Row over rail upgrade

PLANS to electrify the railway line at Uckfield were shelved because work was quoted at more than FIVE TIMES its real cost, it has been claimed.

In July the Strategic Rail Authority said electrifying two lines the Uckfield to Hurst Green and Ashford to Hastings lines would cost nearly 154 million. The plans were put on hold after the SRA said costs would amount to 'nine times the benefits'.

However, the watchdog Rail Passengers Committee for Southern England this week revealed that a firm of railway engineers had submitted a quote at less than one-fifth of that figure.

In an e-mail to the RPC, David Hartland, chief engineer at Brecknell, Willis and Company, said his firm had quoted a total cost of 27 million for both schemes to rail operators Govia two years ago. Mr Hartland said: 'I have been incensed to discover that the SRA has announced that the cost of these two schemes is now 154 million and, after some correspondence between myself and the SRA, they are unable to justify their increase. It makes no sense to me.'

Meanwhile, in a letter to Chris Austin, the SRA's executive director of corporate affairs, RPC chairman Wendy Toms said: 'We understand that Brecknell, Willis are a highly experienced firm, specialising in building "third rail" (electrification of the line from the track, rather than from an overhead cable) both in this country and abroad.

Safety measures

'We are at a loss to understand how two estimates of the costs of these two schemes can come up with such enormously different figures.'

Mrs Toms added that the SRA had declined to provide her committee with a detailed breakdown of the two sets of estimates, but instead had blamed the huge difference on the increased cost of new safety measures and on 'possession' taking over the railway to do engineering work.

She said: 'These two schemes would have meant a properly joined up railway in Kent and Sussex, with through services for passengers on these two lines, instead of having to change from diesel trains on to electric ones, running the risk of missing their connections if their incoming train was late.'

However, SRA spokesman Ceri Evans slammed the RPC's claims as 'wretched propoganda'.

He said: 'We carry out a cost to passenger benefit ratio on all schemes and the cost to benefit ratio on this scheme was nine to one. We are not willing to spend taxpayers' money if the benefit to passengers is not clear.

'Frankly, it's a joke that people can chuck around a number like this. I don't know what you would get for 27 million but you would not get electrification of this line.

'I am sure the RPC means well but cannot put out this irresponsible nonsense if it wants to be taken seriously as a watchdog for passengers.

'The thought that we could be out by a factor of 130m is a nonsense. Wendy Toms really should know better than to promelgate this wretched propoganda.'