Most of the costs people hear about these days are reconstruction, modernisation and expansion projects on the national network – operated by Network Rail.

Costs of Network Rail projects appear very high for the physical outcome because:

(a)       Work is usually done in short possessions (line closures) requiring large numbers of people and huge amounts of equipment for a very short time, usually at unsocial hours. Everything has to be moved onto site, used for a few hours, then removed so that trains can run again.

People and equipment may be tied up for several days to actually do only a few hours work. Apparent costs on Network Rail projects are often as much as ten times more than real hourly or daily rates.

(b)       Most of the Network Rail projects involve dismantling an existing system, installing and commissioning something new, under severe time pressure. Everything must be made workable in a few hours, often in many stages of installation, testing and commissioning.

(c)       Network Rail is a large organisation with high overhead costs.

External estimates have been based on the costs of recent projects on the National Network.

(i)        A closed construction site on which people and equipment can operate on a “rolling programme” making full use of people’s time every working day. Equipment need come on site once and only leave once all its work is completed.

 (ii)      CKP has to rehabilitate some earthworks and structures, then lay new track but this can be done at a sensible pace, and there is no dismantling of an existing system. Nothing has to be taken apart and put back together again temporarily several times. Testing and commissioning can be done as a single process at an appropriate stage of the work.

(iii)      CKP is a small company with minimal overheads. All services are bought in on an “as required” basis. No payments are made for people or equipment to sit around idle.

Also Keswick to Penrith will be a different type of Railway:

Most re-opened lines over the last thirty years have been preserved / heritage lines which basically operate as an entertainment venue / leisure activity.
Many of these only operate a few days per week for part of the year.

The CKP line is designed to meet a real transport need, and be used by people going about their normal daily business.

It will therefore have many more regular customers with numerous reasons for using it - not just people turning up for one ride and moving on somewhere else, looking for "something else to do".