Muhammad Haque to railnews.co.uk
"Why are you continuing to make a special plea for 'Crossrail'? After doing this for years without carrying a single item of credible evidence to justify the diversion of £Billions of public money towards it, don't you think it reasonable and fair to ask that you produced evidence that shows that the additional costs, debts and diversion of scarce public paid for resources are credibly outweighed by the verifiably predictable and guaranteeable economic and social returns on the scam? I have pointed out to you a variety of external and non-partisan sources that have all cast doubt on the veracity of the Crossrail scam. You have chosen to suppress that evidence. How can that have been a service to transparency and ethical debate on an issue that involves the spending of £Billions of public money – borrowed a few times over and lasting for decades at the expense of ordinary people? Whoever may be in office at the DfT must show due rigour in assessing the priorities and regardless of my party political and ideological distance from any incumbent there, I think that they should be allowed to apply the principles of democratic answerability for their allocations of resources in the name of the UK public objectively, rationally and above all as based on and as justified by overwhelming evidence. You are seeking to deny them that democratic option, if your treatment of Phillip Hammond’s move is a reliable guide of your own purpose. Why?
UNquote Muhammad Haque to railnews.co.uk Friday04 June 2010
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Hammond orders review of new trains plans
Posted: 4th June 2010 | No Comments
Philip Hammond: NAO report may have reinforced his doubts
THE transport secretary has ordered a comprehensive review of rolling stock orders, casting fresh doubt on plans for Thameslink and even Crossrail.
At the same time, the National Audit Office has published a report which is critical of the soaring cost of new trains.
Philip Hammond is already making cuts of £683 million in the Department for Transport budget in the current year, as part of general departmental economies ordered by the Chancellor which are intended to save a total of £6.2 billion.
But the DfT share of these economies is not nearly enough to account for rolling stock orders, which include the vehicles outstanding under the High Level Output Specification (or HLOS) as well as the fleets for Thameslink and later Crossrail. The total cost of these orders would have been at least £4 billion, with new rail vehicles now typically costing at least £1.5 million each.
The ambitious proposals for a next-generation intercity fleet had already been put on hold by the previous Labour government, and the chances of these plans being revived are now looking very slim.
Mr Hammond said Labour's plan for more trains would now be 'rigorously reassessed', to see if they still offered value for money for taxpayers.
"Since that announcement was made in 2007 the growth in passenger numbers has not materialised and costs have soared, leaving Labour's plans in tatters," he explained.
The transport secretary's doubts appear to have been reinforced by today's report from the National Audit Office, 'Increasing passenger rail capacity', which says that the predicted growth in passenger numbers has not materialised because of the economic downturn.
Mr Hammond added that ""significantly fewer new trains will be delivered for the money committed than were promised to passengers".
At the same time, the National Audit Office has published a report which is critical of the soaring cost of new trains.
Philip Hammond is already making cuts of £683 million in the Department for Transport budget in the current year, as part of general departmental economies ordered by the Chancellor which are intended to save a total of £6.2 billion.
But the DfT share of these economies is not nearly enough to account for rolling stock orders, which include the vehicles outstanding under the High Level Output Specification (or HLOS) as well as the fleets for Thameslink and later Crossrail. The total cost of these orders would have been at least £4 billion, with new rail vehicles now typically costing at least £1.5 million each.
The ambitious proposals for a next-generation intercity fleet had already been put on hold by the previous Labour government, and the chances of these plans being revived are now looking very slim.
Mr Hammond said Labour's plan for more trains would now be 'rigorously reassessed', to see if they still offered value for money for taxpayers.
"Since that announcement was made in 2007 the growth in passenger numbers has not materialised and costs have soared, leaving Labour's plans in tatters," he explained.
The transport secretary's doubts appear to have been reinforced by today's report from the National Audit Office, 'Increasing passenger rail capacity', which says that the predicted growth in passenger numbers has not materialised because of the economic downturn.
Mr Hammond added that ""significantly fewer new trains will be delivered for the money committed than were promised to passengers".
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