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

Sunday, 19 February 2017

BBC News

• Ffestiniog Railway's locomotive Palmerston on displayFfestiniog Railway's narrow gauge steam locomotive Palmerston goes on display in London after 153 years' service.
• Scotland's papers: Bin lorry crash driver and shipyard fearsThe front pages: Bin lorry crash driver in court and fears over shipyard jobs on the Clyde.
• ScotRail payouts to passengers hit �2,000 a dayScotRail had to pay out more than �2,000 a day to passengers during a period of disruption to services, it emerges.

Financial Times

• British PM to discuss Vauxhall with Peugeot CEOUnions seeks guarantees over jobs at Vauxhall’s Ellesmere Port and Luton plants

The Guardian

• SpaceX cancels Falcon rocket launch seconds before liftoffCountdown at Kennedy Space Center was halted with just 13 seconds remaining over a ‘slightly odd’ thrust control problem, delaying launch until SundaySpaceX scrubbed a planned launch on Saturday from Kennedy Space Center, citing a “slightly odd” thrust control problem and delaying the return to service for a historic launchpad at the Florida spaceport.“All systems go, except the movement trace of an upper stage engine steering hydraulic piston was slightly odd,” CEO Elon Musk said on Twitter. “If this is the only issue, flight would be fine, but need to make sure that it isn’t symptomatic of a...
• 20ft sinkhole swallows car in LA amid California ‘weather bomb’ – videoA minivan collapses into a 20ft sinkhole in the Studio City suburb of Los Angeles, California as the state continues to experience its heaviest rainfall in six years. Another car had previously fallen into the hole but firefighters were able to rescue an injured woman before the second vehicle droppedCalifornia ‘weather bomb’: at least two dead as torrential rain hits state Continue reading...
• Theresa May to meet boss of French carmaker hoping to buy VauxhallPM to meet PSA chief executive Carlos Tavares to discuss proposal that could affect thousands of British workersTheresa May is set to meet the chief executive of the PSA Group to discuss Peugeot’s proposals to buy General Motors’ European operation, including Vauxhall.The prime minister has received a request for a meeting with Carlos Tavares to discuss the proposal, which could affect thousands of British workers. Continue reading...
• London to introduce £10 vehicle pollution charge, says Sadiq KhanMayor says owners of more polluting cars will have to pay extra levy from October to drive within congestion charge zoneOlder, more polluting cars will have to pay a £10 charge to drive in central London from 23 October, the city’s mayor has said.Confirming he would press ahead with the fee, known as the T-charge, Sadiq Khan said: “It’s staggering that we live in a city where the air is so toxic that many of our children are growing up with lung problems. If we don’t make drastic changes now we won’t be protecting the health of our families in the future. Continue reading...
• Hope for Hanoi? New bus system could cut pollution … if enough people use itA new $53m BRT (bus rapid transit) system has the power to reduce Hanoi’s dreadful air pollution. Persuading residents of Vietnam’s rapidly expanding capital to ditch their motorbikes and private cars, however, will be another storyFrom his high-rise office building in Hanoi, Tran Dung can barely see his city’s skyline behind the thick layer of smog. Before leaving work, the 25-year-old executive assistant checks the pollution reading on his AirVisual app, which provides real-time measurements of PM2.5 – the tiny particles found in smog that can damage your throat and lungs.Hanoi’s PM2.5 level...

The Herald

• Scottish Labour to formally commit to rail renationalisationSCOTTISH Labour will formally back rail renationalisation at the party's conference as SNP ministers and ScotRail's owner come under fire for the

The Telegraph

• Huge LA sinkhole swallows two cars
• Royal Train saved from the scrapheap after Queen makes it known it is still her favoured mode of transport

Times Online

• Driver tears strip off rail firm over narrow car park spaces [Subscription]It’s bad enough that the train companies can’t run a railway, but now it turns out they can’t run a car park either.
• Dirty diesel ‘doubles risk of dementia’ [Subscription]New evidence has emerged to show that diesel pollution can double the risk of getting dementia and may be responsible for as many as a fifth of cases worldwide.
• Rail grant cut to put 190,000 trucks on road [Subscription]British roads could be hit by up to 190,000 extra lorry journeys a year after “penny-pinching” ministers cut £4m of subsidy for rail freight, according to industry research.

