Chris Grayling admits Cabinet overruled him on Eurotunnel ferry settlement July 17, 2019 Transport secretary Chris Grayling has said he personally wanted to fight Eurotunnel’s legal challenge against the government’s no-deal Brexit ferry strategy in court but that Cabinet collectively decided to settle it. In what was most likely his last appearance before the Transport Select Committee, Grayling was asked why the Department for Transport (DfT), which he [...]
HS2 locks horns with Bechtel in bid to break contract stalemate July 16, 2019 HS2 has asked the High Court to allow it to push on with the construction of one its London stations despite an ongoing legal challenge from engineering giant Bechtel. HS2 Limited, which is overseeing the proposed £56bn railway linking London to the north, has applied to lift the “automatic suspension” that is preventing it from [...]
UK rail franchising system has ‘had its day’, says review head July 16, 2019 The UK’s rail franchising system has “had its day”, the man in charge with reviewing Britain’s railways has said. Former British Airways chief executive Keith Williams, who is leading a government-commissioned review into how to improve the industry, said the franchising model needed to be replaced by a “new commercial model” that worked in the [...]
Ryanair warns of service cuts, blaming Boeing 737 Max ban July 16, 2019 Ryanair today warned investors it has been forced to reschedule summer 2020 due to a delay in the delivery of new Boeing 737 Max planes. The budget flyer had ordered 58 Max 200 models from Boeing in time for its summer 2020 schedule, but now expects just 30 to be ready in time. Read more: [...]
Competition watchdog to probe $3.4bn Inmarsat takeover July 16, 2019 The competition watchdog has opened an investigation into the proposed $3.4bn (£2.6bn) takeover of satellite communications giant Inmarsat by a consortium of private equity firms. Read more: Inmarsat shareholders approve $3.4bn private equity takeover Inmarsat earlier this year unveiled a buyout deal led by Apax Partners and Warburg Pincus, who tabled a cash offer of [...]
Boss of First Group’s US cash cow quits July 15, 2019 The boss of First Group’s largest business has resigned as the company continues to suffer from the fallout of an activist rebellion, City A.M. can reveal. Dennis Maple, the president of First Student, the largest provider of student transportation in North America, is understood to have taken up a role at another company after serving [...]
Tory mayoral hopeful Shaun Bailey calls for ‘pause’ on HS2 July 15, 2019 Tory mayoral hopeful Shaun Bailey has said High Speed Two (HS2) should be “paused” and investment redirected to the north as the project’s future hangs in the balance. Bailey called HS2, the £56bn railway that will connect London to the north via Birmingham, an “overpriced scheme based on outdated technology” that was “crowding out the [...]
Former BA operations chief to head up London Underground July 15, 2019 A former British Airways chief is to join Transport for London (TfL) as its new managing director of the Underground, taking over from the incumbent Nigel Holness. Andy Lord worked at BA for 25 years before progressing to the role as director of operations from 2008 to 2015. He also held the role of executive [...]
Vueling Airlines named as the most delayed airline in the UK July 15, 2019 Vueling Airlines is the worst airline for delays when flying from the UK, according to data revealed today. Read more: Heathrow airport summer strikes threaten chaos for holidaymakers The Spanish flyer’s departures were delayed by an average of 31 minutes towards the end of 2018, according to an analysis of Civil Aviation Authority data. British [...]
Peugeot maker PSA Group sales plunge in first half July 15, 2019 Peugeot manufacturer PSA Group reported that sales plummeted in the first half of the year driven by poor performance in emerging markets. Sales fell to 1.9m between January and June from 2.18m the previous year as the company suffered a sharp decline in several regions. Read more: Peugeot marker PSA reaches deal to buy Opel [...]