TYNE AND WEAR METRO

That this House congratulates everyone associated with the Tyne and Wear Metro which has ensured that the Metro is the UK's most punctual railway; believes that a contributory factor to this success is that the Metro is an integrated publicly-owned and accountable railway; is therefore extremely concerned that the Nexus passenger transport executive and Government have embarked on an unnecessary tendering process that could fragment the Metro and privatise the Metro's operations and some of the Metro's infrastructure; further notes that this is against the original proposal from Metro management who made the case that in order to provide best value there should be a vertically integrated railway within the whole of the Metro; notes with concern a single contract tendering process worth over a billion pounds in which the shortlist is dominated by a rail operator from Hong Kong and the national rail operators of the Netherlands and Germany; and believes that the tendering process can play no useful purpose and that the best interests of passengers will be served by the Metro remaining as a unified railway in the public sector, where every penny of funds invested is spent on improving passenger services.