A report commissioned by the government has slammed London Underground’s management of the Jubilee Line Extension. The author, Ove Arup & Partners, condemns LU for failing to appoint a contractor responsible for managing and delivering the scheme, for using sophisticated untested technology and for not creating a clear separation between client and project team.
As a result, the JLE, which opened last year and links West London with Stratford in the east of the city, was finished two years late. The report is now being used by the government to support its plans to privatise the Tube.
In a statement, deputy prime minister John Prescott said these difficulties would be avoided under a public-private partnership arrangement: “Key Ove Arup findings, such as the importance of having a lead contractor … and providing clear separation between client and project manager, are cardinal principles of PPP.”
The report also criticised the appointment of technical services contractors on lowest bid for not always producing the quality required by the project.
