Kiley: Tube plans still not safe

Bob Kiley today raised new safety fears as the part-privatisation of London Underground moved into its final and most critical phase.

The transport commissioner has written to the national safety watchdog saying that LU has not put up a convincing case about safety standards nor is it ready to proceed with the Public Private Partnership (PPP).

The move comes as MPs today begin their own inquiry into the PPP. Witnesses for and against the scheme - concluding with Transport Secretary Stephen Byers - will give evidence before the Commons transport committee. The complexity of the contracts under which the private sector will take over the Tube on 30-year leases was revealed last week, with the future owners using mathematical formulae for the smallest requirement - even down to measuring the thickness of discarded chewing gum stuck on walls and floors to equate standards of cleanliness.

Mr Kiley, in a letter to Peter Hornsby, principal inspector for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), says: "One cannot read the PPP contract documents with any degree of care and conclude that LU has adequate control over safety. What few theoretical controls it does have will be extremely difficult to exercise, because of the complexity of the contract documents, because of loopholes in the documents and because LU cannot possibly have sufficient personnel resources to exercise these controls."

It becomes clear, says Mr Kiley, that a "convincing case" for safety has not been made nor is LU "ready to proceed to a PPP transaction".

He says there are two areas of concern which surface repeatedly. These are the "lack of clear and unencumbered contractual power to control safety related matters, and the impracticality of exercising what few powers exist given the overwhelming complexity of the arrangements". LU has repeatedly been updating the safety requirements - known as the "safety case" - in the light of the proposed PPP. But it has still not been agreed by the HSE which it must be before PPP can proceed.

LU is supplying yet another version of its safety case - number 3.1.

Mr Kiley has already met senior HSE officers to discuss safety requirements but concludes: "The documents and the contract environment they contemplate are simply not conducive to efficient and effective contract administration or, indeed, control over the LU environment. As a result, those safeguards that are contained will likely prove to be of little utility until after the fact - until at least some of the cracks have been exposed and the results of the safety breach are experienced ... the safety case for PPP has simply not been made by LU."

Under the PPP the Tube will be split into four main sections. Two private-sector consortia will control the lines and infrastructure under 30-year contracts. Only the running of trains and operation of signals will remain under public control.

Critics say splitting the operation of tracks and trains is "fundamentally flawed" and cite the Railtrack experience as proof.

LU says PPP is safe and that the rejection of previous safety cases is the normal procedure for upgrading and improving standards.

A key part of the inquiry will cover both safety and whether there should be an independent audit prior to contracts being signed with the private sector "to ensure value for money".

Mr Byers is due to study the latest safety case and financial aspects of the deal. Critics say it is vastly more expensive than alternative methods of raising the billions needed.