Network Rail told to rein in spiralling costs at Imperial Wharf
Hammersmith & Fulham Council is asking Network Rail to pay £1.4 million to bridge the funding gap for the proposed Imperial Wharf station in Fulham
Hammersmith & Fulham Council, working with Kensington & Chelsea Council, Tfl and developers St.George, had a funding package agreed in the summer that would have meant the station got a green light.
However, just as progress looked likely Network Rail’s construction and project management fees increased. The total cost of building the station is now £7.93 million – more than four times the original £1.75 million cost which was first mooted in late 1990s.
The council now wants Network Rail to meet these extra costs out of its own contingency pot.
H&F Council Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment, Cllr Nicholas Botterill, said, “We have gone as far as we can in terms of financing the building of this station and we are asking Network Rail to pay for the last £1.4million of this £8million project.
"Failure is not an option as local business, residents and commuters are desperate for the station to be completed as soon as possible.”
The proposed station was originally scheduled to be open in September 2007 but without a resolution to the £1.4 million shortfall soon it is difficult to predict when the station may be completed. It is planned that the station will be built just north of the West London Line railway bridge over the River Thames.
The station will serve the Townmead Road and Lots Road areas of Fulham and Chelsea, with the recent and proposed developments of Imperial Wharf, Chelsea Harbour and Lots Road Power Station. The station would allow residents much easier access to the Underground at West Brompton, Shepherds Bush and the myriad of rail services at Clapham Junction.
October 19, 2007