0:00:03 > 0:00:07Once in a while, something happens that marks a turning point.
0:00:09 > 0:00:14For a time, Britain shied away from bold construction projects.
0:00:14 > 0:00:16We patched and mended,
0:00:16 > 0:00:20and lived off the achievements of our Victorian forefathers.
0:00:20 > 0:00:24Then along came something rather special.
0:00:24 > 0:00:25What was it?
0:00:28 > 0:00:31Well, I'm standing right on top of it now.
0:00:31 > 0:00:34St Pancras Station.
0:00:36 > 0:00:42The jewel in the crown of Britain's first major new railway in 100 years...
0:00:43 > 0:00:48..and this country's first high-speed line.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54It proved that when we put our mind to it,
0:00:54 > 0:00:58we can do large-scale infrastructure in the UK.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01And now there are grounds for thinking
0:01:01 > 0:01:04we're poised to re-discover our Victorian ambition.
0:01:04 > 0:01:06In the last programme,
0:01:06 > 0:01:10I looked at why Britain needs more infrastructure.
0:01:10 > 0:01:15Now, a look at how we're better placed to build that infrastructure
0:01:15 > 0:01:17than we have been for 100 years.
0:01:17 > 0:01:21We'll see some of the great engineering that confirms it
0:01:21 > 0:01:25and we'll see what obstacles need to be overcome.
0:01:26 > 0:01:31Could we be heading for a new Victorian age for infrastructure in the UK?
0:01:42 > 0:01:44PA SYSTEM: 'This is St Pancras International...'
0:01:44 > 0:01:46It's ironic that St Pancras -
0:01:46 > 0:01:51a grand central statement of Victorian achievement in building infrastructure -
0:01:51 > 0:01:57also marked the start of a new era in 21st century construction
0:01:57 > 0:02:00as the terminus of our first high speed line.
0:02:02 > 0:02:06That line boasts the kind of engineering
0:02:06 > 0:02:08we thought we somehow couldn't manage -
0:02:08 > 0:02:11150 bridges, miles of tunnels,
0:02:11 > 0:02:14and the longest high-speed viaduct in Europe,
0:02:14 > 0:02:17and the only way to experience it properly, of course,
0:02:17 > 0:02:20is to ride up in the front of the javelin train.
0:02:20 > 0:02:24VARIOUS MACHINES BEEP
0:02:27 > 0:02:29- Hello there.- Hello.
0:02:29 > 0:02:34- Is this the passenger seat, the co-pilot seat?- You may sit there. Mind the little foot pedal below you.
0:02:34 > 0:02:38- Mind the red button because it causes unnecessary panic if you press it!- Nice!
0:02:38 > 0:02:40Got your pre-flight checks.
0:02:40 > 0:02:41All the checks have been done,
0:02:41 > 0:02:44all the testing's been carried out, and she's good to go.
0:02:46 > 0:02:49London, Kent, to Paris and beyond -
0:02:49 > 0:02:53a line where trains reach speeds of 180mph -
0:02:53 > 0:02:59as fast as a formula one car, but with a little more leg room.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11Well, it took a while before we got it, but here it is -
0:03:11 > 0:03:13Britain's first real high speed line.
0:03:13 > 0:03:16What's great about being in the front of the train is,
0:03:16 > 0:03:19you don't just get much more of a sensation of speed
0:03:19 > 0:03:22than you do when you're looking out the window from the side,
0:03:22 > 0:03:25you also just see how much has been built around this line -
0:03:25 > 0:03:31the tunnels, the bridges, the overhead power lines, the whole lot.
0:03:34 > 0:03:36Although only 100 kilometres long,
0:03:36 > 0:03:40it was far more ambitious than most high speed lines elsewhere,
0:03:40 > 0:03:44with a fifth of it buried under ground.
0:03:48 > 0:03:50Bridges.
0:03:53 > 0:03:55Stations.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58Listed buildings relocated.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03And the modernisation of St Pancras.
0:04:09 > 0:04:13And the building of some dazzling structures.
0:04:15 > 0:04:19This is when you can... put your foot down a bit, right?
0:04:19 > 0:04:20Well, give it a bit more power, yes.
0:04:23 > 0:04:28This is the Medway Viaduct - 1.25 kilometres of it.
0:04:28 > 0:04:33At the time, the longest, single-span high speed rail bridge in the world.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36It's where the trains on this line hit top speed.
0:04:36 > 0:04:42Passengers have fantastic views out of the Medway Valley,
0:04:42 > 0:04:44but only for a brief 15 seconds.
0:04:47 > 0:04:49Journey complete.
0:04:49 > 0:04:51I'm going to get off here,
0:04:51 > 0:04:53at the end of the high speed section of the line,
0:04:53 > 0:04:56to talk to one of the really important individuals
0:04:56 > 0:04:57who was involved in building it.
0:04:57 > 0:04:59And what better place to meet
0:04:59 > 0:05:03than right under the Medway Viaduct itself?
0:05:03 > 0:05:04Look at the spray just coming off it.
0:05:07 > 0:05:11Raw power.
0:05:14 > 0:05:18This particular bridge is actually at the heart of what the project is about,
0:05:18 > 0:05:23which is sitting major infrastructure into the landscape.
0:05:23 > 0:05:27And this dominated a lot of our thinking about...
