Written question asked by Lord Watts (Labour) on Friday, 14 November 2003, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 19 November 2003. It was answered by Tony McNulty (Labour) on Wednesday, 19 November 2003 on behalf of the Department for Transport.

Dept for Transport

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what effect the estimated increase in the costs of modernising will have on the Government's plans for the West Coast Main Line. - Inc figures.

Answer: Mr. Watts: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what effect the estimated increase in the costs of modernising will have on the Government's plans for the West Coast Main Line. [139287] Mr. McNulty: The Strategic Rail Authority's `West Coast Main Line Strategy', published in June 2003, established a robust framework for delivering the project. The Strategy indicated a project cost within a cap of £9.9 billion. Further work is under way to explore the scope for reducing costs. The project outputs are currently on course to be delivered fully by 2007-08.

Secondary information