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STRUCTURES & INFRASTRUCTURE
CLIVE KESSELL
RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE
Strategy and Vision
R
ail Engineer participated in a recent online conference organised by the Westminster Energy, Environment and Transport Forum entitled ‘The Future of Rail Infrastructure in the UK’. With some high profile speakers involved, this was a good opportunity to gauge whether the insight we gather through normal media channels mirrored those being put forward here.
Rail Engineer | Issue 189 | Mar-Apr 2021
Setting the scene When considering the delivery of infrastructure work across all sectors, the UK experience is mixed, so says Jon Loveday from the Infrastructure and Projects Authority that reports directly to the Cabinet Office. Often seen as slow to progress, with cost and timescale overruns occurring regularly, there is an urgent need to do better. But there are notable exceptions; the A14 widening was completed on time and under budget.
PHOTO: CRAIG GRANT
Chaired firstly by Angela Richardson, the MP for Guildford and Vice Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on South Western Railway, and then secondly by Lord Tony Berkeley, well known in railway circles and previously the Chair of the Rail Freight Group, the subjects presented ranged from grandiose plans that take some believing in the present economic climate through to practical assessments on how major projects might be progressed more efficiently.
The projection of work is huge - some £400bn covering 200 projects - and guidance will be given on finance, speed, delivery, capability and market capacity. There is a need to guide government ministers on how to work with industry. An assessment as to which projects should continue, including how funding will be arranged, will lead to a pipeline for upcoming work. The Rail Plan is expected to emerge early in 2021, taking account of issues in the supply chain and the availability of labour where the small surplus seen currently but will soon be in deficit. A shortage of 60,000 engineers is anticipated - a particular challenge in the context of the government’s ‘build back better, greener and faster’ agenda.