0:05:27 > 0:05:30how we should design bridges for this project
0:05:30 > 0:05:33and there are 150 of them. Medway is just one.
0:05:33 > 0:05:38And then, 11 miles away,
0:05:38 > 0:05:43is probably the most challenging feature, the Thurrock Viaduct.
0:05:43 > 0:05:46It had to be fitted around existing infrastructure.
0:05:46 > 0:05:48And that one's complicated
0:05:48 > 0:05:51because you're kind of weaving a bit there, aren't you?
0:05:51 > 0:05:56Oh yes, nearly forgot the little complication of the Thurrock Bridge.
0:05:56 > 0:06:00We coined the phrase "Threading the needle".
0:06:00 > 0:06:03Why "Threading the needle"?
0:06:03 > 0:06:08Because when the high speed line surfaces from its tunnels under the Thames,
0:06:08 > 0:06:12it becomes airborne and has to weave between the two carriageways
0:06:12 > 0:06:16linking the M25 to the QE2 Bridge and the Dartford Tunnel.
0:06:16 > 0:06:20So they used a so-called push launch technique
0:06:20 > 0:06:24and they built this 1.4 kilometre long bridge from one end
0:06:24 > 0:06:28and pushed it into place, every fortnight for a year,
0:06:28 > 0:06:32and they did it barely disrupting the M25.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35It's very difficult to conceive of any other technique
0:06:35 > 0:06:39that could have been used which literally pushed the bridge
0:06:39 > 0:06:42over one carriageway and under the bridge of the other.
0:06:46 > 0:06:50But what made High Speed 1 special was not the engineering,
0:06:50 > 0:06:53but the fact the project was managed and delivered
0:06:53 > 0:06:55relatively successfully.
0:06:56 > 0:07:00You see, building bridges, tunnels and stations is difficult.
0:07:00 > 0:07:06Each project is unique, inevitably involving a different assembly of owners, contractors and workers,
0:07:06 > 0:07:09and the trick to doing it well
0:07:09 > 0:07:12is to stop them squabbling with each other over money
0:07:12 > 0:07:14and instead, getting them to work together.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17Easy to say, hard to do.
0:07:18 > 0:07:22The attitudes that we realised we would have to change
0:07:22 > 0:07:26were the ones of collaboration, rather than confrontation,
0:07:26 > 0:07:30so that everything was aligned as one project.
0:07:30 > 0:07:36It was their project, our project. It wasn't someone else's project.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39We all wanted it to be a success.
0:07:39 > 0:07:43Which is more difficult? Is it building the thing
0:07:43 > 0:07:46or is it organising the building of the thing?
0:07:46 > 0:07:50Most certainly the most difficult task on a major project
0:07:50 > 0:07:53is alignment - the alignment of people.
0:07:53 > 0:07:57Whether they be the community that you're consulting with
0:07:57 > 0:07:59or the workers that are constructing it,
0:07:59 > 0:08:02or the designers that are trying to collaborate with each other,
0:08:02 > 0:08:06it is aligning them to the single message, which is the delivery.
0:08:07 > 0:08:09Alignment.
0:08:09 > 0:08:13An engineering term that also applies to managing people.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16Engineering the right mind-set in humans
0:08:16 > 0:08:18is even tougher than designing bridges.
0:08:18 > 0:08:22It takes well-designed contracts and incentives.
0:08:22 > 0:08:26I think when I was young, I just always assumed
0:08:26 > 0:08:30that we couldn't build stuff like this without it going wrong,
0:08:30 > 0:08:33being late, much more expensive than anyone thought.
0:08:33 > 0:08:38I'm exaggerating slightly when I say this, but before HS1,
0:08:38 > 0:08:42large infrastructure projects were marked by large cost overruns,
0:08:42 > 0:08:48late delivery, and lots of conflict between the parties involved.
0:08:48 > 0:08:52After HS1, there is an attitude of collaboration,
0:08:52 > 0:08:56a recognition that by aligning people together,
0:08:56 > 0:09:02you achieve so much more and that really is the key to the success of HS1
0:09:02 > 0:09:04and the many projects which have followed it,
0:09:04 > 0:09:06and those which will come into the future.
0:09:06 > 0:09:11PA: 'The train now standing at platform 11 terminates here.'
0:09:11 > 0:09:13You may not have known that High Speed 1
0:09:13 > 0:09:16marked such a watershed for infrastructure in the UK,
0:09:16 > 0:09:21because when construction goes well, you don't really hear about it.
0:09:21 > 0:09:23There's no reason to.
0:09:23 > 0:09:25But just across the road from St Pancras
0:09:25 > 0:09:29is an example of how difficult we used to make it for ourselves.
0:09:29 > 0:09:34The great British Library cost three times what it was meant to.
0:09:34 > 0:09:38There were endless arguments over changes to the design.
0:09:40 > 0:09:43And it wasn't the only demonstration that we British
0:09:43 > 0:09:46have lost the knack of large-scale construction.
0:09:46 > 0:09:52Going back 15 years, there was the Jubilee Line extension in London.
0:09:52 > 0:09:54It was late and expensive.
0:09:54 > 0:09:56Back a few more years,
0:09:56 > 0:10:00the Channel Tunnel cost almost twice what it was meant to
0:10:00 > 0:10:02and was a year late.
0:10:02 > 0:10:05It was marked by conflict between Eurotunnel and its builders.
