London heads for transport 'meltdown'

Transport bosses were told by rail union RMT to "crack on" with schemes to benefit ordinary people before it's too late, with stations shut by overcrowding and trains stuffed full.

General secretary Bob Crow said there was "no excuse" for "cash-led plans" to cut station, track, platform and on-train jobs.

He spoke out as business chiefs prepared to demand a network built to suit banking and commercial interests.

Instead, RMT wants urgent work on a proposed Crossrail Two, also known as the Chelsea-Hackney line, to link north-east and south-west London.

It also wants to see the Bakerloo line extended from Elephant and Castle into south-east London, which has few Underground stations - a plan first proposed in the 1940s.

The union also said that staffing levels had to increase to avoid "a meltdown in services where demand outstrips supply."

Mr Crow said that better transport infrastructure that could "make a massive difference for millions of people" must not be delayed any longer.

"If we don't crack on now existing services will reach saturation point by the end of this decade with stations closed due to overcrowding and trains rammed full.

"At peak times we are already in that position right now on many parts of the network."

He stressed that big businesses must not be allowed to "call the shots on the routes" and when they are built.

"They should be built and operated in the interests of all Londoners not just the wealthy elite."

He also warned against using rip-off PFI and other such schemes that had "set back the Underground for years."