Tower Bridge will reopen today – ahead of schedule December 22, 2016 Tower Bridge is to reopen at noon today, after a three-month closure to traffic for maintenance work. Canada Corporation originally planned to reopen the iconic bridge on New Year's Eve, but said that "due to favourable weather conditions and well organised planning, management, and project execution, the extensive refurbishment works were able [...]
Editor’s 2016 review: It’s been a year of momentous political change, but there’s every reason to look to the future December 22, 2016 Attempting to reflect such an extraordinary year with just a handful of our own front pages was always going to be difficult, but I thought we’d give it a go. The front page of Morning Wire is (to borrow a phrase from our marketing department) the front door of our brand. The choice of splash, [...]
London mayor Sadiq Khan brings in minimum salary of £23,000 for the capital’s bus drivers December 21, 2016 The mayor of London's office announced today that a new 'minimum professional London bus driver wage' will be introduced to apply to all new Transport for London (TfL) contracts awarded to bus companies from April next year. Sadiq Khan said he was taking the first step towards fulfilling his election manifesto promise to provide a new fairer deal for [...]
Rejoice: Christmas is about to get much less manic for City parents December 21, 2016 For many mums and dads working in the City, the pressure gauge is now banging against the red zone. On the work side, Christmas brings client drinks parties, office shindigs, annual appraisals, bonus dramas, mystery Santas, week-long hangovers and projects with a “before Christmas” deadline. On the family side, December means nativity plays, parents’ evenings, last-minute Christmas [...]
All Piccadilly line trains back in service, says TfL, after weeks of delays due to repairs December 20, 2016 All 79 Piccadilly line trains are in service again, bringing weeks of delays to a close. Around half of the Piccadilly line fleet was taken out of action last month so that repairs could be carried out, causing massive disruption to services ever since. But today, Transport for London (TfL) said a good service had resumed [...]
Transport for London is opening the railway arches at Wood Lane December 20, 2016 Transport for London (TfL) is opening up the railway arches at Wood Lane. The 31 railway arches in west London, currently unused, will be transformed into commercial and retail space. There will also be new pedestrian passageways under the arches and new bicycle parking places. Read more: Weak pound draws tourists to London's Westfield centres TfL [...]
Mayor unveils walking and cycling commissioner to bridge the pedestrian vs cycle superhighway divide December 20, 2016 A Nike director has been chosen by mayor Sadiq Khan as the capital's very first walking and cycling commissioner. Will Norman, currently global partnerships director at Nike, will be tasked with getting London stretching its legs and making non-polluting travel easier. He'll also be working on the development of the capital's cycle superhighways and speaking to [...]
Flybe’s heading to Heathrow as it unveils new Scottish flights from Aberdeen and Edinburgh to the London airport December 20, 2016 Here's a nice early Christmas present for fans of Flybe. The airline has announced new regular flights from Aberdeen and Edinburgh to London Heathrow, which it says will be the first time it has served the largest London airport. Starting from 26 March 2017, there'll be up to 18 flights a day between London and [...]
As militant unions plot Christmas misery, should strike action on railway services be banned? December 20, 2016 Keith Prince, deputy chair of the London Assembly Transport Committee, says Yes. Strike action on public transport can have a devastating impact on commuters. Southern’s passengers have suffered huge delays, cancellations and some have lost their jobs because they can’t guarantee they’ll be able to get to their desks. This appalling situation cannot be allowed [...]
Sorry, Southern rail commuters, your boss can still ask you to keep coming into the office December 19, 2016 Commuters who rely on Southern rail to get to and from the office will understand the pain of trying to keep calm and carry on during strike action. The rail services are being affected by a conductors' strike, orchestrated by the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union, today, tomorrow and from 31 December to 2 January. RMT [...]