Some common misunderstandings about the future of the London Underground
The Government's plans for a publicly run, privately built, Tube will provide the high and stable financing needed to modernise the Underground - at least £13 billion over the first 15 years. That's over £4,200 for every household in London. But there have been half a dozen common misunderstandings about what will happen.
1. People say the public sector will lose control
London Underground will stay in the public sector and have unified control of all operations. It will run the trains, work the signals, control the track and operate the stations. The public sector will be in charge of the safe operation of the single unified network.
London Underground will set the strategic priorities for investment and monitor the performance of the three private sector contractors who will build and maintain the infrastructure. If the private sector does not do the work properly or puts safety at risk, London Underground can step in and do the work itself at the private sector's expense.
2. People say it is privatisation/ part privatisation
The Tube is not for sale. London Underground will run the Tube from the minute it opens in the morning until it shuts at night. The public sector will operate the network for the benefit of passengers, not for the benefit of shareholders.
The role of the private sector will be clear and limited - it will build and maintain the improved Tube infrastructure. Three companies will provide project management expertise to ensure that investment and maintenance is carried out in the most effective and efficient way.
The private sector companies will work to the strict standards and priorities set by the public sector and will be rewarded for good performance or penalised if their work is not up to scratch. They will mostly do their work at night when the trains are not running. Public sector London Underground will remain in charge of any temporary line closures that are needed to carry out the work.
3. People say it will be an Underground Railtrack
The Tube will not be fragmented. There will be a unified operating company in charge of contracts with three infrastructure maintenance and renewal companies.
There will not be competing train operators or conflicting objectives. London Underground will stay in charge of the whole network.
4. People say it will be unsafe
London Underground will remain in charge of safety. The public sector must continue to put safety first. The Tube will continue to be regulated by the independent Health and Safety Executive.
There will be a double lock for safety. For the plans to proceed, the Health and Safety Executive must accept, firstly, London Underground's safety plans and, secondly, their revised safety plans to reflect the role of the bidders. Unless and until the independent Health and Safety Executive have approved this double lock for safety, London Underground's plans for modernisation will not proceed.
5. People say it will be more expensive
The plans will be tested to check whether they are better value for money than all the alternatives, including modernisation financed by bonds. This is not an academic exercise - it will ensure that the money invested provides the greatest benefits for passengers.
" National Audit Office (NAO) looked at the methodology in December 2000 and said that 'the public sector comparators had been carefully prepared' and so far, 'the evaluation of the bids has been thorough and comprehensive." All the deals will be open to NAO scrutiny, and to the Public Accounts Committee. And all the contracts, except for the most sensitive commercially confidential information, will be published.
6. People say work on stations will come before anything else
The modernisation of stations on the Underground is not being given priority over improvements to the rolling stock and infrastructure. London Underground's investment plans do include tackling of overcrowding in 'hotspot' stations, but they give even greater priority to work on signals and track.
Over the next fifteen years at least £13 billion will be invested in modernising the Underground, the majority of which will go on improving the basic infrastructure, repairing and replacing the track, introducing new and refurbished trains and upgrading the signalling. Investment will also be made in providing better, more secure stations - making sure the escalators work, installing CCTV to improve security, tackling station congestion, modernising passenger information systems and providing step free access.
