Forum Brief: Tube PPP

The government has today been warned not to proceed with its PPP scheme for the London Underground by transport commissioner for London, Bob Kiley.

Forum Response: Transport for London

Bob Kiley told ePolitix.com: "The London Underground PPP remains fundamentally and fatally flawed. It is potentially unsafe and incapable of delivering the renewed and rehabilitated Tube that London needs. Worst of all, it could easily leave TfL and London with a bill for over £5.4bn - that's nearly £1,700 for every London household - which the bidders and their lenders will pocket even when the contracts have failed.

"And what's more, because the government has so far refused to provide funding for its own ill conceived and badly executed scheme, this PPP threatens London's entire transport budget. If the government pushes ahead with the Tube PPP, London's farepayers and taxpayers could end up financing billions of pounds of private sector profit without seeing even a fraction of the improvements to the Underground the government is promising.

"The government has long argued that one of the reasons for pushing ahead with a PPP for the Tube was to transfer the risk of expensive cost overruns, such as happened on the Jubilee Line Extension, to the private sector. But now, it will be TfL and London that will carry the can if completely unproven signalling technology fails. It is clear that the foundations on which this PPP was built have collapsed, and that alone should mean the end for this entirely discredited scheme.

"I urge both London Transport and the government not to push ahead with a decision to proceed with the PPP that would be both premature and irresponsible. It is not too late to save the Tube from this PPP, which is reckless, wrong and is riding roughshod over London."