OFFICIALS expressed private doubts about the Scottish Government's ability to pay for its ambitious five-year programme of rail improvements before cuts were announced in summer, a report has confirmed.
A review of the flagship Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement Programme (EGIP) by transport consultancy Jacobs was prompted by internal discussions at Transport Scotland over the ability to fund the full Scottish rail programme between 2014 and 2019, the report revealed.
Its publication prompted angry exchanges between MSPs in Holyrood during a debate on rail funding in which Labour accused the SNP of reneging on a manifesto commitment made in 2011 to fund the EGIP programme in full.
Transport Minister Keith Brown conceded that funding had played a role in the decision to cut £350 million from the programme, but challenged Labour to say where it would find the additional money.
The £1 billion scheme was intended to increase frequency on the main Edinburgh-Glasgow route and electrify much of central Scotland's railway, but will now provide longer trains, instead of more frequent ones, with electrification of routes to Stirling and Dunblane now deferred until a later phase.
The report said concern about funding for the five-year period to 2019 – known as Control Period 5 (CP5) – had prompted the review.
It said: "Transport Scotland indicated that internal discussions had taken place about the ability to fund the full Scottish rail programme through CP5 and the Government wanted to take the opportunity to conduct a governance review of the scheme.
"This review would be independent and consider whether this is the right scheme to progress especially given the backdrop of the cost of rail in Scotland."
The Scottish Government insisted the full EGIP programme had not been cut but was being phased in over a longer period.
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