The costs of a rail bridge which was paid for by the tax-payer and ran nine months over schedule are inaccessible to the public.
A new passenger bridge and lift was opened at Twyford train station on 15th November 2009 providing much needed access for disabled people to the station's platforms. The construction was paid for by a Government loan under the Access for All initiative, construction was started in July 2008 and was scheduled to be completed on March 2009.
I asked Network Rail for information on the tendering process for the construction and whether it ran over the originally estimated budget of £3.6m. They responded that as a private company they do not have to release information of that nature to the public. I then asked the Department of Transport the same questions.
Martin Holt of the Department for Transport said: "Network Rail manage the delivery of the main Access for All programme and appoint contractors for each project in the programme using a competitive tendering process, and so I hope you will appreciate that much of the detailed information about delivery of construction works on site is held by Network Rail and their contractors, not the Department".
Network Rail is not currently covered by the Freedom of Information Act and as the Government does not seem to record how they spend taxpayers money, they can carry out public works without public scrutiny.
Katherine Gundersen, Research Officer for The Campaign for Freedom of Information, said: "Unfortunately Network Rail are not currently covered by the Freedom of Information Act. There is a provision in Section 5 of the Act for the Secretary of State for Justice to designate additional public authorities by Order. To be capable of being designated under this section, bodies must either (a) exercise functions of a public nature or (b) provide a service under contract with a public authority whose provision is a function of that authority. "
Network Rail is not currently covered by the Freedom of Information Act and as the Government does not seem to record how they spend taxpayers money, they can carry out public works without public scrutiny.
Katherine Gundersen, Research Officer for The Campaign for Freedom of Information, said: "Unfortunately Network Rail are not currently covered by the Freedom of Information Act. There is a provision in Section 5 of the Act for the Secretary of State for Justice to designate additional public authorities by Order. To be capable of being designated under this section, bodies must either (a) exercise functions of a public nature or (b) provide a service under contract with a public authority whose provision is a function of that authority. "
"Not that long ago the government consulted on whether it should use this power to bring additional bodies under FOI. The Campaign's response to the consultation called for Network Rail to be covered".
Despite Network Rail seeming to fit the criteria of Section 5 of the act, it was not brought under FOI following that review. For now public money can be spent on the maintenance of the railways without any public accountability.
Despite Network Rail seeming to fit the criteria of Section 5 of the act, it was not brought under FOI following that review. For now public money can be spent on the maintenance of the railways without any public accountability.
Network Rail may have to perform further maintenance at Twyford due to large puddles of water collecting on the steps of the newly unveiled bridge. These seem to be a health and safety problem inadvertently left by the contractors who constructed the bridge and will most likely need to be levelled out.
Will this work be conducted by the same contractors? Will it be added to the original costs of the construction? Will the work be paid for by taxpayers?
All of these question would yield interesting answers but by law Network Rail do not have to answer them.
