TfL budget to cover costs but Londoners still set for fares hikes March 23, 2023 Transport for London (TfL) has said its latest budget will allow it to cover its operating costs, as fare rises continue to hit Londoners’ pockets with a four per cent rise set for next year. London’s transport network will achieve an overall operating surplus of £79m, its 2023/24 financial statement revealed, which it wants to [...]
37 per cent of flights delayed last year – but London’s Heathrow, Gatwick and Luton airports not worst offenders March 22, 2023 More than a third of flights to and from UK airports last year were delayed, new figures show. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said an “unacceptable” 37 per cent of flights were at least 15 minutes late in 2022. That is up from 17 per cent in both of the preceding two years and 25 [...]
Going green: Harvest London set to build ‘vertical farm’ in the Croydon suburbs March 20, 2023 A LISTED investment manager has injected funds into vertical farming firm Harvest London to build a cutting-edge site near Croydon. Harvest has built two farms in the capital so far and partnered with brands including Pizza Pilgrims to deliver locally-grown produce with minimal environmental impact. Harvest has secured investment from Foresight to build a 140,000 [...]
RMT: Rail union workers accept pay offer as end of strikes on horizon March 20, 2023 Members of the RMT in Network Rail have voted overwhelmingly to accept an offer to end the long-running dispute over pay, jobs and conditions. In a turnout of nearly 90%, members voted by 76% to 24% in favour, signalling an end to the bitter row, which led to a series of strikes in recent months. [...]
On the right track? Beleaguered train operator Avanti gets contract extension March 20, 2023 Train operator Avanti West Coast has been handed a short-term contract extension by the Department for Transport (DfT), the FirstGroup-owned company said. The operator has struggled with reliability and punctuality during parts of the past year. Its contract was due to expire at the end of March but has been extended until October 15. FirstGroup [...]
Elizabeth Line usage soars by 41 per cent as London commuters get around tube and rail strikes March 17, 2023 One in six journeys on Britain’s transport network have been made on the new Elizabeth line, with 62m taken on London’s newest railway between October and December 2022. Out of almost 370m rail passenger journeys across the UK, Crossrail accounted for 41 per cent, according to new figures released by the Office for Rail and [...]
No strike? Still no service! Wednesday’s Tube walkout bleeds into Thursday as rail action cripples London commuter belt March 16, 2023 London commuters vented their anger as Wednesday’s Underground strike continued to cause disruption throughout Thursday morning. People going to work faced fresh difficulties this morning following yesterday’s industrial action by RMT and Aslef union workers, with stations closed up until 7am, as the service was regulated.. As of Thursday at midday, none of the Bakerloo, [...]
Rail strikes: Hospitality says it has lost £3bn as it becomes ‘collateral damage’ in rail dispute March 16, 2023 London retail and hospitality bodies have said that the sector is “suffering” due to ongoing tube strikes as the disruptions continue to take a large bite out of the sector’s earnings. As Tube and rail strikes grind London to a halt this week, trade body UKHospitality has claimed that pub and restaurant businesses are expected [...]
New chancellor, same story: London is always left out of Whitehall’s plan for growth March 16, 2023 London won’t always keep growing if it is continually ignored by government. What will the Chancellor have to say then?
London Underground walkout hangover to compound Thursday’s rail strike – but can you get to work tomorrow? March 15, 2023 Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union will walk out on Thursday 16 March and on Saturday 18 March in a dispute affecting train services in and out of London. Network Rail expects between 40 and 50 per cent of train services to run nationally but there will be wide variation across the [...]