London Underground about turn, volte face, whatever



To be perfectly honest I've really not been closely following all the PPP wranglings on the tube. Like most commuters I want a service that works, that is safe, that doesn't break down and doesn't cost a small fortune to get me from A- B or Angel to Barking, but being me I do keep an eye out for little inconsistencies in the running of the Underground. Looks like the first one concerning PPP has happened today.



One of the policies which won Metronet and Tubelines (the private companies partially responsible for running the tube) their bid was a promise that if ever major engineering was required and the tube would be closed down in places this would only happen at weekends or for the four hours when the tube was not running at night. Now, they have changed their tune, just a tad (note the irony).



Terry Morgan, chief executive of Tubelines, said: "There is a question over how we manage our programme on engineering. It may be a good idea to revisit the approach over blockades, and whether that would be a better solution for all parties involved." For the uniniated "blockades" mean closing down parts of the tube for weeks at a time - like the months it was closed down for the Central Line repairs.



Check out The Evening Standard for the latest on this.