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

Wednesday, 24 December 2014

Cogitamus

• Merry Christmas To All Our ReadersWe will be taking a little break over the holidays. TransportInfo will not be updated on 25 and 26 December 2014 and also on 1 January 2015. Well, that's unless something extraordinary happens and we can't stop ourselves…

BBC News

• 20,000 flying away for ChristmasCardiff Airport reveals list of top 10 Christmas destinations as thousands decide to
• Gwili Steam Railway is back on trackAfter a 15-year project and more than £300,000, the Gwili Steam Railway track has doubled in length, allowing passengers to see views not seen for almost 50 years.
• VIDEO: The £6bn plan to fix 18m potholesThe details of how nearly £6bn will be spent on local road repairs across England have been announced by the government in its aim to repair 18m potholes in England.
• VIDEO: Call for rail company compensationA watchdog calls for commuters to receive
• Payout call for Thameslink delaysA watchdog calls for commuters to receive
• Opec oil production 'will not fall'Saudi Arabia's oil minister, Ali al-Naimi, says the Opec cartel will not cut oil production even if the price falls to $20 a barrel.

The Guardian

• Christmas travel in UK hit by road and rail chaosLittle festive cheer on Britain’s roads and railways as planned engineering work coincides with car crashes and signal failuresRoad crashes and rail disruption have delayed people heading off for Christmas.On Britain’s busiest motorway, the M25, a multi-vehicle accident closed two lanes between junction five near Otford in Kent and junction six near Oxted in Surrey. There were also hold-ups for drivers after a broken-down lorry led to a lane closure on junction 12, south of Heathrow airport. Continue reading...

The Independent

• Cabin-fever cruise passengers protest on ship circling Channel for four days before returning Fed-up cruise passengers staged a protest on a ship scheduled to sail to Amsterdam after it had circled the Channel for four days before returning to the port in Southampton last night.

The Telegraph

• Why commuting to work is more fun than you realiseDo you really hate your journey to work? Chris Moss talks to the author of a new book who suggests that commuting doesn't deserve its bad reputation
• 'Ban manspreading': Londoners want men to sit with their legs together on the TubeNew York has cracked down on 'manspreading', where men sit with their legs apart on public transport. Now Londoners want to follow suit
• Christmas getaway blighted by travel chaosAccidents, delays and bad weather hit Britain's road and rail network but conditions forecast to improve on Christmas Eve

Mail Online

• Boris Johnson: Call a TAXI to take you to hospital this Christmas The London Mayor said those with minor fractures or sprains should take themselves to hospital to keep ambulances for emergencies. The remarks come amid growing pressure on A&E wards.

The Mirror

• Boxing Day travel misery for a million football fans as NO trains will be runningDespite a full fixture list, virtually no trains are due to run, meaning supporters will have to take to the roads to follow their teams

This is Money

• New car buyers warned over pushy salesmen selling specialist insurance they can get for cheaper elsewhere Every year, tens of thousands of motorists sign up to so-called ‘gap’ (Guaranteed Asset Protection) insurance on the forecourt.

Birmingham Mail

• Bennetts Hill parking stand-off: Defiant driver WINS battle with parking officialsMatthews Sanders' car was removed from the tow truck after a nine-hour stand-off

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Dim vew of street lights going out SIGNIFICANT areas of the country are being “plunged into darkness”, it has been claimed, as research reveals more than 2,000 streetlights in Bradford have been dimmed.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Three in court on £810,000 Padarn Bus fraudJohn David Hulme, Darren Charles Price and Anne Louise Price were bailed until a further hearing in February

London Evening Standard

• Addison Lee boss: TfL 'bottled it' by letting Uber come to London The boss of the UK’s biggest cab firm Addison Lee today accused Transport for London of “letting down” black taxi drivers by allowing a controversial American tech giant to muscle in on the capital.
• London travel watchdog calls for payouts for travellers on new Thameslink train service London's travel watchdog today demanded “significant” payouts for commuters who have endured a miserable service on the new Thameslink rail service.

This Is Local London Network

• Barnet dims 92 per cent of street lights to save money Barnet Borough Council dims the highest number of street lights in London, according to new research.

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• Walsall car park to be demolished and replaced with one half the sizeA run down multi-storey car park is to be pulled down in Walsall under plans to transform the site.