0:10:05 > 0:10:07They argued for ages
0:10:07 > 0:10:11over who would pay for the costs of changes made to the work programme
0:10:11 > 0:10:13during construction itself. I could go on.
0:10:16 > 0:10:20In all these cases, the engineering itself is astounding.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23People are impressed by these projects now.
0:10:23 > 0:10:25It's just they typify the fact that in Britain,
0:10:25 > 0:10:28construction has been expensive and unpredictable
0:10:28 > 0:10:32as layers of contractors, sub-contractors and workers
0:10:32 > 0:10:35fight over cost and reward.
0:10:35 > 0:10:40Our adversarial approach to business doesn't seem to have worked,
0:10:40 > 0:10:42and as if that wasn't enough,
0:10:42 > 0:10:45we've had another small problem too. Politics.
0:10:58 > 0:11:03Our political system is like our old construction business in being adversarial
0:11:03 > 0:11:05and it has sometimes led
0:11:05 > 0:11:09to very bad decisions being taken about what to build.
0:11:12 > 0:11:14When it comes to decisions,
0:11:14 > 0:11:18they don't come more spectacular than this.
0:11:23 > 0:11:26This is the marvellous Humber Bridge.
0:11:26 > 0:11:28Of nearly 2.5 kilometres,
0:11:28 > 0:11:33it was once the longest single-span suspension bridge in the world.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36Hull's answer to the Golden Gate.
0:11:37 > 0:11:41But I'm here because it offers a most striking contrast -
0:11:41 > 0:11:45an example of terrible human decision making.
0:11:45 > 0:11:48And yet, such wonderful construction.
0:11:48 > 0:11:53We'll talk about bad politics later. First though, the great engineering.
0:11:56 > 0:12:00That is where I thought I was going,
0:12:00 > 0:12:05but it turns out the interesting bit of this bridge is down below.
0:12:16 > 0:12:21Right, whoa.
0:12:30 > 0:12:34You just don't realise how much there is below.
0:12:45 > 0:12:49Roger, what a remarkable place to meet.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52- It's impressive, isn't it? - It's serene here, isn't it?- It is.
0:12:59 > 0:13:03We're in the middle of a 200,000-ton block of concrete.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06It gives you some idea of the scale.
0:13:08 > 0:13:12You could film a really good James Bond sequence in here.
0:13:14 > 0:13:18Whoa, look at those.
0:13:18 > 0:13:20Fantastic, aren't they?
0:13:20 > 0:13:25This is carrying the weight of the entire bridge?
0:13:25 > 0:13:27Yes, we're standing at one end
0:13:27 > 0:13:33of that main cable that goes across the river, which gives the bridge its distinctive shape.
0:13:33 > 0:13:37You can think of it as being a washing line anchored at the end,
0:13:37 > 0:13:39going over two clothes props which is the towers
0:13:39 > 0:13:42and then the bridge itself is the washing hanging on the line.
0:13:42 > 0:13:45This is where the clothes line is anchored to the ground.
0:13:48 > 0:13:50These thick cables
0:13:50 > 0:13:53are each made of a thin piece of wire
0:13:53 > 0:13:57that travels 2.5 kilometres across the bridge and then back again,
0:13:57 > 0:13:59400 times.
0:13:59 > 0:14:02There are nearly 15,000 strands in all.
0:14:02 > 0:14:07What about the road bridge itself? I mean, how stable is that?
0:14:07 > 0:14:11This bridge tries to use the wind to its advantage.
0:14:11 > 0:14:14The route of the wind over the top of the bridge
0:14:14 > 0:14:16is shorter than the route underneath,
0:14:16 > 0:14:20so it's like an upside-down aircraft wing.
0:14:20 > 0:14:24So as the wind blows, the bridge tends to move downwards,
0:14:24 > 0:14:26tight against the hanger ropes,
0:14:26 > 0:14:30flying on the air currents, like washing on a line.
0:14:30 > 0:14:33It's amazing to think how much underneath the bridge there is,
0:14:33 > 0:14:35but this isn't the only bit, is it?
0:14:35 > 0:14:38The road deck is a hollow steel box
0:14:38 > 0:14:41and you can walk the whole mile-and-a-half through there
0:14:41 > 0:14:45from one side of the river to the other inside the road deck.
0:14:45 > 0:14:48That sounds like a challenge.
0:14:54 > 0:14:57Have you ever walked through a bridge before?
0:14:57 > 0:14:59I won't get the full distance,
0:14:59 > 0:15:02but I can certainly get the measure of it down here
0:15:02 > 0:15:04and in particular, just how busy it is.
0:15:04 > 0:15:06ECHOING
0:15:06 > 0:15:14I can hear the frequency of the traffic a few metres overhead, or lack thereof.
0:15:15 > 0:15:17A very strange noise.
0:15:17 > 0:15:23But for a four lane highway, it is actually just a tad quiet.
0:15:39 > 0:15:41Oh, it's heavy.
0:15:41 > 0:15:43Oh.
0:15:45 > 0:15:47I'm free.
0:16:01 > 0:16:04They kindly left that unbolted for me.
0:16:08 > 0:16:11Now, I mentioned the lack of traffic.
