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

Sunday, 31 July 2011

BBC News

• Two killed in motorbike collisionA man and a woman are killed in a collision between their motorbike and a car near Reay in Caithness.
• City MPs meet Hull Trains managers after rail problems MPs have met managers from Hull Trains after repeated disruptions on the service to London.
• Surrey orders an extra 3,800 tonnes of road salt Nearly 4,000 extra tonnes of road salt has been ordered by Surrey Council as part of its preparations for a severe winter.

The Guardian

• China rail crash families accept compensation as Beijing moves to silence furoreTen families agree to £87,000 compensation as death toll mountsRelatives bereaved by China's high-speed rail crash have accepted compensation after the government doubled its original offer, as authorities tried to silence the furore over the disaster. Ten families have agreed to the deal “ 915,000 yuan (£87,000) per victim “ the state news agency reported. The death toll is now 40, with another 190 injured.Other relatives say the compensation is insufficient and that the ministry of railways, which has apologised for last weekend's disaster, should take more responsibility.
• Boris Johnson embroiled in new row over high-speed rail link London mayor joins mounting opposition to proposed £32bn route linking London to Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds
• Yorkshire chamber backs high speed rail for north Yorkshire business chiefs highlight £44 billion in net benefits to the UK economy as it backs high speed rail bid

The Independent

• Engineers decry HS2 rail project Flaws in the proposed £32bn High Speed 2 rail project connecting London and Birmingham could hurt the environment, according to the Institution of Engineering and Technology.
• Capital concerns for High-speed rail The Government was today urged to rethink its plans for a new £32 billion high-speed rail route to address a series of concerns about the impact on London.

The Scotsman

• Government warned on road repairsThe UK is sitting on a "time bomb of tatty tarmac", with roads facing further devastation if next winter is harsh, breakdown service Autonational Rescue has warned.
• HMS Illustrious to see off yachtsRoyal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious is to wave off 10 yachts as they set off on the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race.

The Telegraph

• Amy Winehouse: record firms and promoters must take responsibility for stars' lifestylesRecord firms and promoters must take responsibility for the drug-fuelled lifestyles of their stars and that Amy Winehouse's death should be a
• Full scale of opposition to £34 billion High Speed 2 rail link revealedFull extent of opposition to controversial High Speed 2 rail link revealed as watchdogs and charities combine to attack it.
• HS2? Just give us a decent train serviceAt the main railway station in Leeds, as the Government's consultation on its new high-speed rail plan drew to a close, twenty police officers held back a 2,000-strong crowd.
• Full scale of opposition to £34 billion High Speed 2 rail link revealed The full extent of the opposition to the government's controversial £34 billion High Speed 2 rail link can be revealed for the first time today as local authorities, environmental watchdogs and charities combine to attack it.
• More than 100,000 driving tests nearly ended in a crash More than 110,000 driving tests nearly ended in a car crash last year, the Daily Telegraph can disclose.
• High-speed rail could be the wrong track With the consultation period for HS2 – the plan to create a high-speed rail link between London and the North – having ended on Friday, the Government is now aware of the widespread resistance to the scheme. Yet it insists that it will move forward, because of the advantages to business and the spur to prosperity that it believes the project will bring.

Daily Express

• THAMESLINK £13M ADVICE BILL THE Government has splurged £13 million of taxpayers’ money on consultants to evaluate the Thameslink rolling stock contract which controversially went to a German company.

Mail Online

• Crew blamed for Spanair jet crash which killed 154The crew failed to place the airliner's flaps in the correct position when it took off from Madrid bound for Gran Canaria in August 2008, according to an official report
• Bombardier union chiefs launch attack over bribery Union leaders are demanding an explanation from the Government over why it awarded the £1.4 billion Thameslink rail contract to Siemens while the German company was at the centre of a worldwide bribery scandal.

Edinburgh Evening News

• Top tram boss quits projectTHE man who has led the city's embattled tram project since it first began has dramatically quit ahead of a major shake-up of the scheme.
• Rail link may increase CO2 ENGINEERS have said multi-billion pound plans for a high-speed rail line could harm the environment.

London Evening Standard

• Plane crashes at Guyana airportA Caribbean Airlines jet flying from New York has crashed and broken in two while landing in Guyana with 163 people aboard, causing several injuries but no deaths.
• Button hoax story removed from webA story posted on Jenson Button's official website claiming that he had been seriously injured in a car crash was a

Manchester Evening News

• Neighbours risk lives to save pilot and passenger after light aircraft hits houses near Barton airfieldHeroic neighbours risked their lives to try to save two men trapped in a burning plane that crashed into two houses. The light aircraft plummeted from the sky just two minutes after taking off from City Airport at Barton, Eccles.
• Stagecoach set to handover Metrolink to French firm Manchester's tram network is set to be taken over by a French-government owned firm in a secret deal. The M.E.N. has learned that bosses of Stagecoach, which has run the Metrolink system since 2007, are to pull the plug despite having six years left to run on their contract.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Fourth lifetime ban for Highland driverA MOTORIST was banned from the road for life for the fourth time yesterday after his 11th conviction for driving while disqualified.

Other Regional Press

• £7m facelift for stationWork is set to start on Dartford™s new £7 million railway station - one of the busiest in the South East.
• Man dies after walking onto M20A man died early today after being struck by several vehicles on the M20.
• £1.48bn train deal to stay in S Tyne GOVERNMENT ministers say a huge £1.4bn train contract, set to create hundreds of jobs in South Tyneside, cannot be switched to another part of the country.

C.N.N.

• State media: Boat, barge collision kills at least 7 in RussiaThe death toll has risen to seven in a boat collision Sunday in the center of the Russian capital, state media reported.

Aviation Industry

• Delta planes collide near gates in Chicago, second ground collision in two weeksTwo Delta planes collided on the ground at Chicago's O'Hare Airport Friday, disabling both planes.

Other News Sources

• Buying rail travelWith several new options on the horizon, Dave Richardson looks at the evolving world of train ticketing...
• Lufthansa, Finnair, Cathay most innovative airlinesEight global carriers that fly to India, including Lufthansa, Finnair and Cathay Pacific, have been ranked among the 11 most innovative carriers in the world by a website here that analyses consumer t
• China forced papers to scrap rail crash coverageChina: China imposed a widespread ban on coverage of last week's high-speed train crash, forcing newspapers across the country to scrap pages of stories, a Hong Kong newspaper reported ...