HS2: Grant Shapps says problem is with capacity ahead of February decision January 22, 2020 Grant Shapps has placed more doubt over the future of the HS2 rail line, saying the problem is about capacity rather than speed. The transport secretary said that while a final decision would be made in February, he was examining alternatives. Shapps said it was vital that the government get the facts right before embarking [...]
HS2: Right project, wrong pitch to the public January 22, 2020 HS2 will become a case study in the importance of having your corporate communications in order. Since the beginning, protestors have successfully framed the project as being about shaving 10 minutes of a journey between Birmingham and London, and this narrative has cut through to the media, members of the public, and even politicians. While [...]
Boeing shares plunge on delay to 737 Max return January 21, 2020 Boeing said today it did not expect to win approval for the return of the 737 Max to service until mid-2020. Boeing announced the delay after its shares were suspended following a report from CNBC. Its shares fell 5.5 per cent to $306.23 before being halted ahead of the announcement. Boeing said in a statement: [...]
Record number of flights for private jet airport Farnborough January 21, 2020 Farnborough Airport enjoyed a record number of air traffic movements last year, beating its previous record set in 2018. The airport – one of Britain’s busiest for private jets – saw a year-on-year increase in air traffic movements of 5.3 per cent. Air traffic movements to and from US airports grew by one-sixth, while traffic [...]
Network Rail investigated for ‘poor performance’ in Midlands and north west January 21, 2020 Network Rail is being investigated over poor performance on train lines in the northwest and the Midlands. The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has put the company on a warning over the performance on Northern and TransPennine Express routes. Network Rail is publicly-owned, and operates the UK’s physical rail infrastructure, such as tracks, signalling [...]
Easyjet raises first half guidance after outperforming on passenger revenue January 21, 2020 Low-cost airline Easyjet this morning said that they had raised their first half revenue guidance after outperforming expectations for their passenger revenue. Easyjet’s shares rose over four per cent in early trading. The figures: Total revenue for the quarter rose nearly 10 per cent to £1.43bn, up from 1.3bn in the same period last year. [...]
Why London black cabs might ferry you around the Tokyo Olympics January 21, 2020 Londoners visiting Tokyo this summer will find a small part of home on the streets of the Japanese capital, after a fleet of London black cabs comes to the city in time for the Olympic Games. The London Electric Vehicle Company, the UK-based maker of the plug-in hybrid version of London’s black cabs which is [...]
Government doubles funding for electric car charge points to £10m January 21, 2020 The transport secretary has announced a fresh wave of funding to build thousands more on-street residential electric vehicle charge points this year. Grant Shapps said he hoped to help make it easier to find “affordable, reliable” charge points for electric car drivers by doubling current funding to £10m. This is enough to build up to [...]
Uber boss Khosrowshahi met with TfL commissioner to discuss London ban January 20, 2020 Uber’s chief executive met privately with TfL’s boss in recent days amid a brewing legal battle over the US ride-sharing firm’s future in the capital. Dara Khosrowshahi met TfL commissioner Mike Brown to discuss the dispute, Sky News reported. The meeting, which had not been disclosed, happened while Khosrowshahi was on his way to Davos [...]
HS2 Q&A: Where is the route, how much will it cost and when will it open? January 20, 2020 Today’s forecast that the cost of HS2 could soar as high as £106bn will come as no surprise to close observers of the project. The number, calculated by infrastructure consultant Michael Byng, is in line with Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s prediction last year that the project will come in “north of £100bn”. But the figure [...]