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Private finance is hard to find
At the end of last year, the ‘Glass Elevator' project, aimed at raising private funding for the Southern Region Power supply Upgrade , crashed. The SRA had to ask Tom Winsor to add it to Network Rail's Regulatory Asset base so that taxpayers and farepayers could fund the work on the never-never.
So what chance the other big private finance scheme – the East London Line Extension. Originally costed at £600 million the scheme is now being quoted at £1 billion.
When we asked SRA Chairman Richard Bowker about the ELL Extension (interview pxx) he that it was ‘being considered in the round in the context of the current Comprehensive Spending Review'. That sounded ominous and Informed Sources subsequently reported that, the project could be deferred by four years.
This pessimistic prognosis was confirmed by Wandsworth Council Cabinet member for regeneration and transport Kathy Tracey who said on March 25, ‘The promise of a link from Clapham Junction to Canary Wharf which bypasses Waterloo is looking more and more remote. Until ministers confirm that funding is available these dates will keep slipping'.
Local government supporters of the scheme have asked treasury minister Paul Boateng to explain why it is being caught up in the Spending Review when it does not fall on to the government's books until 2010-2012. The answer must be that any combination of the words ‘railways' and ‘funding' guarantees that a proposal is filed under ‘pending'.
CorrectionWell I did check whether there was something wrong with the miles per casualty figures for First Great Western's IC125 and Adelantes (Informed Sources April). And ATOC confirmed that they were kosher. Well the numbers were right but the rolling stock had been transposed. So the IC125s have got better and the Class 180s were a little worse than the rolling annual average. |