BAA and Britain's airports: terminal decline?

BAA, the group that owns Heathrow and six other UK airports, argues that vast investment is needed to improve its facilities. Yet the group is making more money than ever before. Last year, Heathrow made a £438m profit - an increase of 10% on the previous year. Which begs the question: where is all the money going?

Chaos at the terminal

It was quite predictable really. When British Airways, the sole airline at Heathrow Terminal 5, boasted that the supposedly state-of-the-art baggage system "would work perfectly on day one" it was surely tempting fate. And lo and behold, the system proved a shambles when the terminal opened for business yesterday, causing chaos for thousands of angry passengers.

Fake tickets, please

When is a fake ticket not really a fake ticket? When a rail protester has already paid for a season ticket.

Train punctuality - is 90% good enough?

Britain appears to have developed a new skill - the knack of running trains on time.

Faster than a speeding Eurostar

France's record-breaking TGV. Photograph: Francois Nascimbeni/AFP/Getty

France's Train à Grande Vitesse today superseded its past efforts and broke the world speed record for rail in a 357mph (574.8km) dash on the Paris-Strasbourg high speed line.

The V150 - named for the target number of metres it should do a second - is an enhanced version of the passenger trains that will run on the line at a more sedate 200mph.

You can read more on the train here, including the following bit of comparison for anyone who thought the new Eurostar line is whizzy:

In Britain the country's fastest train is the Eurostar which can reach speeds of up to 186mph. However, travelling at 354mph the TGV would cover the distance between London to Edinburgh in 64 minutes.

Update: From Princess Benelux in the comments comes video of the TGV at full speed.

4x4 drivers: human, too?

Chancellors rarely boast about raising taxes, and Gordon Brown is no different.

Yet he has made an exception, explaining proudly in a series of interviews this morning that one particular group will have to cough up more thanks to his budget.

What is this marginalised minority? 4x4 drivers, of course.

Tax cuts for some have been financed by higher revenues elsewhere, Mr Brown told the Radio 4 Today programme. "That is why, of course, if you have got a 4x4, you are going to pay more road tax," he said.

Mr Brown identified the same group as budget losers on both BBC Breakfast and Sky News.

But, as the beleaguered four-wheel drive owners point out, not all such models are gas guzzlers of the type being targeted by means of the chancellor's higher levels of vehicle duty for high-emission vehicles.

So why single them out? Because these days, 4x4 drivers are the minority it's ok for everyone to hate. No apologies needed, no caveats given.

Have you had a petrol problem?

A driver fills up at a Tesco
petrol station. Photograph: David SillitoeDrivers have been going online to talk about problems with their cars after filling up at supermarket petrol stations.

Some reckon the fuel has damaged their vehicles, but there is also widespread scepticism on message forums, with some posters joking about how everyone with a problem with their motor is now trying to blame Tesco, which insists its fuel is okay.

One writes: "I filled up at Tesco once... and my car keeps needing an MOT and a service... and now the brakes have gone funny ..."

Thousands of cars have broken down after filling up, however. The problems are apparently mainly focused in the south: Norwich, Essex, and Brighton have all been highlighted. More recent reports, though, also mention Manchester, Newcastle and Aberdeen.

One Vauxhall Corsa owner, writing on the PistonHeads' "gassing station", filled up at a Tesco in Dereham, Norfolk, and says the exhaust emissions warning light came on. The local garage told them they were the third person to have the same problem, which was being cause by a "bad batch of fuel". The Corsa owner says they will have to pay £90 for a new fuel sensor.

Does this sound how it is where you live? Please tell us about it by adding your comments below.