A report by the Commons' Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has warned that Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) faces a 'clear risk' of exceeding its £45 billion funding cap, drawing comparisons to the early mismanagement of HS2.
Committee Flags Governance Concerns
The PAC report stated it is not confident the Department for Transport (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'. The committee highlighted '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'.
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. 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.'
Cost Pressures and Environmental Risks
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 £100 million as part of efforts to mitigate the high-speed railway’s environmental impacts.
NPR was first proposed in 2014 and originally envisioned as a new line between Liverpool and Hull. In January, the Government announced the scheme would be delivered in three stages, with a funding cap of £45 billion, which could be topped up by local contributions. The first phase involves improved connections on existing lines on routes between Sheffield and Leeds; Leeds and York; and between Leeds and Bradford.
Government Response
A Department for Transport 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.'
The committee also criticized the decision to use representatives from HS2 to develop NPR, with Betts adding that this 'does not fill us with confidence' as HS2 'has been a casebook example of how not to run a major project'.
