𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

The Northern Powerhouse Rail scheme championed by Andy Burnham is likely to go above its £45billion budget, an inquiry has revealed.

MPs on the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) also warned that lessons from the ballooning cost of HS2 have not been learned.

Clive Betts MP, deputy chair 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, twelve years on. HS2 have even been brought on board to develop NPR’s own plans. As HS2 has been a casebook example of how not to run a major project, so their involvement in NPR does not fill us with confidence.

“Both the Treasury and Department for Transport (DfT) have questions to answer about the project’s £45bn funding cap. Given the fact that this project has not been fully scoped or designed, it is hard to see how the government was able to arrive at a hard £45billion cap.”

Mr Burnham, who is set to become the UK’s Prime Minister in less than three weeks, previously said he felt the “lack of high-quality rail infrastructure” in the north of England “holds back its growth potential”.

The Northern Powerhouse Rail scheme was designed to transform east-west connectivity across the North of England.

But concerns have now been raised about the £45 billion funding cap.

It comes after the cost of HS2 ballooned by at least £60 billion from the initial estimates for the project.

Mr Betts said: “We need to know how this figure was arrived at and how DfT will keep to it. Capping a project’s funding before it was even designed or costed feels like putting a roof on a house before the foundations are even laid.

“We also need to understand how mayoral authorities will have enough scrutiny for this project to be delivered successfully. Northern towns and cities desperately need better connectivity, and the growth that it will provide; what they and this Committee need right now, is a clear and deliverable plan to achieve that.”

A Department for Transport spokesman said: “Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) will deliver the biggest investment in rail connectivity in a generation, giving the North the transport links it deserves and driving growth, jobs and investment across the region.

“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.

“The plans for NPR were developed jointly with Mayors, and 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.”