Metronet takeover

The Unite general union has described the takeover of the London Underground maintenance contract by Transport for London (TfL) as “great news”.

The previous contractor, Metronet, had two of the three 30-year public private partnership contracts to maintain the tube network, but it folded earlier this year with debts of £2 billion. TfL, which is run by London mayor Ken Livingstone, was the only bidder for the contract.

Unite's regional officer for the underground, Brian Harris, said: “TfL taking over the running of the Metronet tube contract is great news for the former Metronet workers who have endured a long period of insecurity.” And he said the union wanted to see ownership transfer “as quickly as possible”.