Talks set on Metro future
DISCUSSIONS OVER FUNDING FOR RAILWAY
Reporter NORTH East councils are set for crunch talks with the government over funding for new Metro trains which could see a final bill of around £435 million.
Discussions are ongoing but the replacement of the ageing fleet has become a source of frustration to people across the region.
Nexus accept that “reliability is an increasing problem, causing trains to fail in service too often” and estimate the cost of replacing the 40-year-old trains currently in use would be £435 million.
A meeting will take place between representatives from Nexus, the region’s joint transport body, and the Department for Transport on July 31.
It could be a breakthrough in negotiations and pave the way for funding to be made available for a new fleet of trains for the rail system.
But the meeting could also see talks stall, with North East council leaders anxious about accepting a funding model which does not suit them in the long term.
There are currently three funding options under consideration outlining how the investment will be financed.
Two consist of different methods of public funding but the third is a private funding proposal which would see a private consortium enter into a long running contract with the councils over repayment for the work.
Speaking at a meeting of the North East Combined Authority, Martin Gannon, the leader of Gateshead Council, said that he would consider rejecting the offer of funding if the government did not offer an acceptable financing model.
He said the third option was too similar to a Private Finance Initiative, a controversial method of funding which some say costs the buyer much more in the long run.
Coun Gannon said he would be willing to reject it and stall the process in the hope that government policy would eventually shift.
He said: “All we can do is wait and see what comes back from the government at the end of July and consider it.
“If the option that is put in front of us is PFI, I would perhaps prefer to wait and stall the process.
“We can’t lock ourselves into a very expensive and long-term project.”
The meeting was told that in order to get new trains on the Metro lines by the target date of 2021, the tendering process for the work would need to begin by the end of this year.
But a private funding method would mean a longer tendering process, raising the possibility that the 2021 deadline could be missed.
Iain Malcolm, the leader of South Tyneside Council, said: “We’ve got to get on with this and order the new fleet because that takes time to build and so on.”