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

Sunday, 13 December 2015

BBC News

• VIDEO: Forth Bridge travel chaos as repairs go onTravel chaos is continuing on road and rail routes as engineers try to fix cracks that appeared in Forth Bridge.
• Car crash leaves homes without powerA Scottish Borders community is left without power for several hours after a car left the road and hit an electricity pole.
• Bridge closure 'threatening firms'Small firms could struggle to survive unless there is more certainty about when the Forth Road Bridge will reopen, a business group says.
• Freezing fog warning for driversDrivers are urged to take care with wintry conditions expected across some parts of Scotland this weekend and warnings of freezing fog.

Financial Times

• Cost brings airport debate down to earthHeathrow offers grand vision but Gatwick plays private financing card

The Guardian

• Vital Heathrow expansion must not be held up by craven politics | Will HuttonBritain’s status as the de facto capital of Europe depends on our international hub airport. But Cameron has funked itBritain is not as good at making things as it could and should be. Nor is it very good, despite the hype, at financial services. Its widely trumpeted “success” is built on turning a blind eye to quasi-criminality in investment banking and to systemic fleecing of ignorant customers in the asset management industry through an opaque and self-serving fee structure.But Britain does have one trump card. It is the location capital of the world. Britain is the European or world headqu...
• Two people killed in MTV helicopter crash in western ArgentinaThe helicopter, associated with reality show The Challenge, crashed as it flew over Potrerillos Dam in Mendoza, killing the pilot and a technician onboardTwo people have been killed after a helicopter associated with filming for an MTV reality show crashed in western Argentina on Saturday, local authorities said. Related: French investigators in Argentina to find cause of fatal helicopter crash Continue reading...

The Herald

• Revealed: the full inside story of why the Forth Road Bridge descended into chaosSAFETY works on the Forth Road Bridge were put off for at least seven years, amid mounting concerns behind the scenes over funding and transport disruption, a special Sunday Herald investigation has uncovered.

The Scotsman

• Forth Road Bridge: Businesses demand clarity over timetableBUSINESS representatives have called for greater certainty on when the Forth Road Bridge will reopen amid fears small firms could struggle to secure short-term financial support.
• Forth Bridge safety fears led to heavy loads banSOME heavy goods vehicles had been banned from using the Forth Road bridge as far back as last February amid fears over safety, it has emerged.

The Telegraph

• Southern English train used to tackle Forth bridge chaosThe Telegraph can disclose that ScotRail has been forced to bring in a diesel locomotive and six carriages from Hampshire to handle peak demand from commuters travelling between Edinburgh and Fife.
• Hundreds evacuated after train fire at Marylebone stationFire on train at busy London terminus disrupts rush hour services to the north west of the capital

Daily Express

• Roadworks banished: No motorway madness for Christmas revellersMORE than 400 miles of roadworks will be removed for the Christmas getaway as the Government backs the Sunday Express Get Britain Moving crusade.

Daily Record

• Forth Road Bridge: Small firms need clarity on reopening or they could go under, say business leadersIT'S feared small firms who were relying on a busy December could struggle to get help from the banks to tide them over unless there's a definite end in sight to the bridge closure.           
• This bridge cannot cope: Engineer raised alarm about the Forth Road crossing TEN MONTHS agoCONFIDENTIAL papers show Chief Engineer Barry Colford identified problems with the links in February as he ordered a ban on vehicles weighing more than 150 tonness until load-bearing beams were strengthened or replaced.

Mail Online

• UK ports will be soft targets if intelligence officers are relocated away After a nationwide review, Special Branch officers will next year be switched from harbours and marinas to London, Birmingham and Manchester (fie photo of commandos during training exercise)

The Mirror

• Thousands of grandparents risk fines by not using special car seats for children The worrying research shows that many are not using a seat designed for kids when they let them travel in their own vehicles
• Car driven onto TRAM TRACKS causing suspension of Metrolink network The White BMW appears to have been driven onto the network and made its way down the tracks

This is Money

• The six best hybrid cars on the market The UK has reaffirmed its commitment to an agreement that all new cars sold by 2050 will be zero emissions vehicles. In the meantime, here is a list of the best hybrid cars you can buy today.
• Tesco and Sainsbury's joins ASDA and Morrisons by dropping petrol below �1 a litre Tesco and Sainsbury's have waded into the the fuel price war by following in the footsteps of rivals ASDA and Morrisons by offering petrol at its forecourts for less than �1 a litre.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Danger drivers in Bradford suburb 'not learning lesson' from horror crash that killed four young men, residents warn WORRIED residents yesterday threw their support behind the Telegraph & Argus' Stop The Danger Drivers campaign - on the seventh anniversary of the deaths of four young men in a horror crash.

