Inflation, Brexit and the pandemic are the principal reasons for an expected 42% increase in the cost of the South Wales Metro, according to the project team.
The addition of £306.7 million costs to the existing £738m funding (that was confirmed in 2018) takes the total budgeted cost to £1.05 billion.
When completed, it will transform the Core Valley Lines (CVL) into a modern, integrated network of rail, bus and active travel.
In a detailed statement on April 4, Welsh Government-controlled Transport for Wales (TfW) said after an “extensive re-evaluation exercise carried out by the TfW project team and Amey Infrastructure Wales, we now anticipate the final cost of the South Wales Metro project to be circa £1bn”.
To mitigate the extra costs incurred, a series of changes have been made to the scheme.
TfW said: “At the time , no one could have predicted what the next five years would bring.
The unprecedented impact of the pandemic, in addition to the impact of Brexit and ongoing global trends in workforce and building material availability and cost as a result of the war in Ukraine, means we’ve had to adjust the delivery plans and expected final budget of the project.
“Cost increases and project delays are of course disappointing, but not uncommon for a hugely ambitious project of this scale.
“The Metro team has been significantly impacted by programme delays due to the pandemic and much higher inflation pressures which were not foreseen at planning stage.”
Read this article in full in RAIL issue 981 here
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