TfL's relationship with the DfT is improving, says London Mayor

The Mayor of London says the relationship between City Hall and Government has changed for the better, as Tom Edwards reports...

Sadiq Khan was speaking at the official opening of the Siemens Mobility train factory in Goole, East Yorkshire, which will assemble 80% of the new Piccadilly Line trains for London Underground.

“In three months we have seen them give the green light to 350 homes at Cockfosters, green light to Oxford St being regenerated and here you have got a £2.9 billon pound investment with trains coming to London next year,” said Khan.

“If the first three months are anything to go by I’m hopeful this Government understands what’s being invested in our capital.

“I hope we get a long term deal and I’m hoping this factory will also build the new Bakerloo Line trains.”

A few months ago, there were warm words between London’s Mayor and the Transport Secretary, Louise Haigh, about how they could work together.

At the opening of the factory in Goole, the rhetoric was the same, but relations have become much more formal.

The mayor is lobbying for more funding. He wants a multi-year funding deal in the region of £650m a year on average over five years.

And Transport for London’s (TfL) Commissioner, Andy Lord, thinks a long term funding deal is critical:

“We have been living on short term funding arrangements. The existing capital funding deal expires at the end of this financial year, so the end of March 2025. We only got half of what we asked for from the last Government. So I’m hoping with a new Government, where there have been positive discussions, that long term capital funding similar to National Highways and Network Rail give TfL the certainty it needs for renewals and investment.

“It’s critical we agree that as soon as we can.”

The money would pay for Bakerloo Line trains, although other projects like the DLR extension to Thamesmead and the Bakerloo Line extension would need more Government funding.

The Transport Secretary Louise Haigh was upbeat in her speech at the opening of the Goole factory, where was asked if she had a long term funding plan in place for TfL:

“We will be looking to do that through the Spending Review. It’s really important that areas like London, just like our mayoral authorities across the country, have that long term stability so that they can plan and crucially bring down costs. The stop-starts that have plagued the industry have added real uncertainty and real costs to the taxpayer.”