• Question by: Damian Hockney
• Meeting date: 06 December 2006

Commissioner, good morning. You mentioned the extension of the Circle line trains so that they have a seventh carriage and so on, how many platforms in that situation would have to be extended or reworked, and what construction costs do you see?

• Question by: Murad Qureshi
• Meeting date: 06 December 2006

The other suggestion was the land value taxation. What occurs to me is there is an extensive property portfolio, certainly with the tube system, which more could be done with. I go through Baker Street every day and on top of that there is a huge mansion development that was built right from the beginning. I feel there are other opportunities, possibly, to do something similar in places like Edgware Road tube station. That is the model they have adopted in Hong Kong and other places. I am not sure why that has not been incorporated within the plans.

• Question by: Jenny Jones
• Meeting date: 06 December 2006

That is great. Can you guarantee to me here that cycling will be a priority for Transport 2025 and that you will at least achieve the Government target on things like at least half of all primary school children having cycle training by 2009?

• Question by: Murad Qureshi
• Meeting date: 06 December 2006

I still think they are valid questions that I have asked. The other concern obviously is, given your announcement this morning about the additional works that you want to do on the Circle, District and Hammersmith & City lines, are you obliged to go to Metronet for these additional works and, if you are, what are your concerns?

• Question by: Mike Tuffrey
• Meeting date: 06 December 2006

Which is why you need to damage the rest of their business - if that is, indeed, your strategy. I do not see what your strategy is.

• Question by: Murad Qureshi
• Meeting date: 06 December 2006

I can well understand why you are not able to give a one word answer to Darren's [Johnson] question, but would you agree that Metronet has bitten off more than they can chew with two PPP contracts, and that the structure of the company is such that it is almost like a construction firm cartel where they get first option on these works and it does not really give an incentive for them to keep their costs down?

• Question by: Geoff Pope
• Meeting date: 06 December 2006

What I am trying to get at is that you talked about issuing these CAN notices which are all part of the PPP process. What you have not made clear is at what point do you go down the road of calling in the lawyers to untangle some of the contracts to release Metronet from some of their misery to be honest? You are saying that could take two years. You have not said whether you are prepared to start that process.

• Question by: Geoff Pope
• Meeting date: 06 December 2006

Did you talk about going back to the Government?

• Question by: Jennette Arnold OBE
• Meeting date: 06 December 2006

I, like you, welcome the renewal and maintenance work that has been done on the Victoria line, and certainly Kings Cross Station is absolutely fit for purpose. What about the Central line? What pressures can you put to ensure that we get a constant quality service on this line? Nothing beats the Northern line, but much more needs to be done.

• Question by: Darren Johnson
• Meeting date: 06 December 2006

You were quoted in The Guardian last Thursday as saying something about going back to the Government and saying that Metronet cannot deliver what the PPP promised. What did you mean by that?