FEARS about the state of the London Underground network and the funding available for improvements have been voiced by Brentwood and Ongar MP Eric Pickles, who fears the Tube could be starved of much-needed investment.

The Shadow Transport Minister feared the government "could do to the underground what they did to Railtrack; turn off the resources and make the company go bust".

Speaking in the Commons last week, he said: "Most of the London Underground is 150 years old. More worryingly, we should also realise no one has a real idea of the state of the tunnels.

"The capacity available is severely limited. There's much talk about shifts from the road to the underground but there's virtually no capacity for significant increase.

"We know from talking to London Underground officials that firm promises were made for £775m of investment. They were shocked to find a press release from the present Secretary of State claiming they would receive considerably less 30 per cent and that that sum was heralded as some kind of triumph.

"The cut means a £30m cut in safety improvement, a £16m cut in the maintenance of lifts and escalators, a £72m cut in the upkeep of stations and a £34m cut in infrastructure.

"The backlog of repairs and maintenance now stands at the princely sum of £1.2 billion."

Mr Pickles added: "We need a clear grasp of how important the underground is in terms of moving passengers about. The City of London has a 92 per cent commuter intake, larger than any other city in the world. The underground carries 3m passengers a day, roughly the equivalent of the railway network for the whole of the UK. However, it is old and outmoded."

Parliamentary under-secretary of state for transport, local government and the regions David Jamieson said the government would deliver a "safe, clean and reliable" Tube network.

"London Underground is a vital national asset. For too long, it has suffered from a lack of investment. It struggles to run a 21st century service with old and outdated equipment.

Mr Jamieson said the last Tory government's spending plans would have seen investment fall to £160m "and beyond that to zero."

An additional £365m was made available in March 1998, and £517m over two years was announced in July 1999. In its first term, the government provided the network with almost £1 billion more in grant than the Tories planned, he said.

"We're providing another £520m of grant this year, almost double the amount available last year. We will continue to provide the additional resources needed to keep the underground from getting worse and to make a start on the vital improvements needed.

"We cannot build a better system by just throwing money at the problem, whether that money comes from taxpayers or from issuing bonds.

"The Tube needs new life and a new structure to ensure that the money that we put in is well spent and delivers the service that we want."

October 24, 2001 8:51