The London Daily News

10 March, 2010 12:42 (GMT +01:00)

RMT call for Tube Lines contract to be terminated

Travel Desk

The problems on London Underground today took on a new dynamic with the Tube union RMT calling on Mayor Johnson to take “urgent and decisive” action to terminate the Tube Lines contract on London Underground, as it emerged that LU are calling in forensic accountants to “examine massive and secretive payments to Tube Lines’ shareholders” and after the company were branded as “ailing and failing” by TfL.

Today it has become clear that the combined black hole on the Tube Lines contract of £1.7 billion, with £400 million being carried by TfL and the rest by the company, will result in savage cuts and delays to essential upgrade works with dire consequences for Londoner’s.

RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said today:

“There is no point Boris Johnson threatening legal action when what Londoner’s really want is for the Tube Lines contract to be terminated and the whole disaster of tube privatisation to be put out of its misery once and for all.

“The company’s repeated failures and delays must surely be grounds enough for them to be fired unless the contract is loaded so heavily in favour of the private sector that they can do exactly as they please regardless of the consequences for the transport system in London.

“We also want to know what TfL and the Mayor mean by “massive and secretive payments to Tube Lines shareholders”. That is a heavyweight allegation and implies that transport budgets have been creamed off behind closed doors by big business while jobs and services are threatened with savage cuts.

“The crisis at Transport for London is deepening by the day and the time has come for the Mayor to take urgent and decisive action to end this scandal of the PPP on the tube.”

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