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Commons ready to look into delay to multi-modal transport studies
15:02 11 Sep 2002
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by Carol Millett
The government's multi-modal transport studies are to come under the critical eye of the House of Commons transport committee in response to rising concern that the studies are delaying the 10-year transport plan.
The committee's inquiry will scrutinise the progress of the studies, and assess how realistic their recommendations are. It will examine how well the studies mesh with the government's 10-year plan and the Strategic Rail Authority's (SRA) strategic plan. The inquiry will also look at what political, financial and planning barriers there are to carrying out the studies and implementing their recommendations.
Two studies are already well behind schedule, including one on the M25. An insider on the studies told CJ: "There has been some slippage. One of these is the M25, which is proving to be a big headache for government."
Edmund King, executive director of the RAC Foundation, welcomed the inquiry.
He said: "There are a number of problems with the multi-modal studies which need to be addressed urgently, particularly the length of time it is taking for these studies to complete and for their recommendations to be acted upon. The sheer number of authorities and agencies involved in these studies makes the process very cumbersome. In one study, for example, we know of 29 agencies involved, making it incredibly complex."
King added that targets set for the rail sector by these studies had been overtaken by events. He said: "We understand that the SRA has dismissed as undeliverable the majority of proposals for rail coming from these studies because of the mess the railways are in at the moment. So it will have to go back to the drawing board on that, which will result in yet further delay."
A third issue is the multiple layers of approval that the studies' recommendations have to pass through.
The transport committee is calling for interested parties to submit their views on the progress of the government's multi-modal transport studies by 4 October.
The government's multi-modal transport studies are to come under the critical eye of the House of Commons transport committee in response to rising concern that the studies are delaying the 10-year transport plan.
The committee's inquiry will scrutinise the progress of the studies, and assess how realistic their recommendations are. It will examine how well the studies mesh with the government's 10-year plan and the Strategic Rail Authority's (SRA) strategic plan. The inquiry will also look at what political, financial and planning barriers there are to carrying out the studies and implementing their recommendations.
Two studies are already well behind schedule, including one on the M25. An insider on the studies told CJ: "There has been some slippage. One of these is the M25, which is proving to be a big headache for government."
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Edmund King, executive director of the RAC Foundation, welcomed the inquiry.
He said: "There are a number of problems with the multi-modal studies which need to be addressed urgently, particularly the length of time it is taking for these studies to complete and for their recommendations to be acted upon. The sheer number of authorities and agencies involved in these studies makes the process very cumbersome. In one study, for example, we know of 29 agencies involved, making it incredibly complex."
King added that targets set for the rail sector by these studies had been overtaken by events. He said: "We understand that the SRA has dismissed as undeliverable the majority of proposals for rail coming from these studies because of the mess the railways are in at the moment. So it will have to go back to the drawing board on that, which will result in yet further delay."
A third issue is the multiple layers of approval that the studies' recommendations have to pass through.
The transport committee is calling for interested parties to submit their views on the progress of the government's multi-modal transport studies by 4 October.
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