Tube Lines loses £34m claim against London Underground

An increasingly bitter battle between Tube Lines and London Underground has taken a further turn with Tube Lines losing a £34m claim against the tube operator on its work to upgrade the Nothern Line.

The decision by an independent adjudicator means the PPP contractor which operates the Northern, Jubilee and Piccadilly lines will now have to pay the costs associated with the dispute.

A Tube Lines spokesperson said: “It is disappointing that London Underground has chosen to go public with what is a private matter. Claims are a common feature on all major projects and our objective is always to resolve them by agreement, but unfortunately formal dispute resolution is required from time to time.”

LU said the fact that Tube Lines tried to claim money for changes in the Northern Line timetable to allow room for upgrades was “hugely frustrating”.

It is disappointing that London Underground has chosen to go public with what is a private matter. Claims are a common feature on all major projects

Tube Lines spokesperson

A spokesperson added: “Having celebrated the improvement in reliability on the Northern line in public, Tube Lines and its shareholders, Ferrovial and Bechtel, were drawing up claims against the public purse totalling tens of millions of pounds in private.

“We are, therefore, very pleased that this unwarranted £34m claim has been dismissed in its entirety, as was Tube Lines’ previous £327m claim.”

Tube Lines said it remains committed to improving its partnership with LU and has challenged the tube operator “to come to the table and talk to us directly on the things that really count”.

Last week the PPP arbiter ruled that LU must pay £4.46bn to Tube Lines for upgrade and maintenance work over the next 7.5 years. In a draft ruling on the finances the arbiter added that the £465m above LU’s budget must be met by the tube operator, rather than be raised privately by Tube Lines.