0:16:11 > 0:16:13It's not surprising, really,
0:16:13 > 0:16:17because while it matches the Golden Gate Bridge is scale,
0:16:17 > 0:16:21instead of linking San Francisco to its golden peninsula,
0:16:21 > 0:16:25this links Barton to Hessle, just outside Hull.
0:16:25 > 0:16:28You might ask why it was built.
0:16:28 > 0:16:31Well, the process that got it under way was, let's say,
0:16:31 > 0:16:34the kind of thing that gives politics a bad name.
0:16:34 > 0:16:40# The year of 1966 Found Harold Wilson in a fix
0:16:40 > 0:16:44# With his overall majority Down to two
0:16:44 > 0:16:49# He just couldn't face rejection At the Hull North by-election
0:16:49 > 0:16:53# Barbara Castle came to see what she could do... #
0:16:53 > 0:16:56There had been debates about schemes
0:16:56 > 0:16:59for bridging the Humber for over a century before,
0:16:59 > 0:17:03but the huge costs and engineering difficulties saw them all off.
0:17:03 > 0:17:05Boat remained the only option.
0:17:05 > 0:17:09When the local Labour MP suddenly died,
0:17:09 > 0:17:12Prime Minister Harold Wilson's majority was cut to two.
0:17:12 > 0:17:16Wilson cynically sanctioned the building of the bridge
0:17:16 > 0:17:19in the hope of swinging the by-election in his favour.
0:17:19 > 0:17:22Minister of Transport, Barbara Castle, announced,
0:17:22 > 0:17:26"Hull shall have its bridge" just before the by-election.
0:17:26 > 0:17:31# You'll get your Humber Bridge And there won't be much delay... #
0:17:31 > 0:17:38Joseph Kevin McNamara, 24,479.
0:17:40 > 0:17:44Labour hung on to their tiny majority and Hull got its bridge.
0:17:44 > 0:17:46'As for the new bridge,
0:17:46 > 0:17:50'no-one disputes it's a triumph of British engineering.
0:17:50 > 0:17:54'What remains to be seen is whether it will prove the critics right
0:17:54 > 0:17:57'when they call it the Bridge from nowhere to nowhere.
0:17:57 > 0:18:01It's worth saying, it wasn't just a bridge to nowhere,
0:18:01 > 0:18:04it also epitomised many of the other problems
0:18:04 > 0:18:08associated with infrastructure that I remember from my youth.
0:18:08 > 0:18:11Far from collaboration, it was blighted by conflict.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14In the era of the 1970's,
0:18:14 > 0:18:16it reflected the state of Britain at the time,
0:18:16 > 0:18:19with industrial relations problems.
0:18:19 > 0:18:24The management were having to face industrial troubles
0:18:24 > 0:18:27in the industrial climate of the 1970s
0:18:27 > 0:18:30when there was the three-day week, there was wage restraint,
0:18:30 > 0:18:35the unions were very much in control.
0:18:35 > 0:18:39One classic case - there was a plague of ladybirds in 1976
0:18:39 > 0:18:41and it was slippy,
0:18:41 > 0:18:45so the welders and painters refused to come out of the cabin
0:18:45 > 0:18:49because it was dangerous and they went on strike.
0:18:49 > 0:18:51And then they would go on strike the following day
0:18:51 > 0:18:54to get paid for the day that they were on strike.
0:18:54 > 0:19:00Whether it's managing industrial relations or political decision making,
0:19:00 > 0:19:05building bridges well is as much about people as concrete and cables.
0:19:05 > 0:19:09We all know that the human factor plays a very big part in the projects.
0:19:09 > 0:19:13Absolutely. And I think there are three items in a project -
0:19:13 > 0:19:15there is the design and construction of it,
0:19:15 > 0:19:18there is the money of it, and there is the human element.
0:19:18 > 0:19:22And if you have a little triangle, you have a pound sign at one corner,
0:19:22 > 0:19:25an integral sign for design and construction
0:19:25 > 0:19:29and a Lowry matchstick man in the other corner.
0:19:29 > 0:19:30- The human factor?- Yes.
0:19:30 > 0:19:33It always comes down to human beings.
0:19:36 > 0:19:41A good bridge needs every element to be right, not just one.
0:19:41 > 0:19:44The Humber didn't score on all of them.
0:19:44 > 0:19:45It opened in 1981
0:19:45 > 0:19:49and was supposed to pay for itself through tolls, but it never did.
0:19:49 > 0:19:53Sadly, the Humber is an example of just one way in which our democracy
0:19:53 > 0:19:57sometimes fails to deliver the infrastructure we need.
0:20:10 > 0:20:15The combination of poor political decision making and expensive construction
0:20:15 > 0:20:18means that we've sometimes built the wrong things
0:20:18 > 0:20:19and they've cost too much.
0:20:19 > 0:20:21To be honest, given our record,
0:20:21 > 0:20:25it's not altogether surprising that for many years in this country,
0:20:25 > 0:20:29we've been phobic about investing in infrastructure.
0:20:30 > 0:20:35That partly explains why we have such crowded trains
0:20:35 > 0:20:37and just one high speed rail line
0:20:37 > 0:20:42and that's why High Speed 1 was so important as a turning point.
0:20:42 > 0:20:45It's a sign the knack is coming back.
0:20:49 > 0:20:51No-one could say we're getting it all right.
0:20:51 > 0:20:55There are still some disasters lurking out there,
0:20:55 > 0:20:56but something has changed.
