Boris Johnson’s government has demanded work is carried out on introducing driverless tube trains as part of the £1bn bailout agreed with Transport for London (TfL).
TfL chiefs have been forced to come up with a business plan for automated services on the London Underground’s Piccadilly and Waterloo and City lines in return for the latest funding package.
London mayor Sadiq Khan, who chairs TfL, admitted on Tuesday that it was “not the deal we wanted” and vowed to fight against further moves to bring in driverless trains.
The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union reacted with fury to the news, calling driverless trains “unwanted, unaffordable and unsafe”.
The union is also angry that Mr Khan has agreed to review TfL’s pensions scheme. General secretary Mick Lynch warned that its members could take strike action to resist the “disgraceful stitch up of a deal”.
The RMT leader said: “It is completely unacceptable for transport workers who have risked and in some cases tragically lost their lives to now be asked to pay this political price for the coronavirus.”
He added: “Attacks on workers’ pensions are wholly unacceptable while driverless trains are unwanted, unaffordable and unsafe.”
TfL agreed to a third government bailout worth £1.08bn to keep services running amid the collapse in demand for travel during the pandemic.
It brings government support for the capital’s transport network to more than £4bn since the pandemic hit last year.
The DfT said Mr Khan had committed to “review TfL’s generous pensions scheme” and “make progress” towards running driverless trains with an on-board attendant.
A full business case for driverless trains on the Waterloo and City line is required within a year, while a more general plan for driverless trains the Piccadilly line expected within 18 months.
Mr Khan claimed that TfL had “successfully managed to see off the worst of the conditions the government wanted to impose,” adding that the bailout allowed the city to keep running vital transport services.
Boris Johnson has accused Mr Khan, his successor as London mayor, of “blowing” TfL’s finances through an “irresponsible” policy of freezing some fares.
But TfL insists it was on the path to achieving an unprecedented level of financial self-sufficiency until the pandemic significantly reduced its fares revenue.
Under the latest agreement, TfL must find £300m of new savings or income in the 2021/22 financial year and £500m of new or increased sources of revenue each year from 2023.
Transport secretary Grant Shapps made clear the government would effectively block the mayor’s plans for a £3.50 daily “boundary charge” on motorists entering London by refusing to hand back any raised income.
In a letter to Mr Khan, Mr Shapps said that it “cannot be right to impose a ‘boundary tax’ on non-Londoners to pay for services mainly enjoyed by Londoners”.
The minster said the £1bn bailout deal would help ensure TfL runs “a modern, efficient and viable network for the future”.
Mr Shapps added: “Throughout this process the government has maintained that these support packages must be fair to taxpayers across the UK and on the condition that action is taken to put TfL on the path to long-term financial sustainability.”
