Army withdraws anti-drone equipment from Gatwick following Christmas travel chaos January 3, 2019 Military equipment installed at Gatwick to stop drones disrupting flights has now been removed, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said today. The army was deployed to the airport shortly before Christmas to help bring an end to the saga that affected roughly 1,000 flights. Israeli-developed systems designed to jam drone signals were reportedly among the military-grade [...]
Shares up after construction firm Costain’s order book hits a record £4.2bn January 3, 2019 Shares in Costain are up more than five per cent after the construction and engineering company announced today that it finished the year with a record-breaking order book of £4.2bn. In a trading update the firm, which is a major supplier to Network Rail and Highways England, said it had an order book of £4.2bn, up from [...]
Overcrowding on trains close to a record high as commuters warned it will get even worse January 3, 2019 Overcrowding on trains has hit one of its highest ever levels – but is likely to get even worse, according to Labour. The 10 most overcrowded peak train routes are already running at 187 per cent overcapacity, the party’s analysis found, an increase of 25 per cent since 2011. And they are likely to get [...]
Scottish Power goes with the wind as Drax Group completes takeover of portfolio January 2, 2019 Drax Group has completed its £702m takeover of power plants from Scottish Power as the company moves towards ending its coal-based production before 2025. The deal, which was first announced in October, sees Drax take control of the Cruachan pumped storage hydro facility and a plant which turns waste into biomass. The plants have helped [...]
Rail firms have paid out more than £1bn in shareholder dividends over last six years, says TUC union January 2, 2019 Rail firms have paid over £1bn to shareholders in last six years, according to trade union analysis on the same day that a 3.1 per cent hike in fares was announced for passengers. The fare increase, set under the retail price index (RPI), will see many rail season tickets increase by more than £100. According to [...]
Chinese ride-hailing app Didi Chuxing expands into fintech as driver regulation rears its head January 2, 2019 Chinese ride-hailing app Didi Chuxing has expanded into financial services, as fresh domestic regulation threatened to put a dampener on its driver numbers. The firm has today launched a suite of financial products, including crowdfunded health insurance, wealth management and lending, all aimed at short-term workers on temporary contracts. The move comes after Didi announced a [...]
Tesla shares fall as it cuts car prices and misses production estimates January 2, 2019 Shares in Tesla have fallen more than 10 per cent as markets opened this afternoon, after the electric vehicle manufacturer said it would be cutting the prices of its cars by $2,000 (£1,586). The carmaker was forced to partially absorb the cost of changes to a US green tax credit for electric vehicles, which almost halved yesterday to [...]
Millennials face a long wait online as next batch of 26-30 railcards go on sale nationwide January 2, 2019 Millennials are facing long waits to get their hands on the next batch of 26-30 railcards, which were launched this afternoon. The 26-30 railcard, which costs £30 for a year, went on sale at midday. It offers one third off most rail fares for more than 4m people across the UK, meaning railcard holders will save [...]
Cathay Pacific to honour bargain business class tickets following website mix-up January 2, 2019 Asian airline Cathay Pacific has said it will honour cut-price first class and business class fares offered on its website by mistake. Lucky travellers that scooped a bargain in the accidental January sale will get to keep their tickets, which included business class seats from Vietnam to New York for $675 (£533) return. Seats on the same [...]
Chris Grayling defends decision to award £13.8m Brexit ferries contract to firm with no ships January 2, 2019 Transport secretary Chris Grayling has defended the controversial decision to award a £13m contract to a firm that has never run ships in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Grayling has come under fire for awarding Seaborne Freight the £13.8m contract after it emerged it has never run ferries before. Speaking to the BBC, Grayling said: [...]