Transport Scotland aims to refine investment processes

TRANSPORT Scotland is introducing a two-phase approach to rail investment projects, to more rigorously assess them and attempt to avoid cost and schedule overruns.

“The Government’s commitment to investing in our railway remains undiminished, but the recent experience of increased costs and delays to our infrastructure programme has been concerning,” said Scottish Transport Minister Humza Yousaf in his introduction to the new policy.

“While we have not had to cancel projects in the current Control Period [2014-19], we cannot have a repeat of that experience because failure to deliver improvements efficiently and on time simply weakens the case for future investment.”

Transport Scotland says it will assess projects on their ability to bring maximum benefit from Scotland’s existing network by exploiting timetables and rolling stock, make best use of renewals or timetable reviews, are efficient and affordable, and help reduce inequality.

Scheme promoters will still need to use TS’s Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG) processes if they wish to use taxpayers’ money. TS is introducing a £2 million ‘pre-pipeline local rail fund’ to help promoters prepare their appraisals and business cases (the deadline for applications to this fund is May 18). This prepipeline will consist of projects establishing their strategic business case, and equates to Network Rail’s GRIP Stages 1 and 2.

TS says it expects a strategic business case to make a robust case for change, demonstrate value for money in economic, social and environmental terms, and help TS decide whether to take the project forward to develop an outline business case (OBC). This second stage is the pipeline. Approval may be full or ‘in principle’, TS’s new approach says. In principle approval means that the project had merit but others have more merit for funding or a higher priority.

Producing an outline business case covers GRIP 3 (option selection) and GRIP 4 (single option development). A project may be rejected or held in suspension depending on the result of its OBC. TS’s new guidance says that projects may be peer reviewed if they are novel or high-risk. OBC approval results in a project moving to GRIP 5 (detailed design), and a decision on funding and procurement to create a full business case (FBC).

Approval, rejection or suspension may follow from an FBC, with only those approved moving to construction, test and commissioning (GRIP 6).

Transport Scotland plans to run six workshops across Scotland (Glasgow, April 16; Aberdeen, April 23; Kirkcaldy, April 24; Inverness, April 27; Dumfries, April 30; and Dundee, May 1) to explain the new approach.