TfL commissioner and Crossrail chief among top London bureaucrats set for pay probe July 22, 2014 Top bosses tasked with running London could be facing tough questions over their pay today, as a committee of politicians prepares to investigate excessive salaries. Andrew Boff, a Conservative member of the Greater London Authority oversight committee, is calling on Mayor Boris Johnson to curb the amount top bosses are paid, after it emerged that [...]
Crossrail to be run by Hong Kong Metro operator MTR beating British rail firms to £1.4bn contract July 18, 2014 Hong Kong transport company MTR has been awarded the lucrative contract to run London’s new Crossrail train service by Transport for London. MTR already runs London Overground in a partnership with British firm Arriva, which it triumphed over in the bidding. Keolis with partner Go Ahead and National Express were also in the running. The [...]
What the experts say: Will the arrival of Crossrail really push up property prices? May 22, 2014 Everyone’s heard that line, imparted as a pearl of wisdom, that it would be wise to buy a property near a new Crossrail station before prices shoot up. But will the high speed rail network really impact on house prices and should it make you think differently about where you’re buying? A number of developers [...]
Crossrail nears its final stretch March 31, 2014 The head of London’s newest railway hopes he sets a precedent for other big projects AS CONSTRUCTION on London’s newest railway reached the halfway point earlier this year, a steady stream of hard hat-wearing politicians ventured into the tunnels to be seen backing Europe’s biggest infrastructure project. Crossrail boss Andrew Wolstenholme, meanwhile, has a map [...]
Reading gets a Crossrail station and a plan for a garden city March 27, 2014 Reading’s reputation as a dormitory town for London is getting even stronger, with a link to the new Crossrail service announced today and a call for 30,000 more homes to be built to ease the housing shortage in and around the capital. The Berkshire town, population 155,700, will be the final stop for two trains [...]
London will come to a standstill if we delay Crossrail 2 March 26, 2014 LONDON will start grinding to a halt if Crossrail 2 – the proposed new north-south rail line for the capital – isn’t built by 2030. That’s why London First, the business promotion body, has recommended a firm plan for Crossrail 2, including significant property developer contributions so that London could directly pay for a large [...]
Canary Wharf Crossrail building to launch before station opens February 24, 2014 CANARY Wharf’s new Crossrail building is set to open next year – three years before the station starts operating. Plans for the six-storey building were released yesterday, with glimpses of the semi-open plan balcony for waterside diners. The first firms to occupy the Foster + Partners-designed development include the Everyman Cinema, a Sports Bar and [...]
London needs Crossrail Two but the Treasury doesn’t have to fund it February 9, 2014 IT MIGHT seem absurd to be talking about Crossrail 2 when Crossrail 1 has only just hit the halfway mark. But the uncomfortable truth – and I mean this literally for London’s rail users – is that, as soon as it opens, Crossrail 1 will be full to bursting. We are playing a desperate game [...]
Crossrail Paddington plan gets go-ahead February 5, 2014 CROSSRAIL’S plans for a major development over Paddington station were given the go-ahead by Westminster Council on Tuesday night. The 320,000 square feet scheme at the junction of Bishop’s Bridge Road and the Grand Union Canal will have 15 storeys of offices and shops on the ground floor. Crossrail plans to appoint a development partner [...]
Plans to rethink West End ahead of Crossrail rush January 20, 2014 WEST End leaders have hired consultants to come up with a plan for improving the busy shopping district to cope with a surge in visitors when Crossrail opens in 2018. Westminster City council, Transport for London and the New West End Company – the group that represents businesses in the area – have commissioned Arup [...]