LONDON TRANSPORT BOSS SEEKS PARTNERSHIP WITH THE RAIL SUPPLY INDUSTRY TO DELIVER AMBITIOUS CAPITAL SPENDING PLANS

Transport for London’s Commissioner, Andy Lord, is seeking a strategic partnership with the rail supply industry to maximise the chances of securing new Government funding for ambitious rail projects, including extensions to both the Docklands Light Railway and the Bakerloo line.

Lord told The Railway Industry magazine “Over the last few years I think we have become a bit remote from each other. So I have been really keen to engage through the RIA. We at TfL are really focussed on growing our relationship with the supply chain and partners there, making sure we have a proper strategic partnership with the wider industry, making sure that they understand what the opportunities are within TfL”. He pointed out that Transport for London had recently published its first business plan since 2019, describing it as “a really exciting opportunity for the industry because it now gives some degree of certainty over the opportunities that will arise in TfL over the next three years. We are going to invest another £6bn over that time”.

Lord referenced the new fleet coming for the Piccadilly line, with a number of contracts associated with depots on that line, new rolling stock on the Docklands Light Railway, including a new contract for depot works, and continued implementation of digital signalling on the subsurface network.

Huge Opportunities For The Industry

“There are lots more opportunities” he said “and, of course, we are really keen, with the industry, to secure longerterm capital funding because we want to replace the Bakerloo line fleet and the Central line fleet and ultimately deliver our exciting plans to extend the DLR under the river to Thamesmead in south east London and also the Bakerloo line extension. Both of those are huge opportunities for the industry to work with us to find a way for us to deliver those schemes as cost effectively as possible and really add to the value for money that they will deliver and the regeneration that they will both create in south and south east London”.

The Docklands Light Railway scheme would see the DLR extended from Gallions Reach on the Beckton branch with a tunnel under the river to Thamesmead, with new stations at both Beckton Riverside and Thamesmead. The Bakerloo line plan would involve the creation of a new tunnel from the current terminus at Elephant & Castle south-eastwards to Lewisham, with four new stations at Burgess Park, Old Kent Road, New Cross Gate and Lewisham itself. Both of these ambitious plans will require significant new Government funding and Lord is hoping that the industry will work with TfL to win that both by offering better value for money and faster delivery and by supporting TfL’s lobbying of Government.

“We have really all got to focus on how we maximise every penny of every pound we spend” he said. “Historically we have spent about 55 pence of every pound spent on London Underground outside of London and we continue to make a really strong case with the Government around investment in the wider UK. We think, with our supply chain, there is an opportunity there to demonstrate that. There are big headline examples, like Siemens with the new train factory in Goole. All our steel for our track comes from the UK. We need to think, though, how do we deliver better value for money for the taxpayer and the farepayer because we are a public sector organisation”.

Transport for London’s current funding arrangement expires at the end of March 2024. The organisation is seeking agreement on capital funding for the following year and then, ideally, an agreement covering a three-to-five-year period.

Lord said that TfL has been in discussions with the Office of Rail and Road about a possible Network Rail-style control period scheme. He said that would “enable us to have certainty and at the same time give the wider rail industry and the supply chain certainty over the works that we want to develop over that time frame. At the moment I would say I am cautiously optimistic but realistic”.

Reflecting on how Transport for London works with the rail supply chain, Lord said he is keen to learn from the wider industry on how to become more efficient. “I think we sometimes add costs to our suppliers because of the way we specify things. I am very keen for us to be a bit less specific in terms of what we want to be delivered and allow the industry to come to us with solutions on how it can be done, which I think will improve efficiency and timeliness of delivery”.

A Smarter Client

He suggested that TfL needs to become “a smarter client”, adding “one of the messages that I would give the industry is TfL, and particularly London Underground, have a bit of a reputation of ‘we know best’. My view is we do know how to run railways pretty well, but actually we don’t always know best how to procure things. So challenge us appropriately and, if you think there is a better way of delivering something, talk to us about it”.

Lord was keen to emphasise his desire to say “thank you to all our partners in the industry. We really appreciate the support that you have given us, particularly in terms of lobbying Government for funding. If you can continue to do that, it would be much appreciated. This is very much a partnership. I can’t deliver for TfL on my own and we need the industry to work with us –so, thank you”.

In addition to his extensive remarks on the supply chain, Lord took the opportunity to respond to questions on a wider range of issues. He:

■ confirmed that ridership on the Tube is currently running at about 85% of pre-pandemic totals, with weekend ridership already above those levels.

■ cited business plan forecasts that by the end of the 2023/2024 financial year ridership will have further improved to 90% of prepandemic levels.

■ said he is very hopeful that TfL would soon reach agreements with the unions on pay negotiations and on plans to improve productivity and reduce the cost of operations without redundancies.

■ noted that London Underground is the largest electricity user in London and is currently looking for a power purchase agreement for a green energy supply.

■ described the Elizabeth line, now operating 24 trains an hour during extended peak periods in the morning and evening, as “the jewel in the transport crown and one of the best railways in the world”. He said “we have got through running from Shenfield in Essex to Heathrow and reduced running times for customers travelling from Reading and Heathrow into Paddington. We have now carried over 150m passengers, and the line itself has attracted around 140,000 additional journeys in London each weekday than otherwise would have been the case, which I think 12 months in is a remarkable feat”.

■ concluded that he felt “hugely honoured and privileged to be Commissioner. I am biased, but I think it is one of the best jobs in transport”.