TfL slashes £1bn deficit in ‘relentless’ cost-cutting drive but warns of continued economic woes March 20, 2019 Transport for London (TfL) has halved its near £1bn budget deficit thanks to an aggressive cost-cutting drive. The transport body said a "relentless focus on efficiency" and "tight financial management" will help it to get the £968m deficit – partially caused by the loss of the government grant and Sadiq Khan's fare freeze for single journeys – [...]
Tube delays: District Line and Circle Line hit with delays after Paddington signal failure March 20, 2019 Severe delays have hit the Circle and District lines this morning, leaving commuters to contend with travel chaos on their ways to work. Read more: Revealed: The Tube line with the worst delays A Paddington signal failure has left the District Line with severe delays between High Street Kensington and Edgware Road this morning. While [...]
One in five Tube staff report being physically abused, says union March 19, 2019 One in five Tube staff have been physically assaulted by passengers while working, according to the Rail, Maritime and Transport Union (RMT). Read more: Revealed: These are London's most stressful Tube stations The union's survey also found that one in 10 workers reported being sexually harassed by passengers. Three quarters of surveyed staff reported being [...]
City Hall accused of ‘repeating mistakes’ of Garden Bridge scandal over £22m housing loan March 18, 2019 City Hall has been accused of repeating the mistakes of the Garden Bridge after it agreed to loan nearly £22m towards the development of a controversial housing site in south London. The Greater London Authority (GLA) has agreed to loan American property developer Anthology £21.8m to build homes at Woodlands and Masters house in Lambeth, despite [...]
TfL boss Mike Brown ‘hid Crossrail testing issues’ from Sadiq Khan in weekly email update March 14, 2019 Transport for London (TfL) boss Mike Brown ordered references to the difficulties Crossrail was experiencing with dynamic testing to be removed from email updates sent to Sadiq Khan, it was revealed today. At a grilling by the London Assembly's transport committee, Howard Smith, operations director for TfL Rail and the Elizabeth Line, admitted he felt Crossrail ought [...]
TfL saw London Underground thefts rise 25 per cent in 2018 March 12, 2019 Transport for London (TfL) rail services account for almost half of all thefts on trains nationwide, according to data out this week. A total of 4,448 Tube thefts occurred in 2018, up 25 per cent on 2017's 3,500 incidents, while all TfL services together saw a 27 per cent rise to 4,877 thefts. Read more: Buying [...]
Tube delays: Commuters hit by signal failure on Jubilee Line March 12, 2019 Commuters faced severe delays on the Jubilee Line this morning after disruption threatened to play havoc with their journeys into work. Read more: Revealed: These are London's most stressful Tube stations A signal failure at Waterloo led to severe delays across the entire line this morning, with Transport for London (TfL) advising passengers that their [...]
Siemens commits to building Goole factory ‘whatever the Brexit outcome’ March 11, 2019 Industrial giant Siemens has confirmed its commitment to building a factory in Goole, east Yorkshire, despite jitters in the manufacturing sector over Brexit. Siemens' head of rolling stock William Wilson told City A.M. that the firm, which won a £1.5bn contract to build Transport for London's (TfL) new Piccadilly Line trains, is "committed to building our [...]
Crossrail boss refuses to give railway opening date but ‘very much wants’ 2020 launch March 6, 2019 Crossrail's new chief executive has refused to confirm any date for when the railway will open, saying only that the company "very, very much wants to get this done in 2020". Addressing Westminster's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) today, Mark Wild said Crossrail's next update, due in April, would provide a "window" of opening dates rather [...]
Sadiq Khan’s junk food advertising ban will hurt TfL and marketers, but fail to fight childhood obesity March 4, 2019 Last week, a divisive political leader brought an end to a scourge that threatened our everyday society. No, I’m not talking about Donald Trump, whose summit with Kim Jong-un unfortunately failed to achieve the denuclearisation of North Korea. I’m talking instead about London mayor Sadiq Khan, whose ban on junk food advertising on the Transport [...]