25.11.16
Maynard cannot confirm CP6 completion for GWML deferrals
Paul Maynard, the rail minister, was unable to confirm that deferred aspects of the Great Western Main Line electrification project will be complete in CP6 during a Westminster Hall debate this week.
Maynard announced earlier this month that he was indefinitely deferring electrification of the route between Oxford and Didcot Parkway; the Bristol Parkway to Bristol Temple Meads route at Filton Bank; the Bath Spa to Bristol Temple Meads route west of Thingley Junction; and the Thames Valley Branches at Henley and Windsor.
Responding to concerns from local MPs this week, he insisted that work such as raising bridges, improving line speeds and resignalling was “continually ongoing”, but that erecting overhead line equipment in the Greater Bristol area had been “deferred until a future control period”.
He added: “I cannot make precise statements about what CP6 will contain, because that has to be part of a wider national package.”
Charlotte Leslie, the MP for Bristol North West, who called the debate, said there was “deep concern” about the deferral, and that it “yet again appeared to leave the south west region trailing behind other parts of the country in terms of transport infrastructure investment”.
The Peninsula Rail Task Force final report, which was published this week, called for a programme of funding to solve the consequences of up to £2bn of underinvestment in rail in the south west.
Leslie added that the deferral of the electrification project was “particularly hard to swallow” in face of the growing spending on HS2.
The National Audit Office recently criticised the DfT and Network Rail for their handling of Great Western Main Line electrification. The programme was pushed back into CP6 as part of the Hendy Review, and the estimated cost ballooned from £874m to £2.8bn between 2012 and 2015.
During the debate, Leslie argued that it was “hard to believe that Network Rail is fit for purpose”, given its track record of rail projects running over time and over budget.
Maynard was also unable to confirm that Midland Main Line electrification will be completed by 2023 in response to questions from MPs.
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