Dan Milmo, reporting yesterday:
London Underground has scored another victory in a funding battle with Tube Lines, the company charged with improving three of its busiest lines, after seeing off a £327m compensation claim.
Tube Lines alleged that overruns on upgrading the Jubilee and Northern lines were LU's fault, but an independent ruling has laid the blame at the company's feet. Tube Lines, which has admitted solvency concerns but insists it is viable, must now cover the £327m cost and LU's legal fees.
Richard Parry, acting managing director of LU, said the verdict was a "total vindication" of the tube operator's stance in the funding row: "We are very pleased to have seen off this attempt to take lots of money from the public purse and drag our reputation through the mud."
Well, there's tender talk. Chris Bolt, the independent over-runs arbiter, has provisionally found that the remaining Jubilee Line upgrade work should cost £4.4 billion - a tidy sum, but substantially less than the £5.75 billion Tube Lines had in mind. He'll be making his final ruling in the next few months. In comments, radiogent asks:
So, can anyone please let me know when it's likely to be able to get the tube from Willesden Green on a weekend? It's been years now.
Dan's full report is here.
