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

Saturday, 28 May 2016

BBC News

• Could French fuel strikes affect travel?How will Britons travelling in France be affected?
• VIDEO: France strike fuels motorists' fearsMany motorists in France are still having trouble finding fuel, as a result of strikes and blockades by French trade unions.
• Bus engulfed by flames after 'explosion'A bus goes up in flames after it
• UK citizen jailed in US for airport plotA British citizen who US prosecutors say plotted to carry out a suicide bomb attack at Heathrow Airport is jailed for 40 years in the US.
• Plan to spruce up Inverness approachesHighland councillors are to consider ideas designed to improve the approaches to Inverness by road.
• Plane in near miss with drone above cityA plane on approach to Glasgow Airport two months ago almost collided with a drone, a report by the UK Airprox Board says.
• Cheap fuel lets US drivers hit the roadAmerican drivers take to US roads this holiday weekend enjoying the lowest fuel prices for a decade.

The Guardian

• Man accused in bomb plot at Heathrow gets 40 years for al-Qaida supportMinh Quang Pham was sentenced after pleading guilty in January to charges he provided material support to the terrorist group’s Arabian Peninsula affiliateA Vietnamese-born man who US authorities say was instructed by a top figure with al-Qaida’s Yemen affiliate to carry out a suicide attack at London’s Heathrow airport was sentenced to 40 years in prison. Minh Quang Pham, 33, was sentenced by US district judge Alison Nathan in Manhattan after pleading guilty in January to charges he provided material support to al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula. The group has been designated as a terrorist or...
• Older drivers should carry on until 75 before renewing licence, says reviewThe Older Drivers Task Force says current ruling can lead to depression among over-70s and a great burden on care systemOlder motorists should be able to carry on driving until they are 75 before renewing their licence, an official review is reportedly expected to conclude.The Older Drivers Task Force, established in 2014 to support people later in life to drive safely, will recommend to the government in July that the current mandatory renewal age of 70 is raised. Continue reading...

The Scotsman

• Abellio accused of recruiting “scab army” to cover ScotRail strikeScotRail owner Abellio has been accused of planning to draft in a “scab army” if train conductors strike next month over plans to downgrade their roles.
• EgyptAir crash beacon detected as ship joins black box huntA French vessel that joined the search for the EgyptAir plane which crashed last week killing all 66 people on board has arrived in the crash area, as Egyptian officials said search teams in the Mediterranean have picked up a beacon believed to be from the doomed aircraft.

The Telegraph

• Pensioners should be allowed to continue driving 'for as long as possible', official review to find Pensioners should be allowed to continue driving until they are 75 before having to renew their licences because people are healthier and living longer, an official review is expected to find.

Times Online

• Travel chaos may await football fans in France (Subscription)Irish football fans and holidaymakers could face travel chaos in France as strikes, fuel shortages and security check delays threaten to disrupt journeys with less than two weeks to go until the European Championships.
• Flybe boss: ‘Slap congestion charge on mega-airports’ (Subscription)Heathrow and Gatwick should be hit with a central London-style congestion charge to boost regional airports, according to the boss of Britain’s biggest domestic carrier.
• Southern’s London rail licence nearly went west (Subscription)The controversial Thameslink and Southern trains operator avoided being stripped of the London commuter superfranchise yesterday after transport ministers agreed to water down its performance targets.

Daily Record

• Train driver arrested at Waverley Station in Edinburgh 'for being drunk on duty' THE 54-year-old ScotRail employee is understood to have been detained by British Transport Police at Waverley Station in Edinburgh.
• Passenger jet comes within 100ft of hitting drone as it flies into Glasgow Airport THE pilot of the Boeing 737 had no time to take evasive action and the UK Aviation Board said there had been a definite risk of collision.

Mail Online

• France strike sees half of petrol stations run dry as riots break out in Paris Breakdown recovery firms said numerous customers had already been stranded, with the RAC saying journeys should be cancelled unless a vehicle has fuel for the entire journey.
• 600 near misses on the M25 motorway after hard shoulders are axed Sections of the M25 no longer have a hard shoulder in an attempt to ease congestion. When someone breaks down, ‘Red X’ warning signs tell drivers to avoid the stricken vehicle.
• Pilot killed after vintage WWII fighter plane crashes into Hudson River William Gordon, 56, was trying to crash land the P-47 Thunderbolt plane after experiencing mechanical issues when he crashed. His body was recovered from the plane three hours after it went down.

The Mirror

• Lifeboat team rescue LEATHER SOFA from the English Channel as it posed risk to boats The large settee was spotted off the Kent Coast and was reported to Dover Coastguard who scrambled a lifeboat to recover it
• Drone in near miss with Boeing 757 jet as it took off from UK airport The plane was in 'critical phase of flight' when its pilot spotted the object passing within 100ft of the plane as it left Manchester
• World's biggest cruise ship is �783million 'building site' as passengers moan about debris in pools and all-night drillingThe gigantic 227,000-ton vessel is 216ft wide and, at 1,187ft in length, 164ft longer than the Eiffel Tower is tall, But some passengers are NOT happy

Birmingham Post

• What are fuel cell cars and where can you buy them? Cars turn hydrogen into electricity – but it’s not as simple as that

Bolton News

• Night bus cuts is a loss of a 'lifeline' for Bolton bus users forum claims A 'LIFELINE' night bus service operating between Manchester and Bolton should be brought back, campaigners have argued.

