Metropolitan Line extension to Watford Junction gets go-ahead after securing final funding shorfall from Transport for London November 23, 2015 Plans to extend the Metropolitan Line to Watford Junction have finally been given the green light after securing a multi-million pound shortfall in funding from Transport for London. Ground will be broken on the project next year when the line was originally slated to open with completion due in 2020. The £284.4m project, originally called the Croxley Rail Link, has been beset [...]
Mastercard Mondays: Free travel on Tube, bus, DLR, tram and National Rail on offer across London with Apple Pay November 23, 2015 Everyone loves a freebie and Londoners are being treated to an especially valuable one today – free travel across the capital. Mastercard users will be able to travel on Tube, train, tram, bus and DLR for free by using Apple Pay, making the cold morning perhaps just that little bit more bearable. And, it's not just today. The free rides will [...]
Open letter to the chancellor: Don’t cut London transport November 23, 2015 This week’s Spending Review will require the chancellor to make difficult decisions. Cutting investment in transport in London would be a very false economy. With a population growing by 100,000 a year, continued investment is needed to keep not just Londoners but the Treasury’s tax take from the capital moving. Parts of the Underground need [...]
New CBI director-general Carolyn Fairbairn takes the reins at Britain’s biggest business group November 23, 2015 Speaking to City A.M. at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) headquarters on Cannon Street last week, Carolyn Fairbairn said that she is “proud” to be the first female director general in the 50-year history of Britain’s biggest business group. “I think business is a great career for women,” she said. “If my being here [...]
What got us talking this week – including the Paris attacks reaction, Black Friday, the Autumn Statement, Cross Boris in Crossrail revelations, Adele’s new album and Eddie Jones November 20, 2015 It was a week where Boris Johnson found a tunnel under his house, we heard petrol could dip under £1 a litre and we asked how financially literate you are. Paris attacks – the reaction While the market's immediate reaction was subdued, the emotional outpouring following the Paris attacks has been palpable – in France, Europe and [...]
New Crossrail train revealed: TfL unveils design for £1bn train fleet with 4G, Wi-Fi and air-con as standard November 20, 2015 Transport for London today unveiled the design of the Crossrail trains that are due to enter service from May 2017. The new trains are being built by Bombardier Transportation's UK factory in Derby. Each train will provide space for 1,500 customers in nine fully-interconnected, air-conditioned, walk-through carriages with 4G and Wi-Fi as standard. (Source: TFL) [...]
Dangerous Bank of England junction to be car-free by 2016 after cycling accidents November 20, 2015 Bank junction in the City could be closed to cars as soon as next year, the City of London Corporation has revealed, as planners push ahead with plans for a part pedestrianisation of the infamously busy crossroad. Under the proposals, which will be voted on at the end of this month, all cars, taxis and [...]
Public Accounts Committee slams Network Rail for serious planning and budgeting failures, including an “unacceptable” £1.2bn overspend on Great Western Main Line project November 20, 2015 Network Rail's five-year investment programme contains serious planning and budgeting failures, according to a Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report released today. In particular, the report calls the projected £1.2bn overspend on electrifying the Great Western Main Line between London and Cardiff “staggering and unacceptable”, and says there is “far too much uncertainty” about costs and delivery [...]
Uber introduces a “business profile” option to make expensing work trips easier November 19, 2015 Uber has launched a new “business profiles” option to make sure people don't end up paying for work trips with their own money. It gives every Uber user the option of having an additional profile associated with work, so that all they have to do is select one or the other when calling an Uber. The idea [...]