The Tube in London's hands

The London Underground faces one of the most challenging periods in its 140-year history.

This week, the Underground is transferred to the control of the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone. It is our intention to use this opportunity to make the Tube safe, more reliable and clean - while transporting upwards of 3million people through Greater London every day.

We must also manage the renewal of the Underground through a complex, untried financial and operational structure, the Public Private Partnership - PPP.

This divides the Underground into four parts, three companies to deliver maintenance and asset renewal and the Underground, which continues to provide service to the public. It will be a mammoth task simply to administer and coordinate these PPP contracts.

The private companies involved, Metronet and Tube Lines, have promised substantial improvements in the coming years. As I assume the position of managing director of London Underground, I am determined to take them at their word and represent London to get the absolute maximum benefit for the capital.

These promised improvements will take many years to arrive. It is our job at the Underground to make sure that we provide passengers with accurate and timely information they require to plan their journey, despite any interruption in service.

I have spent the last few months travelling the Underground, talking to the staff and passengers.

I have watched station staff demonstrate the skill and care of a great conductor in safely guiding an impossible crowd through Camden Town Station.

I have been delayed on a train and listened to a driver's announcement that lifted tension and comforted passengers. Anyone would feel lucky to have such colleagues.

However, I have also watched wilful inattention to people looking for help, endured delays with no announcements - both on platforms and trains - and listened to the complaints of disaffected employees and frontline management.

If we at London Underground are to hold up our end of the bargain, we need a renaissance in our skills and efforts, a unity of purpose and a much more flexible organisation.

We must accelerate decision-making, pursue a fresh start in industrial relations and improve the service we provide in every respect.

I am confident that we can meet this challenge because the employees of the Underground have accomplished so much in the past with such little support.

Indeed, the most remarkable feature of the Underground is its performance in the face of neglected investment.

I believe that, once again, morale and pride will provide the hidden leverage for a better Tube.