0:20:56 > 0:21:01High Speed 1 was just one sign we've found a bit of our inner Victorian,
0:21:01 > 0:21:05and with the economy in the doldrums right now,
0:21:05 > 0:21:06what better time is there
0:21:06 > 0:21:10to give ourselves a Victorian style makeover?
0:21:13 > 0:21:15Certainly the Victorian era
0:21:15 > 0:21:19was one of huge industrial and technological change.
0:21:19 > 0:21:26Our society was transformed by engineering, ingenuity and entrepreneurial prowess.
0:21:26 > 0:21:30The role of national government was not to pay the bills back then,
0:21:30 > 0:21:34but to let local government and private investors get on with it.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37And the private sector did fund a lot,
0:21:37 > 0:21:38paying the up-front costs
0:21:38 > 0:21:41and then billing consumers if all went to plan.
0:21:41 > 0:21:47It was their risk and it's how London got its Underground.
0:21:50 > 0:21:52So Christian, just tell us where we are.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55What is the significance of this carriage in which we're sitting?
0:21:55 > 0:22:00Well, we are in the first carriages on the City and South London railway
0:22:00 > 0:22:02which opened in 1890.
0:22:02 > 0:22:06And it was London's first deep tube cut out of the clay
0:22:06 > 0:22:08and the promoters thought,
0:22:08 > 0:22:13"Well, actually, there's nothing to see, so why bother having windows?"
0:22:13 > 0:22:15This is key infrastructure.
0:22:15 > 0:22:20These days, we tend to think government has a very big role in those kind of things.
0:22:20 > 0:22:23What was the general approach towards infrastructure in those days?
0:22:23 > 0:22:26The amazing thing is that the London Underground
0:22:26 > 0:22:30was financed by private people, and not necessarily rich people.
0:22:30 > 0:22:34Somebody would say, "We want to build this line, come and invest in it,"
0:22:34 > 0:22:36and they would hope to make money.
0:22:36 > 0:22:38Some of them did and some of them didn't.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41There was a sort of "can do" about it, which is admirable,
0:22:41 > 0:22:45even though it was quite a messy process in the end.
0:22:45 > 0:22:48It's probably more sensible to plan,
0:22:48 > 0:22:53particularly today when you've got so much existing infrastructure already.
0:22:53 > 0:22:58But in the kind of heyday of Victorian gung-ho capitalism,
0:22:58 > 0:23:02I think it was the right thing for people just to come up with ideas,
0:23:02 > 0:23:05because they probably came out with more original ideas
0:23:05 > 0:23:10and came up with schemes that the government would never necessarily have thought of
0:23:10 > 0:23:12and it did go through a sort of process by parliament -
0:23:12 > 0:23:17it was slightly corrupt, you could buy off your MPs to make sure it got through -
0:23:17 > 0:23:22but essentially they created a system of infrastructure
0:23:22 > 0:23:25on the basis of taking risks
0:23:25 > 0:23:30that, you know, we are eternally grateful for.
0:23:30 > 0:23:33Without them, you know, we might not have had the Underground.
0:23:33 > 0:23:38Private finance and risk taking, with a little help from the politicians.
0:23:38 > 0:23:41well it got some results.
0:23:43 > 0:23:46So here's a question.
0:23:46 > 0:23:52Could we have a surge in investment in infrastructure on a Victorian scale now?
0:23:52 > 0:23:55Not perhaps in the Victorian style, it was quite messy.
0:23:55 > 0:24:00But even without a full on buccaneering speculator-led boom like the Victorians,
0:24:00 > 0:24:03could we at least deliver the modern equivalent?
0:24:09 > 0:24:13The answer is half a yes.
0:24:13 > 0:24:16One reason for optimism is that today's private sector
0:24:16 > 0:24:19does get on with the job of rebuilding Britain
0:24:19 > 0:24:23without getting much attention, when the conditions are right.
0:24:23 > 0:24:28Near this park is an example of the sort of thing I mean.
0:24:28 > 0:24:33You probably haven't heard of it. You could pass by it every day without realising it,
0:24:33 > 0:24:37but you'd soon know if it wasn't there.
0:24:37 > 0:24:43To see it, you have to enter via a highly secure and cleverly disguised building.
0:24:43 > 0:24:48The door is a portal into a whole world below London.
0:25:03 > 0:25:06You may wonder why I'm cycling down here,
0:25:06 > 0:25:09where the scenery gets quite samey.
0:25:09 > 0:25:12It's the easiest way to get around of course.
0:25:12 > 0:25:15This is a 20-kilometre long tunnel.
0:25:15 > 0:25:20It's part of a network housing high voltage cables for the capital's electricity.
0:25:20 > 0:25:24The network has some of the deepest tunnels in London
0:25:24 > 0:25:27and this investment from National Grid
0:25:27 > 0:25:33boasts an example of one of the simplest and clearest funding models you can imagine.
0:25:33 > 0:25:35It's paid for by the private sector,
0:25:35 > 0:25:39ultimately, though, paid for by electricity consumers.
0:25:39 > 0:25:42all subject to independent regulation.
0:25:44 > 0:25:50It's less spontaneous than the Victorian investment...
0:25:50 > 0:25:53more structured...
0:25:53 > 0:25:57So, Sara, I can see tunnels going off in all directions.
0:25:57 > 0:25:59Where are we?
