London mayor slams 'unacceptable' delays in Tube upgrades

Wednesday 26th August 2009

Boris Johnson has said he is "hugely frustrated" at delays in major upgrades to a busy line on the London underground.

Work on the Jubilee line had been scheduled to be completed by the end of the year but London Underground have now admitted there are "grave doubts" over the ability of maintenance company Tube Lines to conclude the upgrades on schedule.

The line, which runs from north-west London through to Stratford in the east, has been partly or completed closed over every weekend of 2009, causing huge disruption for fans attending concerts at the O2 Arena in Greenwich.

And after Tube Lines requested more weekend shutdowns of the line to complete the maintenance work, the mayor of London said the delays had "stretched the patience of Londoners and businesses almost to breaking point".

"Tube Lines must get its act together if Londoners are to benefit from faster, more frequent and reliable services on the Jubilee Line," Mr Johnson added.

"I am hugely frustrated at their progress to date, which is simply unacceptable."

Transport for London (TfL) has now called for an independent review into the delays, saying: "We no longer have any confidence in what they are telling us."

TfL managing director Richard Parry added: "Regrettably we now harbour grave doubts over Tube Lines' and [shareholder] Bechtel's ability to deliver the upgrade of the Jubilee line by the end of December, which they are contracted to do."

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