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

Sunday, 10 April 2016

BBC News

• VIDEO: Boy sealed in lorry rescued by textingA seven-year-old boy from Afghanistan was rescued from a sealed lorry on a British motorway after texting someone in the US for help.
• Second six-vehicle crash on motorwaySecond six-vehicle crash on Northern Ireland motorway in 24 hours.

Financial Times

• Belgians charge third airport bomberProsecutors say Abrini has admitted being ‘the man in the hat’ in the Brussels airport attack

The Guardian

• Car hire ‘super CDW’ cover: your policy should be to avoid this rip-offCompanies are ever more desperate to get you to buy their wildly expensive bolt-ons - because most their profits come from themWhen did approaching a car rental desk turn into a game like Call of Duty: Black Ops 3, dodging financial grenades while engaging in hand-to-hand combat with an evil zombie, albeit dressed in a corporate uniform with a supercilious smile?Rental companies are using ever more desperate tactics to force you into buying their wildly expensive “super CDW” insurance. The reason? Lots of people have woken up to this holiday rip-off and bought annual cover from the likes of ic...
• SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully lands on ocean platform – videoThe SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket booster makes a successful landing on an ocean platform. The Falcon 9 was launched from Florida on a Nasa cargo mission to the International Space Station on Friday. Minutes later, its reusable main-stage booster landed on an ocean drone platform. Elon Musk, the tech billionaire who owns SpaceX, has said he hopes to pioneer reusable rockets that will make spaceflight vastly less expensive Continue reading...
• Outraged Spain hits back as wine tankers are hijacked and ‘guerre des vins’ eruptsAnger as winemakers pour away tanker of red in cheap imports protestWhat the French like to call the guerre des vins has broken out again. Last week wine from a Spanish-registered tanker could be seen pouring on to a road in south-west France, forming a large pool the colour of blood.Around 100 French winemakers had forced the driver to stop at the road toll point, ordered him to hand over his keys and then cheered as the red puddle swelled and ran into a ditch. Local gendarmes stood by and watched. Continue reading...
• Richard Branson: ‘Millions of people would love to become astronauts’Eighteen months on from the fatal crash that left Richard Branson’s space tourism project in doubt, Virgin Galactic is back. We report from the unveiling of a new ship in the Mojave desert and talk to BransonDrive north-east out of Los Angeles, and when the suburban sprawl finally gives out, the terrain looks more and more unearthly – parched scrub, lunar ridges and vast cloudless skies. This is the Mojave desert, offering few attractions to the casual visitor but the perfect environment in which to test aircraft.It’s in these barren parts that the Edwards air force base is located, w...
• Mohamed Abrini admits to being 'man in the hat' at Brussels airportThe 31-year-old, also thought to have been involved in Paris attacks, made confession following arrest on FridayAfter nearly three weeks of frantic searching, Belgian authorities have announced they have finally arrested and identified the elusive “man in the hat” spotted alongside two suicide bombers who blew themselves up at Brussels airport on 22 March.In a statement on Saturday evening, Belgian prosecutors said Mohamed Abrini, 31, the last identified suspect at large from the Paris attacks on 13 November, had confessed to being the vest- and hat-wearing man whose video image had been widel...

The Herald

• Scot's quest to uncover secrets of sunken warshipFOR decades it lay rusting at the bottom of a tropical sea, a forgotten relic of a war that ended long ago.
• Two bodies recovered after Western Isles boat tragedyTHE BODIES of two crew members on board a ship which sank off the Western Isles have been recovered by rescue teams.

The Huffington Post

• Fishing Boat Sinks Off Coast Of Western Isles, Scotland, Leaving At Least Two DeadTwo bodies have been pulled from the sea after a fishing boat sank off the Western Isles of Scotland. The coastguard received a distress alert just before 3.45am on Saturday, and the vessel's emergency positioning beacon was activated near Mingulay, the Press Association reported. The vessel went down with four crew on board, but one was rescued and taken to hospital by helicopter. A lifeboat and helicopter were continuing the search on Saturday, as one person remained missing. A Maritime & Coastguard Agency spokeswoman said the vessel went down in relatively calm weather conditions. She ...

The Scotsman

• Second-hand cars drive customers to distractionBeing ripped off by a nefarious used car salesman is an age-old cliché but figures published today suggest thousands of people in Scotland are still having problems with cars they have bought second-hand.

Times Online

• Watchdog presses Sturgeon on China deal [Subscription]A global anti-corruption campaign group has heaped more pressure on Nicola Sturgeon for her controversial investment agreement with China, worth up to £10bn.

Mail Online

• Wreckage of plane with skeletons on board is found after Argentinian lake evaporates All four people on board - the pilot and three engineers - died when the a twin-engine Piper Apache aircraft hurtled into the Colhue Huapi lake in Argentina on October 19, 1964.
• Inflatable train seats could allow commuters 40% extra space by 2020 The 'air train' has been designed by consultancy firm Arup to make more space by deflating the seats. The carriages have been shortlisted in the Tomorrow's Train Design Today competition.

