Accountability and Patchwork Governance in Urban Rail Interchanges: Junctions of London Crossrail and Stockholm City Line Compared

Abstract

How is accountability in safety management affected in and by public–private urban multiroute stations? To help address this question, major interchanges with newly tunneled lines in London and Stockholm are studied: Stratford station and Stockholm Station City. Differences in origin, national and regional significance, and specific governance features of these megaprojects are identified. Accountability in safety management appears more critiqued in the Swedish case, possibly related to comparatively higher attention to particularities of this “bottleneck” national nexus. Wrought with albeit less visible geographical and geological constraints, the comparative magnitude of London and acclimatization to projects has explanatory value. Similarity in the patchwork of public–private actors, implying fragmented governance jeopardizing accountability is observed in both cases. Both megaprojects span decades, with turnover and lack of institutional memory posing further challenges for accountability and safety. A major finding is that, complementary to standard risk analysis, accountability in the governance of infrastructural megaprojects begs improvement.