Following my assertion to the Home on 13 July (2022), I’m writing to replace the Home that at this time we have now agreed a brand new longer-term funding settlement between Transport for London (TfL) and authorities. The ultimate extraordinary funding settlement expired on 3 August and I’ve agreed with the Mayor of London a brand new settlement till 31 March 2024 or till Transport for London reaches monetary sustainability, whichever is the earlier.
This longer-term settlement contains over £1.1 billion (bn) of extra grant funding till March 2024 for London transport, which can unlock virtually £3.6bn price of essential infrastructure funding, with numerous tasks set to revolutionise journey throughout the capital.
On account of our longer-term settlement, main upgrades can be delivered for Londoners, together with new Piccadilly line trains and the modernisation of the District, Metropolitan, Hammersmith and Metropolis and Circle strains – sustaining the London Underground’s world-class standing. Additional advantages embrace: supporting the long-awaited restore of Hammersmith Bridge; important enchancment to Elephant and Fort station and a London Overground extension between Gospel Oak and Barking Riverside to service greater than 10,000 new houses in east London.
As a part of the settlement, the Mayor can be required to proceed work on the introduction of driverless trains on London Underground, in use on the Dockland Gentle Railway for greater than 35 years. At a time when strikes are crippling each the Underground and nationwide rail programs, by no means has this work been extra essential.
Alongside all of that is authorities’s continued dedication to mitigate TfL’s lack of passenger income from the continuing uncertainty of demand following adjustments to journey patterns because the COVID-19 pandemic. None of this could have been attainable with out authorities funding.
The settlement letter requires Transport for London to modernise and management its working prices, to make it a contemporary, efficient, environment friendly and financially steady operator. It’s a settlement that’s honest and proportionate to London while additionally considering funding supplied elsewhere within the nation and the associated fee to the nationwide taxpayer, at a time of nice strain on nationwide funds.
It comes on prime of the over £5bn of funding help the federal government has already supplied to TfL because the starting of the pandemic and authorities’s dedication to over £1 billion per 12 months till 2025 for London transport by means of enterprise charges retention.
Via all of this, authorities is constant to work with the Mayor and TfL to make sure London’s transport system delivers for the general public and companies and contributes to the nation’s economic system.