The Mirror

• Shipwrecked trio rescued from deserted Pacific island after spelling out 'Help' in palm leaves on beach The men were travelling in a skiff from another Micronesian island when a wave overtook them and keft them stranded on Weno

This is Money

• Could Britain's booming car factories help save our suffering steel industry from a complete crisis? Changes to Government policies and big investment in the technology required to make the quality of steel needed for cars could help British steel-makers ride the automotive boom.

London Evening Standard

• Investigation launched after bus driver 'sexually harassed woman while at the wheel'Transport for London has launched an investigation after a woman claimed she was sexually harassed by a bus driver while he was at the wheel.

Manchester Evening News

• Drama as holiday jet with technical fault circles Manchester Airport for two hours Pilots on board the Thomas Cook Airlines flight to Paphos dumped fuel before returning

The York Press

• Selby rail disaster books of condolence are painstakingly restored, after being damaged by York floods The books will now be stored at the National Railway Museum

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• M6 closed after ten-vehicle smashTraffic was stopped on the M6 this evening after a ten-vehicle smash.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Work continues to bridge the gap in TadcasterCouncil bosses last night moved to reassure people work was progressing well behind the scenes on the project to repair 18th century Tadcaster Bridge.

Yorkshire Post

• Railways stations ‘will deliver thousands of jobs and homes’Thousands of jobs and homes are set to be created by “the biggest programme of rail improvements since the Victorian age”, the Government has said.

Burnley Express

• Kids ‘biggest distraction for North West drivers’While mobile phones and fiddling with the stereo might cause drivers to lose concentration it’s actually our nearest and dearest who are the biggest distraction while we’re at the wheel, according to a new survey.

Doncaster Free Press

• Jail term for Doncaster woman who caused rail delays costing thousandsA woman who caused disruption for thousands of commuters and motorists in South Yorkshire and cost the authorities more than £30, 000 has been given a jail term.

North Wales Live

• Liverpool war veterans receive cycling masterclass from Sir Bradley Wiggins ahead of 100 mile cycle Andy Grant and Liam Duffy will be riding in aid of the Invictus Foundation on July 31

Northamptonshire Telegraph

• VIDEO: See the ​ISS glide across night skiesThe International Space Station (ISS) with UK Astronaut Major Tim Peake on board, will glide across the night skies over the next week.

Peterborough Telegraph

• Lord Mawhinney is new president of Nene Valley RailwayFormer MP for Peterborough and North West Cambridgeshire, Lord Brian Mawhinney, has become the new president of Nene Valley Railway, replacing David Smith who retired last year.

Sleaford Standard

• SLIDESHOW: Restored locomotive steams through SleafordTrain enthusiasts were treated to the sight of an LMS Jubilee 45699 steaming its way through Sleaford this morning.

West Sussex Gazette

• Roadworks for Sussex next weekPlanned roadworks Sussex from Monday (11 April) to Sunday 17 April.

Other Regional Press

• Roadworks planned for week starting Monday April 11Highways England has issued this list of roadworks planned in central southern England in the week starting Monday April 11.
• Mum terrified speed of cars in Littlemore road will hurt children A MOTHER-OF-THREE has said she is terrified for her children's safety due to cars allegedly speeding at more than three times the limit in a Littlemore road.
• Transport bosses admit link road between A40 and A44 is hit by delays A SCHEME to build a �11.8m link road in North Oxford has been hit by delays due to a lack of funding, transport bosses have admitted.
• Bullet train firm in running to operate rail services through NorthamptonThe firm that runs Japan’s bullet train could be part of a consortium running rail services through Northampton if it wins the tender for the line next year.
• M65 extension plan ‘dead’Two leading politicians have described a proposal for a new trans-Pennine motorway linking Lancashire and Yorkshire as “pure froth” and a “red herring”.
• Shocking footage of train smashing into car released as driver jailed Lucky escape after train ploughs into vehicle at 70mph
• Police cars smashed up after vandals enter station yardA community police team has been left with a clear up mission and a repair bill after three of its vehicles were damaged.
• Vintage bikes set off from Transport Museum for annual run from Coventry to Brighton The 160-mile trip is taken on each year by the Vintage Motor Cycle Club
• New railway bridge for Shrivenham is delivered on time DRIVERS in Shrivenham will have use of a new and improved route after work on a new railway bridge was completed last week.
• Transport bosses admit link road between A40 and A44 is hit by delays A SCHEME to build a �11.8m link road in North Oxford has been hit by delays due to a lack of funding, transport bosses have admitted.
• UPDATE: Cause of "massive bang" felt across Oxfordshire is revealed Two Typhoon jets that had to leave
• Uber launches controversial service in Southampton IT IS the controversial transport service which has sparked protests in cities around the world – and now it has arrived in Southampton.

Other News Sources

• We're sorry: Boss on �100k says patient transport shambles isn't acceptable AN ambulance trust could be asked to help a private company with a patient transport service currently in crisis - despite having only handed it over a week earlier.