On 17 Mar, 22:21, Arthur Figgis wrote:

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/medi...ntre/7741.aspx

17 March 2008

Transport for London (TfL) has announced that it intends to take direct
control of Tramlink services this year.

Tramlink is a vital part of the south London transport network and last
year carried 25 million passengers.

TfL's offer of £98m to acquire Tramtrack Croydon Ltd, the Private
Finance Initiative (PFI) Concession holder which runs Tramlink, was
accepted today.


Sounds like good news.

Tramtrack Croydon Ltd (TCL) was never a very buoyant business - thus
far has it not been loss making? Anyway, it has certainly been
struggling for a good deal of the time since the Tramlink system
opened.

The Mayor and TfL regularly criticised TCL, and it does seem like the
original PFI deal signed in 1996 between the then London Regional
Transport (controlled by central government back then) and TCL was
somewhat flawed.

A court case last year illustrates the tempestuous relationship
between TfL and TCL, and also perhaps demonstrates how the PFI
contract wasn't that well drawn up...
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/medi...ntre/3319.aspx

It seems evident that TCL's shareholders have decided that selling up
to TfL will net them a better return than struggling on trying to keep
TCL up and running.

It'll be interesting to see how TfL decide to run the Tramlink
operation. I wouldn't be at all surprised to hear that they plan on
having a company come in and operate it as a concession, ala Serco
Docklands with the DLR and LOROL with the London Overground network.