Sir Terry Morgan hits back at Sadiq Khan over Crossrail delay: ‘I do not suffer from loss of memory’ January 9, 2019 Former Crossrail chairman Sir Terry Morgan has hit back at accusations from Sadiq Khan that he had "misremembered" the events leading up to the announcement of the project's delay, telling the London Assembly: "I do not suffer from memory loss." Morgan appeared before the London Assembly's transport committee this morning to answer to the evidence [...]
Loan taken out by GLA to save Crossrail would have put pressure on TfL’s credit rating, finance boss admits January 7, 2019 The Greater London Authority (GLA) agreed to take on a £1.4bn loan to save Crossrail to protect Transport for London's (TfL) less robust credit rating, it has been admitted. At a meeting of the London Assembly's budget and performance committee, chair of the transport committee Caroline Pidgeon asked why it was the GLA that was taking [...]
Cars, lorries and taxis to be banned from Tottenham Court Road as part of £35m revamp January 4, 2019 Cars, lorries and taxis will be banned from Tottenham Court Road as part of a £35m project to improve the West End. The road will be open to buses and bikes only between 8am and 7pm, Monday to Saturday, in a bid to reduce congestion and air pollution and speed up bus routes. The changes, [...]
Sir Terry Morgan to appear at London Assembly grilling over lead-up to Crossrail delay January 3, 2019 Former Crossrail chairman Sir Terry Morgan will give his account of the events leading up to the announcement of project's delay after Sadiq Khan accused him of "misremembering events". Morgan, who was ousted from his role in December, will appear before the London Assembly's transport committee next Wednesday as it probes his account of events leading [...]
Northern Line extension to Battersea Power Station faces 12 month delay in latest TfL setback December 22, 2018 The £1.1bn Northern Line extension to Battersea Power Station has been delayed by at least 12 months in the latest setback for cash-strapped Transport for London. The two mile spur from Kennington was forecast to open in 2020 but will now not be ready until September 2021 at the earliest, pushing up the project's cost. London mayor Sadiq Khan [...]
Minicab and Uber drivers to lose exemption from congestion charge December 19, 2018 Minicab and Uber drivers will no longer be exempt from the £11.50 congestion charge from April next year, Sadiq Khan announced today as part of his push to curb pollution levels. TfL expects the changes to reduce the number of private hire vehicles entering the congestion zone each day by up to 8,000, a 44 per cent drop from current levels. [...]
Exclusive: Aberdeen Standard backs controversial £1bn bid for Crossrail fleet December 17, 2018 Aberdeen Standard Investments (ASI) is backing a controversial £971m bid to acquire a fleet of 70 Elizabeth Line trains from Transport for London (TfL), City A.M. can reveal. The asset management giant is stumping up £147m in equity investment to Rock Rail, a rolling stock infrastructure company that finances new trains, with funding proposed from [...]
Early cost estimates for HS2 were wildly inaccurate says former insider December 17, 2018 A former insider at rail project HS2 has said that the early land and property cost estimate considered by MPs was “enormously wrong”. HS2’s chairman Sir Terry Morgan resigned from the project this month after cost overruns at another project he chaired, Crossrail. However, Morgan hinted that HS2 could face similar problems. Now former head [...]
Sadiq Khan blasts government for ‘forcing London to pay twice’ for Crossrail delay December 11, 2018 Transport for London (TfL) has admitted its fare income will be £2.1bn lower than expected as it battles a "perfect storm" of pressures on its finances. In its business plan for 2019-20 to 2023-24, TfL said a “subdued” economy and a £700m reduction in central government funding for challenges facing the organisation. It said fare revenue [...]
Crossrail crisis: Businesses react to £1.4bn bailout and further delay December 11, 2018 The crisis facing Crossrail deepened yesterday as Transport for London (TfL) confirmed that the delayed project could need up to £2bn in extra funding to keep afloat. Crossrail chief executive Mark Wild also admitted that the railway, which had already been delayed from December 2018 to autumn 2019, may not open until 2020. While the [...]