Costain’s order book jumps by 20 per cent to a record £2.9bn August 22, 2013 ENGINEERING group Costain yesterday said it secured over £900m of new contracts in the first half of the year, while its forward order book grew by 20 per cent to a record £2.9bn. New contracts included a £450m programme for Thames Water, a £300m contract with Crossrail and a highways framework deal with Transport for [...]
Paper travelcards to be phased out next month August 21, 2013 TRAVELCARDS for seven days or longer will soon only be available on Oyster cards, as Transport for London announced yesterday it will no longer sell paper tickets at London Overground ticket offices. The change, which will be introduced on 15 September, is in line with the withdrawal of paper season ticket Travelcards from all London [...]
London buses set to stop accepting cash fares from next year August 19, 2013 TRANSPORT for London wants to axe cash payments on the city’s buses from next year, though user groups and politicians have sought assurances that the proposal will not leave passengers stranded. TfL estimates that less than one per cent of journeys, or 60,000 a day, are paid for in cash. Yesterday it asked the public [...]
Letters to the editor – HS2’s growing bill, Best of Twitter – 20/08 August 19, 2013 HS2’s growing bill [Re: HS2 rubbishes claim that costs could hit £80bn, Monday] The conclusion that the decision to proceed with High Speed 2 risks imposing significant additional costs on taxpayers is not, as HS2 Ltd claims, based on ideology. Our HS2 report provides hard evidence that the project is being shaped by interest group [...]
HS2 rubbishes claim that costs could hit £80bn August 19, 2013 THE COMPANY developing the High Speed 2 (HS2) railway last night hit out at claims that the cost of the route will eventually hit £80bn, insisting the figure is based on ideology rather than reality. A report released today by the free market Institute for Economic Affairs (IEA) think tank concludes that local lobbying campaigns [...]
HS2 rubbishes claim that costs could hit £80bn August 18, 2013 THE COMPANY developing the High Speed 2 (HS2) railway last night hit out at claims that the cost of the route will eventually hit £80bn, insisting the figure is based on ideology rather than reality. A report released today by the free market Institute for Economic Affairs (IEA) think tank concludes that local lobbying campaigns [...]
Alternative Orlando is blooming August 18, 2013 There is more to the Sunshine State’s theme-park capital than Disney Land I WAS in Orlando for the Florida Film Festival. A film I had produced called The North London Book of the Dead was in the British Shorts Now! programme. Great, right? Except… Orlando? Seriously? It’s hardly renowned for its thriving arts scene. But [...]
Corporate Tube sponsorship could take the pressure off overburdened commuters August 15, 2013 THIS week’s inflation figures all but confirm that Londoners will face a rise in Tube and bus fares of over 4 per cent in January. This may look small compared to projected increases of up to 9 per cent on some of the busiest rail routes into London, but it is still regrettable. It doesn’t [...]
Any Other Business – 16/08 August 15, 2013 ■ Jessica Ennis-Hill is boring under the streets of London, as the namesake for Crossrail’s seventh tunnelling machine. The 1,000 tonne boring machine, whose name was picked by local primary school children, will start building a new 1.7 mile Crossrail tunnel from Pudding Mill Lane to Stepney Green. She will soon by joined by a [...]
Elon Musk’s Hyperloopalooza runs out of steam before reaching the UK August 14, 2013 Hopes that the Hyperloop travel concept could work for Britain are vanishing faster than you can say “Concorde crossed with a rail gun crossed with an air hockey table”. Transport-watchers were quick to point out the practical flaws in the ambitious pod-cum-monorail idea set out by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk to much hullabaloo on Monday [...]