FOX SLAMS TUBE FAILURES (Islington Liberal Democrats)

Islington Liberal Democrats <Islington_ld@cix.co.uk>

FOX SLAMS TUBE FAILURES

August 8, 2005 11:35 AM

Local Lib Dem Transport campaigner, Cllr Bridget Fox, is calling for the maintenance of the underground to be taken back in house following the release of figures showing a 35% increase in the number of morning engineering work overruns, causing delays for commuters.

The Liberal Democrats also recently revealed that the Tube firms had been fined £26.5 million for poor performance since the underground was handed over to the companies.

Bridget says "The private Tube maintenance firms have failed miserably to deliver on pledged improvements since the Tube was part privatised. All the evidence shows that the deal struck by this Labour Government on the Tube was ill-judged, ill-conceived and poorly implemented. It has led to many Londoners' questioning why the Tube was privatised in the first place.

"When transport users are seeing fares going up, the very least they can expect is improved service - instead the private contractors are failing to deliver on time or on budget.

"Londoners deserve better. The responsibility of maintaining the infrastructure of the Tube should be brought back in house and run by Transport for London if it does not hit the pockets of London's taxpayers."

The facts

Bridget wants action on tube maintenance

1) The 35% increase was revealed in the Transport for London Annual Report into the Tube 2005. 2) Liberal Democrats at the London Assembly found out through a question to the Mayor of London that Tube firms had been fined £26.5 million for poor performance since the underground was handed over to the companies. See www.glalibdems.org.uk/news/333.html