§ 13. Mr. CongdonTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the latest estimate of the cost of upgrading the Central line. [13030]
§ Mr. NorrisLondon Underground's latest estimate is that the total cost of upgrading the Central line will be £802 million at October 1995 prices.
§ Mr. CongdonCan my hon. Friend confirm that that enormous investment will lead to the provision of extra trains during the morning and evening peaks? Will he also confirm that, in the current year, more than £1 billion will be invested in the London underground, and that that is in sharp contrast with the figure four times lower in real terms which was invested by the last Labour Government? Does that not show that the Conservative party is the party that is committed to London transport for the benefit of Londoners?
§ Mr. NorrisMy hon. Friend is right on both counts. The 35 per cent. increase in operating performance is a result of the substantial investment in the Central line and, of course, there is more to come throughout the system. I remind the House, as my hon. Friend invited me to do, that in 1978, for example, the level of investment—at 1995 prices—was £198 million, while the same figure for 1995 was £1, 088 million.