Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Ely Rail Capacity Enhancement: Benefit-Cost Ratio

Thursday 13 October 2022 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Ministerial assessment of the benefit-cost ratio for Ely area capacity enhancement is based on Network Rail's calculations and is considered robust.
  • James Wild highlighted the scheme's potential to increase capacity by 30%, supporting more passenger and freight services.
  • The scheme's total cost is up to 500 million, requiring significant public funding.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 James Wild Con North West Norfolk
Transport
Context

The question pertains to an assessment of the benefit-cost ratio for a specific project in the Ely area capacity enhancement under the rail network enhancement pipeline.

Question

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the accuracy of the benefit-cost ratio in the outline business case submitted by Network Rail for the Ely area capacity enhancement under the rail network enhancement pipeline.

Answer from Kevin Foster

The benefit-cost ratio for the Ely area capacity enhancement was calculated and assured by Network Rail as part of the development of the outline business case for the scheme. We have no reason to doubt the robustness of the benefit-cost ratio.

Answered
Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)

Get updates like this by email
Q2 James Wild Con North West Norfolk
Transport
Context

The question concerns the Ely scheme capacity enhancement project, which has been backed by MPs across the east of England and is supported by the Prime Minister. The project aims to increase rail capacity by 30%.

Question

I welcome the Minister to his place, and indeed the new Front-Bench team. The project is backed by MPs across the east of England because it would increase capacity by 30%, enabling more passenger and freight services and delivering a major boost to growth. Given the overwhelming economic benefits that it offers, will the Government ensure that this much-delayed project, for which my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has been campaigning for more than a decade, is now fast-tracked and moves to the next phase?

Answer from Kevin Foster

My hon. Friend is a strong champion for the Ely scheme, and I recognise the potential for the benefits that he highlighted. It is, though, worth noting that the scheme would require significant public funding with a total cost of up to £500 million, so we need to consider that as part of reviewing patterns of rail travel post the pandemic. We will therefore seek to provide as much clarity as possible when we publish an update to the rail network enhancements pipeline.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific request to fast-track and move the project to the next phase was not directly addressed.

Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)

Get updates like this by email