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

Sunday, 15 May 2016

BBC News

• Steamer TS Queen Mary returns to ClydeA 1930s steam ship that gave its name to the ocean liner Queen Mary is set to return to the Clyde.

Financial Times

• Tunnel visions: New life for unloved underground spacesLondon’s Rotherhithe Shaft is an innovative example of a subterranean industrial relic being put to new use

The Guardian

• Flying Scotsman trip back on after Network Rail U-turnNetwork Rail apologises for ‘premature announcement’ that locomotive would not be allowed to operateThe Flying Scotsman’s planned trips in Borders and Fife are to go ahead after earlier being cancelled at short notice. Track operator Network Rail said on Friday that the famous steam locomotive would no longer be able to undertake planned tours on Sunday because safety assessments had not been carried out on some lines in time. Scotland’s transport minister, Derek Mackay, accused the rail body of “appalling incompetence” and started talks to restore some of the route. Continue reading...
• Doubts over Thames garden bridge as Sadiq Khan probes £175m projectBoris Johnson’s ‘less than honest’ role in procurement process under scrutiny by new mayor of LondonThe new London mayor, Sadiq Khan, is investigating his predecessor’s conduct over the procurement process for London’s planned £175m garden bridge.Khan, having completed his first week in office, has already begun scrutinising Boris Johnson’s decisions relating to the controversial project, to which £60m of public money has been allocated in circumstances previously criticised by parliamentary spending officials as unorthodox. An official report concluded that the process to select a designer fo...

The Telegraph

• British airlines 'unlawfully' pocketing �300m in tax paid by passengers
• HS2 may not even reach Manchester as Department for Transport faces having project taken out of its controlHS2 has admitted that “nothing is ruled out” in a cost-cutting exercise which could see sizeable parts of the controversial high-speed project shelved.

Times Online

• Red flag raised over award of Northern Rail [subscription]The rail franchise system has been thrown into disarray again after the competition authorities said they would launch an in-depth investigation into the award of the Northern Rail network to the German-owned Arriva.

City AM

• The UK is looking for people to test driverless carsIndividuals are now able to register for the UK's first public driverless vehicle trials which are due to take place later this year.
• The UK is looking for people to test driverless carsIndividuals are now able to register for the UK's first public driverless vehicle trials which are due to take place later this year.

Mail Online

• Cameron vows to make Britain a land of driverless cars and space exploration within the next few years Driverless cars, drones and space travel will form the centrepiece of a Queen’s Speech which will echo Harold Wilson’s famous invocation of the ‘white heat of technology’.
• HS2 and homebuilding schemes 'at risk of delay' over archaeologist shortage The HS2, house building and road upgrades planned over the next 17 years could be in jeopardy unless action is taken over the lack of trained workers, experts have warned.
• Merseyrail fit staff with body cameras to spot commuters putting feet on seats Train workers will now wear cameras on their uniforms to catch people who put their feet on seats. Almost half (43 per cent) of passengers said it was the main form of anti-social behaviour on trains.

The Sun

• Blast ooh-arf! UK’s first spaceport may be in Newquay as Queen’s speech set to address modern transportTOURISTS could soon be blasting off for the stars from a Cornish spaceport. Plans to open Britain’s first commercial rocket launch site will be unveiled this week and Newquay is tipped to host it.

London Evening Standard

• The Tweed Run 2016: Hundreds of tweed-wearing cyclists take to the streets of central LondonHundreds of snappily dressed cyclists descended on central London for a mass tweed-themed bike ride.
• Voice of girl, 10, used for terror warning on London trainsBritain's biggest rail operator has used the voice of a ten year-old girl in new safety announcements to 'increase security' following the Brussels terror attack.

Manchester Evening News

• Council leader rubbishes reports that Manchester Airport has been axed from HS2 routeSources had told a Sunday newspaper that the airport stop - which was inserted into plans for the line after sustained lobbying from the region - may get pulled
• Council leader rubbishes reports that Manchester Airport has been axed from HS2 routeSources had told a Sunday newspaper that the airport stop - which was inserted into plans for the line after sustained lobbying from the region - may get pulled

The York Press

• Protesters speak out against York bus cuts PROTESTERS spoke out against proposed bus cuts during a demonstration in York this afternoon.

Burnley Express

• Map lays down the law for driving abroadAs tens of thousands of Britons begin to plan holidays on the Continent this summer a new interactive map aims to help keep us on the right side of the law.

North Wales Live

• Liverpool airport coffee shop workers offered training to spot people traffickers Cardinal Vincent Nichols launches new scheme for 'eyes and ears' of cafe employees
• Merseyside driving fails on camera - red light rushers, road rage and more Watch these videos that show bad driving, mad driving and near misses on our roads

Other Regional Press

• ABERDEEN BUS LANE PENALTIES TO FUND £50K SALARY OF NEW TRANSPORT EXPERTFines from bus lane offenders will fund the £50,000 salary of a new transport expert.
• Huddersfield traders call for bus gates scheme to be abolishedHuge drop in trade following Kirklees Council scheme

Other News Sources

• Over two year’s consecutive growth at Manchester AirportAirport’s passengers provide boost to North West visitor economy
• Michael O'Leary calls for transport system to be privatisedRyanair CEO Michael O'Leary has called for the deregulation and privatisation of the transport system. He was speaking on Newstalk's Down To Business this morning about the Luas strike.
• Sussex train services named the least punctual SUSSEX rail services were the least punctual over the last year with nearly two in every ten services registered as late by train bosses.