0:25:59 > 0:26:03We are underneath London, somewhere between Elstree and St John's Wood
0:26:03 > 0:26:06in National Grid's network of tunnels.
0:26:06 > 0:26:10In an urban area, really, because it's so densely populated,
0:26:10 > 0:26:12we have to put the cables under ground
0:26:12 > 0:26:15and that can cause a lot of disruption
0:26:15 > 0:26:18if they're shallow and under ground and you have to dig up roads,
0:26:18 > 0:26:22so for the "London Tunnels" project, we've gone deep under ground.
0:26:24 > 0:26:25It's a huge project -
0:26:25 > 0:26:31£1 billion building 32 kilometres of tunnel underneath London.
0:26:31 > 0:26:33Some of it up to 60 metres in depth
0:26:33 > 0:26:36and that's really to bring power to Londoners.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39London takes about 20% of our demand and that's increasing.
0:26:39 > 0:26:43Where does National Grid get a billion quid from?
0:26:43 > 0:26:45We put an investment plan together
0:26:45 > 0:26:48and we go to OfGem, the regulator.
0:26:48 > 0:26:53We agree that plan and they agree what revenues, what we're going to earn
0:26:53 > 0:26:55and like many other businesses,
0:26:55 > 0:26:58we go out to the market and raise money,
0:26:58 > 0:27:01but because we have such certainty over what we're investing
0:27:01 > 0:27:04and what we're earning, because we're regulated,
0:27:04 > 0:27:06we can raise that money with confidence.
0:27:11 > 0:27:17While this tunnel does have little in common with those dug by Victorian speculators,
0:27:17 > 0:27:19it's interesting to note some similarities.
0:27:19 > 0:27:23It's privately financed, politics stays out of the way,
0:27:23 > 0:27:26and above all, the investment actually happens.
0:27:28 > 0:27:30It's not a perfect system,
0:27:30 > 0:27:34but there's a lot of utility work to be done in water and energy
0:27:34 > 0:27:37and it is being done under this kind of arrangement.
0:27:40 > 0:27:43So, why did I say that's only half a boom?
0:27:43 > 0:27:46Why can't that give us a whole one?
0:27:46 > 0:27:48If we know how to build these days,
0:27:48 > 0:27:51can't the private sector get on with it?
0:27:51 > 0:27:54Well the problem is,
0:27:54 > 0:27:57there's a lot of infrastructure investment waiting in the wings
0:27:57 > 0:28:00that can't be fixed between private utilities,
0:28:00 > 0:28:03their independent regulators and their customers.
0:28:03 > 0:28:08The best example of infrastructure poised to be unleashed -
0:28:08 > 0:28:10but only poised - is nuclear power.
0:28:10 > 0:28:15The decision's been taken that we need it, but while willing the end,
0:28:15 > 0:28:18Government has yet to will the means.
0:28:18 > 0:28:22This is Hinkley Point B in Somerset -
0:28:22 > 0:28:26home to two ageing nuclear reactors.
0:28:27 > 0:28:32Look inside to see the tasks required to build a replacement.
0:28:32 > 0:28:34Nuclear power stations
0:28:34 > 0:28:38are the most expensive and complex bits of infrastructure there is
0:28:38 > 0:28:40and it's not just the engineering.
0:28:40 > 0:28:43Getting them off the ground is complex, too,
0:28:43 > 0:28:48because most of the cost is incurred before you sell any electricity.
0:28:51 > 0:28:53It's all up front.
0:28:53 > 0:28:57I've never been in a nuclear power plant before
0:28:57 > 0:29:03and I'm now heading into the most secure and critical part of the whole operation.
0:29:03 > 0:29:05Wow, big, big, big.
0:29:05 > 0:29:09This hall sits above the nuclear reactors
0:29:09 > 0:29:15and this crane is used to put fuel into those reactors and remove spent fuel.
0:29:15 > 0:29:17This is what we call the charge machine.
0:29:17 > 0:29:19This is basically the machine
0:29:19 > 0:29:22- that refuels the reactor. - Why does it need to be so tall?
0:29:22 > 0:29:25Obviously it needs to be at least the depth of the reactor,
0:29:25 > 0:29:29so it needs to be capable of taking of the longest item in the reactor out.
0:29:29 > 0:29:32- So it is as high as the reactor is down?- That's correct, yeah.
0:29:32 > 0:29:35The scale, as you can see, is huge.
0:29:35 > 0:29:39Fantastic bit of British engineering, that.
0:29:45 > 0:29:48At the other side of this enormous crane
0:29:48 > 0:29:50is one of the nuclear reactors.
0:29:58 > 0:30:03So here it is. We're right on top of the reactor here at Hinkley Point.
0:30:03 > 0:30:07We really can just walk on the reactor?
0:30:07 > 0:30:12- You can see, obviously, all the 300 fuel channels. - These little squares?- That's right.
0:30:12 > 0:30:16- Are these warm? - You can have a touch if you want. - You can touch them?
0:30:16 > 0:30:18It's not cold. It's not cold.
0:30:18 > 0:30:22It's remarkable that you can stand on the very top
0:30:22 > 0:30:24of a nuclear reactor,
0:30:24 > 0:30:27so placid up here above a furnace below,
0:30:27 > 0:30:30where the temperature reaches nearly 600 degrees.
