Tube Lines Limited, initially known as 'Infraco JNP', is an asset-management company responsible for the maintenance, renewal and upgrade of the infrastructure, including track, trains, signals, civils work and stations, of three London Underground lines. The company has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Transport for London since May 2010 and has now been rebranded as "London Underground". However, the Tube Lines' logo remain widely visible on staff uniforms and vehicle liveries. Tube Lines' headquarters were at 15 Westferry Circus, London. Tube Lines was established under a Public-Private Partnershipscheme in 2003 to provide maintenance services to the London Underground, together with another company, Metronet. Metronet entered administration in 2008 and was bought by TfL. Tube Lines was also bought by TfL in 2010 following a funding shortfall.
History
The company was founded by a consortium of Amey plc, Bechtel and Jarvis plc. In 2005, Jarvis sold its stake to fellow shareholder Amey for £147 million. From January 2003 until May 2011 the London Underground operated a Public-Private Partnership, whereby the infrastructure assets were maintained by private companies but it was owned and operated by London Underground, part of TfL. Tube Lines had a 30-year contract for the Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly lines, and remains responsible for over 200 miles of track, 255 trains, 100 stations, and over 2,500 bridges, lifts and escalators. The remaining lines of the London Underground were part of Metronet, which existed from 2003 to 2008, when it was taken over by Transport for London after being placed into administration. Tube Lines encountered a funding shortfall for its upgrades and requested that TfL provide an additional £1.75 billion to cover the shortfall; TfL refused, and referred the matter to the PPP arbiter, who stated that £400 million should be provided. There had been many discussions over the future of the company in the second review period, and it was announced on 7 May 2010 that Transport for London had agreed to buy the shares of Bechtel and Amey from Tube Lines for £310 million. Combined with the takeover of Metronet, this meant that all maintenance was thereafter managed in-house, despite TfL using a large number of private suppliers and contractors. Amey continued to provide TfL with management and maintenance services for the Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly lines until the end of 2017 when London Underground Limited took over from Amey.
