Capacity and connectivity cannot be materially improved on the rail network north of Birmingham without further infrastructure investment says a report out this morning
The National Infrastructure Commission,A Government Advisory body says that failure to go further, faster over the next five years on plans for infrastructure delivery could constrain economic growth and threaten climate targets,
In its report it says that while funding diverted from the cancelled northern leg of HS2 has been earmarked for local transport budgets, but without a detailed replacement plan for improving train services in the North and Midlands the decision risks future capacity challenges
The report calls for a concerted catch up programme accelerating policy implementation and delivery to ensure the country’s infrastructure is fit for the future.
In its recent National Infrastructure Assessment, the Commission calculated that public investment in infrastructure will need to reach around £30 bn a year over the coming decades (from around £20 bn a year in the past decade), alongside an uplift in private investment to around £50 bn a year.
Writing in the report’s foreword, Commission Chair Sir John Armitt bills the next five years as a “a critical period for making decisions on things that are of immediate concern to the public – the three Ps of prices, potholes and pollution”.
report also includes new analysis on the railway network in the North and Midlands in light of the decision last autumn to cancel work on High Speed 2 north of Birmingham.
Offering an initial assessment of how current plans will impact connectivity and capacity, the Commission notes “government’s plans might address a number of issues, but greater specificity is needed regarding the scope, cost, benefits and schedule for the schemes individually and as a package”.
The Commission believes “existing infrastructure is a constraint on future passenger and freight growth. Capacity and connectivity cannot be materially improved north of Birmingham without further infrastructure investment.”
To enable passenger growth in the future, the report says, “a ‘do nothing’ scenario north of the proposed [Handsacre junction] is not sustainable”, while also nothing that major improvements to both inter-urban transport and local transport networks are affordable within indicative spending limits set for the Commission by government.
