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

Monday, 09 January 2012

BBC News

• Probe after BA pilots taken illAn investigation has been launched after a British Airways flight from London to Glasgow had to turn back because the pilots were taken ill.
• Rolls-Royce sales hit new recordRolls-Royce Motor Cars, which is owned by BMW, reports a 31% rise in sales during 2011 to a record 3,538 cars.

Financial Times

• Time running short for Kingfisher AirlinesAnalysts say the raft of problems that first emerged late last year at Vijay Mallya™s embattled carrier are fast becoming insurmountable
• Cameron braced for revolt by MPs over new rail lineTory MPs hostile to plans for a high-speed rail link from London to Birmingham are meeting on Monday to discuss strategy

The Guardian

• Muddled thinking on high-speed rail [Letters]t is always interesting to see the likes of Bob Crow (Letters, 6 January) align themselves with the slick, well-financed "pro-HS2" public relations machine that churned out letters to "union-friendly" newspapers like the Financial Times, Daily Mail and Telegraph on Friday. However, anything supported by both Bob Crow and 100 economists must be treated with scepticism. The letter is of course full of confused and muddled thinking.
• Double-decker trains could run on high speed rail network Consultants have drawn up blueprints for double-deckers up to 400 metres long, carrying more than 1,000 passengers

The Independent

• Race against clock to fix vital transport artery for Olympics Experts fear London's Hammersmith Flyover could be closed for months due to defects
• Cyclists plan blockade of deadly junction Protesters plan to block one of London's busiest junctions today to highlight their anger at a 60 per cent rise in cycling deaths in the capital in two years.Related StoriesRace in Britain 2012: Has life changed for ethnic minorities?Pedestrian dies after police crashFour die in bungalow blazeEmergency landing after pilots fall sickFour siblings die in Lancashire blaze

The Telegraph

• HS2 is an unpopular project that will shackle the country with more debt [Letter]The unjustifiable cost of high-speed rail SIR – John Longworth and others (Letters, January 6) are quite wrong in their assertion that giving the green light to the proposed £32 billion High Speed 2 project will strengthen Britain’s position in the global economy. If anything, it will do quite the opposite.
• BA jet makes emergency landing at HeathrowA British Airways jet was forced to make an emergency landing at Heathrow after both pilots suddenly felt light-headed - and had to be fitted with oxygen masks to guide the plane to the ground.
• Motorists face record diesel pricesAverage price of fuel on UK forecourts hit 141p a litre over the weekend due to instability in the Persian Gulf.

Press Association

• Logistics of London 2012 transport Organising transport to deal with the 2012 London Olympics is Britain's largest peace-time logistical exercise.

Mail Online

• Cameron faces high speed rail rebellion over go-ahead to £500million tunnel The Prime Minister faces a revolt from ministers, backbench MPs and local councils over this week’s expected go-ahead for a new high speed rail route from London to Birmingham.
• £500 million rail tunnel to keep Minister in the cabinetMore than 30 MPs could vote against the £32billion scheme, while some ministers – including Welsh Secretary Cheryl Gillan (pictured) – may resign.
• The concrete cancer that has closed London's vital Hammersmith flyover is crippling roads across BritainThe half-mile long Hammersmith flyover, which carries M3, M4 and Heathrow traffic, was shut just before Christmas when steel reinforcement cables were found to be rusting quickly.

Wales Online

• Fares overhaul urged as Wales' most expensive stretch of rail track revealedRAIL passengers in some routes in Wales are being charged 10 TIMES more than those in other parts of the country after the latest round of inflation-busting fare rises.

Bucks Free Press

• MP still pressing for HS2 to be completely axed MP Cheryl Gillan says she would 'dearly love' High Speed 2 to be scrapped after campaigners questioned if she was still pressing for the scheme to be axed completely.

Other Regional Press

• Stranded villagers’ fury at bus fare rise Hitting bus passengers in the pocket with increased fares is wrong when there have been so many complaints about the existing service, a South Staffordshire councillor said today.
• Stagecoach santas drive up charity total THEY say Christmas is the season of good will – and that was exactly the case for this bunch of fun-loving bus drivers.
• Road improvement £1.5m plan for Spen Kirklees Council has agreed revised spending at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday following government cuts _ but the Spen Valley is still set to benefit from almost £1,600,000 of improvements. A bus station planned for Heckmondwike town centre is still to go ahead despite the budget cuts.
• Local travel goes globalA move to fit free wifi on buses could take Arriva onto the information super highway.
• Carroll is king of the roadForget the transport minister, Kent fuel campaigner Peter Carroll has been voted Britain's most powerful man in road transport.
• Have your say on transport changesPEOPLE throughout Central Bedfordshire still have time to comment on plans to improve transport in the area.

Bus and Coach.com

• London access gets thumbs upA survey of ten South London bus routes by passenger watchdog London TravelWatch found no significant problems for a wheelchair user, Yousef Bey-Zekkoub of Transport for All, who tried the services.
• Integrated travel proves the KeyGo North East has launched the Key Lifestyle, which offers not just a 15 per cent discount on bus travel, but includes optional free membership of Commonwheels, a short-term car hire firm, and Scratch Bikes, Newcastle™s self-service bike hire system.
• South Yorkshire sustainability plansThe South Yorkshire PTE and the region™s four local authorities have submitted a bid to the government for £24.
• Scottish call for audible announcementsThe Scottish Conservatives are calling for audible on-board bus-stop announcements to be fitted to new buses, to provide a similar service to that offered by London™s iBus system.
• Row over York StreetCars A war of words has broken out between York city council and First over the future of the city™s ˜ftr™ service, operated by Wrightbus StreetCars.
• Irish trade body appointmentDC HUGHES, managing director of Irish Coaches and the 32 Counties Coach Group, has been elected president and chairman of the Coach Tourism & Transport Council for 2012 and 2013.
• Optare shareholders back Ashok dealOptare shareholders backed the proposals for Ashok Leyland to increase its stake from 26 per cent to 75,1 per cent at the company's general meeting today (Friday 6 January).