Transport for London
Capital Programmes
Delivery Capability

Nichols carried out an independent strategic review to develop detailed recommendations and an implementation plan for organisational transformational change that was complimentary to Transport for London’s existing change programmes.

Challenge
London Underground delivers a £1.4bn programme of capital expenditure annually. This must be done without schedule delays and cost over-runs and with no disruption of services. London Underground is accountable to the Department for Transport and HM Treasury for improving operational reliability and avoiding the errors of the past.

The Capital Programmes Directorate was concerned that performance was constrained by lack of access, Human Resources policies and conflicts of interest. In 2011, Nichols began work to provide an independent and rapid review of London Underground’s capability to deliver its capital programmes.

Experience
We reviewed the Capital Programmes Directorate and how it worked with Operations, the Asset Performance Directorate and support functions such as Commercial, Human Resources and Finance. We assessed relationships with the parent company, Transport for London (TfL) and external reviewers. As a result we were able to develop detailed recommendations and an implementation plan to complement TfL’s existing change programmes, C-Change and Project Horizon.

To enable London Underground to gain a fresh perspective, we reviewed how comparator companies across the industry are organised to face similar challenges.

Benefits
London Underground has learnt from comparator organisations in the rail industry and elsewhere. The practical implementation plan embraces TfL’s existing change programmes, alleviating tension between parties and making operations more efficient. London Underground now has a firm foundation for the delivery of its capital programmes while protecting operational continuity. The new organisational model is accepted by the board, executives and senior managers. This reinforces the new arrangements and facilitates improved performance.