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

Sunday, 04 December 2016

BBC News

• Man jailed after �150,000 rail delays in WolverhamptonA man who caused train delays, costing the rail industry �150,000, has been jailed for 14 months.
• Ban on smoking in cars with children to come into forceA new law making it illegal to smoke in a car with anyone under the age of 18 will come into force in Scotland from midnight.
• South Kentish Town Station: LU fined �500k after worker fallLondon Underground is fined �500,000 after a maintenance worker was injured at a fall at a disused station.

Financial Times

• Pilotless planes take to skies over EnglandBAE discovers whether unmanned craft can be safely flown in open airspace
• Apple reveals plans for self driving car

The Guardian

• Network Rail to lose sole control of rail maintenanceTransport minister Chris Grayling believes using Virgin, Southern and other private firms will lead to savings, sources saySole control of Britain’s rail infrastructure is to be taken out of the hands of the state-owned Network Rail and shared with private firms under government plans to be announced next week, it has been reported.The move, which would represent one of the biggest changes to the running of the British rail network in recent years, would see track maintenance undertaken by Virgin, Southern, ScotRail and other operators for the first time. Continue reading...
• Drivers warned to manually lock cars after thefts at service stationsPolice believe spate of thefts at Berkshire services linked to radio jammers which interrupt signals for remote lockingDrivers using motorway services are being warned to check their cars are secure after a spate of thefts believed to be linked to technology that stops them remotely locking.Thames Valley police said there had been 14 recent thefts from cars at motorway services in Berkshire and that in many cases there was “no obvious sign of a break-in and no damage caused to the vehicles as items were stolen from them”. Continue reading...
• Pilot suffers heart attack at Glasgow airport as he prepares to take off with 128 aboardKLM captain on Amsterdam route was resuscitated by crew and a passenger after becoming unwell while heading for runwayThe pilot of a plane carrying 128 people suffered a heart attack as he taxied to the runway at Glasgow airport.The captain of the KLM aircraft became unwell as he was about to leave for Amsterdam, in the Netherlands. He was resuscitated by the crew with the help of a passenger. Continue reading...
• Dangerous drivers who kill could face life sentenceMinisters to consult on increase in 14-year upper limit for causing death by speeding, street racing or while using a mobileDangerous drivers who kill are set to face life sentences under plans put forward by ministers. Those causing death by speeding, street racing or while using a mobile phone will face the same sentences as people charged with manslaughter.Offenders who cause death by careless driving while under the influence of drink or drugs could also be handed life sentences – an increase on the current 14-year upper limit. Continue reading...
• Cycling on Vauxhall Bridge: a return visit and some new statisticsOne year since opening more cyclists seem to be using one of London’s “superhighway” routes, although not all its goals have yet been met On Monday I stood on Vauxhall Bridge counting cyclists. Sad but true. I did the same thing almost exactly a year ago following a startling radio station row about how many people were using the newly-opened, two-way cycle superhighway, CS5, to cross the bridge and how many weren’t bothering. My return last week was in order to see what might have changed in the ensuing 12 months. Was CS5 being used more or less? Had the overall number of cyclists crossing th...
• Time running out to save Britain’s U-boat hunter from scrapyardHMS President, which saw action in the first world war, may have to be broken up if £3m to repair its hull cannot be foundHMS President has survived U-boat attacks, bombing raids, London smog and even parties of marauding Made In Chelsea stars.Yet now the submarine hunter, one of three that remain from the Royal Navy’s first world war fleet and the only one that fought in the first battle of the Atlantic, is destined to be scrapped unless its custodians can find £3m before January. Continue reading...
• UK to double armed drone fleet in deal with US Predator manufacturerGeneral Atomics to provide 10 drones to Royal Air Force in $100m dealFallon heralds addition of firepower, imaging and intelligence gatheringDefense secretary Michael Fallon on Saturday announced a $125m (�100m) development deal with US arms manufacturer General Atomics under which the UK fleet of armed drones will double. Related: UK defence secretary tells US only Nato can deter Russian threat Continue reading...
• Driverless cars will geld the dangerous stallions of the road | Catherine BennettThe technology can’t come soon enough if it can free us from reckless men who put ‘fun’ before safetyWith its new report suggesting the removal of speed bumps, among various proposals for reducing lethal levels of air pollution, Nice (the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) finds itself, possibly for the first time, the toast of British motorists. Finally, the health experts have realised what speed enthusiasts have known all along – that being knocked down by an overkeen motorist is a vastly superior way to die than slow extinction by particulates. At last, someone out there co...

The Herald

• The 'shocking failure' of Britain's newest railway in ScotlandCAMPAIGNERS have criticised the
• The future of Scotrail? A co-op run by workers and passengersTHE SNP Government is looking at putting Scotland’s railways into a co-operative, with workers and passengers taking charge of the service as part of a possible plan for a publicly owned train network.
• Network Rail to lose control over tracksNETWORK RAIL is to be stripped of its control over Britain's railway tracks, with new powers being passed to the train operators, in a major reorganisation of the system, according to reports.

