Tyneside Metro bosses have admitted they are millions of pounds over budget just 18 months into a huge refurbishment programme.
The series of train, track and station improvements agreed in 2010 are so far £6.7m over budget despite officers coming under greater pressure than ever to give maximum value for money on all public spending. The 4.8% hike would have been even higher if other individual parts of the project where not coming in under budget.
Nexus, which owns the Metro system, told councillors on the Tyne and Wear Integrated Transport Authority it was confident the costs would be reduced over the life of the 11-year programme.
In 2010 Metro bosses were told they had be given £350m to improve the entire system after years of lobbying by North East transport bosses.
The transport authority was told at a scrutiny meeting on Friday that there remained the possibility that the Department for Transport would reduce some of the funding.
http://www.journallive.co.uk/north-east-news/todays-news/2012/01/16/metro-s-massive-revamp-busts-its-budget-61634-30129390/2/
Remember, this is the organisation that seems to think it can take over the running of buses in Tyne & Wear and make a better, more efficient job than the commercial operators.
http://www.nexus.org.uk/busstrategyThey have made such a bad job of running the Metro since it was opened in the 1980's that they have failed to allow for fleet replacement and adequate track maintenance and had to go cap in hand to the government for the funding. On that basis I wonder what expertise that think they can bring to the running of the buses?
David Gambles
