The bigger picture - funding to plan growth

[whole diary]

[grahame]

From RailFuture

More and more people using the railways. With Campaign for Better Transport, we want to see lines and stations closed by British Railways reopened where the economic factors that brought about their closure have changed, and new lines and stations built to serve new communities. But this will take real commitment and real funding.

We were delighted when the Government announced plans to expand the rail network as part of its Strategic Vision for Rail. But this 'vision' must be backed by funding. As our 'Expanding the Railways' guide shows, this is particularly important for the early stages of project development where the absence of a clear process identifying which schemes should progress can make it difficult for potential partners to give financial support.

We've written to ask the Government to set up a 'network development fund' to support new and reopened rail lines and stations.

My bolding.  If I paraphrase, current government policy is to expand the railways - but for that expansion to be funded for the most part by third party funding.  That's all very well once you're into a well established project that's going ahead, with evaluated outcomes and decisions already made that will give you a predicted timescale and return.  But how to fund the earlier phases of planning - getting to a "shovel-ready" scheme so that you can actually press the big green button? That work requires ever-more elements which become ever-more complex and cost ever-more money, all on a bit of a punt that it will go ahead; some schemes will, others won't. A common fund with - say - an xxx% success rate - would spread the risk across the projects in the category.

Good idea?   I don't know.  Take a look at Railuture's suggestion and you choose whether to support.  It may be better than the current "survival of only the very fittest" at the early stages - or perhaps that current system is a good way of weeding out the projects that will be stronger at implementation too?

[SandTEngineer]

Having in a past life driven many schemes through the GRIP1 to 8 process, I can tell you that sometimes its used by those who hold the purse strings not to actually deliver anything (i.e. they see as their job not to spend ANY money at all).

So firstly, we need to abolish the GRIP^▸ (Guide to Railway Investment Projects - Network Rail's process for project management of schemes through development and implementation) process, and I believe the Governments new strategy is the first step towards a new process that will be more about doing rather than thinking.  After all, in lots of cases there is only one option so why do you need an option selection stage.

Lets see how the new strategy pans out.  The industry has 3 months to come up with ideas and the funding to support them.  My money is on Siemens/Alstom/Hitachi funding the completion and expansion of the GWML^▸ (Great Western Main Line) Electrification Network on the basis of a design/build/maintain/service provision contract.