The Operator's Story Appendix
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Railway and Transport Strategy Centre The Operator’s Story Appendix: London’s Story © World Bank / Imperial College London Property of the World Bank and the RTSC at Imperial College London Community of Metros CoMET The Operator’s Story: Notes from London Case Study Interviews February 2017 Purpose The purpose of this document is to provide a permanent record for the researchers of what was said by people interviewed for ‘The Operator’s Story’ in London. These notes are based upon 14 meetings between 6th-9th October 2015, plus one further meeting in January 2016. This document will ultimately form an appendix to the final report for ‘The Operator’s Story’ piece Although the findings have been arranged and structured by Imperial College London, they remain a collation of thoughts and statements from interviewees, and continue to be the opinions of those interviewed, rather than of Imperial College London. Prefacing the notes is a summary of Imperial College’s key findings based on comments made, which will be drawn out further in the final report for ‘The Operator’s Story’. Method This content is a collation in note form of views expressed in the interviews that were conducted for this study. Comments are not attributed to specific individuals, as agreed with the interviewees and TfL. However, in some cases it is noted that a comment was made by an individual external not employed by TfL (‘external commentator’), where it is appropriate to draw a distinction between views expressed by TfL themselves and those expressed about their organisation. List of interviewees Internal TfL views: Mike Binnington, Senior Principal, Commercial Finance Michèle Dix, Head of Crossrail 2, former head of Planning and Strategy Jonathan Fox, Director of London Rail Theo Haughton, Head of Strategy & Business Planning LUL & TfL Rail Andy Jinks, Head of Asset Strategy & Investment Dave O’Brien, Head of Risk Management, Rail & Underground Howard Smith, Operations Director of Crossrail, former Chief Operating Officer, London Rail Shashi Verma, Head of Customer Experience Julian Ware, Senior Principal, Commercial Finance David Waboso, Capital Programme Director External commentators: David Bayliss, former LU Director of Planning Stephen Glaister, TfL board member David Leam, Infrastructure Expert at London First Tony Ridley, former Managing Director of LU and subsequently the Hong Kong MTR Robin Steel, former LU Head of Asset Management Tony Travers, Professor of Government at London School of Economics Mike Woods, Independent Investment Programme Advisory Group (IIPAG) The Operator’s Story: London Case Study 1 General Summary of London Underground GENERAL SUMMARY This case study illustrates the following international lessons: . Parallel evolution of local government, national government interaction with local issues, and the technical shape of a complex metro system. The transition of an Operator and a metro system from lagging performance (1980s) to a world leader (present) all within the context of public ownership, periods of economic prosperity and crisis, politics of a democracy, and the constraints that come with it. Unintended outcomes of PPP initiatives. This includes both positive and negative outcomes from contracts themselves as well as the events that followed those outcomes. London’s urban rail PPP experiences are very much linked to the current shape and performance of public institutions. The evolution of asset management both as a technical discipline and Relevance to as a strategic tool for business planning and risk management. London Underground’s current asset management system was originally international developed to support the Tubelines and Metronet PPP endeavors. It has learning about subsequently become a critical business tool for LUs investment. Metro Operators . The role of an Operator with respect to political actors and informing their decision making process. A transition towards viewing and assessing urban railway projects as strategic urban competitiveness initiatives rather than just railways projects. This has been particularly important to the business case that underpins the Crossrail I and II projects. Lessons learned about managing large capital programs, both positive and negative. In particular, London has experienced several “stops and starts” in developing its metro system and also experienced periods of volatile funding. The impact of supra-national legislation (i.e. European Union) on the governance environment for metro operations. Most notably, these impacts relate to regulatory mechanisms that apply to the London Underground. First line opened in 1863 (Metropolitan Railway - Paddington to Farringdon with six intermediate stations) . Initial lines developed and operated under private companies and public authorities and were subsequently agglomerated in 1933 . System development resumed in 1968 with the opening of the Victoria Line across central London Background and . Jubilee line opened in 1979 and its extension was subsequently history completed in 1999. The extension is particularly noteworthy because of the large cost and schedule overruns that it entailed. This experience demonstrated a need to improve the effectiveness of London Underground’s major project management functions. At present, TfL is developing the Crossrail project which will add a further 118km of high capacity rail line across central London, although only the tunnels are new infrastructure. A north east-south west Crossrail II line has also been proposed. The Operator’s Story: London Case Study 2 London’s initial urban rail systems developed and operated 1863- independently under a myriad of different owners including private 1933 developers and local authorities. Different developer / operators of urban rail lines nationalised into the London Passenger Transport Board. The LPTB was accountable directly to the Minister for Transport and was given broad geographical 1933 authority as well as authority over multiple transport modes (including roads) under the London Passenger Transport Act 1933. Much of the underground’s branding dates from this period. “London Blitz” during WWII with aerial bombardment from the Luftwaffe. 1940- Tube stations serve as night-time bomb shelters and more than 1 million 1941 London homes are destroyed. London Transport Executive formed under the same parent 1948 organization of British Railways and tasked with implementing post-war repairs / improvements to the underground system. London Transport Board formed again reporting to the Minister for 1963 Transport directly without association to British Railways. 1968- London Underground introduces the first line in the world using 1969 Automatic Train Operation technology on the Victoria Line. London Transport Executive formed under the Greater London Council. This placed the Tube under a local authority rather than national government but resulted in funding shortfalls and under investment. Key dates and Disputes over fares compounded funding shortfalls. London’s zonal why they matter fare system dates from this period. 1970 During the late 1970s and early 1980s London experienced a general decline. The population of London actually shrank following the second world war. By 1988 London’s population was 22% smaller than it was in 1939.1 Increase in violence between the United Kingdom and groups including the Irish Republican Army and Provisional Irish Republican Army. 1970s London endured several attacks during this period, some in and around Underground stations, which were directly linked to this conflict. A Northern City Line underground train arriving at Moorgate station fails to stop and crashes into a tunnel wall killing 43 people and injuring 74. 1975 This led to the adoption of “Moorgate Protection” which served as an automatic train protection feature aimed at preventing similar incidents. Recession and riots affect London. In particular, the Brixton Riots 1981 evidence class divides and discontent in London’s urban areas. The “Fares Fair” policy comes into effect in London after advocating for lower public transport fares by the left-leaning Labour administration of the Greater London Council. The initial policy proposed during the Greater London Council election in 1979 was that fares would be 1981 subsidised on all bus, Underground and rail services in London through increasing local government rates. The policy was retracted in 1982 following a legal challenge. Average fares rose consistently in real terms for many years thereafter. The Operator’s Story: London Case Study 3 Transport Act 1980 deregulates bus services through the United 1984 Kingdom (but not London, where private sector contracts were let). London Regional Transport reporting to the Secretary of State for Transport. This act also established the London Regional Passengers' 1984 Committee (LRPC) with a mandate to field, investigate, research, and report on transport issues affecting Londoners. London Underground established under London Regional Transport to manage the underground network. Nine other line business lines 1985 established by 1988 to manage other aspects of London’s transport network. Kings Cross Fire - 31 people killed and a further 100 injured from a fire Nove at King's Cross St. Pancras tube station. This incident highlights historic mber, under funding as a primary cause of the tube’s poor condition and the 1987 pressing need to address a backlog of critical maintenance across the underground. London Underground Customer Charter launched