HS2: Leaked report urges government to press on with rail project November 12, 2019 The High Speed 2 (HS2) rail line connecting London to Manchester, Birmingham and Leeds should go ahead in its entirety despite the likelihood of massive budget overruns and falling benefit to the taxpayer, according to a draft of the official review into the project. Douglas Oakervee, a former chair of HS2 who was tasked with [...]
Boeing shares soar as it forecasts January return for 737 Max November 11, 2019 Boeing shares took off this afternoon after the company said it expected US regulators to approve its grounded 737 Max model to return to service in January. The plane maker, which has been tussling with the global fallout from two deadly crashes of the jet which killed 346 people, said it was possible deliveries to [...]
Easyjet prepares to take more Thomas Cook market share via package holiday business November 11, 2019 Easyjet is gearing up to reveal the details of its upcoming package holiday subsidiary, as the industry scrambles to fill the gap in the market left after the collapse of Thomas Cook. The low cost carrier, which reports its full-year financial results next week, will relaunch the package holiday business, Easyjet Holidays, before Christmas, but [...]
HS2 ‘fundamental’ to hitting UK emissions target, says lobby group November 11, 2019 The HS2 rail project is “fundamental” to the UK hitting its net zero emissions target by 2050, according to a report commissioned by rail industry bosses. HS2, which is planned to link London with the north of England and Scotland via trains travelling at more than 200mph, will mean fewer people take cars and short-haul [...]
London Underground: Union threatens Christmas Tube strikes November 11, 2019 There may be “significant disruption” on the London Underground during the Christmas period as rail workers decide on whether to engage in strike action. One thousand Tube cleaners from the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) union today began voting on whether to take industrial action in a bid for better pay and amenities. Read [...]
Rugby World Cup fans help Heathrow airport post record October traffic November 11, 2019 Heathrow airport enjoyed its busiest October on record as 6.9m passengers travelled from and to London’s international hub, thanks in part to fans flying to Japan’s Rugby World Cup. Airport traffic grew 0.5 per cent year on year, Heathrow revealed today, with the number of passengers flying to and from the Middle East rising 6.5 [...]
Revealed: Government faces mounting pile of complaints over contract issues November 11, 2019 Whitehall is facing a spiralling number of complaints from companies bidding for government work, as officials move to counter growing disquiet over a series of botched contract awards in recent years. The number of complaints rose by nearly half in 2018 to 235, up from 159 the previous year, according to data released under the [...]
Silvertown Tunnel campaigners threaten Sadiq Khan with a judicial review November 10, 2019 Campaigners against the Silvertown Tunnel have sent a letter to Sadiq Khan threatening to seek a judicial review of the project if it is approved. The No to Silvertown Tunnel coalition sent a letter to the mayor last week, saying that modelling from Transport for London (TfL) on the project is “insufficient to make a [...]
Boris Johnson ‘wary of putting HS2 on scrap heap’ November 10, 2019 Prime Minister Boris Johnson has yet to make his mind up on the High Speed 2 rail project but called it “incredibly expensive” late last week, as a government-commissioned review into its future enters its final stages. Speaking on the campaign trail in Nottingham near one of the railway’s planned stops, he said he was [...]
Silvertown Tunnel: Bringing London together or tearing it apart? November 9, 2019 London has just three road river crossings east of Tower Bridge. Two of these – the Rotherhithe Tunnel and the western portion of the Blackwall Tunnel – were built for the passage of horse-drawn carts and carriages around the turn of the century. Read more: TfL awards 1bn Silvertown Tunnel contract to Aberdeen Standard-backed firm [...]