Lexington Communications is understood to have won the public
affairs brief for Metronet, one of the five consortia preparing to bid
for the contract to run London Underground. Another of the consortia
competing for the work, LINC, is on the verge of hiring a public affairs
adviser.
Roger Shire Communications, headed by the former communications chief of
Railtrack, British Rail and London Underground Roger Shire, is handling
Metronet’s corporate PR.
The Waterfront Partnership, which specialises in transport lobbying, was
brought on board 18 months ago by another of the consortia,
TubeRail.
Meanwhile Bell Pottinger has been appointed to represent London
Transport, which owns the underground, during its partial
privatisation.
The consortia face a hard battle for the contract. The other two
competitors are NewMetro and Tube Lines Group.
First London Underground will choose which bid is ’the best value for
money’, assisted by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Then John Prescott’s office
will have the final decision on the 30-year contract.
