Weekly round-up 9 July 2014

M-way speed limits to cut air pollution rejected; Higgins to report on new high speed rail; Network Rail fined for late trains.

Jackie Whitelaw
09 July 2014

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1. Plans to impose a 60mph speed limit on parts of the M3 and M1 motorways to cut air pollution have been put on hold. Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin has given the Highways Agency 18 months to devise alternative methods to tackle pollution on a 50km stretch of the M1 in Derbyshire and South Yorkshire and 4.5km of the M3 in Surrey. If none can be found a 60mph limit could still be imposed at peak times.

2. June data from the Markit/CIPS UK Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index signalled a strong rebound in growth momentum across the UK construction sector, driven by faster expansions of housing and commercial building activity. Stronger new order volumes and ongoing efforts to boost operating capacity contributed to the steepest rise in employment levels since the survey began in April 1997. The latest rise in housing activity was the steepest since January. Meanwhile, commercial building activity also increased at the most marked pace for five months in June, which survey respondents linked to improving economic conditions and greater confidence about the business outlook. Civil engineering was the only area of activity to record a moderation in growth, with the latest expansion the least marked since September 2013.  Volumes of new work received by UK construction companies increased sharply in June and at the fastest pace since January. Stronger demand for new construction projects in turn led to a rapid increase in staffing levels, with the rate of job creation accelerating to its sharpest since the survey began over 17 years ago. 

3. The UK could cut the cost of household energy by £1bn if it doubled its current links to continental european power markets through the increased use of power interconnectors, National Grid chief executive Steve Holliday has said in an interview with the Financial Times. To do this by 2020 would cost £3bn but would save consumers £1bn, he said.

4. Oxford Street in London is one of the most polluted places on earth, with a report revealing that the shopping district has the highest levels of toxic pollutant nitrogen dioxide in the world. A monitor installed by scientists detected peak levels of 463 micrograms per cubic metre, while the average amount of the pollutant across day and night since the start of the year has been 135 – more than three times the EU's safety limit. NO2 is produced by diesel fumes coming from buses and taxis, and is linked with asthma and heart attacks.

5. Contractor BAM issued a profit warning of £60M following losses on civils jobs, one in Germany and a UK civil engineering scheme, due to adverse ground conditions. It has announced it will be introducing major cost reduction programme to save £80M by the end of 2015.

6. A 16-year-old schoolboy has broken the record for the fastest journey from Land's End to John O'Groats - by public bus.Adam Mugliston spent four days and £170 on tickets travelling 1867km miles on 36 different buses to beat the previous record by nearly a day. According to reports, he wants to study transport at University and work with Transport for London.

7. A Keolis Amey joint venture has won the £700M deal to operate the Docklands Light Railway to 2021, beating incumbent Serco which has been running the DLR since 1997.  The contract begins on 7 December and runs until April 2021, with an option for this to be extended until 2023.

8. DAVID Cameron has announced a £500M funding boost for Glasgow to be invested in infrastructure and job creation, including construction of a long-awaited rail link from the city to its airport. The Scottish Government pledged to match the investment – taking the amount promised to £1bn.

9. The government has asked HS2 boss Sir David Higgins to produce proposals for a high speed rail connection in the north of England, potentially from Liverpool to Hull. This work will also look at how to bring the benefits of high speed rail to the north more quickly. He has been asked to report in time for this year’s Autumn Statement.

10. Network Rai has been fined of £53M after it “failed to deliver” on major commuter and long-distance punctuality last year, with many thousands more late trains than there should have been. Punctuality levels were 86.9%, significantly short of the target 92%, the Office of Rail Regulation said. Major projects did far better however, with 98 out of 118 delivered early or on time.