London Evening Standard

• Taxi driver fined for knocking high-profile cycling campaigner off bikeA taxi driver who knocked over a high-profile London cycling campaigner has been fined �500 after the crash was caught on camera.
• Audi A4 3.0 TDI 218 2016: reviewThe perennial A4 with the cheapest six-cylinder diesel. Sound exciting?
• 45,000 trips made in first week of new Uber Pool ride-sharing serviceSome 45,000 trips were made in the first week of Uber's new car-sharing service, the minicab app has said.

Manchester Evening News

• Parking scheme to stop 'holiday dumpers' around Manchester Airport 'delayed to the new year'"How long have we been waiting - how long's a piece of string?'

Northern Echo

• Snowfall and heavy rain prompts travel warning as temperatures plunge overnight SNOW and heavy rain in parts of the region prompted a travel warning earlier today, with blizzard conditions being reported on high ground.

Sheffield Star

• ROADWORKS: What’s in store for drivers in Yorkshire and the Humber next weekPlanned roadworks in Yorkshire and the Humber – summary for Monday December 14 to Sunday December 20.

The York Press

• Drivers warned not to drink drive the morning after POLICE and road safety campaigners are pleading with drivers not to risk drink driving
• York MP raises questions about new rail deals CAMPAIGNERS and York's MP are asking questions about the new rail deals announced this week for Yorkshire services.

Doncaster Free Press

• ROADWORKS: What’s in store for drivers in Yorkshire and the Humber next weekPlanned roadworks in Yorkshire and the Humber – summary for Monday December 14 to Sunday December 20.

North Wales Live

• Track defect on Wirral line causes major disruption at Liverpool's James Street station Merseyrail carried out a safety inspection of the defective track which caused long delays and queues on Saturday afternoon

The Shields Gazette

• ‘I want shipbuilding back on Tyne again’: Hebburn man’s quest to restore tradeA Hebburn man has started a bid to restore his town’s rich shipbuilding history.
• 13 ways drivers can keep safe as snow blankets North East roadsNorthumbria Police is advising road users to take extra care in the snowy and wintry conditions today.

Other Regional Press

• Council pledges �60,000 to save bus serviceAn under-threat village bus service looks to have been saved from the axe after parish councillors stepped in to secure cash.
• New Rochester Railway Station will open today, pledge railway bosses Teams from Network Rail and Southeastern have been working round the clock to prepare a �26m new station for its planned opening today.
• Parents’ fear after girl, four, is knocked down on school run PARENTS are calling for tougher safety measures at a crossing in West Way after a four-year-old girl was hit by a car.
• Death crash widow calls for motorway safety improvement A GRIEVING widow has called for road planners to improve safety on one of Hampshire busiest motorways following the death of her husband.
• Grimsby Telegraph published Petrol prices: Tesco joins price war by slashing petrol to 99.9pSupermarket giant Tesco has joined Asda and Morrisons by slashing the cost of unleaded fuel to below £1 per litre. The store, which has pumps at its branch at Hewitts Circus in Cleethorpes, has cut prices to 99.9p. Tesco joins Asda and Morrisons, who reduced their prices to below £1 per litre for unleaded petrol earlier this week. Asda reduced the price at its pumps on Thursday to 99.7p for unleaded and 103.7p for diesel. Motoring organisation RAC had said motorists will be...
• One in 10 motorists cannot identify drink-drive limit, report claimsA staggering 88% of UK motorists cannot correctly identify the current drink drive limit when presented with seven options, a new report has claimed.

Other News Sources

• Road safety warning as housing estate approved near crash site PLANNERS have approved 91 new homes near an accident blackspot despite protest from dozens of residents.
• Airport expansion debate rages on as decision delayed until next summer The delay has been called a 'defining moment' in the debate, while others believe it will have a ‘significant detrimental impact’
• Crossrail 2: Less than one month to comment on proposals for new Surrey rail links Crossrail 2 will further link Surrey to London via Epsom, Ewell, Chessington, Thames Ditton, Sunbury and Shepperton
• Gatwick bosses hail expansion delay as defining moment GATWICK bosses have hailed the Government delay in making a decision on airport expansion as a defining moment in the debate.