A key criticism often levelled at tramway and light rail projects – and major transport schemes in general – is their upfront cost.
Over the years we hope that TAUT has helped to dispel some of the myths that light rail lines don’t offer ‘value for money’, given the multi-generational benefits which far outweigh the initial costs. There is always room for improvement, however, and new technologies offer many useful tools to help improve efficiencies and reduce unnecessary cost and disruption in the development of new lines.
This year’s UK Light Rail Conference in Gateshead saw a lively panel debate tackle the issue of light rail development costs once again. In this latest TAUT round table we have brought those panellists together again, offering over a century’s combined tramway, procurement and engineering experience for an open discussion on the topic.
Q. The term ‘value engineering’ is often used in major transport schemes. But do you think it actually adds value, or is it purely used as a method to take away cost?
Richard Briggs: The question with value engineering is that if it is truly value that you’re seeking from the process, then the answer is ‘yes’. However, you’ve got to look at your requirements and the desired outcomes. Does the project, if it’s a new LRT system, still achieve the objectives that you sought at the start?
If it’s purely cost-cutting, which quite often is labelled as ‘value engineering’, then you’re not really driving value. I’ve been involved in projects, as I’m sure others have, where there has been a pressure on costs and important things have been cut out.
One example was the upgrade of a tramway depot where the existing facility wasn’t fit for purpose. When it was built, one of the ‘value engineering’ omissions was a wheel lathe. Looking down the cost plan, somebody must have said ‘that item has a high capital cost, let’s lose that’ without understanding the operational impact of not having a wheel lathe. This omission didn’t take into account having to get an LRV onto the back of a road haulage vehicle, taking it off-site along a motorway to get the tyres turned at another facility and to then bring it back again. That’s not value in the long-term, instead it cost a huge amount of money each year.