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

Sunday, 20 December 2015

BBC News

• Millions allocated for road projectsAlmost �500m is allocated to upgrade the Londonderry to Belfast and Londonderry to Dublin roads.
• 45,000 'to use airport this weekend'Belfast International Airport is estimating 45,000 passengers will pass through its doors this weekend, ahead of the traditional Christmas rush.

The Guardian

• Bad vibrations as Fiat denies design fault with the 500From the ‘best car ever’ to the worst – one owner is shaken up every time he takes his nearly new convertible over 40mphWhen Spencer Smart bought a brand new Fiat 500 convertible last year he was so pleased that shortly afterwards he told a friend it was the best car he had ever owned. But just a few months later, every time he drove above 40mph, the car’s steering wheel would start to vibrate badly. Soon the whole car was shaking so much when driven at speed that Smart, from Marazion, Cornwall, felt it was “no longer drivable”.He asked an independent automotive engineer to examine the car whi...
• Two dead as passenger ship sinks off IndonesiaIndonesian rescue teams pluck 23 people from rough waters as search continues for the remaining 93 people on board stricken vesselThere are concerns for the safety of scores of people after a ship carrying 118 passengers and crew lost power in rough waters off an Indonesian island on Saturday.Rescuers have so far pulled at least 23 survivors from the sea, but also found two dead, authorities said. Continue reading...
• Crackdown on drivers using mobile phonesPersistent offenders will be given four penalty points under proposalsMotorists who use handheld mobile phones while driving are to face increased penalties and higher fines under proposals from the Department for Transport.As part of the government’s Road Safety Plan, to be published this week, the fixed penalty notice for dangerous mobile use will rise to £150 from £100, while persistent offenders will face having four penalty points imposed instead of three. The proposals are targeted particularly at reoffenders and most first-time offenders will be offered an educationa...

The Herald

• City drivers told to beware of revellersPOLICE have warned revellers partygoers about the dangers of “drunk walking” as officers aim to prevent serious road crashes.
• Festive travellers told to plan for road and rail disruptionFESTIVE travellers are facing widespread disruption on roads and rail services as the Christmas getaway begins this weekend.
• MSPs told similar car smoking ban led to 10% cut in number of children exposed to secondhand smokeMSPs who passed legislation to ban smoking in cars that are carrying children were told that the only similar legal intervention resulted a ten per cent cut in the proportion of youngsters exposed to secondhand smoke.

The Scotsman

• Forth bridge work fast-tracked to ease traffic woePLANNED maintenance work on the Forth Road Bridge has been fast-tracked to avert more traffic disruption after it re-opens next month.

The Telegraph

• Drivers caught using mobile phones face �150 finesTransport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin plans to hit drivers who flout the law with higher fines, rising from �100 to �150, and more penalty points on their licences
• Passengers are being 'ripped off' by baffling train faresRail regulator may act as experts warn that the train fares system is far too complex

Times Online

• Walsh’s game of slots at Heathrow (Subscription)While its boss threatens to take BA to Madrid or Dublin, the airline is keeping its grip on London’s busiest airport, writes John Collingridge

Mail Online

• Heathrow boss Nigel Rudd says Zac Goldsmith's never had a proper job Heathrow's chairman Sir Nigel Rudd accused London mayoral candidate Zac Goldsmith (pictured) of holding country ‘to ransom’ by opposing a third runway and has ‘no academic achievement’.
• Drone carrying skunk cannabis for Bullingdon prisoners seized after crash-landing The drone, found by prison staff at Bullingdon jail, in Oxfordshire, (pictured) was also carrying mobile phones and charges and was sent in by someone outside who was controlling it.
• �100m bill to make Portsmouth harbour deep enough for Navy's new warships� The complex and expensive operation is needed to deepen the harbour by 5ft so that the giant aircraft carriers HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales will be able to berth there.
• US guards with guns to patrol UK airports to reduce risk of ISIS flying to America US Department of Homeland Security wants to introduce the scheme across the world, including the UK. Policy makers hope it will reduce the risk of IS terrorists flying to America.

