MPS WARNED TUBE LINES COULD GO WAY OF METRONET

RMT helpline 0800 3763706 :: march 2008 :: RMTnews 5 The union briefed MPs earlier in advance of the special parliamentary debate on the future of the London Underground PPP earlier this month following the collapse of Metronet which left the tax payer with a bill of at least £1.7billion. The debate had been called in response to the Transport Select Committee’s highly critical report of the PPP. The report was critical of the fact that, under PPP, the government guaranteed the money Metronet had borrowed from the banks which have simply asked for their money back. In a briefing circulated to MPs, RMT warned that taxpayers also remain exposed to an unacceptable level of financial risk and could face another ten-figure bill if the remaining PPP company, Tubelines, were to go out of business. The union welcomed the motion tabled by John McDonnell MP to coincide with the debate which argued that “to safeguard the future interest of the taxpayer the government must take steps to bring the Tubelines contract under the control of London Underground”. The call by the union’s parliamentary group chair was picked up by colleagues in the debate. RMT parliamentary group member David Taylor MP asked the transport minister Ruth Kelly whether “there is a serious risk that, at some time in the short to medium term, Tubelines will go the same way as Metronet? “Does she agree that the way of avoiding the catastrophic costs and impact on the public is to take Tube Lines back in- house as soon as possible so that its shareholders cannot meander quietly into the darkness of a tunnel to pocket their profits while we taxpayers have to underwrite their incompetence and veracity?” RMT group member Kelvin Hopkins MP agreed, arguing that “when it comes to vital national institutions such as our railway system and the transport system for our capital, risk is never transferred and it is always ultimately with the government”. Harry Cohen MP quoted RMT concerns about future delays to upgrades as a result of the Metronet collapse. “When the difficult and expensive work comes up in later years of the 30-year contract, Tube Lines will walk away. “This division between the maintenance and infrastructure, and the operation of the London Underground did not make any sense at the time and certainly makes no sense now. We cannot give any more blank cheques to private consortiums,” he said. In response, the government claimed that the collapse of Metronet was due to a corporate failure of Metronet rather than the fault of the PPP. Ruth Kelly also rejected a call from the Transport Select Committee for an investigation into the Metronet affair. However, a major criminal investigation is under way amid evidence that a Metronet manager awarded vital Tube refurbishment contracts to a company with whom he had close business links. Huge contracts for complex, safety-critical electrical, fire alarm and refurbishment work at Oxford Circus were handed to Lanes Group Plc, whose main expertise is unblocking drains. Graham Stringer MP also said the relationship between Metronet and its subsidiary Trans4m, which was paid by Metronet to carry out station renovations and was owned by Metronet shareholders, "looks like real corruption". MPS WARNED TUBE LINES COULD GO WAY OF METRONET RMT warns MPs that PPP consortium Tube Lines could collapse in the same way Metronet did, leaving the taxpayer with another huge bill