Lilian Greenwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2015-10-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Chief Executive of Network Rail’s letter to the Chair of the Public Accounts Committee of 19 October 2015, what the component cost headings of Network Rail’s revised £2.5 billion to £2.8 billion cost estimate for Great Western Main Line electrification are.

Claire Perry

As the Department’s Permanent Secretary, Philip Rutnam, stated at the Public Accounts Committee of 21 October 2015, the estimate provided by Mr Carne has not yet been subject to detailed scrutiny, either by the Department or the Office of Road and Regulation(ORR). We expect to receive details of the estimate as part of the Hendy Review which will cover the entire 2014-2019 enhancements portfolio. This is expected later in the Autumn and it would be premature to comment on costs before the report is finalised.