Firstgroup caps rail bid liability August 15, 2012 RAIL group FirstGroup yesterday reassured investors that potential losses on the hotly-contested West Coast main line could not exceed £265m, as shares in the firm slumped on news it had won the contract. The rail operator yesterday beat off a bid from incumbent operator Virgin Rail Group to land the Scotland to London route, with [...]
Balfour Beatty wary over UK as emerging markets drive revenue August 15, 2012 BALFOUR BEATTY, the UK’s largest construction company, yesterday said it could not foresee when there would be a pick-up in its home market where its own order book was down three per cent, outperforming a 10 per cent fall across the industry. It said its focus in recent months on winning contracts in industries such [...]
Commuters face fare hike as taxpayer subsidy is cut August 14, 2012 COMMUTERS are set to come in for a hammering from January next year, when rail companies are next allowed to raise fares. Individual fares will be lifted by up to 11.2 per cent, as part of the Department for Transport’s (DfT) plan to shift costs from the Exchequer to the passenger. The cap on regulated [...]
Osborne faces a delicate balancing act on train ticket hikes August 14, 2012 WHEN the majestic Shard formally opened earlier this summer I was interested to learn that its architect Renzo Piano only catered for 48 car parking spaces in the building’s bowels. “It’s another big shift,” he was quoted as saying. “To tell people, look, stop going around in cars.” Piano’s thinking makes a lot of sense. [...]
Commuters are sick of fare rises: Let’s plug the democratic deficit August 14, 2012 COMMUTERS are suffering from more than just the symptoms of an Olympic hangover. Once again, the annual ritual of fare increases is upon us. Some newspaper headlines have declared increases of 11 per cent. In fact, the average increase for the so-called “regulated basket” of fares, due to come into effect in January 2013, is [...]
Sterling could win from London’s Olympic success August 13, 2012 FX360 HOSTING the Olympics is an honour for both the city and the country where it is held. One of the major benefits is the financial investment – sporting facilities are built or upgraded, public transport is overhauled, and businesses flock to the area. But what happens after the stadiums empty and the medals are [...]
Virgin to fight franchise loss August 12, 2012 VIRGIN Trains is preparing to mount a legal challenge to its expected loss of the West Coast main line franchise this week. The Department for Transport is ready to announce as soon as tomorrow that FirstGroup has won the £6bn-plus franchise, which will run from December 2012 to March 2026. Virgin Trains has run the [...]
Battle of the cabs: Hailing competition in London’s transport August 12, 2012 WHEN I lived in Monaco, I had Ferraris. Now, living in London, I have a basic car but barely use it. The hassle of parking and traffic have made me a cab and minicab user, and I’ve recently noticed interesting things going on in their business world. Cabs have had two unique selling points. Unlike [...]
London firms give mixed views on the benefits of the Olympics August 9, 2012 LONDON businesses think the Olympics provided less of a boost in demand than they anticipated, claims a survey by Deloitte. Some 42 per cent of firms said they have seen a positive impact on demand since the start of the games compared with 27 per cent who reported a decrease. But this is in stark [...]
CITY VIEWS | CAN THE OLYMPICS LEAVE A LASTING LEGACY? August 8, 2012 GREG MURRAY LLOYDS It depends on how well the site is integrated and the transport links are maintained. If we continue to fund our sports well then further success is guaranteed in the future. MALCOLM BIRD RR DONNELLY I think that much of the Olympic buzz will fade after the Games. But the Olympic park [...]