17.10.14
Government may review report into alternative routes at Dawlish
The government may review the cost benefit analysis from the controversial Network Rail report that effectively ruled out building an alternative railway to the vulnerable coastal route at Dawlish, an MP has claimed.
Transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin spoke to the All-Party South West Rail Group yesterday and said that “the cost benefit analysis produced on the alternatives needed to be changed,” according to the group chair, Labour MP Ben Bradshaw.
As previously reported by RTM, the West of Exeter Route Resilience Study, produced by Network Rail at the request of the government, examined a number of possible options for the region, in light of the collapse of the line at Dawlish following the winter storms. The options ranged in cost from £400m to £3bn but after examining the government’s benefits and costs ratio (BCR) for each option none of them met the threshold of ‘value for money’.
However, according to Bradshaw, this may now be revisited.
“On Dawlish, he [McLoughlin] acknowledged, in response to a question from me, that the cost benefit analysis produced on the alternatives needed to be changed because they don’t fully take into account the wider economic benefits of providing an additional line,” Bradshaw said. “This was particularly important because the cost benefit produced for the current consultation judges all the additional route options as ‘unaffordable’.
“A number of MPs and peers raised this and I cited the example in Scotland where the old line between Edinburgh and Galashiels in the Borders is being reopened where the cost benefit is less than an additional line avoiding Dawlish would produce.
“Mr McLoughlin promised to get back to me on this point.”
RTM asked the Department for Transport to confirm whether the government plans to revisit the report and was told that while the secretary is sympathetic to the view that BCRs could take into account more of the wider economic benefits that could be delivered, he was not committing to revising this particular one.
The spokesperson added: “As the transport secretary has previously said, we are absolutely committed to delivering world class transport infrastructure in the South West. That means ensuring there is no repeat of the disruption we saw earlier this year during the severe weather.
“It is right that the benefits of major infrastructure projects are maximised, and we are looking at how this can be factored into our assessment of future schemes.”
(Image: c. Ben Birchall/PA Wire)
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