01.07.13
Celebrating 150 years of the Underground
Source: Rail Technology Magazine June/July 2013
David Waboso, director of LU’s capital programmes, gave RTM an update on successes in the 150th anniversary year.
150 years, and the London Underground has never run so many services, whilst implementing such huge upgrades. RTM spoke to LU’s capital programmes director David Waboso to look back, and forward.
The upgrade programme was initially “daunting” in its scope and complexity, Waboso said. With passenger numbers starting to “go through the roof”, LU was faced with turning the plans into reality.
Now this reality is the biggest achievement to be celebrated in its anniversary year, Waboso said.
“The Jubilee line is knocking lights out in terms of performance, the Victoria line is operating one of the most frequent train services in the world with 33 trains an hour; we’re seeing if we can get even higher, to 34. The Northern line is incredibly successful in terms of the upgrades; we’re well ahead of the programme we published, well within budget and the performance so far is exceeding wildest expectations.
“Making all that happen at the same time as moving more and more people, on the world’s oldest metro, has just been the most incredible achievement from this organisation and all the people who work for it, including our suppliers and contractors.”
All change
It is an upgrade programme at an unprecedented level – by 2020 almost every line will have been upgraded, with new track, trains, signalling, power and control systems.
Launched following a “dearth of underinvestment”, the “creaking” system has undergone an “incredible change programme”, with a close look at LU’s own operations, standards and processes.
Waboso said: “We’ve actually done it!” Achieving such success requires good planning, and investment in the right workforce, particularly in leadership.
“Plan it. Your best way of managing risk is to get the best people. Most importantly, have the courage and audacity and vision to say you can do it – the leadership. Everybody has to believe in it and work together.”
Future workforce
With skills gaps and ageing workforces featuring heavily in visions of the future for rail, LU makes a point of investing “very heavily in people”.
Waboso explained: “They’re our greatest resource.”
Over 3,000 apprenticeships, a graduate recruitment programme and employment both in London and all over the UK shows LU takes this commitment seriously.
“At the weekends I’ve got thousands of people out on the railway. We’ve also got a big training agenda to make sure our people are retrained and retooled for the new equipment that’s coming. One of the big advantages of reequipping the railway is that we can do more with less money. Our operational efficiency programme is driving efficiencies to get more output from our people.”
Upgrade, extend, optimise
The numbers of passengers using the Underground each day are staggering, and LU has a three-pronged plan of attack to meet this demand.
“You can’t just rely on the upgrade programme,” Waboso said, “because there’s a limit to how many people you can squeeze into Tube trains and stations. But there is a lot more we can and are doing.”
By 2030 LU will have increased capacity by 50% – an extra two million passengers each day. Extensions and new railways, such as Crossrail, will create new capacity, while managing demand allows service frequency to be optimised, particularly at peak times.
Communicating with passengers allows LU to achieve this most effectively.
“You’ve got to have that range of measures; you need all of them. More capacity out of the existing infrastructure, more new extensions and to manage the kind of services you offer,” he said.
Lifeblood of the Capital
Ahead of the Spending Review, Waboso made the case for the necessary investment to continue the capital upgrade programme and ensure the Underground’s next 150 years are as great as the first.
“London is, by a long, long way, the heartbeat of the UK economy. The Tube and rail services are very much the lifeblood.
“All major cities rely on their transport systems to get people to work and move people and goods around and get services to where they need to get to.”
He highlighted demand akin to an Olympics “most weekends”, with a constant stream of sporting, musical and cultural events leading to thousands and thousands of passengers using the Tube.
“This is not easy stuff, dealing with some very seemingly intractable problems and challenges with contractors and people on a very busy system and at the end deliver a result.
“It’s what we do. We have made a very strong case in terms of our record of delivery, we are now seen as one of the very good delivery organisations to be trusted to be given investment, spend it and get a result.”