§ Lord Merrivaleasked Her Majesty's Government:
What steps they propose to take to prevent overcrowding and discomfort on London Underground trains, to improve the management and planning of the Underground system and to prevent line closures from happening during busy periods of the year. [HL3592]
92WA
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (Lord Whitty)The Government are working hard to improve the lot of London Underground's passengers. We have just announced extra resources for London Transport of over £500 million for this year and next, in addition to the £365 million extra grant it received under the Comprehensive Spending Review. This extra funding will bring investment in the Underground system to £1.6 billion over two years.
We have also put in place a new management structure for London Transport, with a new non-executive chairman for London Transport and a new managing director for London Underground Ltd, earlier this year.
The timing of temporary line closures is an operational matter for London Underground. We understand that as far as possible it concentrates closures in less busy times of the year.