It was announced today the cost of the Northumberland Line have increased. You might think we’d be jumping in to criticise but actually no: increasing costs are an inevitable consequence of project delays – heavy machinery on hire for longer and of course work teams employed for longer. The Northumberland Line construction does seem to have been exceptionally unlucky with unexploded bombs, mine underworkings, water mains found where not expected, and other water services not actually being where records show they should be. And in my imaginary currency of A19 roundabout upgrades, where 1 major roundabout upgrade equals £50m, the cost of the project increases from 6 roundabouts to 6 and a half. That’s not to say there aren’t lessons to be learned from the Northumberland Line costs. SENRUG has its own views as to what’s caused costs to rise and has offered to participate in the post project review with a guarantee of confidentiality. For the moment however, we continue to celebrate the success of passenger numbers being double the forecasts, and are hopeful for an announcement re the opening date of the next station (Blyth-Bebside) soon.