0:30:30 > 0:30:33The radiation from the reactor itself
0:30:33 > 0:30:37is shielded by thick, concrete walls.
0:30:37 > 0:30:42'Five, four, three, two, one...
0:30:44 > 0:30:46'Please walk through.'
0:30:47 > 0:30:50Well, I've been checked. I'm not contaminated,
0:30:50 > 0:30:53which is a relief to me and the company that run the place
0:30:53 > 0:30:55and it's a relief to them because they hope
0:30:55 > 0:30:58nuclear is going to be playing a very big part
0:30:58 > 0:31:00in Britain's energy future.
0:31:07 > 0:31:12The government has earmarked nine sites for new nuclear power stations.
0:31:12 > 0:31:14Whatever you think about nuclear,
0:31:14 > 0:31:18build those and you'd have a huge investment boom,
0:31:18 > 0:31:19but politics is involved.
0:31:19 > 0:31:23Up on these hills, you can see Britain's most likely
0:31:23 > 0:31:27new nuclear power station - Hinkley Point C.
0:31:27 > 0:31:30It's still mostly a field.
0:31:30 > 0:31:32There's some activity.
0:31:32 > 0:31:36The site is being cleared while the wait for a decision goes on.
0:31:36 > 0:31:37But should it get the all-clear,
0:31:37 > 0:31:40the scale of the operation will be enormous.
0:31:40 > 0:31:44It's been likened to putting the Olympics on in Somerset.
0:31:44 > 0:31:49Two new reactors, more than ten billion pounds,
0:31:49 > 0:31:52taking years to complete, but it's the kind of investment
0:31:52 > 0:31:55that even the brashest Victorian entrepreneur
0:31:55 > 0:31:56would have struggled with.
0:31:56 > 0:32:01How difficult is it to persuade investors to lend you the money
0:32:01 > 0:32:05to build a whopping great nuclear power station there?
0:32:05 > 0:32:08Investors worry about nuclear power projects
0:32:08 > 0:32:11because you've got something that's very expensive up front.
0:32:11 > 0:32:13It takes a long time to build
0:32:13 > 0:32:15so you're paying out money while it's being built
0:32:15 > 0:32:17and then you're looking forward
0:32:17 > 0:32:19up to 60 years, 70 years in the future
0:32:19 > 0:32:23to think about whether you're going to get the money back on that investment.
0:32:23 > 0:32:25HM ELIZABETH II: It is with pride
0:32:25 > 0:32:31that I now open Britain's first atomic power station.
0:32:31 > 0:32:35Back in the '50s, we found a simple solution to that problem.
0:32:35 > 0:32:37We got a nationalised company to do it,
0:32:37 > 0:32:42so the early pioneering days of nuclear were backed by the taxpayer.
0:32:42 > 0:32:46Indeed, Britain was leading the way. Science was sexy.
0:32:46 > 0:32:48- All VIPs?- No, boffins.
0:32:48 > 0:32:51And scientists were like pop stars.
0:32:54 > 0:32:58As it happens, we did it well, but uniquely expensively.
0:32:58 > 0:33:01We never managed to get the costs down.
0:33:01 > 0:33:04And the costs back then partly explain
0:33:04 > 0:33:07why that nationalised option is not on the table today.
0:33:11 > 0:33:15Today, we've rejected the simple option of taxpayer finance,
0:33:15 > 0:33:17but have yet to complete the task
0:33:17 > 0:33:20of finding a private-sector alternative.
0:33:20 > 0:33:24You see, private companies can't really make nuclear power viable
0:33:24 > 0:33:26unless they get something from Government.
0:33:26 > 0:33:28In effect, what they want
0:33:28 > 0:33:31is a certain level of revenue to be guaranteed,
0:33:31 > 0:33:33so Government has to make its mind up.
0:33:33 > 0:33:39At the end of this year we're taking a final investment decision
0:33:39 > 0:33:42on building this new nuclear power station.
0:33:42 > 0:33:45We, and the government, and the regulators,
0:33:45 > 0:33:48and the planning authorities have a lot to do.
0:33:48 > 0:33:51But, in summary, its moving in the right direction.
0:33:51 > 0:33:56What is your nightmare in terms of Hinkley Point C?
0:33:56 > 0:34:00As a citizen of the UK, my nightmare is that we muddle around
0:34:00 > 0:34:05and we don't build what we need to build to keep the lights on,
0:34:05 > 0:34:08and you know, it just all takes too long.
0:34:10 > 0:34:16In short, if Government want nuclear, IT has to make a decision.
0:34:16 > 0:34:22It can't wait for a Victorian entrepreneur to roll up and deliver it.
0:34:22 > 0:34:30This is an exact replica of the control room at Hinkley B.
0:34:30 > 0:34:34It perhaps shows you just how complicated running a nuclear power station can be.
0:34:34 > 0:34:38Infrastructure, though, can be extremely simple.
0:34:38 > 0:34:40You can get the private sector to decide on it,
0:34:40 > 0:34:42to finance it, to deliver it,
0:34:42 > 0:34:46but when it comes to nuclear - and that's not the only example -
0:34:46 > 0:34:49it can be anything but simple.
0:34:49 > 0:34:54And in those cases, there's so much you can delegate to the private sector, if you want to,
0:34:54 > 0:34:57but you can never delegate it all.
