Tube boss comes under fire

The man whose company is responsible for a growing Tube crisis came under heavy fire today.

Terry Morgan earns a £552,000 pay package as chief executive of Tube Lines, which maintains three of the capital's busiest lines.

But he and his company have been accused of a raft of embarrassing failures which have left hundred of thousands of passengers of the Northern, Piccadilly and Jubilee lines furious.

First it emerged that a critical radio system is cracking up less than 15 years after it was introduced. Then came the revelation that managers have been reduced to scouring internet auction house eBay for spare parts.

Last night saw more chaos on the Northern Line as the radio problems forced a 40 per cent cut in frequency of service. Passengers were forced to wait on packed platforms for up to 40 minutes.

Earlier this year Tube Lines, which runs the Northern, Jubilee and Piccadilly lines, admitted it had failed to hit 27 out of its 39 targets for reducing delays. It was fined £15 million by London Underground and heavily criticised over derailments at Camden Town and Hammersmith.

Today transport experts and prominent figures branded Mr Morgan's performance as chief executive as "outrageous", lashing both his salary and the company's £41 million profit.

Glenda Jackson, MP for Hampstead and Highgate, said she was appalled by the parts fiasco. "It is outrageous that they can't find spares except on eBay," she said.

"There were huge negotiations over the contracts for this company and - given its remit is maintenance and refurbishment - one of the things that had to be established was whether or not it could even get the parts it needed.

I will be writing to the company and to the Government to find out what the hell is going on."

Mr Morgan's pay - including a £99,000 pension contribution and a £100,000 bonus - eclipses the £250,000 basic of LU's managing director. The Tube Lines boss boasts a luxurious flat in Vauxhall as well as a huge home in the Midlands, travelling between them in a top-range Land Rover.

Mayor Ken Livingstone has described Mr Morgan's salary as "completely obscene".

Keith Norman, acting general secretary of drivers' union ASLEF, said the latest Tube Lines failure showed the " extravagance" of Mr Morgan's " undeserved" salary.

"Privatising tube maintenance is proving an expensive mistake. Infrastructure maintenance and renewal is unsatisfactory and we cannot reconcile the £100,000 a day profits made by Tube Lines with the fact that they were fined £15 million," he said.

Brian Cooke, chairman of the London Transport Users' Committee, added: "We are not at all impressed. This company has been running these lines for 15 months now."

London Underground's managing director Tim O'Toole added that London was losing patience with the company's performance.

Tube Lines responded to the row by complaining they had not been told about the amount of stock they were taking over or the condition it was in.

The spokesman also pointed out the company has an average of just two-and-a-half hours each night to carry out heavy maintenance - including signal and track renewal.