Go-Ahead sees profit growth in train travel December 14, 2010 TRANSPORT group Go-Ahead said yesterday that it expects first-half operating profit to nudge ahead of its expectations, driven by its rail unit, but will not move its full-year targets given the economic uncertainty. The company, which operates commuter rail franchises including Southeastern and London Midland, said yesterday its bus division is expected to remain robust, [...]
Boxing Day travel chaos December 13, 2010 LONDON could grind to a halt on one of the busiest shopping days of the year after Tube drivers agreed to yet another strike if they are not paid an extra £50 for working on Boxing Day. Members of Tube drivers’ union Aslef voted 1,025 to 127 in favour of the 24 hour action. London [...]
Stagecoach profit drives forward December 8, 2010 TRANSPORT group Stagecoach posted a 43 per cent rise in first-half profit, driven by growing ticket sales across its bus and rail operations, and said the positive trend had continued into the second half. The bus and rail operator on Wednesday reported a pretax profit of £108.7m on revenues 4.8 per cent higher at £1.13bn [...]
Longer deals for rail firms December 7, 2010 TRAIN companies are to get longer franchises in return for cutting costs under plans unveiled yesterday by the government. Ministers plan to offer 15-year-minimum contracts for rail franchises in 2012 and 2013, although some companies will receive short-term franchises in particular circumstances. Transport secretary Philip Hammond said an interim report from a government-sponsored rail industry review [...]
True Class December 7, 2010 PROBABLY like most men, my first encounter with Aston Martin was through James Bond. That image of Sean Connery looking ineffably sharp in his Sixties suit, leaning casually on 007’s DB5 – hands in suit pockets, half-smiling expression of supreme assurance – remains the quintessential embodiment of the “women want him, men want to be [...]
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 [...]