The Scotsman

• Network Rail stripped of control running UK’s railway tracksNetwork Rail is to be stripped of its control over Britain’s railway tracks, with new powers being passed to the train operators, in a major reorganisation of the system, it is reported.

The Telegraph

• Drivers who kill while on mobile phones will face life sentences
• Cyclists and mobile phone obsessives turn Britain's tranquil towpaths into accident black spots
• Virgin Galactic’s space programme moves forward as SpaceShipTwo carries out first successful glide test 

Times Online

• Isis plots drone chemical strike on UK [Subscription]Businesses have been warned that Isis fighters returning to Britain from Syria and Iraq will seek to carry out a mass-casualty chemical or radiological “dirty bomb” attack, possibly using a drone.

Mail Online

• Barcelona airport covered in litter as after cleaners go on strike Rubbish is piled up at El Prat airport, and stunned passengers have shared their outrage.
• Network Rail to hand control of tracks to private train operators railway shake-up The Government is set to announce the plans on Tuesday in a bid�to end delays and increasing fares. It is hoped the move will encourage train franchises to complete repairs more quickly.

The Mirror

• Terrifying moment truck driver is seconds from death as he dives from vehicle before train smashes into it The coal truck appeared to get stuck on the level crossing and the driver had to make a split second life or death decision as the train approached.
• Drunk airline passenger downs four gin and tonics on way to funeral and tries to punch stewardess The man ended up with a broken leg - and a criminal record - after fellow passengers came to the flight attendant's rescue and rugby tackled him
• Greedy rail operators keeping millions in delay compo cash meant for beleaguered passengersFranchises are failing to pass on Network Rail payments intended to cover problems like engineering works
• Road death victims finally set to get real justice - Voice of the Mirror Drivers who cause death while speeding, racing or using a mobile phone face the same sentences as people who have committed manslaughter
• Train fares soar by almost �1,000 in just five years as commuters face 'being priced off the railways' Regulated fares, set by the ­Government, will go up by 1.9 per cent from next month

Birmingham Mail

• Free M6 Toll road would make NO difference to congestion says owner Claim after calls to open up the road to ease jams in Birmingham

London Evening Standard

• London Underground fined �500K after engineer plunged 30ft down lift shaft at disused Tube stationLondon Underground has been fined �500,000 after a maintenance worker was left seriously injured when he plunged more than 30ft down a lift shaft at a disused Tube station.
• KLM pilot suffers heart attack on runway before he was due leave Glasgow AirportAn airline pilot suffered a heart attack as he taxied a plane carrying 128 people to the runway at Glasgow Airport.
• Architect proposes 'CarTube' plan to bury London's traffic undergroundA London-based architect has proposed burying the city's traffic underground in a radical move to combat congestion in the capital.
• Dramatic rescue mission after man falls on railway tracks at West HampsteadPolice and paramedics raced to a north London station today after a man fell onto the railway line.
• Revealed: Where in London you're most likely to have your bicycle stolenLondoners are most likely to have their bicycles stolen from the thronging square outside Westfield Stratford City, it has emerged.

Blackpool Gazette

• The shocking scale of drug driving revealedPolice say 70 per cent of drivers tested for drugs at the roadside are giving positive results.

Reading Evening Post

• Video warns Reading drivers of deadly danger of rain on the roadsThis video from Highways England launched a campaign warning drivers how dangerous rain on the roads can be
• Almost 2,000 potholes in Reading to be repaired The council will be given nearly £100,000 to carry out the work in 2017/18

Other Regional Press

• Motorists’ calls to improve Stevenage roads results in £480,000 investmentMotorists’ calls for something to be done to improve roads have resulted in an additional £480,000 investment from Herts County Council in Stevenage for 2016/17.
• DVLA clamp nearly 60 vehicles in crackdownNEARLY 60 cars have been clamped by the DVLA for not having tax.
• Killer drivers to face life sentences in government proposalsTHE News has won its campaign for longer sentences for dangerous drivers who kill on the roads.
• Motorcyclists hold protest in Northampton in a bid to raise public awareness over spate of theftsA campaign group, who believe that “bike thefts have reached epidemic proportions” have made a stand by holding a protest outside the Guildhall.
• Drive For Justice campaign victoryOUR Drive For Justice campaign lobbying for harsher punishements for those who kill or seriously injure on our roads has achieved success on behalf of bereaved families who have lost loved ones in crashes.
• Council pledges support for Jaguar Land Rover's 'smart city' masterplanJLR wants to build next generation of electric cars in Coventry and Warwickshire

Other News Sources

• Train compensation scheme "does not go far enough" LONG-SUFFERING commuters have reacted with fury to news that train fares are to rise next year.