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

Saturday, 03 January 2015

BBC News

• Rail fares rise on Welsh trainsFares on Arriva Trains Wales services rise along with other rail operators across England and Wales.
• M4 trial closure 'hitting business'A shopping centre manager says the M4 slip road closure in Port Talbot is resulting in 16,000 fewer visitors each month.
• Four hurt as plane blown off runwayFour people are injured after a plane came off the runway at Stornoway Airport on the Isle of Lewis.
• VIDEO: London Underground fares increaseTransport fares in the capital increase by an average of 2.5% as fare rises come into effect in England and Wales.
• Flybe ends Inverness-London serviceThe airline Flybe is suspending its Inverness to London service from Sunday 22 February due to lack of demand.
• Engine fire fears ground planeA plane which was due to land at London City Airport makes an emergency landing at Southend Airport after one of its engines caught fire.
• Minister defends rail fare risesRail fare rises that have come into effect in England and Wales are regrettable but necessary, Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin says.

Financial Times

• Rail fares rise follows festive chaosCampaigners call for CPI link

The Guardian

• London transport enters year of big unknownsWith uncertainty over funding, rising traffic levels and a mayor whose attention might be wandering, 2015 could be a tricky year for transport in the capitalThe London New Year has brought the annual delight of an increase in public transport fares. These include the price of single bus journeys being hiked to the symbolic height of £1.50. Ten years ago, using Oyster, these cost just £1. Yet 2015’s increase is one of the gentler adjustments of recent times. The average rise is 2.5% compared with the inflation-plus new tariffs Boris Johnson has previously introduced. Daily c...
• Fare rises show why British railways should be renationalisedPassengers in this country pay through their teeth to travel on services that are too often unreliable, understaffed and overcrowdedIt’s the first week of January, so it’s time for that painful annual ritual – the introduction of yet more rail fare rises. No wonder rail passengers have had enough. Fares are increasing much faster than wages, with regulated ticket prices having risen by more than 20% since 2010.Figures released today by the Campaign for Better Transport show what this could mean for a constituency like mine in Brighton. Average ticket prices have soared by more than 20% for Bri...
• David Cameron defends rail fare rises amid concerns over rip-off BritainUK seeing biggest investment in railways since Victorian times, says PM, as figures show Britons pay more than EuropeansDavid Cameron has defended the need for above-inflation rises in rail fares amid concern UK passengers are paying over the odds in comparison with other European countries.On the day fares rose by an average of 2.2%, the prime minister said: “We’ve made sure that rail fares cannot go up by more than inflation. So the rail fare increase this year, as last year, is linked to inflation, and I think that’s right. Continue reading...
• Minicab drivers in Bradford face test to see if they can chat about the weatherCouncil officials consider expanding language test to make sure private hire taxi drivers can hold conversation in EnglishCab drivers hoping to work for private hire firms in Bradford, West Yorkshire, could face tests in English conversation to ensure they can carry on their profession’s fine traditions of discussing the weather and negotiating the best way to get from A to B.Those seeking licences to operate in the city are currently required to prove their linguistic competence by reading aloud a paragraph from a book and demonstrating they can complete a journey receipt. Continue reading...
• AirAsia flight QZ8501: airline was not allowed to fly route, says IndonesiaTransport ministry says Sunday flight time had not been clearedTwo large parts of the plane found on sea bed, say officialsThirty bodies have been recoveredRescue teams recover more bodiesThe AirAsia plane that crashed off Indonesia was flying on an unauthorised schedule, the country’s transport ministry said on Saturday, adding it had now frozen the airline’s permission to fly the route.As two large parts of the plane were found on the sea bed late on Friday by the international search team, director general of air transport Djoko Murjatmodjo said the doomed airliner’s flight time had not bee...

The Herald

• Flybe suspends Inverness-London flights, blaming lack of demandAirline Flybe is suspending its Inverness to London service due to lack of demand, but flights from Edinburgh will increase.
• Four hurt as plane with 28 on board veers off runway in Hebrides Two male passengers have been taken to hospital after an aeroplane veered off a runway.

The Independent

• Commuters protest 'daylight robbery' rail fare increases while disruptions blight network Commuters are incensed over the rail fare increases today amid backlash against the network over a catalogue of delays and cancellations that have been compounded by shutdowns over Christmas.

The Telegraph

• Transport Secretary defends the cost of commutingPatrick McLoughlin, the Transport Secretary, says commuters know the cost of the journey they are taking on, as fares rise once again
• Rail commuter claims £1,000 ticket money because of train delaysTom Burridge was awarded compensation for more than 60 delayed journeys during his Colchester to London commute in 2014
• Al Qaed Arr: Bristol bus timetable hacked by terrorists (who thought they would cause travel chaos in 'the West')Cyber terrorists thought the TravelWest website was for a more influential website promoting travel around the Western world - not the West Country

Daily Express

• Villagers handouts save bus serviceBATTLING pensioners have saved their local bus service... by chipping in with their winter fuel allowances.

