A one-mile section of HS2’s first completed tunnel beneath ancient woodland near Southam, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire
Campaigners have claimed the UK is spending eight times more on rail and road projects than its European neighbors because of red tape and vehement protests.
A study by Britain Remade found that compared to seven other wealthier countries, Britain is spending on average twice as much on building new railways and a tenth as much per mile of road.
The research examined more than 200 different projects, including from Denmark, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Sweden and Norway.
In the case of the High Speed 2 (HS2) Rail Link, it was found that the UK was spending 8.5 times more than comparable European projects.
Sam Dumitriou, head of policy at Britain Remade, said: “When the UK builds infrastructure, whether it is railways, underground systems, trams or roads, we pay more – in some cases much more – than other countries in Europe. Are.
“Why so? One reason is that we give too much power to people who object to projects and end up in a situation where the plans get gilded.
“The other thing is that we don’t use ‘off the shelf’ designs as much as we should. And the planning system requires contractors to do an enormous amount of work.”
In one example, Britain Remade examined how France has been able to build 21 new tram systems in the last quarter while the UK has completed only a few.
Based on cost, tramways in France ranged from £29 million per mile in Besançon in 2014 to £60 million per mile in Orléans in 2012.
Costs were kept to a minimum in Besançon due to the use of repeatable designs and the lack of adaptation for tramcars.
By comparison, the second phase of Nottingham’s tramway was the cheapest in the UK at £66 million per mile, rising to £252 million per mile for Manchester’s second city crossing.
Meanwhile, Britain Remade praised London’s Elizabeth Line as a “huge success” in terms of passenger numbers, but noted that the £18.2 billion inflation-adjusted price tag made it “among the world’s most expensive subway systems”. one of the world’s largest cities”, at £1.4 billion per mile. ,
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and then Transport Secretary Grant Shapps celebrate the £1.5 billion Northern line extension following its completion – David Mirzoff/PA Wire
The recent extension of the Northern line to Battersea was less expensive but still cost £1.5 billion, or £743m per mile.
In contrast, the 81-mile metro network in Madrid costs only £68m per mile.
The first phase of HS2 will also cost at least £53.1bn, or £396m per mile, while the high speed rail link between Paris and Strasbourg will cost £31m per mile, adjusted for inflation.
The UK has also paid far more for some road projects.
Mr Dumitriou pointed to the Lower Thames Crossing scheme, which aims to improve transport between Essex and Kent by tunneling under the Thames and is set to cost £9bn, or £700m per mile.
Despite spending more than £250m on five consultations and a 63,000-page planning application, the plan has yet to be approved.
“In effect, a quarter of a billion was spent asking permission from one branch of government to the other without any guarantee of success,” Mr. Dumitriou wrote in a research note published online.
Norway’s Laerdal tunnel, which is the longest road tunnel in the world, cost only £140m, adjusted for inflation, or £9m per mile, he said.
The A14 from Cambridge to Huntingdon also cost £1.6bn for 21 miles, while Norway’s Ryfast and Eiganes tunnels, which were 14 miles long but dug through solid rock to 290m under the sea, cost only £700m.
Mr Dumitriou said the UK could reduce infrastructure costs by using more standardized designs and minimizing the use of expensive facilities such as tunnels, bridges and viaducts as much as possible.
He said the “stop-start” approach to major projects made it difficult for the UK to retain the skills and experience of those who had worked on major projects.
