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

Monday, 02 February 2015

BBC News

• Transport lifeline for Gwynedd village of Glan-yr-AfonA transport lifeline for a rural community is being piloted in north Wales.
• Tube ticket office closures beginThe first London Underground ticket offices to close in a move that has prompted strikes and long-running dispute shut their windows.

Financial Times

• Concerns mount over HS2 ‘gravy’ trainThe IoD calls the high-speed rail link a ‘vanity project’, yet it has its fans

The Guardian

• Our cities shouldn’t rely on Uber to devise new transport choicesAs regulators from India to France continue to crack down on Uber, the popular taxi-hailing app, the company has embarked on a charm offensive. All of a sudden, Uber’s once combative and tone-deaf executives laud the importance of regulating their industry
• Germany creates laws for driverless carsCompetition from Google has created a strong will in the German government and car industry to get there firstThe German transport minister will be laying down legal guidelines for the use of driverless cars on the country’s autobahns.Alexander Dobrindt said driverless or robot cars would probably become a feature on German roads within a few years, but insisted that some rules needed to be in place first. Continue reading...
• More people cycling in London than ever beforeRecord breaking year for cyclists in the capital, according to Transport for London, as Boris Johnson announces cycling superhighwaysRecord numbers of cyclists are pedalling their way around the capital, according to Transport for London (TfL), which said cycling levels were 10% higher in the three months to December than in the same quarter in 2013, and were the highest since records began in 2000. By the end of 2014/15, TfL forecasts a 12% rise from the previous financial year.Last year was also a record for the number of hires from London’s cycle hire scheme, with more than 10m journeys mad...

The Scotsman

• Chaos at Edinburgh airport as staff call in sickHUNDREDS of irate travellers faced massive queues at Edinburgh Airport last night after a number of security staff called in sick.
• Driverless cabs plan for Glasgow SubwayA DRAMATIC view of ­Scotland’s only underground railway awaits passengers aboard new driverless trains on the Glasgow Subway – popularly known as the “Clockwork ­Orange”.

City AM

• Heathrow plans for new runway blasted by rivalHEATHROW Airport has underestimated the cost of a new runway by up to £5.6bn and will take at least four years longer than planned to complete the project, according to research from EC Harris that was commissioned by Gatwick Airport.

Mail Online

• Air Asia pilot 'was out of his seat as the plane went down' Captain Iriyanto left his seat on Flight 8501 to turn off faulty computer which would have left pilots manually flying plane, and by the time he got back it was falling into the ocean, investigators say.
• Self-filling cars that never run out of fuel: Volvo develops vehicle that would alert mobile suppliers to top up tank when car is parked and the driver is elsewhere  The car would send a message via smartphone when the tank is close to empty so that mobile fuel supplier could come and top the vehicle up using secure code to open the fuel cap.

The Mirror

• Labour will plough BILLIONS into the regions for transport, housing and employment The party will devolve £30billion for transport, housing and employment skills to the regions in the biggest shake-up for generations

Edinburgh Evening News

• Firm taking over Scotrail among worst in UKThe firm set to take over the running of Scotland’s railways has been named one of Britain’s worst train operators.

Northern Echo

• Durham Tees Valley Airport to offer Lapland flight DURHAM Tees Valley Airport (DTVA) has confirmed that flights to Lapland for a winter wonderland holiday will be available this December.

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• Taxi row over claims they're forced off roads due to wait timesTaxi drivers say they are being forced off the road by waiting times at Dudley Council's main servicing and repairs centre.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Rail firm is on board with free WiFi offerTrain passengers in Leeds are making all the right connections on their phones, tablets and laptops while using Northern Rail services.

Doncaster Free Press

• Doncaster rail firm on track for job creationA rail firm which has doubled its number of workers and secured a host of huge contracts is on track for further success after relocating to larger premises in Doncaster.

East Anglian Daily Times

• Level crossing fault at Melton causes delays for rail passengers between Ipswich and LowestoftRail passengers travelling between Ipswich and Lowestoft faced delays on Saturday night due to a level crossing fault near Woodbridge.

London24

• More Tube ticket offices close as TfL defends controversial ’modernisation’The next phase of TfL’s controversial plan to close all Tube ticket offices starts today as South Wimbledon and Queensway stations are the latest to undergo ’modernisation’.

Plymouth Herald

• Why does Plymouth still not have have a secure rail connection? Last winter our railway collapsed. But 12 months later there has still not been any firm assurance that Plymouth will get the rail link it deserves. GRAEME DEMIANYK asks why...

Other Regional Press

• First upgraded Greater Anglia train carriage enters service from NorwichThe intercity Mk III carriage, the first of 119 carriages to be upgraded, will be welcomed to Norwich station by a delegation of MPs, train company bosses and business leaders this morning.
• Tendring: Rail campaigner demands serious train investment and improvementTHE Government must think carefully when it appoints a new company to run the north Essex rail line, according to a transport campaigner.
• Theatre group joins Bridport bus protest AN AMUSING play helped highlight a serious issue as feelings about bus cuts were shared in Bridport.
• Row over council ruling that forces children to make a 'dangerous' walk to school A MUM says she feels her family are ‘at risk’ after Dorset County Council ruled her four-year-old son would have to walk to school along an unlit country road with no pavement.

Other News Sources

• Crunch meeting called over rogue Shropshire railway barrierCouncillors have called for a public meeting with Network Rail in a bid to answer questions about a controversial level crossing.
• Datchet residents step up campaign against Heathrow Airport expansionFlyers calling for villagers to take part in a consultation about the proposed Heathrow expansion have been dropped through doors in Datchet as the clock ticks down on the chance for them to have their say.
• Steep speed bump causing motorists a headache COUNCIL contractors are to smooth out a speed ramp after motorists damaged their cars.
• Thameslink rail operator to improve compensation payments following petition A RAIL company is improving its compensation payments following a petition and a week of misery on the trains.