Tube network operator criticises contractor's poor performance
Financial Times: May 13 2006
By Robert Wright, Transport Correspondent
The main private contractor on London's Underground is not working hard enough to improve its performance, the network's operator has said after rail safety inspectors ordered Metronet to improve track on the District line.
London Underground Limited, the publicly-owned company that operates trains and staffs stations on the Underground system, was speaking after a day when trains on parts of the network maintained by Metronet were delayed by speed restrictions necessary be-cause the private consortium had not treated track correctly after maintenance work.
The track had not been correctly stretched - a process known as stressing - after being put in place, and there were fears it could buckle in yesterday's heat and cause a derailment.