Network Rail awards £5bn worth of contracts for next 10 years of railway management January 30, 2019 Network Rail has tasked engineering giants including Babcock and Colas with looking after Britain’s railways for the next decade, handing out £5bn worth of contracts. The firm, which is in charge of managing the UK’s rail networks, said the winning bidders would be responsible for “anything needed to make the rail system work including track, [...]
London prepares for significant snowfall as UK airports close in cold snap January 30, 2019 Significant snowfall is set to hit London and the south-east this week, with minimum temperatures of -5°C and up to 5cm of snowfall expected over the next few days.. Widespread hard frost and “very significant snow” will likely cause disruption to motorists across the country over Thursday and Friday, with temperatures in parts of Scotland expected to [...]
City Hall and BBC under fire over stamp duty agreement for new Olympic Park studios January 29, 2019 City Hall has come under fire for agreeing to underwrite half of the stamp duty that could be levied on the BBC when it opens new studios in the £1.1bn Olympic Park development. Last summer the broadcaster announced it would build a brand new set of studios at the east London site by 2022/23, in concert [...]
Transport misery: Passenger satisfaction with Britain’s railways drops to 10-year low, says Transport Focus January 29, 2019 Passenger satisfaction with the UK's railways has fallen to a 10-year low, a new survey out today has found. Independent watchdog Transport Focus warned that overall satisfaction with services stood at 79 per cent, the lowest since 2008, according to its latest national passenger survey of 25,000 passengers. More than one in five passengers were [...]
London snow: TfL ‘working around the clock’ to avoid travel disruption January 28, 2019 Transport for London (TfL) has outlined “well-rehearsed” procedures to “keep the capital moving” ahead of expected snowfall in London and the south-east from tomorrow night. It comes as the Met Office issues a yellow weather warning for “possibly heavy” snow developing overnight on Tuesday and into Wednesday, with accumulations of up to 3cm expected across [...]
Gospel Oak to Barking line users to receive a month of free travel following train delays January 27, 2019 Users of the troubled Gospel Oak to Barking route will receive a month's worth of free travel after suffering sustained periods of disruption from the delayed introduction of new trains on the line. Software issues with manufacturer Bombardier have meant that a new fleet of Class 710 trains, which were due to be introduced last [...]
The US government shutdown drags on, but London never closes for business January 24, 2019 As the longest government shutdown in US history rumbles on – sparked by Donald Trump’s insistence to build a border wall that Democrats in Congress have refused to grant funding for – Wall Street and Silicon Valley have been left in serious IPO limbo. Staff at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have not worked [...]
Commuter chaos: Black cabs hold up Tottenham Court Road during rush hour for a third day January 23, 2019 Black cab drivers have launched a third day of protests during London's evening rush hour, gathering on Tottenham Court Road and halting traffic. The week-long demonstration, organised by the Independent Taxi Alliance (ITA), is in protest over plans to restrict access to the route as part of a £35m transformation project. The blockade is scheduled to [...]
Tube delays: Severe delays hit Piccadilly Line commuters for second time in a week January 22, 2019 Severe delays have hit the Piccadilly Line this morning as commuters make their way to work. Eastbound travel is suffering severe delays after a signal fault at Hammersmith, with minor delays affecting westbound journeys. Read more: 'Systemic failures' to blame for May's timetable chaos Transport for London (TfL) advised that tickets are being accepted on [...]
Full speed ahead for motor insurers on the legal road to self-driving cars January 21, 2019 In the last twelve months alone, the government has spoken loudly about the direction in which it wants advances in self-driving cars to go. And yet, though these developments are certainly innovative, and exciting, speed bumps remain – especially for the motor insurance industry – on the road to autonomous vehicles becoming an everyday reality. [...]