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

Sunday, 22 January 2012

The Independent

• Ashcroft offers £5m towards cost of royal yacht The controversial Conservative peer Lord Ashcroft is to donate up to £5m towards a new royal yacht to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.Related StoriesDefiant Huhne accuses No 10 of dirty tricksSpain could wield veto over Scotland's EU membershipDavid Miliband would beat Cameron - unlike EdIt is only exports that are making the UK economy grow at allAn easy target: Fred the Shred and his knighthood

The Telegraph

• Airline cost blow for Boris IslandSenior figures in the UK airports sector have told The Sunday Telegraph that the present cost of landing at Heathrow for airlines is about £15 per passenger. That figure could rise to £100 per passenger for any new airport, following estimates that a Thames estuary site could cost £50bn, more than four times the regulated asset value of Heathrow at £12bn. Some analysts put the cost of a Thames estuary site as high at £70bn.

Daily Express

• Formula one teams slow off the grid to pay billsTHE 12 teams in Formula One all failed to pay their bills on time between March and December last year, according to a report from Dun & Bradstreet.

Mail Online

• Pilot on Boeing 757 dies of heart attack mid-flight with 239 passengers on boardA pilot onboard a plane flying from Bangkok to Novosibirsk in western Siberia died from a heart attack, transportation prosecutors said Friday.
• 'Why I back the Thames hub': The architect behind some of the world's greatest airports outlines his ambitious vision for BritainLord Foster says the Thames Hub vision is a UK-wide initiative bringing together high-speed rail, freight logistics, aviation, energy, a new Thames Barrier for flood protection, green tidal energy production and regional development.
• Justine's lonely road to the topBLACK DOG: Blonde Justine Greening has a legion of male fans in the Tory ranks and once dated former ‘Tatler Tory’, ladies’ man and ex-Tooting parliamentary candidate Mark Clarke.

The Mirror

• TV probe reveals rail network wastes millions... as fares go up by 11%Panorama will reveal tomorrow how 30 per cent of money pumped into the train system is wasted
• Schoolboy becomes Britain's youngest pilot on his 16th birthdayBoy is still too young to drive a car

Birmingham Mail

• Stobarts Midland depot to closeFAMOUS haulage group Eddie Stobart could be quitting the West Midlands after it announced the closure of its chilled distribution depot at Alcester – plunging the jobs of 200 Midland drivers and warehouse staff into jeopardy.

Derby Telegraph

• Derby Telegraph commented Penalty notices for bad airport drivingArticle

London Evening Standard

• Rail chiefs quizzed over servicesRail users angry over the standard of service on the Norwich to London line quiz executives from Network Rail and operating firms.
• Bungalow tanker crash: Man chargedA man has been charged with a string of offences after a woman had a lucky escape when a fuel tanker crashed into the front of her bungalow, police said.
• BAE 'may close historic dockyard'Defence giant BAE Systems said it is reviewing its warship business - but declined to discuss a report that it is considering closing the historic Portsmouth dockyard.
• HMS Victory to be raised from seaThe remains of the first HMS Victory are to be raised from the sea bed nearly 300 years after it sank, it has been reported.

Manchester Evening News

• Two women attacked by armed carjack gang targeting Audi drivers in Greater ManchesterTwo women motorists have been attacked by a vicious armed gang which carried out four car-jacking attacks on the owners of Audi cars in Greater Manchester in the space of five days.
• Car thieves led out of jail to show Greater Manchester Police officers how they break into vehiclesProlific car thieves from across Greater Manchester are being taken out of jail and back to the scene of their crimes to instruct police officers about their 'ingenious' techniques for targeting and stealing vehicles.

Metro

• Costa Concordia: 12th body found as passengers lodge multi-million lawsuitDivers searching the Costa Concordia shipwreck have located the dead body of a woman to bring the death toll to 12, as it emerged a multi-million pound lawsuit is set to be filed in a class action of more than 100 passengers.
• Man charged with arson after tanker smashes into bungalowA man has been charged with arson with intent to endanger life after driving a fuel tanker into a bungalow in the Dorset village of Wool.

Yorkshire Post

• New £2.7m fire fleet plagued by technical problemsA MULTI-MILLION pound fleet of four new fire engines have been out of action more than 150 times in their first eight months of service because of mechanical alerts, it has emerged.

Bucks Free Press

• GX couple tell of dramatic escape from cruise shipA COUPLE from Gerrards Cross have spoken of the terrifying moments before they escaped the sinking Costa Concordia cruise ship.

Carlisle News & Star

• Train ticket from Carlisle to London could cost more than flight to New York A peak-time train ticket from Carlisle to London may soon cost more than a flight to New York.

East Anglian Daily Times

• Rail bosses meet their passengersRAIL travellers took the chance to come face to face with local industry bosses at a special meeting in Ipswich on Saturday.

Sunderland Echo

• Airports facing highs and lowsTHERE are contrasting fortunes for the region’s airports as one adds new routes and another faces an uncertain future.

Other Regional Press

• New parking charges at Town Hall Visitors to the Town Hall in Watford will now have to pay and display to park their cars.
• Council's cars nick 326 illegal parkers in just 11 daysIn just 11 days cars armed with CCTV have nabbed more than 300 illegally parked vehicles.
• Call for action at ˜dangerous™ Aberdeen road junctionCONCERNED residents have stepped up their fight to fix a œdangerous� junction in Aberdeen, the Evening Express can reveal today.
• Olympics flights take off for KentHundreds of flights will be allowed to take off and land at Kent's airports every day during this summer's Olympics.

Forbes

• Fourth-Qtr Revenue Off 11% At Hong Kong Billionaire Family's Shipper OOCLOrient Overseas, the Hong Kong shipper controlled by the billionaire family of Chee Chen Tung,?? on Friday reported a drop in shipping revenues in last quarter of 2011 amid sluggish international economic growth and an excess supply of ships in the industry. ???? Overall revenue at Orient Overseas Container Line fell by 11.2% to $1.3 ...

Other News Sources

• Grass verge parking ban trial schemeTRANSPORT chiefs are a step closer to enforcing a pioneering scheme banning motorists from parking on grass verges and pavements in Tilehurst.
• Helicopter rescues crewman injured 230 miles off ShetlandA Spanish crewman suffered serious head injuries in a fall on board a UK-registered fishing ship.
• Concordia captain denies delaying alarmThe captain of the cruise ship Costa Concordia has denied that he delayed raising the alarm, according to judicial sources.Related StoriesWeather set to worsen for Costa Concordia rescuersAmateur footage shows shambolic Costa Concordia evacuationConcordia rescue suspendedWoman's body found on Costa Concordia
• Global airlines wary of picking up stakes in Indian carriersSeveral major international airlines seem to be wary of picking up stakes in the loss-making Indian carriers at this stage, even as the government plans to take steps to allow them to do so. Even ...