Daily Record

• Horror smash kills 23-year-old woman and leaves 13-month old baby injured after day of tragedy on Scotland's roadsSeparate incidents leave two people dead and a baby injured in tragic road smashes across the country.
• ScotRail pay out �2000 a day to passengers over shoddy serviceNew figures show nearly £600k was paid out over a period of nine months for complaints involving cancellations and delays.
• Passenger's fury after easyJet won't accept blame for travel date mix up Scott Delaney said that he and at least 10 others experienced the mix up and easyJet are refusing to take the blame for the error.
• Safety checks abandoned just weeks before school bus crash in 'cost cutting efforts'A Sunday Mail investigation found that routine six-monthly check-ups were abandoned in favour of "cheaper" random ­roadside checks.

Mail Online

• The world's most terrifying airport landings revealed From Scotland to Gibraltar the world's 13 scariest airport approaches include steep mountain landings, short beach runways and ones that only appear when the tide is out.
• Living near a busy road as bad as passive smoking 10 a day Dutch scientists compared the effects of smoking with those of living near a busy road, looking at increased risks of heart disease, premature birth, breathing problems, and lung cancer.
• Can you guess the nation's favourite used cars? More used cars were bought by drivers in the UK in 2016 than any other year, new figures have shown. A massive 8.2 million second-hand vehicles found new homes last year.
• Michael Watson is dragged along the street in his car EXCLUSIVE: The former boxer was driving in Chingford, east London, on Thursday when men in a white Mercedes tried to steal their Volkswagen. Carer Lennard Ballack said it was 'like a Western'.

This is Money

• Expert says efficient UK car maker sites will survive Pundits rushed to declare Britain’s Vauxhall factories doomed last week after it emerged that PSA was looking to buy the European business of US giant General Motors.

Bolton News

• Motoring misery on way as �500,000 resurfacing work begins MOTORISTS face more misery from Monday when resurfacing work on Manchester Road gets underway.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Buses help drive health message FIRST Bus has donated around �9,000 worth of advertising space to Prostate Cancer UK across its vehicles in Bradford and the rest of Yorkshire.

London Evening Standard

• Turkish Airlines flight evacuated after chilling message found scrawled on bathroom wallA Turkish Airlines plane bound for Canada was evacuated after a chilling message was found scrawled on the wall of a bathroom onboard.

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• M6 Toll talks to scrap fee on motorway after major accidents to ease queuesThe West Midlands Combined Authority has confirmed it is in talks with the Government to give the region powers over the M6 Toll.

Bucks Free Press

• MP: Have your say on harmful proposals for Heathrow Beaconsfield MP Dominic Grieve writes exclusively to Bucks Free Press readers:

North Wales Live

• EIGHT taxis taken off the road as police and council crackdown on illegal cabs A cordon, directing drivers to 'stop if requested', was set up on Scotland Road and police say they will be operating throughout Liverpool tonight

Reading Evening Post

• Take a look at the bus which is being transformed into Reading's first mobile homeless shelterReformed career criminal Michael Long came up with the idea while serving a four year prison sentence for his part in a car heist
• Reading artist's incredible work displayed on London UndergroundGarath McCleary and Ricky Gervais were impressed by his work and so was this London art gallery

Other Regional Press

• Cheapest places to buy fuel in Gwent revealed WITH fuel prices at a two year high, the South Wales Argus has put together a list of the cheapest forecourts in Gwent.
• Coroner calls for speed limit to be lowered on Pilgrims Way in Aylesford after Luke Mumford's deathA coroner has called for the speed limit to be lowered on a 'peculiar' stretch of road where a driver who had only just passed his test was killed.
• Vandals target heritage railway VOLUNTEERS at Swindon and Cricklade Railway are in despair after vandals targeted their rolling stock yet again.
• New �3.5bn Oxford-Cambridge Expressway route could pass through protected Green Belt HIGHWAY bosses are set to recommend a new �3.5bn expressway passes south of Oxford through protected Green Belt land, it has been claimed.

Other News Sources

• Southern Rail strikes: Travel advice for RMT 24-hour strike as ongoing dispute continues On Wednesday February 22, RMT will be holding a 24-hour strike in an ongoing dispute over safety and staffing
• British Airways strike: How can you claim flight delay compensation?Travel expert airFair provides tips on when passengers can and cannot claim flight delay compensation
• Traders furious over the parking informer AN INFORMER is flagging up illegal parking to the council and landing drivers with fines.