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

Wednesday, 31 December 2014

Cogitamus

• Merry Christmas To All Our Readers We will be taking a little break over the holidays. TransportInfo will not be updated on 25 and 26 December 2014 and also on 1 January 2015. Well, that's unless something extraordinary happens and we can't stop ourselves…

BBC News

• VIDEO: Rail chief: 'I will not take bonus'Network Rail chief executive Mark Carne says he will not take his bonus, following recent major rail disruption.
• Virgin pilot 'just doing his job'A pilot who landed a Virgin Atlantic jet at Gatwick Airport after discovering a landing gear problem speaks about the incident for the first time.
• Travel firms sue cheap airfare siteUnited Airlines and travel firm Orbitz have launched legal action against a site that finds cheap airfares.
• Plane lands safely after smoke alertA plane carrying 69 passengers lands safety at Belfast City Airport after the pilot requested emergency landing procedures be deployed.
• Network Rail boss will not take bonusNetwork Rail chief executive Mark Carne says he will not take his bonus, following recent major rail disruption.

Financial Times

• Chinese train makers agree $26bn mergerShares surge on confirmation of deal intended to challenge international rivals
• Bad weather suspends AirAsia jet searchStorms force authorities to suspend the search for wreckage of flight QZ8501

The Guardian

• UK Ebola patient was cleared to leave Heathrow despite health concernsSerious questions over Britain’s screening process after Scottish nurse Pauline Cafferkey cleared to fly from London to GlasgowThe Scottish nurse who contracted the Ebola virus was cleared to leave Heathrow earlier this week despite raising concerns about her own health, prompting questions over the effectiveness of the UK’s screening process.Pauline Cafferkey, a community nurse in Blantyre, South Lanarkshire, had told medics she was worried she had Ebola but was given the all-clear to catch a British Airways flight to Glasgow on Sunday evening, according to Public Health England (PHE). Contin...
• AirAsia flight QZ8501: sea bed sonar image believed to be missing planeSeven bodies and debris recovered from the Java SeaLarge waves and strong winds hamper search effortAircraft was intact when it hit the water, experts believeRescue teams continue grim search for bodies – the day’s key developmentsA sonar image showing a large, dark object on the sea bed is believed to be the missing AirAsia flight QZ8501, an official with Indonesia’s search and rescue agency said on Wednesday after bodies and debris were found in the area. Ships and planes have been scouring the Java Sea for the aircraft since Sunday, when it vanished with 162 people on board during bad weath...

The Independent

• Ebola in UK: Doctor who flew home with sick nurse sounds alarm over 'disorganised' UK screening Serious doubts about Britain’s screening measures for Ebola have been raised by the revelation that  British nurse Pauline Cafferkey was cleared to fly home to Glasgow after telling medics at Heathrow she feared she had symptoms of the disease.
• Virgin Atlantic Flight VS43 Q&A: How close did the aircraft come to disaster? More than 400 Virgin Atlantic passengers were arriving at Las Vegas tonight almost 24 hours late. They will have been glad to have arrived at all, however, after an emergency landing back at Gatwick due to faulty landing gear.

The Telegraph

• Too many pilots can't handle an emergencyAn over-reliance on computers to fly planes has caused several disastrous crashes, explains David Learmount

Daily Express

• Questions over airport Ebola screening after Glasgow aid worker diagnosed with virusQUESTIONS have been raised over airport screening procedures after a Glasgow aid worker was diagnosed with Ebola.
• Drink-drive numbers fall as new limit takes effectPOLICE have reported a dramatic 27 per cent fall in the number of drink-drivers who took to Scotland’s roads over the festive period.

Daily Record

• Heroic Ebola nurse Pauline was waved through at Heathrow after being tested SEVEN times for killer diseasePAULINE Cafferkey alerted airport officials to her high temperature and was retested six times over 30 minutes.

