Radio 4 had a bit this morning about another PPP that is in deep do-
do, the Connect project. They were saying that 2 years after 7 July
the emergency services still can't communicate on the underground and
are unlikely to be able to do so.
Bearing in mind that Connect should have been in place before the 7
July bombings and 2 years on there is no sign of completion I was
wondering why there aren't serious questions being asked by the Mayor
of London.
Bloody damn sure if Metronet was running Connect then he would.
Following the Kings Cross fire LUL was condemned for its
communications and here we are 20 years on without a decent comms
system.
Why does this particular PPP get away with being years behind schedule
and millions over budget and why is nobody in authority asking
questions.

Kevin

"Kev" wrote in message
ups.com...
Radio 4 had a bit this morning about another PPP that is in deep do-
do, the Connect project. They were saying that 2 years after 7 July
the emergency services still can't communicate on the underground and
are unlikely to be able to do so.
Bearing in mind that Connect should have been in place before the 7
July bombings and 2 years on there is no sign of completion I was
wondering why there aren't serious questions being asked by the Mayor
of London.

Does this actually have anything to do with TfL?

Presumably this is just a new fire service radio system that meant
to work elsewhere as well as on the underground?

Bloody damn sure if Metronet was running Connect then he would.
Following the Kings Cross fire LUL was condemned for its
communications and here we are 20 years on without a decent comms
system.
Why does this particular PPP get away with being years behind schedule
and millions over budget and why is nobody in authority asking
questions.

Because Governmenet secure communication projects always
overrun by 100% (and no, I'm not joking)

tim

tim..... wrote:
"Kev" wrote in message
ups.com...
Radio 4 had a bit this morning about another PPP that is in deep do-
do, the Connect project. They were saying that 2 years after 7 July
the emergency services still can't communicate on the underground and
are unlikely to be able to do so.
Bearing in mind that Connect should have been in place before the 7
July bombings and 2 years on there is no sign of completion I was
wondering why there aren't serious questions being asked by the Mayor
of London.

Does this actually have anything to do with TfL?

Presumably this is just a new fire service radio system that meant
to work elsewhere as well as on the underground?

No, it's a TfL PFI (not PPP) contract.
See http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/medi...ntre/3480.aspx
Also it's not directly to do with Metronet, despite the subject of this
thread.

--
Richard J.
(to email me, swap 'uk' and 'yon' in address)

On 16 Aug, 13:51, "tim....." wrote:
Why does this particular PPP get away with being years behind schedule
and millions over budget and why is nobody in authority asking
questions.

Because Governmenet secure communication projects always
overrun by 100% (and no, I'm not joking)


Airwave, the police secure radio system, was on budget and almost on
time.

Admittedly, the fact that BT (later O2, later Telefonica, later
Macquarie) was given the upside revenue risk - i.e. it got all the
extra cash when the fire brigade and ambulance service signed up - may
have concentrated some minds on delivery.

--
John Band
john at johnband dot org
www.johnband.org

"Richard J." wrote in message
k...
tim..... wrote:
"Kev" wrote in message
ups.com...
Radio 4 had a bit this morning about another PPP that is in deep do-
do, the Connect project. They were saying that 2 years after 7 July
the emergency services still can't communicate on the underground and
are unlikely to be able to do so.
Bearing in mind that Connect should have been in place before the 7
July bombings and 2 years on there is no sign of completion I was
wondering why there aren't serious questions being asked by the Mayor
of London.

Does this actually have anything to do with TfL?

Presumably this is just a new fire service radio system that meant
to work elsewhere as well as on the underground?

No, it's a TfL PFI (not PPP) contract.
See http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/medi...ntre/3480.aspx
Also it's not directly to do with Metronet, despite the subject of this
thread.

--
Richard J.
(to email me, swap 'uk' and 'yon' in address)
Who said that it was anything to do with Metronet. It has nothing to do with
Metronet. I was equiring from the Metronet bashers that post here why
nobody, and that includes bloody Ken Livingstone and Tim O'Tool why nobody
gives a damn about Connect.

