Book Description

Since 2000-01, the Department for Regional Development has provided £155 million for capital investment in the rail network in Northern Ireland. In January 2001, the Department approved a project costing £14.7 million to upgrade the Belfast to Bangor railway line, one of the busiest railway lines in Northern Ireland carrying nearly 2 million passengers a year. However, this NIAO report finds that the project experienced a number of difficulties, resulting in a very significant overspend and late delivery, with a final cost of almost £34 million, and completion in September 2002 delayed by nine months later than planned. The problems were the result of failures in several key areas, and in addition to the increased cost of the project, there is uncertainty as to whether it has delivered all of its intended benefits. The original specification of a 90 mph speed limit was reduced to 70 mph and other works on bridges and sea defences were removed from the contract to reduce costs. The report makes a number of recommendations to improve performance in relation to: economic appraisal; construction procurement and project management; records management; ex-gratia payments to staff; corporate governance; and departmental control of capital projects.