Crossrail: Watchdog blasts bosses for ‘driving up costs’ on London’s £17.6bn delayed Elizabeth Line May 3, 2019 Crossrail bosses took decisions that drove unnecessary cost into the troubled £17.6bn railway, a report by Whitehall's spending watchdog has found. A catalogue of errors including a "failure to change course" when it was clear the project was de-railing, as well as flaws in its own commercial strategy, led to cost increases and the current uncertainty [...]
Pumped up: Petrol prices soared in April as oil prices pushed up May 3, 2019 Petrol prices soared faster in April than in almost any other month for nearly two decades, it has been revealed. Motorists across the UK were having to pay an average of £3 more for every full tank, according to data from insurance company RAC. Read more: Oil prices fall after Trump’s showdown with Opec The [...]
Stagecoach claims pension risks for three spurned rail franchises ‘exceeded £1bn’ May 2, 2019 Stagecoach is engaged in an increasingly bitter battle with the government after it revealed that the pension risks it was being asked to take on for three rail franchises was "well in excess of £1bn". Stagecoach, which runs a partnership with Richard Branson's Virgin Trains, has been at loggerheads with the Department for Transport (DfT) [...]
Ofgem may drop competition probe into electricity spot trader May 2, 2019 Ofgem said it plans to close an investigation into a power exchange company which faced allegations of breaking competition rules. Competitor Nord Pool had been shut out of electricity auctions designed to sell energy across the British and Irish border by rival Epex Spot. Read more: Households get £70m windfall after Ofgem launches automatic compensation Ofgem [...]
Budget airlines Ryanair and Wizz Air report soaring passenger numbers in April May 2, 2019 Budget airlines Ryanair and Wizz Air both boosted passenger numbers last month Ryanair Group’s traffic was up 10 per cent to 13.5m passengers compared to April last year while Wizz Air saw passenger numbers rise to 3.28m, an increase of 19 per cent. Read more: Ryanair traffic soars despite challenging results In April Wizz Air [...]
Volkswagen squirrels away €1bn contingency fund to pay emissions scandal legal fees May 2, 2019 Volkswagen has set aside €1bn (£858m) for the ongoing legal battle surrounding its emissions cheating scandal, it revealed this morning. Read more: Volkswagen to build Tesla-style gigafactories for electric car batteries Europe’s biggest car maker said the contingency fund had hit its operating profit in its first quarter trading update, adding that it expects the [...]
London Underground staff to stage three-day Tube strike over FA Cup final weekend May 2, 2019 London Underground staff are preparing to stage a three-day strike over the weekend of the FA cup final over safety concerns. Engineering and maintenance members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers Union (RMT) at depots across Greater London have voted to not book on for any shifts between 17 May to 20 May over cuts [...]
It’s time to stop arguing about expanding Heathrow – and get building May 2, 2019 Thankfully for the UK economy, the High Court yesterday quashed a challenge brought against the government’s decision to expand Heathrow Airport. No one questions the need for scrutiny. Indeed, detailed consideration for how to manage the impact of the expansion on local people – which for some will be significant – lies ahead through the [...]
Crossrail’s 2021 delay to cost TfL an extra £1bn in lost revenue, says Moody’s May 1, 2019 The delay to Crossrail until 2021 will cost Transport for London (TfL) £1bn in lost revenue, according to influential rating agency Moody's. The £1bn figure is between £300m-£400m more than TfL had forecasted in its 2018 business plan, published after the announcement in the summer that the £17.6bn railway would not open that December as planned. Read [...]
Government cancels no-deal Brexit ferry contracts at £50m cost to taxpayer May 1, 2019 The Department for Transport (DfT) has cancelled its no-deal Brexit contracts with ferry companies, racking up heavy costs for the taxpayer. Read more: Government ferry contracts to cost millions more if Brexit is delayed The government last year spent more than £100m chartering extra ferries to ease congestion in the Channel in the event that [...]