Tube upgrades: New deadlines and new frankness from TfL

The key date for the Jubilee line upgrade is now 31 July and here's my latest video report.

• There will be 27 trains an hour;

• Journey times from Waterloo to Canary Wharf will be 7% quicker;

• From March 2012, 30 trains an hour will be introduced.

Checking my records, the initial completion date under the previous contractor Tubelines was 31 December, 2009. The upgrade was brought under Transport for London (TfL) last summer.

At a press briefing last Friday it seemed there is a new approach to the upgrades.

The new Deputy Mayor Isabel Dedring warned of potential problems ahead; especially when the new system is turned on in July. We have not seen that kind of frankness before.

TfL has also announced that the upgrade of the Northern line will be finished by 2014. And there will be fewer weekend closures compared to those planned under the public private partnership (PPP). There will also be no early evening closures.

There's no doubt that unless this upgrade is sorted out it will become an issue in next year's mayoral election. So there's a lot of pressure on TfL and the new deputy mayor to resolve the upgrades.

The timing of these announcements is deliberate. Transport bosses are due in front of the London Assembly on Tuesday and can expect some tough questioning.