Mail Online

• Ebola nurse Pauline Cafferkey asked to be tested SEVEN TIMES Other volunteers returning from Sierra Leone were allowed to board crowded buses and trains instead of being taken into quarantine.
• Flybe jet forced to touch down in Belfast after reports of smoke in baggage hold The plane carrying 69 passengers landed safety at Belfast City Airport after the pilot requested emergency landing procedures be deployed.
• Rail fat cats paid millions as fares soar While passengers struggle with ever-rising fares, senior rail executives enjoyed generous salaries, bonuses and perks such as car allowances and private healthcare.
• Sonar detects wreckage of flight 8501 upside down on bottom of the Java Sea as search pilot reveals victims were found holding hands amid parts of the doomed jet  Sonar images have revealed the wreckage of doomed AirAsia Flight QZ8501 upside down on the sea floor, as it's revealed three passengers were holding hands when their bodies were found

The Mirror

• Why did they let Ebola nurse go home? Medic brands testing a shamblesNurse Pauline Cafferkey was complaining of having a high temperature, a main symptom of the killer disease, before boarding a plane at Heathrow
• City Link disaster: As thousands face axe why we must carry the can As 2,700 members of staff at failed parcel firm are laid off its boss is wallowing in a £100million fortune
• Rail fares rise by THREE TIMES more than salary increases, a charity has claimedThe cost of a season ticket from Milton Keynes, Bucks, to London climbed by 23.5% – or £930 – since 2010 but average pay is up 6.9%, the Campaign for Better Transport says
• AirAsia flight QZ8501: Grim debris in sea as search pilot says three bodies were 'holding hands'The images, taken by a photographer on board a search aircraft 105 miles off the coast of Pangkalanbun, confirm the tragic fate of the plane

Network Rail

• Stunning timelapse film shows scale of work at London Bridge railway stationMore than 1,000 engineers have been working round the clock at London Bridge railway station every day since December 20, including Christmas Day, on a massive project to rebuild the station to improve facilities and services for passengers.
• Network Rail clarification statement regarding Robin GisbyOver the last few days there has been inaccurate reporting concerning the bonus entitlement of Network Rail's managing director, network operations, Robin Gisby. This press notice seeks to clarify the position absolutely:

Daily Post (North Wales)

• A55: More than half of trucks stopped were dangerously overloadedDriver and Vehicle Standards Agency checks showed 123 of 218 HGVs were carrying more than the safe limit
• Arriva Trains Wales investigate claims passengers forced to travel in driver's cabThe train firm said it is taking seriously allegations that people on the Holyhead to Birmingham service sat in secure areas

London Evening Standard

• Network Rail boss will not take bonus after King's Cross station disruption The chief executive of Network Rail Mark Carne is not taking a bonus this year.
• Corfu ship issues distress call because of 'armed men on board' A ship carrying hundreds of passengers close to the island of Corfu has issued a distress call because of alleged armed people on board, according to the Greek shipping ministry.
• Plane forced to land at Stansted Airport following 'medical emergency' A plane was forced to land at Stansed Airport following an on-board medical emergency.

Manchester Evening News

• 8,000 extra seats on Virgin Atlantic flights to Vegas and Orlando next summerPopular demand has sparked the boom in transatlantic flights to America from Virgin Atlantic

This Is Local London Network

• Free travel in London for New Years Eve Party goers heading into town to see in the New Year will be able to travel for free as Transport for London (TfL) opens its ticket barriers.

Wales Online

• Tories accuse Welsh transport minister Edwina Hart of washing her hands of the Eastern Bay link road in CardiffShe dismissed a Tory request for a timetable on when the road might be completed

Yorkshire Post

• Rail fares hike ‘dwarfs pay rises’This week’s annual fare rise will mean some season ticket holders will have endured increases of more than 20% in the life of this Parliament, according to figures from the Campaign for Better Transport (CBT).
• York bus services to be cut to save cashBUS services will be cut and amended in York as the city’s council reduces the amount it spends on subsidies by £200,000.

East Anglian Daily Times

• Road safety officer and former Essex policeman of more than 40 years Jeremy Moore given an OBEOne man has been working to make the roads of Essex – and the country – safer for more than 40 years, and his efforts have been recognised with an OBE in the New Year’s honours list.