1 Introduction
1. The Public Private Partnership (PPP) for London
Underground was completed some two years ago. The contract with
Tube Lines was signed on 31 December 2002, and those with Metronet
BCV and Metronet SSL on 4 April 2003. Responsibility for running
the Tube remains with London Underground Limited; the three infrastructure
companies ("infracos") are responsible for the maintenance
and renewal of the infrastructure. Their contract runs for 30
years, but the contract is reviewed each 7½ years, when adjustments
can be made to the performance required or the pricing of the
contracts.
2. Tube Lines, a consortium consisting of Bechtel,
Jarvis and Amey assumed responsibility for the Jubilee, Northern
and Piccadilly lines on 31 December 2002; on 4 April 2003, Metronet,
a consortium consisting of Balfour Beatty, W. S. Atkins, Thames
Water, Bombardier Transportation and Seeboard assumed responsibility
for the remainder of the network. Metronet has two entities -
Metronet Rail BCV looks after the Bakerloo, Central Victoria and
Waterloo and City lines, and Metronet Rail SSL (Sub-Surface Lines)
deals with the District, Circle, Metropolitan, Hammersmith and
City and East London Lines.
3. On 8 December 2004 we took evidence on the performance
of London Underground. We heard from Mr Bob Crow and Mr Tony Donaghey,
the General Secretary and President of the Rail, Maritime and
Transport Union (RMT); Mr Gerry Doherty and Mr Mike Katz, the
General Secretary and Head of Communications at the Transport
Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA); Mr Tim O'Toole the Managing
Director of London Underground Ltd (LUL), and Mr John Weight and
Mr Terry Morgan, the Chief Executives of Metronet and Tube Lines
respectively. We are grateful to our witnesses for their help.
4. Our predecessor Committees closely followed the
lengthy process which led to the PPP. We, too, have monitored
progress, both on the PPP itself and on the state of the network,
taking evidence in 2002 and 2003.[1]
In 2002, the Select Committee on Transport, Environment and the
Regions considered that "it was not possible to establish
that the PPP offered value for money".[2]
We agree. Nonetheless, the PPP has now been established. The Report
from the NAO London Underground PPP: Were they good deals?[3]
sets out the bidding process comprehensively. Our concern now
is to monitor how the deals are working in practice. This report
and the evidence printed with it are part of that process. We
regret to say that on the evidence we received, improvements in
facilities and performance are not in proportion to the huge sums
of money flowing through the PPP .
1 London Underground PPP: New Developments ,Minutes
of Evidence and Appendices, Wednesday 18 December 2002 HC(2002-03)200-i,
Crisis on the Central Line, Minutes of Evidence, Tuesday
1 April 2003, HC (2002-03)592-i Back
2
Second Report from the Transport, Local Government and the Regions
Committee, London Underground (HC (2001-02) 387-I) Back
3
Report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, HC (2003-04)645,
17 June 2004 Back
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