Exclusive: Siemens UK chief says pandemic brought ‘helpful’ distraction from Brexit November 26, 2020 Since becoming CEO of Siemens and Smart Infrastructure, the UK arm of German tech powerhouse Siemens, in December of last year, most of Carl Ennis’ job has been dominated by Covid-19. Despite the many difficulties, the pandemic also brought some good, such as a distraction from Brexit, Ennis tells City A.M. in an exclusive interview. Brexit The fact that the virus [...]
Easyjet sees domestic bookings jump as lockdown restrictions eased November 26, 2020 Easyjet today said that bookings for domestic flights had seen a “significant rise” this week following the news that coronavirus restrictions in the UK would be eased over Christmas. Flights between London and Bristol to Belfast, as well as from London to Edinburgh, were the most popular, the airline said. In addition, searches for flights [...]
Eurostar: Protect ‘key to our future connectivity’, says Labour peer November 26, 2020 Labour life peer Lord Berkeley has joined calls for the government to provide emergency funding for the Eurostar after a crippling collapse in passenger numbers due to the coronavirus pandemic. Writing in City A.M., Lord Berkeley, a well-known figure in the transport industry, said that the cross-Channel rail link was “the key to our future [...]
Car production falls again as nightmare year stretches on November 26, 2020 Car production fell once again in October as the sector’s nightmare year showed no sign of ending. Just 110,179 cars were built last month, down almost a fifth on the same month last year, according to new figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. For the year as a whole, production has dropped [...]
Eurostar is our green gateway to Europe — we cannot abandon it November 26, 2020 As the end of the EU transition period looms, the UK must be able to showcase the strength of its post-Brexit trading role, whatever the outcome of negotiations. Our connectivity with Europe, even as a standalone nation, is crucial to demonstrating this. Yet Eurostar, the most iconic connection between the UK and mainland Europe, is [...]
RMT joins calls for emergency Eurostar funding as passenger numbers collapse November 25, 2020 Rail union the RMT has called on the government to provide emergency funding for the Eurostar, saying that a failure to do so threatens the future of the rail link. As a result of the coronavirus pandemic,the Eurostar is currently battling a 95 per cent decline in passenger numbers. If the service were to fail [...]
Crossrail funding remains up in the air despite government commitment November 25, 2020 Questions remain over the immediate future of the Crossrail link despite the government committing to the £19bn project’s completion in today’s National Infrastructure Strategy (NIS). “The government is continuing to address capacity issues in the capital, by financing the completion of Crossrail”, the paper read. But negotiations over the funding package for the rail link [...]
Sunak pledges £100bn in capital spending to fund ‘once in a generation’ infrastructure investment November 25, 2020 Capital spending will increase to £100bn next year, Chancellor Rishi Sunak pledged today, as the government looks to make a “once in a generation investment” in its infrastructure. The plans, which were announced as part of today’s Spending Review, will see new money for housebuilding, a “levelling-up” fund for local projects, and a new national [...]
Exclusive: TfL officials watered down Croydon tram safety audit to ‘placate’ First Group November 25, 2020 Internal emails seen by City A.M. show that Transport for London (TfL) officials agreed to water down an audit into fatigue management on the Croydon tram network in a bid to “placate” the company running the service. A group of TfL executives responsible for a 2017 audit of Tram Operations Limited’s (TOL) safety standards agreed [...]
Road to recovery: AA accepts £219m private equity bid November 25, 2020 The AA has accepted a £219m cash takeover offer from private equity groups Towerbrook Capital and Warburg Pincus. Shareholders in the roadside recovery business will receive 35p per share as a result of the takeover. The private equity firms plan to inject £380m into the business to help reduce its debt pile of £2.6bn as [...]