Kevin

On Aug 16, 6:47 pm, "zen83237" wrote:
Who said that it was anything to do with Metronet. It has nothing to do with
Metronet. I was equiring from the Metronet bashers that post here why
nobody, and that includes bloody Ken Livingstone and Tim O'Tool why nobody
gives a damn about Connect.

The project you're referring to isn't Connect itself, which is the
name of LUL's new internal radio system, the roll out of which is
happening line-by-line as we speak, although I'm not sure how many now
have it.

The project you mean is this one:
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/medi...ntre/3318.aspx

Basically the reason no one's complaining now is that it the
contractors are finally getting on with it.

U

--
http://londonconnections.blogspot.com/
A blog about transport projects in London

On Aug 16, 8:50 pm, Mr Thant
wrote:
On Aug 16, 6:47 pm, "zen83237" wrote:

Who said that it was anything to do with Metronet. It has nothing to do with
Metronet. I was equiring from the Metronet bashers that post here why
nobody, and that includes bloody Ken Livingstone and Tim O'Tool why nobody
gives a damn about Connect.

The project you're referring to isn't Connect itself, which is the
name of LUL's new internal radio system, the roll out of which is
happening line-by-line as we speak, although I'm not sure how many now
have it.

The project you mean is this one:http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/medi...ntre/3318.aspx

Basically the reason no one's complaining now is that it the
contractors are finally getting on with it.

U

--http://londonconnections.blogspot.com/
A blog about transport projects in London



No..... Connect (well it used to be Connect 2000!),that was to provide
a digital radio network for staff - Is very late. T

The software is very out of date, and is not really up to the many
changes that LU have made since it was designed and reguarly make.,
and lots of the kit is very old.

The PFI firm responsible take a long time to make a decision and there
control centre regularly accuse LU and even their own staff of lying!

It also has a number of problems, that I won;t mention in the public
domain.

Contract variation costs are quite large even for little things.

On Aug 16, 8:50 pm, Mr Thant
wrote:
On Aug 16, 6:47 pm, "zen83237" wrote:

Who said that it was anything to do with Metronet. It has nothing to do with
Metronet. I was equiring from the Metronet bashers that post here why
nobody, and that includes bloody Ken Livingstone and Tim O'Tool why nobody
gives a damn about Connect.

The project you're referring to isn't Connect itself, which is the
name of LUL's new internal radio system, the roll out of which is
happening line-by-line as we speak, although I'm not sure how many now
have it.

The project you mean is this one:http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/medi...ntre/3318.aspx

Basically the reason no one's complaining now is that it the
contractors are finally getting on with it.

U

--http://londonconnections.blogspot.com/
A blog about transport projects in London

I thought that whole point of Connect was the inability of emergency
staff, controllers, trian staff and station staff to communicate with
each other and the 1988 enquiry following the Kings Cross fire slated
LUL's comms systems. Why the hell have they waited 20 years after
Kings Cross to sign the contract let alone implement it. I am
staggered that it has been 2 years since 7 July. Why is Ken so quite
on this one. I guess because he is implicated.

Kevin

On 17 Aug, 12:30, Kev wrote:
I am
staggered that it has been 2 years since 7 July.

Time flies when you're an angry obsessive Ken-hater, apparently.

--
John Band
john at johnband dot org
www.johnband.org

On Aug 17, 1:22 pm, John B wrote:
On 17 Aug, 12:30, Kev wrote:

I am
staggered that it has been 2 years since 7 July.

Time flies when you're an angry obsessive Ken-hater, apparently.

--
John Band
john at johnband dot orgwww.johnband.org

So we aren't allowed to voice an opinion about Ken, even when he
himself voices so many opinions, including the gratuitously offensive
ones. Notice that I haven't resorted to the tirade of abuse that Ken
is acustomed to.

Kevin