Railways in Parliament
Compiled by Jon Longman
Value for money
BATH MP Wera Hobhouse asked the Department for Transport for an estimate of the benefit/cost ratio for each new station built and reopened line in each of the last 10 years.
Transport Minister Huw Merriman said:“Benefit Cost Ratios (BCRs) within the economic case are only one element of decision-making on schemes and should be considered alongside the other cases in the five-case business model used in Government (strategic, economic, financial, commercial and management cases). Therefore, we do not routinely make BCRs available.
“In practice, it can take a number of years for long-term demand patterns to emerge for new stations. The DfT and bodies who promote their own schemes have a long standing and established appraisal framework to help scheme promoters forecast passenger demand of new stations and lines.