East Coast Main Line upgrade postponed

Feb 27 2010 by Alastair Craig, The Journal

HOPES for 500 North East jobs and a faster rail link to London appeared dashed last night as a £7.5bn overhaul of the East Coast Main Line was postponed.

The Department for Transport yesterday shelved a planned investment to replace the ageing Intercity 125 fleet – which date back to the 1970s – with a new generation of Super Express trains.

Transport Secretary Lord Adonis revealed the 30-year procurement programme had run into difficulties and was the subject of a financial review.

The environmentally-friendly trains would have shaved 10 minutes off journey times between Newcastle and Kings Cross station and were expected to be rolled out in 2013.

But Lord Adonis said it was “inappropriate” to enter into the contract in the run-up to a General Election and has now ordered an independent review of the value for money of the Intercity programme.

Building the new carriages would have created 500 UK jobs and North East Minister Nick Brown had been fighting for the region to house the manufacturing centre for the trains.

The disused Tyne Yard in Lamesley, Gateshead, had been lined up as one of the contenders to deliver the contract, alongside rival factories in Ashby de la Zouch, in Leicestershire, and Sheffield.

As recently as last week, as the Prime Minister and his cabinet visited the North East, it was believed an announcement on the contract winners was imminent.

But Mr Brown, MP for Newcastle East and Wallsend, said last night: “I am disappointed that the decision has had to have been delayed due to the forthcoming general election, but I am confident that the North East is still the front runner for securing the manufacturing part of the work.”

The postponement comes two months after The Journal revealed that DfT ministers had examined the cost of dumping plans for new East Coast trains and keeping the decades-old fleet running beyond 2019.

Lord Adonis said that good progress had been made, including the announcement of Agility Trains, led by Japanese engineering giant Hitachi, as preferred bidder in February 2009.

But he added: “Over the course of the procurement there has been a reduction in the capacity of the debt market to support the transaction as originally envisaged, and passenger growth has also slowed.

In order to replace Britain’s fleet of Intercity 125 trains and to improve journey times and capacity, the Government began the Intercity Express Programme procurement in 2007.

Lord Adonis added: “The negotiations are for a contract of nearly 30 years, a multi-billion pound spend over the course of many Parliaments. In all the circumstances, the Government does not believe it would be appropriate to enter into this particular contract in the immediate run up to a General Election.”

A spokeswoman for Agility Trains said the consortium remained confident that the project would go ahead after the general election expected in May.