Taxpayers will pay price if intercity trains deal hits buffers

The Public Accounts Committee of MPs said the decision of the Department for Transport (Dft) to buy the trains itself rather than leaving it to rolling stock companies meant taxpayers would pay the price if forecasts of passenger numbers turn out to be wrong.

The deals include the £7.6 billion contract to supply new intercity trains for the East Coast Main Line connecting Yorkshire to London and Edinburgh.

Committee chairman Margaret Hodge said: “The Department has no previous experience of running a procurement of this kind, let alone two with a combined value of £10.5 billion.”

A DfT spokesman said: “The Intercity Express Programme and Thameslink are huge projects that will bring enormous benefits to passengers. Successive Governments have considered how best to deliver these orders and have come to the same conclusion, that Government should lead with expert support and advice from the train operating companies.

“IEP and Thameslink are making excellent progress and are on track to deliver very good value for taxpayers and improved services for passengers. They are also creating thousands of new jobs across the UK rail industry.”

The Intercity Express contract includes a new maintenance depot in Doncaster.