London Evening Standard

• Bank Holiday traffic: Motorists warned they face worst getaway in three yearsHolidaymakers on the roads this bank holiday were today warned they face the heaviest traffic in three years.
• Bank Holiday traffic: Drivers stuck in 30 miles of queues on M25 after camper van fire, crash and emergency repairsDrivers battling to get to Bank Holiday getaway destinations faced up to 30 mile queues on the M25 after a camper van fire, emergency repairs and a two-vehicle crash caused chaos.
• TfL unveils new Tube map with tram services included for the first timeLondon's tram services have been incorporated in the Transport for London Tube map for the first time.
• Southern accused of agreeing 'remedial plan' to increase train cancellationsSouthern Railways is being allowed by Government to make thousands more cancellations under an amendment to its franchise, a union has claimed.
• Bank Holiday getaway 'hell' at Euston and Paddington: Passengers describe 'madness' and 'pandemonium'Rail passengers today described London's major transport hubs as like "hell on earth" as they tried to leave the capital to get to Bank Holiday getaway destinations.
• Ex-McDonald's worker from London jailed for 40 years in US for 'Heathrow bomb plot'A former McDonald's worker from south London was today jailed for 40 years in the US over an alleged plot to detonate a suitcase bomb at Heathrow.

Northern Echo

• North-East green transport set to receive �1m Government boost A �1 MILLION cash injection is set to improve green transport links across the Tees Valley to support the 30 per cent of residents who do not own a car.

Yorkshire Post

• ‘Tram-trains are the only way to reverse Leeds’s public transport paralysis’Leeds politicians and people are being urged to speak in one united voice for a train-tram system - and really get the city’s public transport ambitions moving.

North Wales Live

• Thousands line dock to wave off Disney Magic cruise linerThe Disney Magic liner left Liverpool on Friday evening, with thousands of people showing up to wave the ship off

Peterborough Telegraph

• VIDEO: Police investigate dangerous driving after motorist puts their own “Peterborough in a hurry” footage on social mediaPolice in Peterborough are investigating reports of dangerous driving after a motorist posted this video of his own driving on social media.

Other Regional Press

• UPDATED: Closure of 13 bus routes confirmed by Thames Travel + full list THAMES Travel will close 13 of its bus routes in Oxfordshire due to subsidy cuts, it was confirmed tonight.
• World naked bike ride comes to Canterbury in protest against toxic airOrganisers of a naked bike ride are warning that a flash of nudity is far less scary than the damage cars do.
• Additional train services on offer to beat Dorset roadworks TRAIN services in Dorset will get a boost to help residents beat roadworks on the A30.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Rail industry in the UK dependent on supply chainThanks to large-scale projects across the country, the UK rail industry is flourishing and there are massive opportunities for manufacturers as a result of this. One of the biggest projects is the HS2 and others include major improvements across the north of England, all of which have put the rail sector under intense observation, reports Insider Media Limited. Luckily, everything is looking positive, particularly as the industry's supply chain is going to benefit from the vast network of projects. The potential opportunities that this will provide will be under discussion at The Railway Sessi...
• New freight air quality initiative to reduce harmful emissions in the CapitalThe LoCITY programme has taken its first steps to improve air quality in the Capital by publishing data to help increase the availability and uptake of low emission vans and lorries. Representatives from across the industry came together yesterday for the first annual conference, as research from the programme’s initial four months was published. LoCITY is an industry-led programme helping the freight and fleet industry reduce its impact on air quality by increasing the use of Ultra Low Emission Vehicles (ULEVs). Transport for London (TfL) is part funding and monitoring LoCITY to ensure...

Rail Technology Magazine

• Government considering private funding for East Coast upgradesPrivate funding may be needed for the necessary infrastructure changes to allow the new East Coast InterCity lines to run at 140mph, the government has said. In response to a written question from Leeds MP Rachel Reeves, rail minister Claire Perry said that the rail industry and Virgin Trains...

Aviation Industry

• Airline passengers facing ‘summer of discontent’French strikes set to disrupt “thousands” of flights over the next week

Green Miscellany

• Straddle Bus to free up cycle lanesThe straddle bus is a radical vehicle that can pass over traffic jams and frees up road space for cyclists. Bus lanes provide�a valuable refuge for cyclists on urban streets, but in London�they have become�so clogged with motorised�vehicles that bicycles can find themselves in a near-constant state of overtaking, or being overtaken. The answer could lie with a�radical new vehicle… The post Straddle Bus to free up cycle lanes appeared first on ETA.

Other News Sources

• More than a quarter of disclosed airport arrests for drunkenness took place at Gatwick MORE than a quarter of passengers arrested on suspicion of being drunk on a plane or at a British airport, in figures released yesterday, were apprehended at Gatwick.
• Boss in pledge to get failing patient transport firm on track A PATIENT transport company is still failing one in three patients returning from treatment seven weeks after taking over the service but the firm’s boss has promised the company will hit its targets by July.
• Arundel bypass route through Binsted would be 'death' of village, say campaigners A CAMPAIGN group has said potential routes for a bypass would mean the
• Belgium strike could impact rail servicesEurostar closes bookings on London-Brussels route for strike period
• Rail franchises will deliver ‘high quality’ servicesGovernment sets out plans for next round of franchise contests