Tube privatisation 'unsafe' judge told

The government says PPP will bring big improvements

The government's controversial proposals for part-privatisation of the Tube have been condemned as "uneconomic and unsafe" at the start of a long-awaited High Court challenge.

In a court packed with London mayor Ken Livingstone's supporters, Richard Gordon QC, for Transport for London (TfL), urged Mr Justice Sullivan to block the government's £13bn Public Private Partnership (PPP) scheme.

Mr Livingstone, and his transport commissioner Bob Kiley, argue that PPP would make the running of the Tube unsafe and inefficient.

Under PPP, three engineering firms would take 30 year leases to refurbish the Tube's rails, tunnels and signalling, while the publicly-run London Transport runs the trains and stations.

The government's proposals would result in an Underground that is fragmented, inefficient, uneconomic ... and unsafe

Richard Gordon QC

The legal basis for the challenge before the judge is that the plans could contradict part of the legislation creating the post of mayor.

The government has vowed to press ahead with the PPP scheme, although it faces growing opposition, which now includes 55 Labour MPs and the transport unions.

The government says PPP will bring big improvements to the Underground and reduce the burden on the taxpayer, guaranteeing £4,000 of investment for every household in London.

But the mayor believes the government is just creating an underground version of Railtrack.

He wants the power to order contractors to carry out specific work on the line at short notice, fearing services will suffer otherwise.

More than seven months of wrangling between the two sides has failed to yield a compromise.

Judge's interests

Mr Gordon told Mr Justice Sullivan there was "one essential issue" to be decided - whether London Underground Ltd, or its parent body London Regional Transport, "may lawfully conclude contracts that have the effect of undermining or frustrating the mayor's transport policy-making duty".

He added: "The mayor has examined the government's proposals for the future of the Underground with some care over a number of months.

"He has, with regret, concluded on expert advice that the government's proposals would result in an Underground that is fragmented, inefficient, uneconomic and - by comparison with the Mayor's alternative - unsafe.

Ken Livingstone: PPP would compromise his post

"Both sides no doubt have been willing to make compromises but there is a fundamental incompatibility between the proposals and what TfL have to deliver."

The court was told that Tfl could not sign up to anything that was not founded upon unified management control.

It was also stressed the mayor's transport strategy was lawfully made and that he could not be compelled to develop a transport policy that was incompatible with his duty as mayor.

Mr Justice Sullivan, whose interests listed in Who's Who include the Wotton Light Railway, said it was "imperative" he did not keep the parties in suspense and gave his ruling as soon as possible - probably on Monday or Tuesday next week.

Mr Gordon said Mr Kiley, who is credited with transforming the New York subway system, felt PPP was "unworkable, potentially dangerous and prohibitively expensive".

Last Tuesday Mr Kiley was sacked from his role as chairman of London Regional Transport by Transport Secretary Stephen Byers.