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

Monday, 04 April 2016

BBC News

• �2m road and safety upgrades agreedNearly �2m of funding is announced for road improvement and road safety projects in Pembrokeshire.
• Rooftop incident closes city roadPolice close a road in Glasgow overnight as a result of an
• Tube sex crime unit avoids axePlans to disband a specialist unit which investigates sex offences on the Underground have been put on hold, British Transport Police reveal.
• Tesla Model 3 orders total 276,000Tesla chief executive Elon Musk says pre-orders of its much-anticipated Model 3 electric car currently total 276,000.

Financial Times

• Virgin America nears sale to Alaska Air$2bn bid would value Branson-backed US carrier at significant premium to market price

The Guardian

• Air France faces staff mutiny in headscarf rowUnion leaders say instruction to female staff to cover up when leaving their plane in Tehran is attack on individual freedomsAir France is facing a backlash after instructing female crew to wear trousers during flights to Iran and to don a “loose-fitting jacket and headscarf” before leaving the plane in Tehran.Staff representatives have accused the airline, which will resume flights to the Iranian capital later this month, of forcing female staff to wear clothes that are an “ostentatious religious sign” that goes against French law. Continue reading...
• The innovators: the smart systems driving motorists towards smarter citiesA Cambridge-based tech firm is pioneering apps to let you park more easily, tell local councils when to grit or even light up particular roadsDriving in Moscow can be a hair-raising experience. The city suffers some of the worst congestion in the world and parking spaces are often impossible to find. But now, with the help of technology developed by a British company, drivers in the Russian capital can get ahead in the race to find a space.Along with St Petersburg and Minsk, the, Moscow is the location for a pilot project using technology from Telensa, a company based outside Cambridge, that c...
• The train company that has ideas above its station | David Mitchell‘Great Western Railway’ has been ordered by the ASA to take down its misleading posters. Now we should strip it of its misleading nameHow can a landlord expect to receive rent if the sanction for refusing to pay it isn’t eviction?A small good thing happened last week, but in a context of such stupidity and unfairness that it only brought home to me more strongly all that stupidity and unfairness, so I’d almost rather it hadn’t happened at all. The good thing was that the train operator “Great Western Railway”, which is owned by FirstGroup plc, was banned by the Advertising Standards Authority ...
• End of the road: Jakarta's 'passengers for hire' targeted by carpooling crackdownThree-in-one rule, which enticed children to leave school to become ‘jockeys’ on the cities busiest roads, suspended leaving hundreds without incomeLines of people from women holding babies to school age children, with a hand held up to show they’re for hire, are a ubiquitous sight on the Indonesian capital’s busiest roads during rush hour.But not this week. Traffic-clogged Jakarta plans to suspend its peak-time rule of three people to one car from Tuesday. And the passengers for hire, known as jockeys, who helped drivers cheat the traffic controls, will be out of a job. Continue reading...
• 18 people injured as two trains collide at Plymouth stationEyewitness describes ‘huge bang’ and passengers thrown forward when train he was riding in collided with stationary train Eighteen people have been injured after two trains collided at Plymouth railway station, the ambulance service has said. Emergency services were called at 3.35pm on Sunday after two passenger services were involved in a “low-speed” collision on platform six of Plymouth station. A “huge bang” was heard and passengers were thrown forward by the impact, according to an eyewitness.All 18 casualties – which include the driver of one of the trains – were reported to be in stable ...

The Herald

• Brussels Airport starts passenger flights again after terror attackThe first passenger flight has left Brussels Airport since it was closed after the suicide bombings on March 22 which blew up its departures terminal.
• Virgin vows to overtake airlines in battle for Scotland-London passengersFLAGSHIP cross-Border operator Virgin Trains has vowed to make rail travel between Scotland and London more popular than planes within the decade.

The Scotsman

• Security tightened as Brussels Airport reopens to passengersA Brussels Airlines plane heading to the Portuguese city of Faro took off from Brussels Airport yesterday, the first passenger flight to leave the airport since suicide bombings on 22 March ripped through its check-in counters.

Mail Online

• Miracle escape of female driver who survived after car plunged 490ft into a valley The 28-year-old woman is lucky to be alive having come off the road at Ditchling Beacon, near Ditchling, East Sussex and crashing down a steep incline and in to a valley below.
• 3 passenger flights to leave Brussels Airport The Brussels Airlines flight to Faro, Portugal, was described as 'a sign of hope' by Arnaud Feist, the CEO of Brussels Airport Co.
• Mother's fury after she is fined for exceeding car park time limit while she breast fed Kelly Jobson, 27, was nursing seven-week-old Ella at the M&S feeding facilities in Kingston Court Retail Park, in Newcastle upon Tyne, when she went over the three-hour limit by 20 minutes.
• Nine passengers are hurt after two trains crash at Plymouth Railway Station platform� No-one is believed to be trapped following the incident, which happened on platform six at the south coast city's main railway station, Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service said.
• Smartphones causing pedestrians to walk into the road through lack of attention Official figures show 46 pedestrians died in 2014 due to ‘lack of attention’. Statistics show this was a 12 per cent rise on 2013, when 398 pedestrians were killed. Many people are oblivious to traffic.
• Wales driver's car caught somersaulting before landing on another vehicle in video Norman Drinkwater was driving near Trefnant, Wales, with his dog in the car when the blue hatchbag coming towards him caught the bank and was thrown into the air (pictured).

