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 [...]
London mayor Sadiq Khan’s approval rating goes negative for first time since election May 2, 2019 London mayor Sadiq Khan’s popularity has dropped into negative figures for the first time. Data from a You Gov poll for December showed Khan had a net approval rating of minus one. The poll of 1,000 people, commissioned by City Hall, showed 32 per cent said they were satisfied and 33 per cent dissatisfied. Read [...]
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 [...]
Prepare for take off: Heathrow airport expansion cleared by High Court May 1, 2019 The government today won a legal battle that had sought to stop its proposed £14bn expansion of Heathrow Airport. Read more: Revenue dips at Heathrow despite record passenger numbers Campaigners trying to block a third runway at the UK's biggest airport lost the High Court challenge after the court found that transport secretary Chris Grayling's airport national policy [...]
Michael Gove meeting ‘disappointing’, says climate protest group Extinction Rebellion April 30, 2019 Climate protest group Extinction Rebellion has said it was left “frustrated” by talks with environment minister Michael Gove today, because he would not declare a climate emergency. Read more: Climate protesters blockade Treasury in action against finance sector Activists said Gove committed to discussions with London mayor Sadiq Khan on holding a citizens assembly on [...]
Scrap franchise system and let TfL control London commuter routes, says rail industry April 29, 2019 The rail franchise system should be scrapped and responsibility for commuter routes handed from central government to local authorities such as Transport for London (TfL), the rail industry has said. The Rail Delivery Group (RDG), which represents the industry, has today unveiled its proposals for the Williams rail review, which transport secretary Chris Grayling called last [...]
A pro-business mayor? Khan is less so than Livingstone April 29, 2019 Before he was elected, Sadiq Khan promised – in this newspaper and elsewhere – to be the “most pro-business mayor yet”. In a literal sense, that pledge was already a bit limited, because Khan has only had two predecessors: Ken Livingstone and Boris Johnson. The first one was an apologist for assorted Communist regimes. In [...]
Crossrail sets opening date between October 2020 and March 2021 April 25, 2019 Crossrail will open to passengers between October 2020 and March 2021, about two years later than originally planned, its board revealed today. Read more: TfL boss Mike Brown says he will not stand down over Crossrail criticism The central section of Crossrail – which will be known as the Elizabeth line – will open between Paddington and Abbey [...]
TfL boss Mike Brown says he will not stand down following calls to quit over Crossrail April 25, 2019 TfL boss Mike Brown has said he will not resign following criticism he "downplayed" the risks to the Crossrail opening date to London mayor Sadiq Khan. Appearing before the London Assembly's transport committee this morning, the TfL commissioner rejected suggestions he should resign. "No, I'm not reflecting on whether I'm fit to be in position," he said. [...]
DEBATE: Is Sadiq Khan ultimately responsible for the ongoing delays to Crossrail? April 24, 2019 Is Sadiq Khan ultimately responsible for the ongoing delays to Crossrail Keith Prince, GLA Conservatives’ transport spokesman, says YES. Londoners are all too familiar with this mayor’s penchant for passing the buck and blaming others for his mistakes. But when it comes to the Crossrail project, Sadiq Khan’s attempt to dodge accountability simply won’t wash. [...]