Boris Johnson: Tube will be fit for purpose for Olympics

The Mayor pledged today to "fix" the Tube in time for the Olympics.

He spoke as concerns mounted over the Jubilee line - the principal route for the Games, connecting central London with the Olympic Park in Stratford. The line is suffering repeated breakdowns because of problems with the new signalling system. New figures put it at the top of the "list of shame" for delays.

In a leaked memo seen by the Evening Standard, Howard Collins, the Tube's chief operating officer, admits there is "still a huge amount of work to do" on the Jubilee. Mayoral challenger Ken Livingstone accused Boris Johnson of being "out of touch" and called on him to "get a grip".

But Mr Johnson insisted the Tube would be fit for purpose by July next year - even though there will be shutdowns on parts of the system every weekend to get all the work done.

He said that ensuring the Tube runs efficiently was his priority "for the next five to 10 years", and he would be seen out and about on the network more often, taking overall charge of multi-billion-pound line upgrades.

"All the work that needs to be done before the Olympics will be done, I am confident," he said. "People are working flat out to ensure commuters have hassle-free journeys.

"I know people get irritated when we have to close it at weekends but it's necessary." During an engineering inspection on the District line at Bromley-by-Bow, he pledged to make night and weekend work, which can cause chaos to morning services, a "thing of the past".

His lawyers are studying the small print on contracts to ensure firms face heavier penalties, or even dismissal, if services are delayed because work is not finished in time.

The latest Tube performance figures, covering January 9 to February 5 were highlighted by Mr Livingstone. They show delays on the Jubilee line rose 26 per cent on a year ago. The new signalling system is still to be installed at the northern end of the line.

The Victoria line, hit by problems with a new multi-million-pound train fleet, was second in the list of shame, with 18 per cent more delays.
Mr Livingstone said: "I'm a daily Tube user. The frustration and inconvenience caused by Tube delays threatens to erode everyday quality of life in the capital."

A Transport for London spokesman said: "The presentation of the figures is wrong and highly selective. Current figures [for the whole network] show the number of delays - incidents that cause an initial delay to the train service of 15 minutes or more - have fallen by around seven per cent."