Issue details

In March 2023 approval was granted to appoint Northern Trains Ltd [NTL] for the supply of support services to assist the MCA with the planning, design and securing funding for station improvements at Thorne North rail station (equivalent to ES4 Approval in Principle) in the sum of £204,684.

[The appointment was formalised with the signing of a Funding Agreement with NTL which also included proposed station improvements at Penistone and Conisbrough]

The Funding Agreement included a sum for NTL to contract with Network Rail’s Asset Protection (ASPRO) Team for the provision of engineering assurance support. At the time the Agreement was signed an accurate estimate was not available and an allowance of £20,226 was agreed. Updated estimated have now been provide by Network Rail and the estimated cost for ASPRO services has risen to £72,789, an increase of £53,513

The ASPRO services agreement with NTL is cost reimbursable so there could be potential savings, which will be passed back to the MCA.

As a result of the above, approval is now requested to increase the original appointment of NTL for Thorne North from £204,684 to £258,197.

There are no budget implications as a result of this approval since the increase in cost can be accommodated within the current CRSTS Grant Award for this stage of the project.