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Infrastructure and Projects Authority annual report 2022

Infrastructure and Projects Authority annual report 2022 cover

Infrastructure and Projects Authority

Delivery of later phases of the flagship East West Rail scheme, to restore a direct ‘Varsity Line’ rail link between Oxford and Cambridge, has been declared “unachievable” by this key government body.

In its annual report on the Government’s major schemes portfolio for 2021-22, the IPA provides a health rating to some 235 projects (ranging from rail and road to hospitals, housing and defence), with a total life cost of £678 billion.

Although Phase 1 of EWR to rebuild a disused rail corridor between Bicester and Bletchley by 2024 is already under construction, Phases 2 (Bletchley-Bedford) and 3 (Bedford-Cambridge), which remain in the design stage, have now been given red ratings.

It represents a second major blow for the project in less than a month, after Transport Secretary Grant Shapps revealed on July 11 that both phases could soon be scrapped to save some £3.5bn.

In its response to the IPA report, EWR confirmed that the project was “under review”.
 



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