Government’s handling of an initiative to modernise the Great Western Railway has been described as “a case study in how not to manage a major programme” by the National Audit Office today.

A new report from the office highlights that the estimated cost of upgrading the railway has increased by £2.1Bn since 2013 and currently stands at £5.6Bn. Furthermore there are delays to the electrification of the route of at least 18 to 36 months, which are expected to cost the taxpayer up to £330M.

“The modernisation of the route has potential to deliver significant benefits for passengers,” commented the head of the National Audit Office Amyas Morse. But he criticised the Department for Transport over a failure to plan and manage the individual projects that now make up the Great Western Route Modernisation programme in a sufficiently joined up way. This, combined with weaknesses in Network Rail’s management of the infrastructure programme, has led to additional costs for the taxpayer, he said.

He added: “It is encouraging that since 2015 the Department and Network Rail have a better grip and put in place structures to manage the programme in an integrated way. However significant challenges to the timetable still remain and there is more to do to achieve value for money.”

In 2015 Network Rail re-planned the programme after it became clear that costs were increasing and the proposed schedule could not be met. The National Audit Office now calls for the value for money of the modernisation programme to be reassessed and the extent of electrification reconsidered.

Chair of the Committee of Public Accounts Meg Hillier said: “The Department for Transport and Network Rail’s failure to integrate crucial elements of the modernisation into one programme from the start has cost passengers and taxpayers’ time and money.”

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “We are committed to improving services for passengers on the Great Western line while getting the maximum value for the taxpayer.

“This report is clear about both the difficulties encountered by this ambitious project, and the improvements made by Network Rail and the Department to manage this programme to make sure passengers get the improvements they want.”

A spokesperson for Network Rail said: “This is the biggest upgrade to the Great Western mainline since it was built 175 years ago. The National Audit Office report looks back at some of the historical concerns which were addressed in our chairman’s review in 2015. The project continues to be challenging and complex but we are making good progress this year.”

(Photo: Network Rail)