TfL to review driverless trains as condition of new bailout
Transport for London (TfL) will have to undertake a review of how to switch to driverless trains as a condition of its new government bailout.
Under the terms of the rescue package, which will see the transport network receive £1.8bn in financial support, ministers have set a number of requirements.
In addition to the review, it must achieve an extra £160m in savings and halt all current work on the proposed Crossrail 2 route.
The conditions were listed in a letter from transport secretary Grant Shapps published this morning. The rescue package was agreed late on Saturday night after a testy set of negotiations between the two sides.
The new funding deal will last until March 2021, and replaces a prior six-month package worth £1.6bn.
According to the letter, TfL must “work with a government led expert review on the possible implementation of driverless trains.
“TfL and Government will discuss the scope of this review and the knowledge and experience requirements of any review members or chair, as well as a reasonable programme of work to support the review.”
The demand comes just after a leaked government document found that it would cost £7bn to automate the Tube network.
PM Boris Johnson has previously said that implementing driverless underground trains should be a condition of any future funding settlement for TfL.
TfL avoids harshest conditions
Several other conditions are attached to the bailout, including the requirement to complete the rollout of route planning app TfL Go for Android phones by the end of the year.
TfL is also asked to put forward an additional £75m to support “active transport” schemes.
“Within this funding, TfL will prioritise the urgent delivery and operation of a temporary walking and cycle ferry as a replacement crossing for local communities affected by the closure of Hammersmith bridge”, the letter says.
The bridge has been completely closed since the summer’s heatwave amid fears of a “catastrophic failure”.
Despite the broad set of demands, a number of especially stringent conditions that were under discussion did not find their way into the final deal.
There had been outrage when it was revealed that ministers had asked TfL to extend the Congestion Charge zone to North and South Circulars, as well as raise fares by more than one per cent above the rate of inflation.
But today’s letter did reveal that TfL would have to find a way to pay for any concessionary travel that it wanted to offer in the future.
“If the Mayor and TfL wish Londoners to continue to benefit from travel concessions and/or other benefits above those typically available elsewhere in England (specifically free travel for all Londoners aged under 18 and 60-65) then TfL/the Mayor recognises that the costs of these additional benefits will not be met by HMG funding”, Shapps wrote.