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

Saturday, 04 October 2014

BBC News

• Preferred option for A96 upgradeThe preferred option for an upgraded stretch of the A96 between Inverness and Nairn is published by Transport Scotland.
• M4 congestion 'can't carry on'Transport Minister Edwina Hart insists traffic problems around Newport must be dealt with, after two former Labour ministers criticised plans for an M4 relief road.

Financial Times

• Tesco takes delivery of $50m corporate jetFive-strong fleet up for sale as financial problems mount for UK retailer

The Guardian

• The most detailed map of the ocean floor ever seenPublished today, this is the most detailed map of the ocean floor ever produced, using satellite imagery to show ridges and trenches of the earths underwater surface even for areas which have never been surveyed by ship. Data on slight variations of the pull of gravity over the oceans are recorded with satellite altimetry, and are then combined to map the seafloor. The map, created using WebGL by the University of California San Diego, is not viewable using older browsers, but you can see excerpts here. Drag the globe to rotate or right-click and drag to zoom Continue reading...
• MH370: plan for search to restart on Sunday after four months on holdCrews of three ships will use sonar, video cameras and jet fuel sensors to scour desolate stretch of southern Indian OceanAfter a four-month hiatus, the hunt for Malaysia Airlines flight 370 is about to resume in a desolate stretch of the southern Indian Ocean, with searchers lowering new equipment deep hoping to finally solve one of the worlds most perplexing aviation mysteries.The GO Phoenix, the first of three ships that will spend up to a year hunting for the wreckage far off Australias west coast, is expected to arrive in the search zone on Sunday, although weather could delay its progres...

The Herald

• Interactive course for road users seeks to reduce the number of cyclists injuredA NEW scheme has been launched to cut the number of cyclists hurt in road accidents.
• Union anger at passenger quote by railway chief A RAIL union has reacted with fury to comments by a train company chief that he intends to make it

The Telegraph

• Top ten reasons why drivers crash their carsThousands of drivers are injured every year after being dazzled by the sun, we take a look at some of the other factors which cause drivers to crash
• Drivers tricked by 'fake' 40mph speed limit signsPranksters blamed for speeding offences after drivers caught out by 40mph signs in 30mph zone

The Mirror

• Thousands of EasyJet employees set for huge payout after airline's profits soarThe no-frills carrier was boosted by a surging demand for beach holidays and angry French flyers using their service to avoid Air France strikes

London Evening Standard

• Victory for disability campaigners as Crossrail bosses agree to £19m step-free investment Disability campaigners were celebrating today after Crossrail bosses agreed to a £19m deal to make all its stations step-free.
• If you want a seat, travel later on a slower train, top rail firm boss tells commuters The boss of Britain’s biggest rail firm today risked the wrath of passengers by saying he aims to alleviate train overcrowding - by making it easier to stand.
• Michael Liebreich: London must decide on the cycle superhighways Since 2000, London’s population has risen by 1.2 million. Yet over the same period, car use has dropped by more than 10 per cent, and by more than 20 per cent in central London. 
• Race the Tube in a wheelchair man hails Mayor's plan to spend £75 million on station lifts A video highlighting the struggles disabled people face on the London Underground has been hailed a success after Boris Johnson announced plans to spend £75 million on new lifts.
• Letters to the editor: We need to think big on transport The proposed Bakerloo line extension is a welcome step. But there is a limit to how many passengers can be fed into London’s central area without building further lines. Experts suggest that the extension should finish at Lewisham, with the Hayes and Bromley routes incorporated into a south-east to north-west Crossrail 3.
• Boris Johnson refuses to accept London wheelchair challenge from Hannah Cockroft Boris Johnson has refused to accept a challenge from Paralympian Hannah Cockroft to spend a day in a wheelchair around London.

Manchester Evening News

• Could Manchester ever be as bike-friendly as Copenhagen, where almost half of people now cycle to work? The experts say it's a long road aheadTransport for Greater Manchester aims to increase four-fold the number of people cycling to work over the next 10 years - but even THAT ambitious target would still leave us a long way short of Europe's bike capital

The York Press

• Businessman backs reopening of Ryedale rail link A BUSINESSMAN has pledged £60,000 to support a group's dream of re-opening a rail link.
• Cycle path to nowhere puts lives at risk YOUNGSTERS' lives are at risk after the construction of a flagship cycle path alongside York's busy outer ring road came to a halt.

Wales Online

• The jaw-dropping moment a teen cyclist risked the lives of hundreds by taking his bike into a busy rail tunnelDenim Llewellyn, 19, was sentenced to nine weeks at Cardiff Crown Court, after admitting obstructing the railway at Caerphilly in March

Sunderland Echo

• Sunderland Audi driver swapped registration plates because he couldn’t afford insuranceA MAN used another vehicle’s registration plate because he couldn’t afford his own car insurance.

Other Regional Press

• Council agree to move Newport Ship to continue conservation CABINET members have today agreed to move Newport's Medieval Ship to a new home after months of uncertainty.
• Rail union to host protest in city today UNION members are set to stage a demo in Southampton this today over fears that rail jobs and services will be cut and privatised.
• Look after your tyres - and they'll look after you DON'T become a statistic - that is the message from the Highways Agency after it revealed more than 1,800 tyre-related incidents took place on motorways and major roads in the south last winter.
• F1 team jobs 'are not under threat' despite seizures JOBS at the Caterham Formula 1 team’s West Oxfordshire base are not under threat despite bailiffs seizing cars and parts there, according to its boss.
• Hundreds of extra seats on new longer electric trains to benefit Northampton rail commutersA fleet of new trains will see commuters travelling between Northampton and London benefit from “more seats and better journeys,” London Midland says -as part of a £62m government investment in its rail network.

Railway Gazette

• California begins high speed rolling stock procurementUSA: Expressions of interest are to be submitted to the California High Speed Rail Authority by October 22 from potential suppliers of high speed trainsets for the planned 836 km network that would...
• Doppelbauer to head European Railway AgencyEUROPE: Meeting in Lille on September 30, the Administrative Board of the European Railway Agency voted to appoint Dr Josef Doppelbauer as the next Executive Director, succeeding Marcel Verslype with...
• King Abdullah Financial District monorail revealedSAUDI ARABIA: The first monorail vehicle for the King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh was officially unveiled at InnoTrans by Pierre Attendu, President of Bombardier Transportation’s Systems...

Aviation Industry

• NATS, Gatwick agree to delay local airspace changesUK air navigation services provider NATS has postponed submitting proposed high level network changes relating to London Gatwick Airport to do additional analysis and to better understand the options and next steps for low level airspace (primarily routes below 4,000 ft.). read more
• Air France needs to move quickly on pilot talksAir France is hoping to reach a rapid solution with its pilots so it can start preparing for growth at Transavia France. read more
• European Commission rules on airport state aid casesThe European Commission has ordered Germanwings, Meridiana, Ryanair, TUIFly, Germany’s Zweibrücken Airport, Alghero Airport in Italy and Brussels Charleroi to repay illegal state aid, and launched an in-depth investigation into airline agreements at Brussels National Airport. read more

Other News Sources

• Further blow to motorists as Brighton seafront roadworks delayed again THE seafront road works have been set back for a fourth time, with the completion now expected to be early December.