TfL minds the funds gap
TRANSPORT for London has narrowed the tube funding gap by £2.5bn with a massive cost cutting drive.
The new budget plan for three quarters of the tube network includes deferring upgrades, axing 1,000 jobs and rewriting engineering contracts.
Under the plan, set to be announced on Wednesday, £800m will be saved by postponing work on 50 stations and deferring more frequent services on the Bakerloo Line to 2020. A further £1bn of cuts will come from redundancies, which have already been announced, £500m will be saved with new supply terms and a further £200m is expected to come from carrying out jobs more efficiently.
Savings were needed after the failure of Metronet, the former London Underground contractor that collapsed two years ago, leaving a potential £2bn funding gap.