The Mirror

• Fishermen hear migrant screams as 18 die in boat tragedy off Turkish coast Fourteen migrants were saved from the boat, which was thought to be carrying migrants from Iraq, Pakistan and Syria

This is Money

• Boss invests �100k of his own cash into Rolls-Royce with a plan to breath new life into the troubled business The purchase comes after East stripped out a layer of management to speed up decision-making .The executive cull forms part of a turnaround strategy that could save �200million a year by 2017.
• Save �30 a year on your car insurance: New website offers free legal service Ever heard of Motor Legal Protection? You should have if you're a motorist, because you've probably been paying �30 a year for it. A new website is offering it for nothing, saving motorists �100m.
• Petrol's six-year low hits garages and oil firms�while airlines and motorists benefit The average price of a litre of unleaded petrol was 103.8p at the end of last week, with diesel selling for 107.1p. The last time petrol was this price was in August 2009.
• The great white van rush: Yes, they really are taking over the road – with 368,000 new vehicles moving millions of parcels in an online shopping explosion According to figures secured exclusively for The Mail on Sunday the number of delivery firms has increased by more than a third in the past 12 months.

Sheffield Star

• Sheffield rail commuters have fourth worst odds of morning delaysMorning rail commuters in Sheffield have the fourth worst odds in the whole country of their train being late, it has been revealed.

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• Ad signs approved despite claims they are danger to motorway driversMotorists travelling on the M5 and M6 in the Black Country will be put in danger, it has been claimed after a plan to put up two giant advertising boards overlooking the motorways was approved by councillors.

Blackpool Gazette

• Call a cab at touch of a buttonBlackpool cabbies are using technology to keep ahead of potential competition from car-sharing services such as Uber which have launched in other towns and cities in the UK.

North Wales Live

• Where is your bike most likely to be nicked in Merseyside? We looked at the number of bicycle thefts to occur outside railway stations. Can you guess which station is the worst?
• Bike-pinching criminals in Merseyside get away with over 80% of thefts, figures revealThose caught were handed fines, cautions and prison sentences, say Merseyside Police

Other Regional Press

• Parents making ‘serious errors’ when fitting child car seatsNine out of ten (91%) new parents make potentially fatal errors when fitting childrens’ car seats, according to a new study.
• Bomb ship SS Richard Montgomery is cracking up says government reportThe condition of the Richard Montgomery, a transport ship loaded with dangerous munitions that sank off the Kent coast in 1944, continues to worsen.
• Parents making ‘serious errors’ when fitting child car seatsNine out of ten (91%) new parents make potentially fatal errors when fitting childrens’ car seats, according to a new study.
• Extra buses over festive period A BUS company is putting on more services than ever before over the Christmas period.
• Ferry firm goes bust A FERRY firm has cancelled all sailings to and from the Isle of Wight after calling in administrators.
• Grimsby Telegraph published ​Driver alert: Speed camera locations this week in our areaMobile cameras will be in the following locations across northern Lincolnshire in the week commencing December 21. Safer Roads Humber operates fixed and mobile cameras at 85 sites in northern Lincolnshire and East Yorkshire. Motorists should be aware these locations and dates represent the minimum speed enforcement undertaken and that officers can visit any of the other sites on any day of the week, including evenings and weekends. This week's locations are: Tuesday, December 22: College...
• WBHuw commented Speed camera call for A39 death roadCALLS have been made for speed cameras on a stretch of the A39 where "too many have died".Following the death of Matt Hodges in a crash on the three-lane section leading towards Treluswell early this year, Cornwall Council announced it would fund proposed works to make the road safer.However, there are now calls for the council to also install speed cameras.At Mr Hodges' inquest, assistant coroner Guy Davies had called on the council to act on the dangerous stretch because other lives...
• Campaigners urge council to improve public transport in Witney MEMBERS of a campaign group in Witney battling to get better public transport have joined other local societies to present a united case to Oxfordshire County Council.

Airportwatch

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Other News Sources

• Blackburn’s new £4.7million bus station moves step closer to completion THE glass panels surrounding Blackburn’s new £4.7million bus station are now almost complete – and that means it is now on target to open at Easter, 15 months later than planned.
• Parking ‘stealth tax’ will not be removed COUNCILLORS have voted down a proposal to remove a “stealth tax” on paying for parking by mobile phone.