PUBLIC FUNDING to complete London Underground’s Jubilee line extension and continue investment in the rest of the network through to March 31 2001 was announced by Britain’s Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott on July 15. The statement promised ’an extra £500m of resources’, but the nominal amount of new grant from the Treasury is £452m. In addition, LU can keep a £65m contribution by the developers of Canary Wharf towards the JLE, which is now expected to be finished by October 31.
Addressing LU managers on July 22, Prime Minister Tony Blair heralded the funding as a ’new start’ but added that the government was providing ’money for results’, and expected those present to deliver a ’first class service’ for passengers. A government task force chaired by Transport Minister Helen Liddell is to monitor how LU meets this aspiration.
During 1998-99, renewals investment on LU’s core business was £415m and the JLE absorbed £282m. Core investment would have been much lower had Prescott not persuaded the Treasury to release an extra £365m in March 1998. No support was allocated for 2000-01, because the Public-Private-Partnership was expected to kick-in by then. Much of the ’new money’ thus reflects the fact that the PPP is running a year late.
LU’s intention is that core investment will average £400m over the three years to March 31 2001, which it regards as the steady-state figure for renewals. Although LU plans to raise peak frequencies on the Central and Northern lines to 30 trains/h, and increase capacity at four stations, little progress is expected in overcoming the £1·2bn investment backlog reported in February 1996.
