National Audit Office questions value of East West Rail project

National Audit Office questions value of East West Rail project

Posted on Jan 26, 2024 by jsw  | Tags: East West Rail

Bedford Station by M J Richardson

Last October, we released a joint statement with Cambridge Approaches and Stop the Arc Group (STARC) outlining our concerns regarding the cost-effectiveness of East West Rail.  We are pleased to report that the National Audit Office (NAO) Investigation into the East West Rail project (Oxford – Cambridge) also questions the value of the project. The NAO report findings state “East West Rail represents a £6-7 billion investment to support growth in a part of the UK that the government regards as economically important, but it is not yet clear how the benefits of the project will be achieved nor how it aligns to other government plans for growth in the region. As with many transport projects, the rationale for East West Rail does not rest on the strength of the benefit–cost ratio for the project alone – which is poor – but on its wider strategic aim of overcoming constraints to economic growth in the Oxford–Cambridge region” (1).

You can read a press statement by Cambridge Approaches and BFare (Bedford For a Re Consultation) here 

The NAO report can be read here 

(1) Summary findings: concluding comments https://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/investigation-into-the-east-west-rail-project.pdf