NCE Exclusives
Engineers ramp up Jubilee Line tunnel repair effort
Engineers were this week ramping up efforts to head off a worsening structural problem on a section of London Undereground’s Jubilee Line, NCE can exclusively reveal.
HS2 chief engineer rails against construction inefficiency
High Speed 2’s (HS2) chief engineer has heaped criticism on high costs of infrastructure in the UK and set out ways that his scheme will keep costs down.
Watchdog questions HS2 economic case
Department for Transport (DfT) officials have defended the government’s work on the economic case for High Speed 2 (HS2) after coming in for criticism last week.
Kick start road projects with cash from stalled scheme, says CBI
Northern Ireland should divert funds from the delayed A5 improvement scheme to shovel-ready road improvement projects, business lobby group the CBI said last week.
More HS2 tunnelling mooted after consultation exercise
The government is to look at lengthening a second tunnel on the High Speed 2 project after listening to affected businesses.
MPs back third and fourth runway for Heathrow
MPs this week attacked the idea that building a hub airport in the Thames Estuary hub airport can solve the UK’s aviation crisis.
Highways Agency reshuffle ramps up cost cutting drive
The Highways Agency has promoted procurement boss David Poole to a board-level role overseeing its cost cutting drive.
Consultation key to Manchester station link
Network Rail this week embarked upon its final consultation phase for a critical new viaduct connecting the key Manchester city centre stations.
Spending cap for airports
Gatwick airport last week warned that it will have £200M less to spend on capital projects between 2014 and 2019 if Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) proposals for aircraft landing charges are carried through.
Network Rail in US framework deal
Network Rail Consulting has secured a foothold in the United States rail market after it was appointed to the Amtrak Northeast Corridor Partner Forum.
Transport features
Around the houses
Construction of a new road is a rare sight across the UK. Environmental concerns, efforts to increase use of public transport as well as cuts in government funding have all significantly reduced the number of new road building projects in recent years.
A23 Widening: A winter's tale
The A23 widening works between Handcross Hill and Warninglid aim to make the crucial London to Brighton road safer and more efficient by adding an extra lane on both sides of a perilous 3.8km stretch. The challenge that contractor Carillion has faced in bringing this project to life has been how to do this while remaining environmentally sensitive and minimise delays to the traffic and the project.
Transport interviews
Getting closer: Joint working sees Colas and Volker Fitzpatrick win big
A £32M roads job wouldn’t normally make many waves, but for Colas and Volker Fitzpatrick their project to move and improve the A45 alongside a £33M lengthening of the runway at Birmingham Airport is highly significant.
Other transport news
Early London Underground tunnel boring machine to be shown on BBC programme
The history of the construction of the London Underground will be showcased in a programme on BBC2 at 9pm on 16 May and will give viewers a chance to see one of the first tunnel boring machine (TBM) used to construct the network.
London’s deputy mayor supports Hammersmith tunnel proposal
London’s deputy mayor Isabel Dedring is “enthusiastic” about the proposal to replace the Hammersmith flyover with a tunnel, said London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham leader Nick Botterill last night.
TfL applies for powers to build the Northern Line extension
Plans to build an extension of the Northern Line to Battersea from Kennington via Nine Elms moved a step closer to reality after Transport for London submitted a Transport and Works Act Order (TWAO) application for the work today.
Work begins on a series of Scottish road improvements
Work has this week begun on a £36.7M package of road improvements in Scotland.
Crossrail
Delivering Crossrail: Major project report
NCE presents its major project report on Crossrail - a comprehensive guide to the project featuring interviews with Crossrail chief executive Rob Holden and Crossrail chairman Terry Morgan.
