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£38bn rail revamp 'reset' over costs and delays

A £38 billion five-year government plan to overhaul Britain's railways is being "reset" because it is "costing more and taking longer", Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin has said.

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Network Rail were 'overly optimistic' about rail revamp

Network Rail has said it was "overly optimistic" about the capacity of the company to meet "highly ambitious" five-year rail improvement targets.

It follows the Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin's announcement that a £38 billion plan which includes electrification work on the Midland mainline is being "reset" because it is "costing more and taking longer".

We were overly optimistic about the capacity of our company and our supplier base to step up several gears in order to achieve the plan, especially given the complexities of a network that is at full capacity much of the time.

On the big items like electrification and capital projects, it was always part of the regulatory process that the costs and programme would be revisited as projects became properly defined. Unfortunately when these reviews have occurred, the more detailed project costs have been higher than assumed at the earliest stages of definition. As a result, the total enhancement programme cost now exceeds the available five-year budget. Some projects are also delayed beyond the original dates.

– Network Rail chief executive Mark Carne

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