M6 link road sites – putting lives at risk and causing thousands of pounds of damage.
• £100,000 scheme to refurbish Huddersfield Railway Station will mean scaffolding throughout Tour de FranceFind out more about the timetable to keep the building in tip-top condition

Global Rail News

• Slovakia pushes ahead with ERTMS overlaySlovakia’s state-owned rail operator Železnice Slovenskej Republiky (ŽSR) has awarded a €20 million for the rollout of ERTMS on a 250-kilometre route between Bratislava and the Czech border. Kapsch CarrierCom and AŽD Praha have been[...]
• Eurotunnel to reduce track access chargesEurotunnel is to freeze some track access charges and reduce others in a bid to double the number of trains using the Channel Tunnel over the next four years. Freight[...]
• First Régiolis enters serviceA ceremony has been held at Vaugirard station in Paris to celebrate the commissioning of the first of hundreds of new Régiolis trains ordered for the French regions. Alstom, which[...]

Aviation Industry

• Ryanair buys five more Boeing 737-800sRyanair has agreed to purchase five additional Boeing 737-800s, adding to its current order book of 175 of the type, which it finalized at the Paris Air Show. read more
• SriLankan Airlines joins oneworldSriLankan Airlines has formally joined oneworld during a ceremony at Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI), marking the first carrier from the Indian subcontinent to join an alliance. read more
• Air France pilots threaten month-long strike actionCEO warns action could threaten airline's recovery

Other News Sources

• New railway track slabs that do away with the need for ballast have been put through their paces in a Network Rail trial.The Ives precast Slabtrack Units were produced by Cemex Rail Solutions at its Washwood Heath factory in Birmingham and are described as a UK first.
• Bus operator drops Meon Valley-Alresford route BUS operator Velvet is giving up the route that serves the Alresford area.