East-West Rail: Part of £5bn scheme 'appears to be unachievable'

The East-West Rail link is designed to link Oxford with Cambridge

A £5bn rail project "appears to be unachievable" in parts, a government report said.

The East-West Rail scheme will create a link from Oxford to Cambridge, with services being introduced in stages.

Stage two, between Oxford and Bedford, and stage three, between Bedford and Cambridge, have "major issues", the Infrastructure and Projects Authority said.

A spokesman for East-West Rail said the delivery programme was "under review".

Work on the project has already begun, including building a new station at Bletchley in Buckinghamshire

The authority recently released its annual report, which provides "a snapshot of the delivery of the government's 235 most ambitious, complex and innovative projects".

In the report, it rated the East-West Rail connection stages two and three as "red".

A red rating indicated "successful delivery of the project appears to be unachievable", the report said.

"There are major issues with project definition, schedule, budget, quality and/or benefits delivery, which at this stage do not appear to be manageable or resolvable.

"The project may need re-scoping and/or its overall viability reassessed."

Stage two involves predominantly upgrading existing infrastructure, between Bletchley and Bedford, to allow services between Oxford and Bedford.

Stage three involves building a new line, between Bedford and Cambridge, to extend the railway and facilitate services from Oxford to Cambridge.

The Bicester to Bletchley section is currently under construction

The East-West Rail Company believes the rail link will provide a £1.1bn boost to the economy.

Work began on the 21-mile (33km) £760m Bicester to Bletchley stretch of the project in 2020.

Last month, East-West Rail Company Alliance director Mark Cuzner said it was "on programme" to finish in 2024.

Regarding the report, a spokesman for East-West Rail said: "Developing a project like East-West Rail is an iterative process and we will continue to keep the business case and delivery programme under review.

"We have already been refreshing the business case and testing the options for the future development of the scheme.

"We anticipate once that work is complete, we will update our programme and improve on this rating."

A spokesman for the Department for Transport said: "This project is in the early development stages and costs are still being determined.

"As the scheme progresses we will continue to ensure it represents value for money and delivers benefits to the region."