Birmingham Post

• HS2 causes golf club to plan major overhaul Construction of high-speed rail line will cut a swathe through 18-hole Staffordshire course prompting new plans for redevelopment

London Evening Standard

• Detective: London gangs using stolen mopeds to carry out murders and drive-by shootingsTheft of mopeds and scooters is on the rise in London because gangs are increasingly using them to carry out serious violent crimes like murder and drive-by shootings, a top detective has said.
• Woman killed after plane hits her car in CaliforniaA woman has died after a plane crash landed on a motorway in America and slammed into her car.
• Plymouth train crash: 18 people injured after two trains collide at stationEighteen people have been injured after two trains collided at a railway platform.
• Air France stewardesses refuse to fly to Iran in headscarf rowAir France stewardesses are refusing to fly to Iran when flights resume between the two countries after being ordered to wear headscarves when they arrive in Tehran.
• Tube passengers told to move from yellow boxes to ease congestionA new Tube announcement telling passengers not to wait in yellow boxes at some of London's busiest stations is being tested in the latest bid to ease underground congestion.

Northern Echo

• Anger as pupils are denied free travel A CHURCH school judged outstanding by Ofsted is calling on education bosses to reconsider helping students with fares - warning many parents cannot afford to send them.
• Upper Teesdale road due to reopen a week early thanks to round the clock work A RURAL road which is closed for landslip repairs is reopening a week early thanks to around the clock work to try and minimise disruption.
• 30,000 tyres stored illegally next to East Coast Mainline: company fined A COMPANY that illegally stored up to 30,000 tyres next to the East Coast Mainline has been fined for creating a fire hazard.

Sheffield Star

• More Sheffield rail services to be cancelled in driver dispute, warns unionMore Sheffield rail services are likely to be cancelled due to an overtime dispute involving Transpennine Express drivers, a union has warned.

Wales Online

• Village bus stop is completely destroyed after car ploughs into it South Wales Police say one person has been arrested following the incident in Groesfaen, Pontyclun

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• �330m deal to bring futuristic airships to WolverhamptonA company based on Wolverhampton Business Airport has signed a �330 million deal to become the first to operate a new generation of airships.
• West Bromwich drivers face four months of chaosDrivers in West Bromwich are facing four months of traffic chaos with works near a busy junction set to cause major disruption.
• Quick-thinking girl's text snares train sex pestA text to a British Transport Police number has helped officers catch a train sex pest.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Council set to write off 13,000 parking fines in LeedsTHOUSANDS of parking tickets that have proved ‘irrecoverable’ could be written off by Leeds City Council to help save £91,567 in legal costs.

Doncaster Free Press

• Take to the slopes with new Doncaster airport flight route to ski resortHolidaymakers from across the region wanting to hit the world’s best slopes can now do so as Doncaster’s Robin Hood Airport has announced new flights to Chambery - regarded as the gateway to Alpine ski resorts.

East Anglian Daily Times

• Car stopped by police at Martlesham had haul of Aptamil baby formula milk in the bootTraffic officers stopped a car after an alert was triggered by automatic number plate recognition technology ­– and got a surprise when they searched the vehicle.

Other Regional Press

• Police to begin enforcing 30mph on Havant Road, Hayling IslandSPEED enforcement is to begin on a road with a new controversial speed limit.
• Ambulance service (SECAmb) calls for public help as service is stretchedAmbulance bosses are calling for public support as demand for their services hits a high.
• All the planned West Midlands roadworks for April 4-10 Don't get caught out on the roads this week by using a comprehensive list of planned works
• Day of delays on the railway after signalling cable stolen from Nuneaton Another 40 metres of cable was damaged during the theft
• Reconstructed frigate is 'most authentic tall ship for 150 years' SHE soars up dramatically against the bright blue sky, towering masts stretched to full height with a taut network of rigging and a gigantic flag proudly bearing her country’s red, white and blue colours.
• Get on your bike - registration open for traffic and pedestrian-free cycle event CALLING all cyclists! Organisers have opened registration for a family bike ride.
• Critics slam 'crazy' new road speed rules SPEED limit campaigners in Hampshire could have to wait for accidents before action is taken under new rules branded “crazy” by critics.
• Major Hampshire road to close overnight for two weeks MOTORISTS will face disruptions as a busy Hampshire road will close overnight for more than two weeks.
• UPDATE: Plane makes dramatic emergency landing at Southampton Airport A PLANE was forced to make a dramatic emergency landing at Southampton Airport today.

Other News Sources

• Fincantieri Bags 5 Cruise Ships Order from CarnivalFollowing the historical agreement of March 2015 and the memorandum of agreement of last December, Fincantieri, leader in cruise ship design and construction, and Carnival Corporation & plc,
• The Queen's Bentley for Diamond Jubilee celebrations was on sale in Bramley showroom New owner may have to reset the sat-nav, as pictures of the car show its "home address" as 'Windsor, Berkshire'