Rees defends underground plans

Marvin Rees has defended his plans to build an underground railway network expected to cost between £7bn and £18bn.

The mayor of Bristol said he would carry on pushing for his mass transit system until he was “definitively told a business case doesn’t stack up”.

On Friday, the Bristol region’s political leaders are expected to confirm whether they will spend a further £13.6m on drawing up options for a future underground network.

A new website has also been set up which appears to be planned for an upcoming public consultation.

In February, a leaked report revealed that building four new lines, some of which would go underground, could cost £18n. Rees rejected this estimate and claimed that his plans would instead only cost £7bn.

Marvin Rees’ term as mayor of Bristol is ending in May 2024 – photo: Bristol City Council

The mayor has now faced questions about whether he should continue to push the hugely expensive project.

During a member forum meeting at City Hall, Rees said that “we should ask for the best for Bristol”.

Mark Weston, leader of Bristol’s Conservative group of councillors, said: “Considering the recent costs contained within the leaked report from WECA, will any of the £13.6m still be looking at mass transit options that include underground elements?

“Considering the £18bn price tag that was mentioned in the leaked underground report, and considering the fact that the CRSTS (City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement) is our largest transport grant that I think I’ve ever seen, certainly in my 17 years as councillor – and that’s £500m – is it actually still feasible to be pushing for a mass transit system that costs 36 times that level?”

The CRSTS, given by the government to the West of England Combined Authority, covers a whole range of upgrades to the region’s transport infrastructure. This includes improving the rail network, buses, cycling lanes and pedestrian routes.

So far, the West of England has already approved £1.8m to spend on drawing up plans for a mass transit system in the region, including underground railway routes.

This would likely mean four key lines running to Bath, Bristol Airport, Emersons Green and Cribbs Causeway.

Orange routes indicate what lines could run partly underground – image: Bristol City Council

On Friday, the West of England Combined Authority committee will meet in public to discuss a raft of new plans, including how to invest millions of pounds on several new projects.

And £13,639,000 is earmarked in the combined authority’s investment fund programme to develop a full business case for the underground project, called Future4West.

Rees said: “We have a committee meeting on Friday and what happens to that £13.6m will be confirmed in that committee meeting.

“There will be more conversations around mass transit systems as the week goes on, I’m sure.

“While we can talk about the cost, I think this is also about really taking the city seriously. Andy Burnham (Labour mayor of Greater Manchester) is not baulking at HS2, and I understand that the new Green councillor (Patrick McAllister) is a supporter of HS2 also.

“Tracy Babin (Labour mayor of West Yorkshire) is talking about a mass transit system and Gloucester is talking about a mass transit system.

“Newcastle has one. £19bn was the cost of one line (the Elizabeth Line) in London. If other places are asking for the best for their populations, I think we should ask for the best for ours.”

Liverpool Street station on London’s newly opened Elizabeth Line – photo: Transport for London

A new website has been created for the Future4West project, which appears to be planned for an upcoming public consultation.

Legally the West of England would need to consult the public on various options for the mass transit plans.

The website is hosted by a company called Participatr, which carries out public consultations on major infrastructure projects. But currently the website is not publicly accessible, and users need a password to access it.

Rees added: “When we’re dealing with this scale of infrastructure delivery, it’s not all about a blank public cheque.

“It’s not that Bristol City Council will pay for whatever the end cost turns out to be, or even the combined authority.

“This would be about an enabling investment from the public sector, and then making the case for the private sector to partner with that.

“We should pursue the business case until we are definitively told that it does not stack up. And as yet we haven’t found that.”

Main photo: Bristol Film Office

Read next:

• How would you improve transport in Bristol?
• Bristol underground would cost £18bn, secret report reveals
• Metro mayor says Bristol will never get an underground
• 10 Questions: Marvin Rees – ‘I’m Bristol’s most transparent person’

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