• Question by: Mike Tuffrey
• Meeting date: 05 December 2007

So, again, the timescales for those discussions?

• Question by: Tony Arbour
• Meeting date: 05 December 2007

You are very proud that you have taken over the former Silverlink North London line and clearly there are going to be substantial improvements there, but the vast bulk of the improvements that you are proposing to make to the line itself, are towards the east. Can you tell me what work you have done in considering extending the services of that line to the south west.

• Question by: Mike Tuffrey
• Meeting date: 05 December 2007

When will that come to a head?

• Question by: Valerie Shawcross
• Meeting date: 05 December 2007

I would want at another time to challenge the argument that it is a necessity that the South London Line services [between Victoria and London Bridge] be removed from that line, but that is a debate I am going to have with your officers in more detail. I just wanted to follow up on this point about franchising. I certainly have seen an enormous improvement in the security in south London stations, including Southern Railways, as a result of CCTV and TfL investment. I think it would be wholly positive if TfL were able to influence issues of customer care...

• Question by: Mike Tuffrey
• Meeting date: 05 December 2007

Your betting would be that the re-tendering will proceed on that timescale?

• Question by: Geoff Pope
• Meeting date: 05 December 2007

Turning to the Metronet administration; TfL of course did have to guarantee £900 million to the administrators. How much of that money has been used so far? Do you know?

• Question by: Geoff Pope
• Meeting date: 05 December 2007

Have you got any financial estimates of what the impact is going to be over the next few years in terms of additional costs? Are you working on any broad brush figures?

• Question by: Geoff Pope
• Meeting date: 05 December 2007

Will any of these costs ever be repaid, or are they all going to fall to Transport for London - both the money to the administrators and the money in reconfiguring the work?

• Question by: Geoff Pope
• Meeting date: 05 December 2007

Is that a fixed rate of interest, which would carry less risk?

• Question by: Geoff Pope
• Meeting date: 05 December 2007

Just looking first then at Crossrail, which is good news, it does seem that initially the intention is to use floating interest rates in order to take the loan out before the fare box comes in, in order to repay the loan. Have you had any success with the Government in order to be allowed to consider a fixed rate of interest for the loan?