| High Court hearing over delays in station repairs |
| Tuesday, 08 April 2008 | |
|
MODERNISATION plans for
some Central Line stations are so far behind schedule that London
Underground is taking contractor Metronet to the High Court. Leyton and Leytonstone stations are a year or more late, and the current predicted completion date for Leytonstone is now the end of 2010. London Underground has already tried to issue a writ to force Metronet to compete its long-delayed work at the stations, but the company successfully convinced an adjudicator that this demand was incompatible with its contract. Now London Under-ground has gone to the High Court in a bid to overturn the adjudicator's decision. In the first seven-and-a-half years of its 30-year contract, Metronet has overspent by about £750m and has suffered delays on 34 of the stations it is modernising. A company spokesman insisted it has already been punished for its slow work. He added: "We are continuing to work constructively with LU on the future delivery of station improvements, and we announced details for a programme of acceleration last week." A London Underground spokesman said: "Metronet's station modernisation and refurbishment programme is significantly behind schedule and we've been demanding that Metronet to get station improvements back on track. "It's vital the upgrades planned for the London Underground network, including stations, are delivered on time and on budget." |
