Ministers to demand closer working between Network Rail and train firms December 6, 2010 THE government is expected to order closer ties between train operators and Network Rail (NR) as part of a shake-up of the rail industry due to be unveiled this week. Ministers are understood to be planning to allow train companies and the track and signals operator to share financial risks and rewards from modernisation projects. [...]
ANGER OVER COST OF SNOW FIASCO December 2, 2010 THE COST to the UK economy of the mounting chaos bought by the snow and unseasonally cold temperatures could be as much as £1.2bn a day, it was claimed yesterday. As the seventh day of the cold snap saw the disruption reach the south-east of England, with more than six inches of snow falling overnight, [...]
Snow chaos is turning UK into a joke December 2, 2010 BRITAIN’S humiliating inability to cope with winter conditions is becoming almost unbearable. Heavy snowfall is not a freak event. It now happens every year – and yet the authorities and transport companies appear utterly unable to learn any meaningful lesson from the annual debacle that is the onset of snow and bad weather. It is [...]
Hit the powder, not your wallet this ski season December 2, 2010 AA THE snow settles in London and the transport system goes into an adolescent sulk, many of us have started thinking about places where the white stuff is more welcome. With many resorts reporting bumper snowfalls, it is beginning to look like yet another excellent ski season for the Alps. Time to get out the [...]
Rail revolution opens new areas for commuters December 2, 2010 ASK any Londoner what irritates them most about the city and they will say two things. First, the transport is rubbish and second, it is too hard to buy a decent, affordable home. For families who want their children to grow up outside London, the misery of the commute has to be weighed against the [...]
No let-up for Londoners as snow and frost cause chaos November 30, 2010 LONDONERS are expected to face another day of travel mayhem today, with the snowy weather forecast to continue until the end of the week. Transport for London said last night that no disruption to the Tube service was currently forecast, but conditions could change overnight. London Overground trains were disrupted yesterday and are unlikely to [...]
Flybe listing to take off in December November 30, 2010 REGIONAL airline Flybe yesterday announced plans to list in London in December in a bid to raise £60m. The initial public offering (IPO) would value the budget carrier, Europe’s largest regional airline, at about £240m and marks another stride in its ambitious growth strategy. “We are delighted to bring Flybe to the market. The company [...]
Half of Tube journeys run November 29, 2010 TRANSPORT for London (TfL) yesterday claimed to have run 48 per cent of trains despite the mass walkout by its staff. Around 50 per cent of regular Oyster journeys were completed using the underground network, with 80 per cent of stations remaining open, the operator claimed. Mike Brown, managing director of London Underground, said: “The [...]
NEW FUNDS PLAN FOR CRISIS-HIT IRELAND November 29, 2010 IRELAND may have accepted an €85bn handout to keep it afloat, but why stop there? The ever-popular Powers That Be in Ireland seem to have come up with a novel solution to the country’s solvency issues. An advert has appeared on Ireland’s biggest property website, the appropriately named daft.ie, offering the Republic of Ireland for [...]
Tube strike begins… again November 28, 2010 A fourth “pointless” underground strike began last night, leaving millions struggling to get to work this morning. The strike, which began at 7pm yesterday, will continue until 7pm tonight, with many services not fully resuming until tomorrow morning. London Underground (LU) officials had hoped to strike an eleventh hour deal with its workers but talks [...]