TfL awards controversial £1bn ‘sale and leaseback’ Crossrail fleet deal to Natwest-backed group March 22, 2019 Transport for London (TfL) has awarded a controversial £1bn "sale and leaseback" deal for a fleet of Crossrail trains to a rail company backed by Natwest and Japan's second largest bank. 345 Rail Leasing, which was set up in January this year and comprises Equitix Investment Management, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Natwest, will own the [...]
Sadiq Khan confirms TfL will remove controversial Michael Jackson bus adverts March 21, 2019 Controversial adverts that express support for Michael Jackson are to be removed from the side of Transport for London's (TfL) buses, Sadiq Khan has confirmed. The adverts, which bear the tagline "Innocent", were pushed by a Jackson fan group in response to a two-part Netflix documentary, Leaving Neverland, in which the late singer is accused of abusing young boys [...]
TfL slashes £1bn deficit in ‘relentless’ cost-cutting drive but warns of continued economic woes March 20, 2019 Transport for London (TfL) has halved its near £1bn budget deficit thanks to an aggressive cost-cutting drive. The transport body said a "relentless focus on efficiency" and "tight financial management" will help it to get the £968m deficit – partially caused by the loss of the government grant and Sadiq Khan's fare freeze for single journeys – [...]
Tube delays: District Line and Circle Line hit with delays after Paddington signal failure March 20, 2019 Severe delays have hit the Circle and District lines this morning, leaving commuters to contend with travel chaos on their ways to work. Read more: Revealed: The Tube line with the worst delays A Paddington signal failure has left the District Line with severe delays between High Street Kensington and Edgware Road this morning. While [...]
One in five Tube staff report being physically abused, says union March 19, 2019 One in five Tube staff have been physically assaulted by passengers while working, according to the Rail, Maritime and Transport Union (RMT). Read more: Revealed: These are London's most stressful Tube stations The union's survey also found that one in 10 workers reported being sexually harassed by passengers. Three quarters of surveyed staff reported being [...]
City Hall accused of ‘repeating mistakes’ of Garden Bridge scandal over £22m housing loan March 18, 2019 City Hall has been accused of repeating the mistakes of the Garden Bridge after it agreed to loan nearly £22m towards the development of a controversial housing site in south London. The Greater London Authority (GLA) has agreed to loan American property developer Anthology £21.8m to build homes at Woodlands and Masters house in Lambeth, despite [...]
Focus On Clapham: Commons, good schools and cosy gastropubs means families stay put in SW4 March 15, 2019 The appeal of living in Clapham is clear for all to see. It has great transport connections along the Northern Line and Clapham Junction – one of the most well-connected stations in the UK – , particularly for south London. It’s better value for money than its north-of-the-river counterparts. The 220-acre Clapham Common is all [...]
TfL boss Mike Brown ‘hid Crossrail testing issues’ from Sadiq Khan in weekly email update March 14, 2019 Transport for London (TfL) boss Mike Brown ordered references to the difficulties Crossrail was experiencing with dynamic testing to be removed from email updates sent to Sadiq Khan, it was revealed today. At a grilling by the London Assembly's transport committee, Howard Smith, operations director for TfL Rail and the Elizabeth Line, admitted he felt Crossrail ought [...]
Focus On Stratford: Around 30,000 new homes are planned for the east London Olympic hub by 2030 March 13, 2019 The 2012 Olympic Games may feel like they happened last century, but their legacy lives on in Stratford. Though it resides in Newham, one of the most deprived boroughs in the capital, the host neighbourhood of the Games has attracted a phenomenal amount of property investment in both commercial and residential sectors. There are currently [...]
TfL saw London Underground thefts rise 25 per cent in 2018 March 12, 2019 Transport for London (TfL) rail services account for almost half of all thefts on trains nationwide, according to data out this week. A total of 4,448 Tube thefts occurred in 2018, up 25 per cent on 2017's 3,500 incidents, while all TfL services together saw a 27 per cent rise to 4,877 thefts. Read more: Buying [...]