Sadiq Khan: TfL in the black but no hope of tube extensions without Whitehall deal
The government must still provide more funding for Transport for London (TfL) despite turning around £162m in annual profit, London’s Mayor Sadiq Khan has said.
London’s transport operator is forecast to report a historic “operating surplus” by the end of March, after years of financial difficulty following the pandemic.
But Khan said the extra cash would not fund major “capital” projects such as replacing ageing rolling stock on the Bakerloo and Central Lines, or Crossrail 2.
In comments first reported by the Evening Standard, he told TfL’s top brass: “Let’s be quite clear: Even though this will be a historic year, with an operating surplus, we will not have enough money to invest in rolling stock, to invest in signalling, to invest in major roads and renewal.
“We really do need a long-term deal from the government,” Khan added.
The government has provided more than £6.6bn in support for the operator since 2020 and the most recent round is being used to upgrade the Piccadily Line.
However, campaigners and London boroughs have warned that the Bakerloo Line, whose 52-year-old trains are now 16 years beyond their intended lifespan, could face “critical failure” without more capital funding for an upgrade.
The Central Line’s trains are more than three decades old and both routes are suffering from high cancellations and delays.
“The Central line is a case study for the consequences of a lack of investment. That is coming to the Bakerloo line,” Khan said, adding “we know the challenges with the [Croydon] tram, and extensions to Sutton. We have got ambitions with the Bakerloo line extension and Crossrail 2.”