“Network Rail has lost its grip on managing large infrastructure projects. The result is a twofold blow to taxpayers: delays in the delivery of promised improvements, and a vastly bigger bill for delivering them.
That’s the opinion of Meg Hillier MP Chair of the House of Common’s Public Accounts Committee and one of the projects she is focusing on is the off on electrification of the TransPennine Route between Manchester and Leeds.
“The government”, she adds, “has identified rail infrastructure as a vital part of its economic plans, for example in establishing what it describes as a ‘Northern Powerhouse’. It is alarming that, in planning work intended to support these plans, its judgement should be so flawed.”
The committee is critical of the timescales of the TransPennine Route and says there is still far too much uncertainty on costs and eventual delivery dates for the other two major rail electrification programmes in the 2014-2019 programme.
“Electrification of both the TransPennine route and the Midland Main Line will now be delayed into the next five year planning period (2019–2024). TransPennine electrification could be completed by 2022, though this depends on the results of a two-year detailed design phase, and Midland Main Line is expected to be completed in 2023.
Sir Peter Hendy’s review of these and the other rail enhancement planned for 2014-2019, which is to be published towards the end of this year, will bring more bad news on costs says the committee.
The Department of Transport announced at the beginning of October that work would resume on the electrification of the TransPennine Route after the programme was halted after the general election due to concerns over escalating costs.
The work is expected to shave 15 minutes off the journey time to York with the facility for six fast it semi fast trains across the Pennine Route per hour.
