Transport for London, which has made sure that it and it alone is in a position to take over Metronet is growing in might.

This Sunday, the Mayor's transport organisation will take over the Silverlink Metro services, previously operated by National Express Group, in North, East and West London.

It suits the Mayor's political agenda to boast about how he has brought key transport links, including the Tube, back into the public sector. But the reality of the matter is somewhat different.

The RMT, often one of Ken Livingstone's cheer leaders, is rather cross at the way the Silverlink Metro transfer has been spun. It points out that all that has happened is that one franchisee, National Express, has been replaced with another, MTR Laing - which will have direct day-to-day responsibility for the operations of trains, stations and ticketing.

When Metronet is returned to the "public sector" in January, it too will have substantial private sector involvement. Transport for London will still have to put contracts for station and track work out to the private sector.

The irony is that the sale of the troubled business was engineered to cut out the only group of private contractors that are actually capable of delivering the work.

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