Assembly Member calls for TfL funding in Spring Budget to avoid “terminal decline” of older tube lines

The Government must prioritise funding for TfL in the Spring Budget to avoid terminal decline of older tube lines, Elly Baker, Assembly Member and the Labour Group’s spokesperson for Transport, has warned. 

The age of TfL infrastructure means that ongoing under-funding and uncertainty risks Londoners seeing major problems on older underground lines such as the Central, Bakerloo, and Piccadilly lines.  

Without ongoing funding, TfL risks delaying or reducing the investment older lines need. For example, recent problems with the Central Line have stemmed from outdated and unsafe trains being taken off the line. Engines on central line trains use old models that are no longer made so must be repaired rather than replaced. 

Replacements have been planned by TfL as part of the Central Line Improvement Programme. However, this programme was originally planned to begin in 2019 but was delayed for two years due to insecure funding agreements with Government, starting only in 2021.  

With the current funding settlement due to end in March 2024, Assembly Member Baker has said that TfL must receive a long-term capital funding deal to bring London in line with other major cities like Paris, which have multi-year funding deals with Government. TfL’s previous assessments put their funding need at £500 million to respond to London's infrastructure needs, twice the amount provided in the interim deal in 2023. 

Assembly Member Baker has warned that without stable TfL funding, other lines become more likely to suffer similar problems.  

Upgrades on the Bakerloo line, for example, have been planned since 2011 but require government funding to progress. Some trains operating on the line date from 1972, being the oldest trains in use in the UK, and the signalling dates from 1988-91. The upgrade programme will replace both, increasing capacity by 25% and improving reliability and performance. 

Replacing aging fleet and upgrading older infrastructure takes time and ongoing funding. The Four Lines Modernisation Programme, which upgraded the District, Circle, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan Lines, was first proposed in 2003 but only completed in 2023. 

Delays to the maintenance of TfL’s infrastructure end up more expensive in the long term, with piecemeal funding resulting is less value for money and lower supplier confidence.¹  

The lack of sustained funding has compelled TfL to identify £600 million in savings by 2025-26², leading to ongoing cost reductions. Subsequent savings are unlikely to be found as TfL has already utilised a significant portion of its reserves to offset inflation-linked cost increases, including salaries and contracts.³ 

Passengers are paying for the capital investment, unlike deals reached in other cities where long term investment has been secured.⁴ Long term uncertainty means London cannot undertake the projects it needs, including being unable to deliver value for money for the public from not being able to benefit from economies of scale. 

Without funding certainty for March 2024 and beyond, TfL will have to reduce its investment programme, with consequences for jobs around the UK in the supply chain and the delivery of policy priorities for the economy and environment. 

The Government announced a one-off investment on £250m in December 2023, which must be used on Piccadilly line upgrades, and, as a condition of the funding, TfL must show that it can be self-funded from fare revenue by March 2024.⁵ 

London wide Assembly Member and Labour London Spokesperson for Transport, Elly Baker, said:  

“The recent problems on the Central line show that the Government cannot ignore TfL’s funding needs any longer.  Londoners have been waiting years for these improvements and our city cannot afford to keep delaying desperately needed improvements to our older tube lines. 

“Without funding for renewal work in the Spring Budget, Londoners will see further problems like this over the coming years, risking terminal decline of older parts of the tube network.  

“The Mayor is doing everything he can to keep TfL services running – plugging funding gaps left by the Government. It’s time for Ministers to stop dragging their feet provide a fair, long term funding deal for public transport in our city.”