Bolton News

• Anger over train fare increase TRAIN passengers in Bolton are angry over yet more fare increases.

London Evening Standard

• Rail fare hikes: London commuters clobbered as season ticket costs rise again London commuters are to be clobbered with another hike in rail fares from Friday.
• Watch heart-stopping moment angry driver slams on brakes in front of lorry on motorway This is the heart-stopping moment an angry driver slams on the brakes in front of a lorry while travelling on a motorway.

Manchester Evening News

• Not again.... Metrolink services halted at Ashton West after car ends up on tracksServices suspended on Ashton tram line this evening after vehicle becomes stranded on rails

Sheffield Telegraph

• Rail fare increases ‘regrettable’, Derbyshire MP behind the rise saysThe latest round of rail fare rises is “regrettable”, Derbyshire Dales MP and Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin has said.

This Is Local London Network

• Commuters across south west London hit by arrival of latest price hikes Rail passengers across south west London were hit by price hikes this morning, with ticket costs going up by 2.1 per cent across Southern services.
• Transport police descend on Sutton station after fears unattended bag could cause fatal explosion British Transport Police officers were down at Sutton station this afternoon, after it was feared a discarded bag might be a bomb.

Wales Online

• Wales forges reputation as world class mountain biking destination after three cycling sites were named among the UK's bestA new survey puts three Welsh sites among the top four mountain bike trails in Britain
• Commuters unhappy with Arriva Trains Wales fare hikeThe latest annual increase means some fares will have risen well over 20% in the last five years
• Aviation expert savages Ieuan Wyn's defence of 'wasteful and polluting' north-south air linkRetired tour operator Clive Sedgebeer says former AM was wrong to claim no other European countries go without internal flights

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Government boasts on unstarted Leeds transport linksGOVERNMENT-backed transport and infrastructure projects in Leeds will not be completed by the time the Government goes into the next General election, with several schemes yet to have been started.

Yorkshire Post

• Exclusive: Ten flagship transport projects go unfinishedJUST six of the Government’s 16 biggest Yorkshire transport projects will be completed by the time of the election, The Yorkshire Post has discovered.

Blackpool Gazette

• Rail union members to ask public for supportRail union members will be outside Blackpool North station on Monday urging travellers to support their fight to preserve services.

Peterborough Telegraph

• New boss named for new East Coast rail firmThe head of the new company which will take over responsibility for running rail services on the East Coast Main Line next year has been confirmed.

Other Regional Press

• Controversial bus cuts come into effect from tomorrow across HampshireCOMMUNITIES fear their new year cheer will be turned upside-down as vital bus services are slashed across the county this weekend.
• Cambridge traffic is 'worst ever' says Stagecoach bus chief Andy CampbellThe leader of Cambridge City Council has said traffic congestion on the lead up to Christmas was a "wake up call" for City Deal partners as Stagecoach East director Andy Campbell describes the situation as the "worst ever"
• Taxi firms flouting law over carrying guide dogs says blind campaigner David QuarmbyDriver refused David a lift because he was

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• New rail pricing rules come into forceThe government’s latest set of regulations on rail fare price rises has come into operation for 2015.   Increases have been capped at the rate of inflation (RPI), which is currently 2.5 per cent. Rail operators were previously able to put prices up by an extra two per cent above RPI, but this power has now been rescinded. The average rise for 2015 across the UK is 2.2 per cent.   Rail operators will also be required to tell passengers if there is a cheaper ticket available for their journey at the point of purchase.   To mark the occasion, transport secreta...

Aviation Industry

• American Airlines: One Of The Most Undervalued, High Growth Stocks Out ThereThis is a result of lingering investor fears about the near-bankruptcy of the company, as well as negative sentiment towards the airline sector in general. There are multiple tailwinds to push American Airlines higher in 2015, where the company should see an even more stellar growth rate than it has in the past few years.
• Michael O'Leary: 'I want Ryanair to fly 97 million people'RYANAIR chief Michael O'Leary's goal for 2015 is to reach up to 97 million passengers with his budget airline. The company's profit predictions soared by 20pc at the end of 2014 after a pledge by the controversial businessman to
• Flybe adds French route from BirminghamRegional carrier will operate service to Deauville this summer
• Delta vows not to outsource flights to VirginUS carrier reaches deal with union to maintain its own transatlantic services

Other News Sources

• Government attacked over rail fares riseTrain prices increase by 2.2 per cent on first working day of 2015