Fears for London projects as TfL seeks support

A lack of financial support from the government for TfL could cause Crossrail and other large infrastructure projects to be delayed further, it has been claimed.

London Assembly member Caroline Pidgeon, who is deputy chair of the transport committee, told Construction News that the funding crisis has worsened the delay to projects that have already paused work due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Pidgeon said: “Even before TfL’s announcement about the furloughing of 7,000 of its employees, it was clear that Crossrail, the Northern line extension and a number of other projects such as step-free schemes at tube stations were facing delayed completion dates due to construction work being almost entirely halted.

“With a quarter of its staff now staying at home, I can only see key TfL projects falling even further behind in their completion.”

On Friday, TfL announced the move to place more than 7,000 staff on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme as part of an effort to mitigate cashflow problems caused by travel restrictions. Tube journeys have decreased by around 95 per cent during lockdown, according to the transport operator. All of TfL’s construction projects are currently suspended, though some remote signalling and safety testing is continuing on Crossrail.

Pidgeon's fellow Liberal Democrat Siobhan Benita told CN that the government should step in to bail out TfL.

The transport operator has tried to address its funding problems by increasing its debt limit by £500m, and it emerged this week that commissioner Mike Brown is delaying his departure from the organisation to help with its crisis planning.

A TfL spokesman confirmed body is in talks with the government about support. He said: “The success of the vital advice for people to stay at home and to only make essential journeys has seen a huge reduction in passenger numbers and has of course hugely reduced our fares and other revenue.

“We have minimised our operational costs significantly over recent years, meaning it costs around £600m a month to run our entire transport network. We are having constructive discussions with the government about the support we need so that we can continue to serve the city effectively and carry on with the vital work that needs to be done during the pandemic and support the national effort to beat it.”

He added that TfL is continuing to review all current and planned future projects to understand what impact the coronavirus may have on timings and delivery and is engaging with its suppliers and contractors as required.

The Department for Transport has been contacted for comment.