On Mon, 4 Aug 2003 20:54:23 +0100, CJG
wrote:

Apparently the closure of the Central Line after Chancery Lane accident
was so successful. London Underground want to close huge stretches of
Northern Line, Jubilee Line and other lines to do maintenance work
during the day to save money. They could be closed for weeks or even
months.
They reckon because London didn't grind to a halt when the central line
was closed. It might be an idea to close a few of the other lines for a
while.

I think you need to read the article very closely. This is typical "slow
news" stuff from the Standard. The only organisations that were quoted
were the Infracos and not LUL They already have engineering time and
closures allocated to deliver all of their PPP upgrade commitments
without prolonged line closures. What they are doing is "flying a kite"
to see if TfL as the new owners of the Tube will bite. This is because
Mr Kiley and Mr Livingstone have both propounded the view that line
closures to concentrate the work could be beneficial. Of course it is
potentially much cheaper for the Infracos to have a "big bang" closure
but the point would be to ensure that LUL sees the benefit in cash terms
as well as better assets from moving away from the contractually agreed
provisions.

There are benefits and disbenefits to doing major works using
conventional engineering hours and possessions versus line shut downs
for weeks or months.

The article concluded by saying nothing would happen for about 3 years
so there's no need for a mass panic.
--
Paul C


Admits to working for London Underground!