UK consultant Ove Arup has delivered a blistering report on London Underground‘s handling of the Jubilee Line Extension, accusing LU of having a ‘vacuum’ in it’s management arrangements.
Whilst not detracting from the considerable achievements reached during construction of such a large scale project, Ove Arup, the government-appointed advisers to the project, believes the serious time and cost over-runs could have been minimised with a more established strategy at the very beginning of the project. The Line was eventually completed almost 2 years late and £1.4bn ($1.9m) over budget.
An extract from the report said that LU "lacked the strategy and the structure and continuity of management to ensure the delivery of a working railway."
The report focuses on several of LU’s shortcomings that include a lack of planning to ensure the time target was achievable, that the project team was not given an appropriate level of direction from the management and that LU proceeded with construction on the basis of incomplete design packages.
London Underground has issued a statement saying: "The history of the Jubilee Line Extension is well known. There are no surprises here and little that is new in this report. The criticism is not ducked. But the report is about a 20th Century debate whereas the Jubilee line is now a 21st Century icon of London." The statement concludes: "LU has now moved on with a new management team who are fully focused on improving services to our customers and facing the exciting challenges ahead."
A copy of Ove Arup’s report has been sent to UK Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott who is having it scrutinised by the office of Government Commerce.
