RAIL unions slammed the government today after it extended its short-term funding for Transport for London (TfL) by just 10 days.

The bailout to ensure public transport in the capital continues until May 28 comes after passenger numbers fell during the coronavirus pandemic, leaving TfL struggling financially.

TfL and the Department for Transport (DfT) are currently negotiating a longer deal.

Aslef underground organiser Finn Brennan said that it was “disappointing” that there was still no long-term funding agreement.

“Another short-term extension of the current arrangements just creates uncertainty for staff and for passengers. It is no way to run a railway,” he said

TSSA general secretary Manuel Cortes said: “The drip, drip of short-term funding has kept TfL going through the pandemic, but if continued it will be short-sighted short termism leading to stagnation and decline.

“It must end. Eighteen months of short-termism is costly, capital projects are on hold and decision making is debilitated. Staff are stressed and passengers need certainty.”

Mr Cortes called on the government to invest in TfL to decarbonise London and support a “thriving recovery for jobs and communities.”

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “A high-quality London transport network is essential for cutting pollution and rebuilding our wider economy and this continued uncertainty and reliance on short-term fixes will simply hold back our economic recovery causing lasting damage.

“We need the government to stop using London transport as a political football and guarantee it the long-term funding it needs as we move out of lockdown.”

Mr Lynch warned that if the talks lead to attacks on transport workers’ safety, jobs and conditions, RMT will “resist with the strongest possible industrial response.”

Shadow transport secretary Jim McMahon called the extension “yet another papering-over-the-cracks approach.”

He said: “If the government gives long-term financial support to the privately operated rail network, it is inconceivable that it doesn’t do the same for publicly owned transport providers like TfL, which will continue to need secure funding to keep London moving as we exit lockdown.”

Labour’s London Assembly transport spokeswoman Elly Baker said: “The government knows that a fair deal for TfL is crucial not just for London’s economic recovery, but that of the whole country.

“Short-term sticking-plaster agreements with any number of strings attached simply won’t do.”