The a £38 billion (EUR 53 billion) plan to bring Britain’s railways could be delayed. ” Over the last year it has become obvious that the challenges of operating, maintaining and enhancing the railway are significant.We are going to take the summer to re-evaluate the extension of the programme – we need to do that properly with the Department for Transport and, of course, looking at the impact on trains as well. On cost – until we know the exact pattern of the service we will be delivering, we cannot estimate the final cost,” chief executive of Network Rail, Mark Carne, has told the BBC.
He said that the challenges of delivering myriad improvement projects – such as the electrification of the Great Western line to South Wales, improved punctuality for millions of passengers and the renewal of hundreds of miles of track – whilst still running a railway seven days a week were simply overwhelming.
Some of the projects will be delayed. And costs will rise.
Also, Patrick McLoughlin, the Transport Secretary said at the launch of the five-year plan that “a key part of this government’s long term economic plan is investing in world class infrastructure. That is why we are putting record amounts of government funding into our railways over the next five years.”
Mmuch of the investment will still happen. It will just be slower and more expensive, BBC reports.
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