FRAGMENTING THE EAST LONDON LINE

RMTnews :: january 2007 :: www.rmt.org.uk 14 A s part of the London Underground network, the East London Line currently has unified signalling, train and station operations under public control, with maintenance and renewals sub-contacted to Metronet. However, the extended line, due to be finished in 2010, will consist of an unnecessarily complex hybrid of the and national rail network and private companies. In fact a total of eight companies will be involved in running the new service. Of these two companies will be responsible for signalling operations, two for infrastructure maintenance, two for infrastructure renewals, one for train and station operations and one for train maintenance Specifically, track, stations and signals maintenance and Renewals between Dalston Junction and New Cross/New Cross Gate will be the responsibility of London Underground but sub-contracted to a private contractor. Track, station and signals maintenance between New Cross Gate to West Croydon and Crystal Palace and from Dalston to Highbury and Islington and the rest of the North London Line will be responsibility of Network Rail. Renewals for the same section of line will be also sub-contracted out. Signalling operations between Dalston Junction and New Cross Gate will be the responsibility of London Underground. But between New Cross Gate to West Croydon and Crystal Palace and from Dalston to Highbury and Islington signalling operations will be the responsibility of Network Rail. Passenger train services and operations of stations will be the responsibility of the successful bidder. Meanwhile, responsibility for maintaining trains will be the responsibility of Bombadier. Got all that? If you did you a part of a very small group of people who did not have to sit down for a while to understand who was exactly supposed to be doing what. CAMPAIGN If this scenario sounds familiar it is because this is the sort of fragmentation that occurred following privatisation which has proved so disastrous for Britain’s railway network. The Public Private Partnership on London Underground has created a fragmented network with frequent service disruptions. Privatising the East London Line will make matters worse. Eight different companies will be involved in complex contractual relationships to operate, maintain and renew signalling, track, trains and stations. That is why the TUC has joined RMT and TSSA to campaign against moves by Transport for London to privatise the East London Line by 2010. This privatisation will also be the thin end of the wedge, with other lines and services being threatened with sell-off in future. If this privatisation takes place it will be the first Tube passenger service to be privatised, making it easier to argue for the privatisation of other services. The union is urging members to use a new postcard (above) to ask your MP to sign Early Day Motion 286 (right) which supports the retention of the East London Line in the public sector. Act now to stop the East London Line sell-off. EDM 286 FUTURE OF LONDON UNDERGROUND PASSENGER SERVICES Jeremy Corbyn That this House welcomes the important role that the London Underground East London Line extension will play in creating a world class transport infrastructure in preparation for the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games; further notes that the East London Line is currently operated in the public sector by London Underground; is concerned that there are proposals to transfer responsibility for operating the line to the private sector which would represent the first privatisation of a tube passenger service; believes that the benefits of an extended East London Line will be best achieved by the service remaining wholly in the public sector; notes the IPOS/MORI poll showing that three quarters of people in London and the South East want the East London Line operations kept in the public sector; welcomes the decision of the 2006 TUC Congress opposing the privatisation of the East London Line; and supports the rail unions and TUC campaign to keep the East London Line wholly in the public sector. RMT News looks into attempts to dump the East London Line into the private sector and the resulting fragmentation which caused such chaos on the railways following privatisation FRAGMENTING THE EAST LONDON LINE