Labour’s Shadow Transport Secretary, Louise Haigh has appointed
industry heavyweight Juergen Maier CBE to lead an expert review
aimed at delivering rail and transport infrastructure fit for the
century ahead.
The independent review, driven by experts and rail infrastructure
innovators, will explore how rail infrastructure delivery can be
better managed to boost jobs, improve value for money, and drive
investment and economic growth across the country.
Launching the expert review, Haigh will warn “a lost decade of
Conservative delay, mismanagement and broken promises has seen
costs soar, growth and investment harmed, and damaged confidence
in Britain’s transport infrastructure.”
Chaos and indecision over HS2 led to costs soaring and ambition
slashed, while years of failure on rail infrastructure
upgrades such as the Midland Mainline has robbed communities of
the benefits of better services.
Chaired by former Siemens CEO Juergen Maier CBE, the independent
review will draw on a wealth of industry expertise in transport
infrastructure and urban transport delivery, business and growth,
to learn lessons and present recommendations on delivering
transport infrastructure better, faster and more cost
effectively.
The review will look at how you to transform the delivery of
transport infrastructure of a decade of failure and therefore
unlock growth and connectivity to support a strong, sustainable
economy.
The review will make recommendations to Labour’s top team on key
changes which could be made to the planning system; the capacity
of public bodies to effectively deliver infrastructure; the
opportunities to unlock wider growth around projects, deliver
value for money, and how to boost the British supply chain and
attract private investment.
Labour’s Shadow Transport Secretary, , said:
“Britain has immense potential, but thirteen years of
failure has held our country back.
“A lost decade of Conservative delay, mismanagement and broken
rail promises has seen public money wasted, growth and investment
held back, and damaged confidence in Britain’s transport
infrastructure.
“Britain deserves much better than this.
“Labour are serious about learning the lessons from the
staggering failure of the last decade and will draw from the
brightest and best from around the world to learn lessons and
share expertise on delivering transport infrastructure fit for
the century ahead.
“We do not accept the managed decline of our railways and our
vital infrastructure. The country that gave the world the
railways should still be leading the world; under Labour we will
make sure it does.”
Review chair Juergen Maier CBE said:
“There is no doubt that poor quality rail infrastructure is
holding Britain back, hampering productivity, and deterring
business investment.
“To turbocharge growth, quality infrastructure is not a
nice-to-have, it’s a must-have in this fast-moving new industrial
age.
“That’s why I welcome Labour’s focus on learning lessons from the
last decade, and I am delighted to lead this review.
“The more all political parties focus on the practical solutions
needed, the better for the country.”
Ends
Notes to editors
Experts on the panel will include:
- Bob Morris, urban transport industry expert
- Allan Cook CBE, former Chair of HS2 and Atkins and current
Chair of the Materials Innovation Leadership Group for the Henry
Royce Institute, as well as Chair of the Strategic Advisory Board
for Civil Engineering at Heriot Watt University
- Nicola Smith, Head of Economics at the Trade Union Congress
- Emma Porter, Managing Director of Story Plant Limited
- Henri Murison, Chief Executive, Northern Powerhouse
Partnership
- Laurent Troger, former CEO of Bombardier Transportation,
strategic advisor in public transportation
The review will look at:
Changes which could be made to the planning system.
Other hurdles in planning, legislation or policy that hinder
infrastructure delivery and different consenting strategies.
Clarity and certainty of policy and the reliability and
consistency of funding and the infrastructure pipeline.
The capacity of public bodies to effectively partner, procure and
deliver infrastructure and provide value for money, learning from
international examples.
How to aid more efficient and resilient local supply
chains.
The role of devolution and the benefits or developing sustainable
partnerships.
The opportunities to unlock growth around major projects, and
alternative models to fund stations including the use of
development corporations and leveraging investment, and
co-location of other infrastructure.
Conservative failure:
The Midland Mainline electrification – the only mainline in the
country still reliant on diesel trains - was cancelled three
times and won’t be delivered until 2030.
And Conservative mismanagement and indecision on HS2, now the
most expensive railway line in the world, has left an abandoned
building site in Euston, seen Yorkshire and Manchester cut out
altogether, and billions of taxpayer money wasted.
The UK has the highest high speed rail construction costs, per
mile, in the world. (Source:https://transitcosts.com/high-speed-rail-preliminary-data-analysis/ )
The UK has the highest average metro construction costs, per
mile, in Europe. Only Qatar and New Zealand have higher costs.
(Source: https://transitcosts.com/new-data/ )
Interaction with other reviews:
- This transport infrastructure review will run alongside the
major projects and infrastructure delivery review being
undertaken by Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury on behalf of the Shadow
Chancellor, .
-
and recently launched the
British Infrastructure Council, a group of senior leaders from
UK-based and international investment firms, tasked with
looking at how to tackle infrastructure delivery challenges by
working in partnership with the private sector to unlock
capital.
