Overview
- The Commons' Public Accounts Committee found the programme is still at an early stage and warned there is a clear risk it cannot be delivered within the announced £45 billion funding cap.
- MPs compared NPR's oversight and decision‑making to failings seen early in HS2 and said using HS2 representatives to help design NPR did not inspire confidence.
- The committee highlighted practical uncertainties about routes, how NPR will fit with local plans, and who will manage delivery of upgrades and new lines.
- The Department for Transport rejected the HS2 comparison, said it accepted the James Stewart Review recommendations, described a disciplined phased approach, and noted Network Rail has started engineering designs.
- Local mayors, MPs and business groups pressed for full delivery, while the PAC warned planning and biodiversity requirements could add significant extra costs and the Treasury and DfT must show how the £45bn cap will be controlled