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

Friday, 03 December 2010

BBC News

• Road salt is 'disappearing fast'Welsh councils warn that grit supplies are
• Snow causes England travel chaosThe threat of heavy snow continues to linger over rail, road and air passengers in England as the severe weather persists.
• Five options mooted for city roadThe public is being asked to comment on five options for a new road to better link the east and west of Inverness.
• Hammond orders transport reviewTransport Secretary Philip Hammond on the lessons to be learned from the travel chaos across the UK over the recent cold snap.
• Labour berates 'complacency' of snow responseTransport Secretary Philip Hammond has been accused of
• Flights resume at Dublin AirportFlights into and out of Dublin Airport have resumed, as snow and ice continues to cause disruption across the UK and Ireland.
• Cycle hire opens to casual usersPeople are now able to use London's cycle hire scheme without having to first register with it.
• Freezing weather disrupts travelReduced services continue to operate on rail services serving south London as temperatures struggle to get above freezing.
• 'Outrageous' gang steal road gritA
• Snow causes distribution problemsDelivery firms, retailers and petrol suppliers say snow across the UK has hampered services.
• Qantas takes legal action on A380Qantas begins legal action against the engine supplier Rolls-Royce following the explosion of an engine on one of the airline's Airbus A380s.

Financial Times

• Rolls-Royce braced for flak over Qantas engine failureThe UK engine maker is braced for a fresh round of revelations about the engine failure that forced down a Qantas A380 superjumbo shortly after take-off from Singapore last month

The Herald

• Stagecoach to run hybrid buses after £2.3m green investmentHybrid buses operated by Stagecoach will enter service in late summer next year after the Perth-based transport giant announced a £2.3 million investment in the green technology.
• Rail crew honoured for braveryThe crew who led 60 passengers to safety after their train struck boulders and derailed at the Falls of Cruachan have been honoured by British Transport Police.

The Independent

• Government to review winter transport chaos An urgent review of how the UK's transport systems have performed during the big freeze was under way today as thousands faced yet more disruption.
• Icy blast for transport operators Questions were being asked tonight about Britain's ability to cope with sub-zero conditions after much of the transport network shuddered to a halt.
• Government accused of glacial response as UK counts cost of big freeze Mounting anger over Britain's failure to cope with days of persistent snowfall boiled over yesterday as millions of workers once again stayed at home, costing the economy billions, while stranded rail travellers slept in train carriages, thousands of schools stayed shut and fears grew over fuel supplies.

The Observer

• Snow continues to grip BritainGatwick reopens, but passengers are warned to expect cancellations and disruptionTravel across Britain remained severely disrupted today after overnight temperatures plunged to lows of -15°C (5°F), causing continuing problems for motorists and rail and air passengers.Gatwick airport reopened shortly before 7am, bringing some good news for the country's beleaguered transport network, but those intending to fly were warned that cancellations and disruption were still inevitable.Rail companies on busy commuter routes in the south-east were operating emergency timetables, while police in Kent and ...

Reuters News

• Gatwick airport reopens but freeze goes onLONDON (Reuters) - Gatwick, Britain's second busiest airport, reopened on Friday after deep snow forced its closure as the country battled to function in the cold snap, but an airport official said flights would still be severely disrupted.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Snow blow to the economy Businesses were today starting to count the cost of the worst snowfall in Bradford in 30 years.

Bristol Live

• Fares to be rounded up – and downFIRST bus fares ending in five pence will be a thing of the past in Bristol from this Sunday. The company will be rounding some fares up and others down, it says, in a bid to avoid customers needing to carry small change. Four fares will go up but 12 will fall as a result of the latest in a series of fare changes by the company this year. First denied it was another fare hike, and insisted the changes would have no impact on its finances because the reductions cancelled out the increases. Tony McNiff, managing director of First in Bristol, Somerset and Avon, said:

Edinburgh Evening News

• Bus profits 'won't bail out trams'NEW Lothian Buses chairman Ron Hewitt today insisted the company's profits would not be used to save the Capital's trams project.

London Evening Standard

• Transport Secretary attacked over snow as temperatures fall to -20CUnder-fire Transport Secretary Philip Hammond has warned train companies to keep stranded passengers better informed but said transport problems were inevitable as a blanket of snow and ice covers Britain
• Gatwick Airport reopens after snow brings chaos to travellersGatwick Airport reopened today after being closed for two days because of heavy snowfall

Northern Echo

• Suggestions for bus service SUGGESTIONS have been made about how a local bus service could be saved.

