TRANSPORT for London announced on December 15 that it had shortlisted two consortia to submit ’best and final offers’ for the contract to operate London Overground services on the North and East London lines.Four groups were invited to tender in June. Govia and MTR Laing have been chosen to go forward, while National Express Group and NedRailways have not.TfL expects to award the contract in ’summer 2007’. The new operator will take over the North London Railway when the Silverlink Metro franchise ends in November 2007, and will ’operate an integrated service including the East London Railway’ when that line reopens in 2010 following completion of the Phase I extension programme (RG 12.06 p762).? On November 16 London Underground PPP Arbiter Chris Bolt published his first annual review of the performance of Metronet SSL and Metronet BCV, which concluded that neither infraco had carried out its activities ’in an overall efficient and economic manner’. Metronet is projecting an overspend of ?750m in the first 7? year period, and has asked for guidance from the Arbiter as to how much of this is eligible for reimbursement under the PPP contracts. London Underground Managing Director Tim O’Toole warned that ’it is vital he ensures that London does not bear the cost for Metronet’s failures to manage its work programme economically’.

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