Tube spending down but safety improves

Spending by Tube Lines on London Underground work dipped £5m below planned levels during the last quarter, according to figures released today.

Accounts for the last three months of 2008 show capital expenditure was £120m against a forecast of £125m.

But safety among contractors exceeded targets with no reportable accidents during the quarter. Underground workers are now ten times safer than they were when Tube Lines took over the network in 2003.

Delays were also down on the same quarter the previous year mainly due to improvements in the performance of the Northern Line.

The total number of station upgrades completed has now risen to 64.