Sadiq Khan's deputy mayor for transport Val Shawcross under fire for 'pausing' plans to buy more Tube trains

Sadiq Khan's deputy mayor for transport says a the drop in TfL’s income has caused the delay
Rex
Pippa Crerar10 November 2017

Sadiq Khan's deputy mayor for transport has come under fire after “temporarily pausing” plans to buy more Jubilee and Northern line trains.

Val Shawcross denied the move was a result of the Mayor’s decision to freeze fares, which critics claim has left a hole in the capital’s transport budget.

She said the drop in Transport for London’s income was because fewer passengers were using the Tube for leisure trips.

TfL last month dropped plans to buy an extra 27 trains so the Northern line could run 30 an hour and the Jubilee 36 an hour at peak times.

It claimed modernisation meant it could slightly increase frequency without new trains.

But at the London Assembly transport committee, Tory Andrew Boff said: “The reason they’re cutting the rolling stock is because they haven’t got the finance. These cuts are down to Sadiq’s fares freeze.”

Ms Shawcross said: “This has absolutely nothing to do with the fares freeze. The downturn in numbers has led to our need to look again at the business plan.”

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