Grant Shapps indicates support for TfL gaining control of commuter belt August 20, 2019 Sadiq Khan and transport secretary Grant Shapps held their first meeting yesterday, in which the devolution of commuter lines to Transport for London (TfL) was at the top of the agenda. Shapps, who replaced Chris Grayling as transport secretary in Boris Johnson’s Cabinet overhaul, is understood to be more open to the idea of giving [...]
Power up: Grid may need upgrade to avoid more blackouts August 20, 2019 Experts have questioned if National Grid’s processes and backup systems are up to scratch after the worst power cut in a decade ground trains to a halt. A report, released today by National Grid, showed the system followed correct procedure when lightning struck on 9 August. Read more: Bolt from the blue: Grid blames lightning [...]
Bombardier retains maintenance job on East Midlands franchise trains August 20, 2019 Bombardier has been tasked with maintaining 27 trains on the East Midlands Railway franchise for the next three-and-a-half years, in a contract award worth £133m. The Canadian heavy manufacturing giant will look after the 125-miles-per-hour diesel-electric trains at its Derby depot, in a continuation of services which it already runs for Abellio and Eversholt Rail. [...]
Canada brings out new rules to tackle wind-inducing skyscrapers August 20, 2019 The Square Mile may be famed for its financial clout and history, but in recent years it has also been known for other elements: extreme wind. Canada Corporation has become so concerned about pedestrians and cyclists being toppled over in the street by the skyscrapers that adorn its skyline that it is [...]
Bolt from the blue: Grid blames lightning strike for power cut which switched out the lights in 1m homes August 20, 2019 National Grid today said a bolt of lightning was to blame for a power outage which left over a million homes without power and knocked out trains, a hospital and an airport. The listed grid operator said that a bolt strike on a power line in Cambridgeshire tripped two generating plants. Read more: Government sets [...]
Abellio boss ‘confident’ review head will not scrap franchise model August 19, 2019 The boss of Abellio has said he is “confident” the rail franchise model will not be scrapped just a day after his firm took over one of the leading contracts in the UK. Dominic Booth, the managing director of Abellio, which officially took over the East Midlands franchise from Stagecoach today, said he thought the [...]
Pilots union lambastes Ryanair ‘bullying’ amid attempts to block strike August 19, 2019 Britain’s airline pilots’ union has blasted Ryanair for seeking a High Court injunction to block strike action by its pilots this week. The British Airline Pilots’ Association (Balpa) said the budget flyer had “wasted time” by trying to use “legal technicalities” to persuade the High Court to block a strike due to take place on Thursday [...]
Abellio takes over East Midlands franchise from Stagecoach August 19, 2019 Dutch train firm Abellio has officially taken over the East Midlands franchise from Stagecoach. Abellio will operate the franchise, which connects London St Pancras to the East Midlands, for the next eight years from today. Read more: Government signs controversial East Midlands contract with Abellio It said it was bringing £600m worth of investment to [...]
Uber poaches new UK boss from Twitter founder Dorsey’s Square August 19, 2019 Uber has nabbed one of Twitter chief Jack Dorsey’s right-hand staff as its new general manager for its operations in the UK and Ireland. Melinda Roylett, who was most recently head of Europe at Dorsey’s fintech firm Square, will start her role at Uber today, City PM can reveal. Before joining Wall Street-listed Square last [...]
Thousands of Boeing 737 Max flights booked despite lack of regulatory approval August 18, 2019 Airlines have sold tens-of-thousands of flights aboard Boeing’s 737 Max for the last few months of 2019, despite the fact the jet is still banned from the skies after two crashes killed 346 people. Tui, Norwegian and United Airlines have booked people on to more than 32,000 flights on the 737 Max 8 and 9 [...]
