New HS2 budget to blow £33bn hole in public finances Transport & Infrastructure The government will need to find as much as £33bn in additional cash from tax and spending measures or from other departments to fund its revamped plans to deliver HS2. According to a City AM analysis, the Department for Transport’s updated proposals for the rail line require between £18bn and £33bn of additional public money [...]
Hotel tycoon Arora launches revamped Heathrow runway proposal Aviation The hotel tycoon behind a rival bid to build Heathrow’s third runway has tabled a fresh proposal backed by British Airways and Virgin Atlantic that would build the mega-project in two distinct stages in an effort to keep a lid on costs. Surinder Arora, the billionaire hospitality magnate behind a campaign to reshape Heathrow’s regulatory [...]
Rail fares frozen in first pause for 30 years Transport & Infrastructure A long-trailed freeze on regulated rail fares has come into effect across England, with ministers claiming the move will save passengers around £600m over the coming year. The move marks the first halt to annual increases in three decades. From this week, peak commuter returns and off-peak returns between major cities will not rise in [...]
South Western Railway performance nosedives after nationalisation October 2, 2025 Performance at South Western Railway has plummeted in the months since it became the first network to be brought under state ownership, piling fresh scrutiny on the government’s nationalisation drive just days after it announced the lines that will be taken public next. Delays and cancellations both rose sharply over the three months after it [...]
LNER passenger data accessed in cyber attack September 10, 2025 Train operator LNER has revealed passenger contact details and some information about past journeys have been accessed in a cyber attack. The government-owned firm, which operates services on the East Coast main line between London and Scotland, said the breach involved files managed by a third-party supplier. In a statement, LNER said that “no bank, [...]
Electric vehicle grants return, but most buyers will miss out July 16, 2025 The UK government has reintroduced grants for electric vehicles (EVs) in a bid to boost lagging consumer demand, but industry insiders warn that most buyers may be left behind. Unveiled late last week, the new electric car grant will offer up to £3,750 off the price of a new EV, targeting models priced under £37,000 [...]
Uber ready to go driverless in the UK May 19, 2025 Uber has declared itself “ready to go” with driverless taxi services in the UK, saying it could roll out the technology immediately if regulators give the green light. Andrew Macdonald, the taxi giant’s senior vice president of mobility, told the BBC the company is prepared to deploy robotaxis as soon as the “regulatory environment is [...]
Firstgroup’s rail division exceeds expectations April 15, 2025 Firstgroup’s rail business is trading ahead of expectations despite concerns surrounding the UK government’s wide-reaching railway network reforms. The London-listed firm said on Tuesday that fees from the Department for Transport (DfT)’s contracted train operators had proved higher than previously forecast. It has also seen “strong demand” for its open access offering, run by Lumo [...]
Rail strikes: Warning of ‘irreparable fallout’ from train walkouts January 2, 2025 The Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) has warned of the “irreparable fallout” from the ongoing round of Avanti West Coast rail strikes. Passengers faced disruption after rail managers who are members of the RMT union voted to strike on 31 December and 2 January, with disruption on routes to Glasgow, North Wales, Blackpool and Edinburgh. [...]
HS2 back on track: Troubled line will run from London Euston after all October 17, 2024 The government is reportedly planning to reverse its decision to scrap the northern leg of HS2, extending the high-speed rail line from London Euston to Crewe. Having originally planned for the project to cost £37.5bn in 2009, the government’s latest estimation in Febuary this year ballooned to anywhere between £72bn and £98bn. Private talks involving [...]