The York Press

• Railway staff battle to keep trains moving in the big freeze RAILWAY bosses have released these images to show how staff are battling against the snowy conditions in North Yorkshire to keep trains running.

This Is Local London Network

• Trains cancelled despite lack of fresh snow Trains to and from Chessington and Hampton Court are among those cancelled this morning despite the lack of fresh snow.

Wales Online

• Two-tier rail service 'can’t be contemplated’ A TWO-TIER rail service with fast trains from London to Cardiff and slower ones from Cardiff to West Wales “cannot be contemplated”, a Welsh MP said last night.

Blackpool Gazette

• Bus fury goes straight to topBUS passengers angry at changes to routes and the closure of St John's Square have made their feelings known to the man in charge.

Peterborough Telegraph

• Joy for rail commuters as trains get more seatsHUNDREDS of city commuters should be more likely to find a seat on rush hour trains as rail bosses announce changes to services.

Other Regional Press

• Bus service cuts to save £1.4mThousands of bus journeys will be cancelled across Hertfordshire as the county council aims to save more than £1million.
• Weather latest: Heaviest snowfall in 17 years brings chaos across Dorset THE heaviest snowfall in 17 years is causing chaos in Dorset this morning. A severe weather warning is in place and dozens of schools are closed. Bournemouth and Southampton airports are closed.
• Prime Minister under fire from Kenilworth campaigners against HS2 rail plan CAMPAIGNERS have criticised PM David Cameron after he said a high speed rail line set to slice through Warwickshire was vital in reducing the UK’s north-south divide.
• Snow causes travel disruptionSnow has fallen across Bedfordshire causing travel disruption and a reduced rail service.First Capital Connect and East Midlands Trains are running fewer trains on some routes and on the Thameslink
• Railway™s bike snow ploughsFIRST Capital Connect trains are to use specially-adapted bikes to clear snow from its station forecourts and car parks.

Campaign for Better Transport

• Mega trucks on their way for the UK?If the road haulage industry gets its way, the EU could give permission for 25 metre (82 feet) long HGVs weighing up to 60 tonnes on UK roads. read more

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Public 'needs more convincing about electric cars'More needs to be done to convince members of the public about the benefits offered by green vehicles.This is according to a study showing less than one per cent of consumers are selecting hybrid or electric cars.A survey of the most recent 1,000 purchase requests with FindsYouCars.com suggested such models are not proving as popular with buyers as with manufacturers.Diesel models accounted for in excess of 41 per cent of requests, while petrol vehicles were selected by 23 per cent of drivers, despite a range of carmakers - including Nissan, Renault, Toyota and Peugeot - developing fully-electr...

Railnews

• News: Rail disruption set to continue as temperatures fall A number of train operating companies are running emergency timetables and some lines are closed altogether, as the cold snap continues. Forecasters are now predicting that temperatures are set to fall further, although the snow should ease.

Other News Sources

• High-speed rail link will go ahead says CameronThe government's proposed north-south high-speed rail link will go ahead despite opposition from Conservative MPs.
• Network Rail could miss performance targets, says regulatorNetwork Rail is in danger of missing its regulatory targets on train reliability, opening up the possibility that it will be fined for its performance, the rail regulator said yesterday,
• Current disruption on the Highways Agency network. The NorthThe A66 is currently closed in both directions between the A67 (Bowes) and the A685 (Brough), due to snow. The M61 northbound is currently closed between J9 and the M6 (J30) in Lancashire due to an incident. There are currently delays of approximately 30 minutes on the M61 northbound between J8-J9 near Whittle-le-Woods. The carriageway is expected to reopen at approximately 1000 hrs.The South The M20 coastbound is closed to all non-commercial traffic between J11 to J12.  Non-commercial traffic is being diverted off the M20 and onto the A20 southbound.  This closu...
• Sussex snow day 4: transportBuses and trains are running this morning, but a very limited servicde. Click here for more information.
• Government 'complacency' triggered snow chaosThe transport secretary's
• Scheme of the Month - Cycle Parking Guide for New Residential Developments, Cambridge Cambridge City Council and Transport Initiatives have produced a ˜Cycle Parking Guide for New Residential Developments™ in partnership with Cambridgeshire County Council, Lewisham, Bedford Borough Council, Central Bedfordshire and Southwark Council. Cambridge City Council has approved the guide as a material consideration with regard to planning applications, to be used in conjunction with the [...]
• Transport network straining under UK weather conditionsWith the freezing temperatures showing no sign of abating, the snowfalls have again caused travel and economic chaos, closing railways, four major airports and bringing motorists to a halt.