Cold weather brings rail chaos
The cold weather meant more misery for rail travellers today with serious disruption on a number of key commuter routes.
Heavy snow caught commuters
Some motorists trapped overnight were caught in treacherous conditions on the M23 in Sussex and on the A23 in Kent
New row over our rails
Rail fiasco could cost taxpayers millions and delay improvements
Live updates
Giant cranes sail up the Thames - full report
They are more than twice the size of Nelson's Column and today three of the largest cranes in the world were ferried along the Thames to a new super port.
They'll be used to lift containers from giant cargo ships onto the quayside at London Gateway, the £1.5 billion global shipping port which is set to create thousands of jobs in the region.
Derek Johnson reports and speaks to Simon Moore, of DP World London Gateway, and Andrew Bowen, Engineering Director.
Gateway chief: 'biggest single job creation project in UK'
Simon Moore, DP World London Gateway chief executive, has high hopes for the South East's new super port as giant cranes arrive up the Thames.
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First video pics of giant cranes on Thames
The first video clips of three giant cranes from China as they head into port on the River Thames near Essex. The cranes will aid container shipping once the London Gateway opens later this year.
New photos of 138 metre cranes from China on Thames
Three new giant cranes have arrived from China into the new deep-sea port in the Thames Estuary. The site is near Stanford le-Hope in Essex. The quay cranes which are taller than the London Eye measure 138 metres in height - two and a half times the height of Nelson's column in Trafalgar Square.
The cranes will be used to lift containers from big ships onto the shore. The LOndon Gateway is due to open at the end of 2013. When complete, its owners say it could bring 36,000 jobs to the economy.
Reading station - work on new walkway underway
A passenger footbridge linking a multi-storey car park to Reading railway station has been shut. A diversion is in place for the next four weeks while work on building new platforms below continues. A new walkway is expected to open in April.
Huge cranes welcomed into port off Thames Estuary
A traditional welcome for @londongatewayuk quayside container cranes; vessel Zhen Hua 26 alongside the quay http://t.co/F2FSWwLDyj
From @LondonPortAuth on Twitter:Advertisement
Cranes arrive at London Gateway super port
The biggest cranes ever seen on the River Thames arrive at the new London Gateway super port.
First 3 of 20 cranes heading to London Gateway
How large?
The cranes are taller than the London Eye, weigh 1,848 tons each, will reach across 25 rows of containers on a vessel and can lift up to 80 tons at a time.
Why so large?
London Gateway will be handling the world’s largest container ships, operated by shipping lines to provide economies of scale and reduce environmental impact on the main shipping trade lanes. That means lower cost and lower carbon supply chains for retailers and other cargo owners.
And the future?
The 25-box outreach takes the cranes beyond the width of the world’s largest container ship. “The size of the cranes future-proofs the port, allowing London Gateway to handle the next generation of ultra large container ships,” says London Gateway operations director Tim Halhead.
Giant cranes being delivered to Thames Estuary
Three giant cranes will arrive at Britain's new deep water port in the Thames Estuary today. They'll be used to move containers from some of the world's biggest ships to shore when The London Gateway opens later this year.
Little Red to battle with big BA
Little Red is the name of Sir Richard Branson's new airline that will compete with British Airways on routes from Heathrow to Manchester, Edinburgh and Aberdeen from the end of this month.
For the first time Virgin is being allowed to compete with BA on domestic UK routes.
BA was forced to hand over some of the slots held by BMI when it bought the loss making airline. Virgin won most of them and the move will spark new competition between the arch rivals.
Virgin Atlantic hopes that Little Red will help feed traffic onto its international services.
The service will use Heathrow Terminal 1,
Sir Richard, from Oxfordshire, says Little Red will "go head-to-head with BA to provide domestic flights that deliver Virgin Atlantic's rock and roll spirit as well as real value for money."
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