22.10.15
DfT still to decide whether to delay Great Western electrification
Network Rail and the DfT are still in discussions as to whether timescales for the Great Western electrification should be delayed, RTM has learned.
In the same week that Network Rail boss Mark Carne revealed the project's costs have nearly doubled to up to £2.8bn, Chris Wilson, project engineering manager on Great Western Route Modernisation, said Network Rail is working with the Department to agree "achievable timescales" that tie up with the IEP programme and the subsequent AT300 project.
Speaking during a Q&A session at the IET's Railway Electrification seminar today (22 October), Wilson added that when information relating to new timetables is published – the Hendy Review is due in November – that "will be the timescales we're aiming to hit".
"Our lords and masters, when you follow the train up, are the DfT. They are the guys that are putting their hands in their pockets for all this," he said. "The agreement will come down to what the DfT want us to do, because the Department has feet in every camp with the IEP programme, the electrification and with Great Western Railway."
Wilson, who discussed the challenges faced with project engineering a major electrification programme, and the issues with parallel systems development and delivery, added the "decision is, fundamentally, out of our hands".
"They [the DfT] will have to decide whether they want to delay the electrification of the existing access agreements," he said. "If they want to bring the electrification in any earlier, they will have to agree the access with GWR and the impact on the existing contract that they have with Hitachi. It is [in the] ongoing discussions that Network Rail, as an organisation, will agree [a timetable] with the DfT."
More from the IET electrification seminar in the next edition of RTM. Rail professionals can subscribe for free here.