Warning northern rail scheme could exceed £45bn cap

MPs have been told that a £45bn scheme to improve rail connections across northern England cannot be delivered within its funding cap.

A report by the Commons' Public Accounts Committee (PAC) compared the development of Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) to the "lack of robust governance" in the early stages of HS2 which caused major problems.

The scheme is to be delivered in three phases with the first improving connections on existing lines between Sheffield and Leeds, Leeds and York and between Leeds and Bradford.

A Department for Transport (DfT) spokesperson said the scheme would not "repeat the mistakes of HS2" which was why the government was taking a "discipline, phased" approach.

NPR was first proposed in 2014 and was originally envisioned as a new line between Liverpool and Hull.

The government announced in January that the scheme would be delivered in three stages, with a funding cap of £45bn, which could be topped up by local contributions.

The PAC said in its report it was not confident the DfT has "learned all the lessons from past failures" and noted that NPR "remains at an early stage despite more than 12 years of planning".

"There is considerable uncertainty over scope, how the programme fits with other local and national transport plans and needs, and how the department will manage and deliver the rail improvements in practice," the report said.

"There is a clear risk that the department cannot deliver the full programme and benefits within its £45bn funding cap."

The report expressed concern that NPR "may face cost pressures from planning and biodiversity requirements", and raised doubts over whether it will be able to avoid "expensive measures" such as "HS2's costly bat tunnel".

HS2 Ltd built a bat protection tunnel in Buckinghamshire costing more than £100mn as part of efforts to mitigate the high-speed railway's environmental impacts.

Labour MP Clive Betts, deputy chairman of the PAC, said the government's growth strategy earlier this year "signalled that there is still an appetite to finally deliver the transport infrastructure the North so badly needs".

He said: "But the spectre of HS2 hangs over Northern Powerhouse Rail.

"Our committee has heard troubling echoes of the same mistakes in loose governance that HS2 made early on, and so much of the project remains almost impressionistic, 12 years on."

Betts said the decision to use representatives from HS2 to develop NPR "does not fill us with confidence" as the former "has been a casebook example of how not to run a major project".

A DfT spokesperson said: "NPR will not repeat the mistakes of HS2 which is why we accepted all the recommendations of the James Stewart Review and are taking a disciplined, phased approach, completing detailed technical work with all stakeholders before fixing precise choices for major infrastructure.

"Since announcing NPR in January, we have worked closely with mayors to take the project forward.

"New joint partnership forums are already overseeing the next stage of development and Network Rail has begun developing engineering designs."

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