Tram-train vision forWelsh capital dealt high costs blow
THE prospect of Cardiff being served by trains that can run on both tramways and the rail network has been dealt a blow with a scathing report detailing how costs on an English project have spiralled from £15m to £75.1m.
Plans for tram-trains to run between Sheffield and Rotherham excited attention across the country, with the UK Government and Network Rail talking of the level of interest in Cardiff.
But the account published today of how costs rocketed by 401% against the original budget provides yet another example of a UK rail project running into trouble.
It comes as the Welsh Government awaits proposals for the South Wales Metro project from bidders for the Wales and Borders rail franchise.
This is a further humiliation for Network Rail, coming months after the cancellation of the electrification of the Great Western line from Cardiff to Swansea.
The MPs state in their report that Network Rail “seriously underestimated the scale and complexity of the works, and failed to factor in the risks involved in delivering new technology”, adding: “These are the same failings that we saw in the Department’s handling of the Great Western Railway modernisation programme.”
In a separate inquiry, the Public Accounts Committee described the £1.2bn increase in the costs of the Great Western upgrade in the space of a year as “staggering and unacceptable”.
Giving evidence to the MPs, Network Rail chief executive Mark Carne acknowledged the difficulties faced by the tram-train project but tried to strike an upbeat note, saying: “We have been through a tremendously painful learning curve here but we have developed new technology and are in the process of getting that typeapproved and so on, so that for future projects – whether it is Glasgow, Manchester or Cardiff – we should be able to deliver tram-train projects with much greater confidence.”
He said he thought Cardiff had shown “real interest” in the project, an opinion echoed by Bernadette Kelly, Permanent Secretary at the UK Department for Transport.
But today’s report expresses concerns that the completion of the project two and a half years late may still not deliver “the wider benefits that were originally intended”.
It states: “Network Rail and the Department have not yet done enough to learn the lessons from the pilot project, including whether the technology is usable elsewhere and calculating the likely costs of developing new tram-train schemes.”
The report says the initial cost estimates were “wholly unrealistic”, arguing that the “reasons for the increases are the same as those Network Rail encountered on projects such as the Great Western modernisation programme, where it also underestimated the scale and complexity of the works”.
There had been hopes that this mode of transport, which can run both on street tramways and the national rail network, would reduce the cost of transport services and improve access to city centres.
The Sheffield to Rotherham link was intended to test the technology and assess its potential to run in other cities. It was due to be completed by the end of 2015 but that has been pushed back to May 2018.
Islwyn Labour MP Chris Evans, a member of the committee, described how he hoped lessons will be learned for the South Wales Metro.
He said: “I hope there’s a strategic plan, I hope that we can stick to budget, and ultimately provide value for money for the taxpayer and a really great service for the consumer.”
A spokesman for the Welsh Conservatives said: “Clearly major infrastructure projects need robust cost assessments and to be managed effectively. You only have to look at the impact of Labour’s overspend on the A465 project here in Wales to see the carnage that delays can cause for businesses and motorists.”
Plaid Cymru transport spokesman Jonathan Edwards said: “Westminster’s insistence on keeping control over Welsh transport infrastructure has failed our country . ... We need full devolution of rail infrastructure and the ability to invest in our own transport network.”