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AN INVITATION for private firms to bid for the new London Overground contract will lead to yet more chaos on the capital’s rail networks, it has been warned.
In a statement yesterday, Transport for London (TfL) confirmed it had launched the tendering process to run overground services from November 2016, with bidders having until mid-May to register their interest.
The firm said that the new contract would see the introduction of new trains, more frequent services, a continuing programme of station upgrades, options to introduce an all-night service at weekends and to extend Gospel Oak to Barking line services to Barking Riverside in 2019.
The HS2 debacle exposes what happens when public infrastructure is handed to private contractors – especially when set against China’s state-led high-speed rail success, says CARLOS MARTINEZ
