Underground feasibility reports released by Rees likely to be ‘inaccurate’

More details have been released about plans for Bristol’s underground network, featuring three or four lines and costing some £5bn.

But despite two feasibility reports from two different companies now being published by Bristol mayor Marvin Rees, the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) say that the reports are likely to be “out of date and inaccurate”.

The two reports published by Rees are a Bristol City Council-commissioned report from 2017 and a WECA-commissioned report from 2019, with the latter remaining in draft form.

In an email from September to investigative journalist Joanna Booth, WECA said that the release of feasibility reports into the public domain – as Rees has now done via his mayoral blog – “would not only provide out of date and inaccurate information to the public, it would have a detrimental impact on the current work being undertaken to take the project to the next stage of works”.

Regardless of the risks and inaccuracies, Rees says that “there can then be no excuse for continuing to talk down our city and its ambitions. With the work already done and the next phase in progress, there can be no excuse for failure.”

In their underground metro pre-feasibility study from October 2017, CH2M and Steer Davies Gleave estimate that the project needs to have a budget allocated of £4.3bn.

Construction for each line is expected to take around seven to eight years, with tunnelling expected to take approximately 30 months for each line at an average rate of 80 metres per week.

Jacobs Steer’s report from March 2019 estimates that the capital costs for four lines using Docklands Light Railway-style technology is £4.75bn.

These are the routes for the four underground sections of line from Jacobs Steer:

CH2M and Steer Davies Gleave’s report says that as much as 75 per cent of a line would be underground.

Unlike many of the stations on the newly opened Elizabeth Line in London, the report says that “it is assumed that most stations will be fairly simple in design and constructed at sites which require minimal demolition and set up works”

The initial metro fare has been estimated to be £2, as a flat rate for all trips across the network and across the day.

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Read more: Building an underground railway will make cycling in Bristol safer

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In his recent state of the city address, Rees said that £15m will soon be spent to take Bristol’s mass transit system “to the next stage”, although it remains unclear how this money will be spent.

In his speech, he said: “Overground and underground networks are fast, efficient, low carbon transport systems. They are essential for a modern, crowded city. Bristolians have waited long enough.

“There cannot be any U-turns, no shying away from the challenge of delivery for those who come next, be they Bristol councillors or the combined authority.

“We know what needs to happen. It’s now there for you to complete it.”

Liverpool Street station on London’s newly opened Elizabeth Line – photo: Transport for London

Writing in his latest blog, Rees said that “a mass transit, with underground elements, is deliverable for Bristol”.

He said: “That’s not to say that there won’t be challenges. There are for every major project that’s ever been delivered.

“We cannot turn back the clocks to the decades of non-delivery… The negative voices we hear at full council must be contradicted.”

Marvin Rees at Felix Road Adventure Playground – photo: Bristol City Council

He added: “I invite everyone to read these studies. There can then be no excuse for continuing to talk down our city and its ambitions.

“With the work already done and the next phase in progress, there can be no excuse for failure.”

The release of these reports by Rees is likely to put him into further conflict with WECA and metro mayor Dan Norris.

Relationships between Rees, his fellow council leaders and Norris has got so bad recently that external auditors Grant Thornton have issued statutory recommendations for mediation, with risk to “future growth” in the region if this does not happen.

Main photo: Transport for London

Read next:

• Historic bridge remains closed after seven years of campaigning
• Underground railway network could be ‘transformational’ for Bristol
• Bristol a step closer to getting a fifth MP

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