New London Underground boss to fly in from Oz

Transport for London (TfL) has named Mark Wild, the former head of the public transport network in the Australian state of Victoria, as the new managing director of London Underground.

Mr Wild, who will join TfL in June, is currently a special advisor with the State Government of Victoria. He was previously chief executive of Public Transport Victoria, the integrated transport authority based in Melbourne that serves a population of around six million people.

His near 30-year career in transport includes working on a number of major projects in London, including the introduction of new signalling on the Jubilee and Victoria lines.

According to TfL, Mr Wild has also run the world’s biggest tram network and large suburban railway and bus services and ‘successfully managed large capital and maintenance programmes, vastly improved customer satisfaction and implemented a complex new ticketing system’.

London’s transport commissioner, Mike Brown, said: ‘We look forward to welcoming Mark Wild, who will help us continue the vital modernisation of London’s transport network.

Source: Transport Network