Metronet gets most of the headlines for incompetence, but let us not forget TubeLines.
- Last week at Chalk Farm, contractors working overnight booked off and left the signals failing at the start of traffic.
- At Warren Street, overnight contractors concreted over a trainstop, shorting out a track circuit and causing a signal failure. Result: major chaos on the Northern line.
- TubeLines has revamped the PA at Tottenham Court Road, leaving the station with temperamental platform PAs with bad feedback. So when there was a part suspension on the Central line, CSAs had to use loud hailers to address hundreds of people packed along the length of the platform - hurting the ears of the people next to you, but being unheard by those more than a few metres away. It’s inadequate, stressful and embarrassing: is this the best the Tube can do?!
Tubeworker doesn’t blame the people doing the hard work in difficult conditions - we blame the profit-hungry companies and the whole PPP set-up, which encourages and rewards Infracos and contractors for doing shoddy work.
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