Transport unions have unanimously slammed the "privatisation disaster" of upgrades to London Underground after a ruling threw out a £327 million compensation claim against the public purse.
The Tube Lines consortium had tried to prise the money out of London Underground to cover costs arising from its own delays in upgrading the Jubilee and Northern Lines.
But an independent adjudication dismissed the claim for a further £327m for work to upgrade part of the network, ruling that LU had not breached its contract and bore no responsibility for any increase in costs.
Tube Lines was contracted to complete the upgrade of the Jubilee Line by the end of last month, but the project is now likely to be at least 10 months late.
LU managing director Richard Parry said: "Tube Lines needs to stop making further spurious claims for additional fare payers' and taxpayers' money - given the handsome returns already being earned by shareholders Bechtel and Ferrovial - and get on with the job in hand."
Rail Union ASLEF general secretary Keith Norman stated that Tube Lines's efforts to snatch £327m of public money to pay for its own incompetence showed "astonishing brass neck."
"Private firms look on the public purse in the way a house burglar looks at an open door," he said.
"They want to put nothing in it and take everything out."
"The model for public-private partnerships has for decades been one whereby the private investor is protected and the public service is exploited.
"We need a completely different approach. Hopefully, this decision will be the first step on that journey. But I wouldn't put money on it."
Rail union RMT boss Bob Crow labelled Tube Lines as a "privatisation disaster."
He said: "This situation cannot be allowed to drag on any longer.
"Instead of waiting for a spectacular Metronet-style collapse, Boris Johnson should move to seize back the Tube Lines operation and bring it under public ownership."
Leader of rail union TSSA Gerry Doherty also called for the upgrades to be transferred to the public sector.
He said: "In the short term Tube Lines should simply pay up and shut up.
"In the medium term its work should be handed over to Transport for London to be run in the public's interest in the public sector.
"If it isn't it will simply run up huge debts and end up walking away anyway, just like Metronet, leaving the taxpayer to pick up the bill."
As a result of the delays, LU is being forced to discuss a programme of weekend closures up to October this year.
A spokesman for Tube Lines said: "We have received the decision from the adjudicator and will be reviewing his ruling, which is highly complex, in detail before deciding any further steps."
http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/index.php/news/content/view/full/86021
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