Week to Sunday 27th

News from the Financial Times was:

1. 21st July John Mason reports “Ministers spend more but fail to deliver on transport pledges.
2. 22nd July Robert Wright reports “Increase in track access charges will hit the tax payer” Mr Winsor quoted as saying the company plans to cut costs by 20% by 2006 was insufficiently demanding.
3. Astrid Wendlandt reports “Eurotunnel warns on interest payments”. Article quotes the cost of the tunnel in 1994 as £10 billion supported by £15 billion of infrastructure each side of the tunnel. Debt now £6.4 billion down (following restructuring in 1997) from £8.7: Share price is 47.75 pence. Transport Watch comments – there are some 2.363 billion shares. That and the share price imply the value of the works, costing £25 billion to build, is now only £1.1 billion..
4. 23rd July 2nd Richard Milne reports, under the news digest, a survey by the RAC finding that: the average commute time in the UK is 45 minutes over 8.5 miles, up by 20% over a decade: 72% commute by car outside London: almost half of all rail travel is by people in the top 20% of household income: only 10% walk to work (25% in Norwich).
5. 24th July Rebecca Bream reports, under the news digest, a survey by Lease Plan finding 6 million man hours are lost each week due to congestion. Survey covered 13,000 drivers in 32 countries: finding that, in the UK, 11 hours per week are spent commuting.
6. 25th July Robert Wright Reports West Coast Line delay angers rail groups” and ”Review finds a route to greater efficiency savings” Little of note except that Tom Winsor wants a delay on the WCML so as to save £1 billion - opposed by others.
   

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