[A-List] UK corporate state: an obvious model for Iraq

["Michael Keaney" <michael.keaney@xxxxxx>]

How Tube partnership came unstuck

Squabble over who is at fault and who pays after drop of glue causes fire
alert in first week of PPP

Andrew Clark, transport correspondent
Friday April 11, 2003
The Guardian

A small spillage of glue has caused a backroom bust-up between the three
partners responsible for running London's tube network, less than a week
after the completion of the controversial public-private partnership.

In an incident highlighting critics' fears that safety could be at risk due
to squabbles over the division of responsibilities, the network's two
infrastructure maintenance companies and London Underground are blaming each
other for a fire alert which closed the Central Line last Thursday.

The problem arose when privately run Tube Lines carried out an overnight
"deep clean" of Tottenham Court Road station, which it owns as part of its
lease over the Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly lines.

Tube Lines' work included cleaning the station's Central Line platform -
even though the line itself is maintained by rival infrastructure company
BCV, which was taken over by rival consortium Metronet a day later.

In the course of their work, Tube Lines' cleaners dislodged dust from the
walls of the tunnel. The dust became stuck to glue on the track, left by
contractors sticking up advertising posters on behalf of the PPP's third
partner, publicly owned London Underground.

When trains began running in the morning, the dust heated up, giving off
smoke which caused a fire alert, closing the West End section of the Central
Line for two hours during the morning rush.

Whoever was responsible for the delay could theoretically face big
penalties. Companies are fined if they exceed targets for delays at a rate
of up to £9 per "passenger hour". More than 100,000 people use the line
during the morning peak, meaning a potential six-figure bill for the
two-hour shutdown.

Tube Lines said it was not its fault because its responsibility ended at the
edge of the platform - it was BCV's job to keep the track clean. But BCV
believes London Underground was to blame because its contractor, Viacom,
spilt the glue.

An LU spokesman said: "Attribution for this hasn't actually been made yet,
although I know Viacom were spoken to and told they must be more careful."

Insiders at LU have pointed the finger at BCV, saying the infrastructure
company ought to have cleaned the glue off the track. BCV, however, has no
financial liability because it was still in public ownership on the day of
the incident.

A spokesman for the RMT rail union said: "You'd better get used to it - this
is the recipe for the future. The only people who are going to be kept happy
by this arrangement is their lordships when it all spills into the
courtroom.

"This kind of thing was inevitable - we've been shouting from the rooftops
that this was going to happen."

The RMT has claimed the separation between infrastructure companies and LU
contributed towards January's Chancery Lane tube crash. LU is due to publish
a report into the derailment today.

Under the controversial PPP, infrastructure companies maintain tracks,
tunnels, stations and trains. LU still manages the day-to-day operation of
the network and holds overall responsibility for safety.