Blackpool Gazette

• Travel cuts set to hit county hardBosses at Lancashire County Council are examining the implications of new Government cuts in funding for free school travel.
• Drink drive threat noticedDrinkers who decide to risk driving home from the pub this Christmas while over the limit could receive a ’fixed penalty notice’ before they even get behind the wheel.
• Festive period trains delayedPassengers are being advised to avoid the West Coast main line and to check before they travel over the Christmas period due to track works.

Burnley Express

• £160k plans to improve Burnley railway station revealed - ahead of new faster service to Manchester PLANS for a £160,000 scheme to improve a Burnley railway station – ahead of the new faster service to Manchester – have been revealed.

Doncaster Free Press

• Early Christmas present arrives at Humberside AirportHumberside Airport has taken stock of three Hawk fighter jets in preparation for the new £5m Training Academy at Humberside Airport.

Other Regional Press

• Get ready for more road delays as nightmare set to continue PLANS for more than 17 weeks of roadworks in East Oxford that clash with other city traffic schemes, will create a roads “nightmare” that will damage business, it has been warned.
• Rail works to hit Christmas trains Rail passengers will be affected over the Christmas period by major improvement works in Reading and Slough.
• M1 roadworks area in Northamptonshire has seen 31 crashes in four monthsA total of 31 accidents have happened near the roadworks between junction 16 and junction 19 of the M1 since August, the Highways Agency has revealed.
• Seven private hire taxis banned from road during crackdown on Mad FridayAuthorities checked 46 taxis and private hire vehicles to make sure they were appropriately licensed and complied with necessary safety requirements
• Croxley Rail Link: Rising cost forces government to step in London Underground said the government has asked them to take on an
• £15m windfall to fill in the potholes SWINDON Council repaired more than 4,300 potholes in the first six months of the financial year, resurfacing 11,000 square metres of road.
• Rail works to hit Christmas trains Rail passengers will be affected over the Christmas period by major improvement works in Reading and Slough.

Rail Technology Magazine

• Bombardier wins €150m maintenance contract for Trenitalia’s Frecciarossa 1000 fleet Bombardier's consortium partner AnsaldoBreda announced it signed a ten-year €250m contract with train operator Trenitalia earlier this month. Bombardier will work in association with AnsaldoBreda.

Aviation Industry

• Easyjet Christmas cabin crew strike to hit France flightsSome services to and from France cancelled on Boxing Day

Green Miscellany

• Johanson3 electric cargo trike: A modern day rickshawIf you think congestion is bad today, consider that population growth and increasing urbanisation is expected to see an additional 2.5 billion people living in cities by 2050, according to a United Nations report published earlier this year. For those unable or unwilling to cycle, the future may hold travel by networked electric vehicles; autonomous pods that can be hailed…

Other News Sources

• Police stop hundreds of motorists POLICE stopped more than 300 vehicles in one evening during a roadside operation across the Forest of Dean.
• VIDEO: World’s Largest Container ShipAlthough 2014 has so far been full of shipping industry’s firsts as well as record-breaking feats, Mediterranean Shipping Company will make sure that we enter the new year with a bang by adding the world’s largest container vessel, a 19, 224 TEU MSC Oscar, to its fleet. This 395.4m long and 59 m wide container […]
• Santa Bus has record breaking year It has been a record-breaking year for the annual Santa Bus fundraising tour around the streets of Brighton and Hove.

EIN News Subscription

• Drink drivers who repeat offence face 'alco-locks' on cars … different levels and limits. The Road Safety Authority (RSA) is undertaking a … , Ulster and Munster. Gardai and road safety bosses are concerned about the … reduce drink driving rates. The European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) says that … halve the number of road deaths across the EU. It noted that …
• How 12 airports are bringing Christmas to travellers this year … welcome passengers to the airport.   The … Frankfurt Airport   You can expect an authentically European … airports.   From the check-in counters and beyond to the security … airport’s social media channels.   Los Angeles International Airport   At LAX, airlines …
• Serbia and China ink Agreement for the Establishment of Air Traffic … Minister and Minister for Construction, Transport and Infrastructure, Zorana Mihajlović, and … Chinese and Central and Eastern European leaders in Belgrade. The agreement … were attended by both Air Serbia and Air China. Ex-YU Aviation news