Metronet, one of London Underground's private partners responsible for maintaining large portions of the tube network, has outsourced its IT service and support to LogicaCMG in a six-year deal worth £18m.

LogicaCMG will provide a service desk for all end users, remote management of Metronet's IT infrastructure, and desktop, network and application support. The service desk will be run from Logica's new facility in Bridgend, South Wales.

The main change from Metronet's previous supplier, is that LogicaCMG is to provide tech support on a 24/7 basis, something that Metronet has not had in the past.

The company does a lot of engineering work at night, so a 24 hour tech support line is an important part of its business model. If there are any IT problems during engineering work, the delays can spill over into the next day's train service, so in theory at least, this deal could prevent some of the delays.

Metronet is responsible for nine of the twelve lines on the London Underground network, including the Bakerloo and Victoria lines. ®

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