On the basis of an item in recently published minutes of a Network Rail board meeting, the Evening Post headlined yesterday's edition "New hope for electric rail line". The board had been told that the unit cost of the projected electrification between Northampton and Sheffield was below European rates on a like-for-like basis. Since the ostensible reason for the majority Conservative government cancelling the electrification initiated by the coalition (a decision announced after a general election, it should be remembered) was the cost of the work, the Post draws the conclusion that there is now no objection to the project being resumed.
However, Grayling's excuse always seemed specious. Yes, there had been cost overruns on the English section, but these were largely due to a faulty strategy which had been abandoned and there was no reason to believe they would be repeated in South Wales. There must have been other reasons for the cancellation.
By all means let us put pressure on the current Secretary of State for Transport (Grant Shapps) using this latest information as a lever, but remember this i the Department which drastically pruned the HS2 project. I am not getting my hopes up.
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