Mind the gap: How to level up transport networks across south London March 9, 2020 It is widely acknowledged that south London’s transport links are inferior to those north of the river. By taking a cursory glance at the Tube map, it becomes blindingly obvious that there is a clear disparity between the two parts of our city, with several multi-coloured lines stretching well into the north in stark contrast [...]
Flybe’s last flight: How Europe’s biggest regional airline met its demise March 9, 2020 At 8.30pm on Wednesday evening, passengers were still being ushered onto planes bearing the indigo livery of Flybe. Half an hour later, members of the cabin crew on one of its last ever flights, from Manchester to Belfast, were crying, having just lost their jobs. “Staff in tears. This is so grim,” tweeted Holly Hamilton, [...]
Flybe infected by aviation sector’s malaise March 6, 2020 As ministerial tweets go, the mid-January proclamation by the business and transport secretaries that Flybe’s future had been salvaged will surely endure as among the most ill-judged of Boris Johnson’s government. Barely 54 days later, Flybe has become just another corporate carcass, joining Monarch and Thomas Cook among the airlines which failed to cope with [...]
Economy will stall without London investment, says Centre for Cities March 6, 2020 A failure to invest in London’s transport infrastructure will constrain the UK’s economy going forward, according to a new report. The Centre for Cities transport report found London was “outgrowing its transport capacity” and that a lack of transport investment would result in a “hard [economic] landing”. The think tank calls for £31bn investment in [...]
HS2 could have planning problems without Crossrail 2, says HS2 boss March 5, 2020 HS2 could run into planning problems if Crossrail 2 does not get the go-ahead, according to HS2’s chief executive. Speaking to the Public Affairs Committee yesterday, Mark Thurston said HS2 chiefs had expected Crossrail 2 to be approved when drawing up plans for the high speed train line. He added that the new Crossrail 2 [...]
Flybe can’t blame Coronavirus for its long term failings March 5, 2020 In the early hours of this morning, Coronavirus claimed its first airline as Flybe finally bit the dust. Just as with the thousands of human victims worldwide, it is the vulnerable who are most at risk, and this was no different. They failed because they encountered multiple crises, each amplified by their failure to mitigate the [...]
Tube delays caused by faulty trains rise by a third March 5, 2020 The number of Tube delays caused by faulty trains has risen by almost a third in just two years, according to new figures. Between 2016-17 and 2018-19, the number of delays on the London Underground due to mechanical issues with the trains shot up from 3,806 to 5,040 – a 32 per cent increase. More [...]
Flybe passenger Q&A: What should I do if I was due to travel with Flybe? March 5, 2020 Any Flybe passenger will not be able to fly after the budget airline collapsed into administration in the early hours of this morning. It failed to obtain a £100m loan from the government to stay afloat. The airline issued a statement saying that “all flights operated by Flybe have been cancelled with immediate effect”. But [...]
Women on top: Ex-JP Morgan star Tracey Reddings on how she beat the system March 5, 2020 When you have to work hard for something as opposed to being given it, it means more,” says Tracey Reddings, the former head of JP Morgan’s private banking arm in Britain. She should know. After a glittering career in which she rose from the customer service counter at Barclays bank at age 16 to the [...]
HS2: Top civil servant admits to withholding information on cost blow out March 4, 2020 Whitehall’s top transport civil servant appeared to admit to withholding information that showed HS2 would go over budget in a parliamentary committee hearing today. The Department for Transport’s (DfT) permanent secretary Bernadette Kelly answered questions from the Public Accounts Committee on the controversial project. The high speed rail line – connecting London, Birmingham, Crewe, Manchester [...]