0:35:04 > 0:35:09Oxford Economist Dieter Helm is one of Britain's leading experts on infrastructure.
0:35:09 > 0:35:13He's given a lot of thought to politics, government, private companies,
0:35:13 > 0:35:16on how we can get a lot more investment in infrastructure.
0:35:16 > 0:35:20If we think that private firms are just going to produce our infrastructure,
0:35:20 > 0:35:23well forget it. It's not going to happen, OK?
0:35:23 > 0:35:27They're not interested in whether they're going to get returns
0:35:27 > 0:35:29in 20/30 years' time.
0:35:29 > 0:35:33They're interested in getting the job done, getting the money,
0:35:33 > 0:35:36getting it in the bank and their earnings reflecting it.
0:35:36 > 0:35:39So what we have to do with infrastructure is,
0:35:39 > 0:35:43we have to separate deciding what infrastructure we're going to have
0:35:43 > 0:35:46from the question of who's going to do the producing,
0:35:46 > 0:35:48who's going to do the investing?
0:35:48 > 0:35:51So, you decide whether, for example,
0:35:51 > 0:35:55you want to have an extension to the London Underground, OK?
0:35:55 > 0:35:57That's a governmental decision.
0:35:57 > 0:36:01But it's no good trying to ask the government to actually build it.
0:36:01 > 0:36:04It's got to go to private sector to produce the construction skills,
0:36:04 > 0:36:07but the choice of what sort of Underground to build -
0:36:07 > 0:36:11that's for Government, and we need to sort those roles out.
0:36:13 > 0:36:14So Government is one key
0:36:14 > 0:36:19to unlocking a new wave of infrastructure investment in the UK,
0:36:19 > 0:36:21either finding the money for them or the guarantees
0:36:21 > 0:36:24that allow the private sector to find the money for them.
0:36:27 > 0:36:33The interesting news is that if the politics and finance can be sorted,
0:36:33 > 0:36:36construction itself moves surprisingly fast.
0:36:36 > 0:36:39To see just how fast,
0:36:39 > 0:36:43follow me on a boat ride 12 miles off the Kent coast.
0:36:43 > 0:36:45A coast that is changing very rapidly.
0:36:45 > 0:36:49It has an almost other-worldly feel.
0:36:49 > 0:36:53Power stations on stilts, boats on legs,
0:36:53 > 0:36:56and enormous creature-like machines
0:36:56 > 0:36:57rising up out of the sea.
0:36:57 > 0:37:03Welcome to what will soon be the largest off-shore wind farm in the world.
0:37:04 > 0:37:08I really don't think I've ever seen anything quite like this.
0:37:08 > 0:37:10As power stations go, you have to say,
0:37:10 > 0:37:13it has a certain beauty about it, doesn't it,
0:37:13 > 0:37:17laid out in endless lines in a tidy grid.
0:37:17 > 0:37:22But you know, it's very hard to get a sense of perspective out here.
0:37:22 > 0:37:27If you look at the middle distance, it looks so slim, so elegant -
0:37:27 > 0:37:31an occasional glint of the reflection of the sun,
0:37:33 > 0:37:36But it's when you get right up close,
0:37:36 > 0:37:41you see that it's not so much slim, as just extremely tall.
0:37:43 > 0:37:47I've sort of lost my sense of scale somehow.
0:37:47 > 0:37:49These are very big turbines.
0:37:49 > 0:37:56The diameter of our blades is slightly bigger than the London Eye
0:37:56 > 0:38:02and the tip is about 150 metres above the sea level, so they're large.
0:38:05 > 0:38:08These turbines are expensive.
0:38:08 > 0:38:11The government didn't pay for them directly,
0:38:11 > 0:38:15but set up a mechanism to ensure we'll pay for them on our fuel bills.
0:38:15 > 0:38:17You may like that or loathe it,
0:38:17 > 0:38:22but the speed these turbines go up shows just how quickly
0:38:22 > 0:38:25the infrastructure industry does things these days
0:38:25 > 0:38:29when it has the incentive to do so.
0:38:29 > 0:38:31How quickly can you get wind turbines up?
0:38:31 > 0:38:34Once we're up and running,
0:38:34 > 0:38:36they go in fairly quickly.
0:38:36 > 0:38:39From start to finish, we can put a foundation in in two days
0:38:39 > 0:38:41and we can erect a turbine -
0:38:41 > 0:38:45which comes in seven components - in 24 hours.
0:38:45 > 0:38:47- It's that quick?- Yeah.
0:38:47 > 0:38:51It's a pretty calm day today here, but we're rocking around quite a lot.
0:38:51 > 0:38:52Is the weather an issue for you?
0:38:52 > 0:38:58When the sea state gets too rough, the waves get too high, the wind's too forceful,
0:38:58 > 0:39:01we can't work and unfortunately, being in a windy area -
0:39:01 > 0:39:03that's why they put the wind farm here...
0:39:03 > 0:39:06- I suppose so. - ..we suffer quite badly!
0:39:08 > 0:39:10When phase one is complete,
0:39:10 > 0:39:15there'll be 175 separate turbines - 175 London Eyes -
0:39:15 > 0:39:18covering an area of 100 square kilometres.
0:39:18 > 0:39:23It'll have about half the capacity of Hinkley B nuclear power station
0:39:23 > 0:39:27and it's not alone in this part of the sea.
0:39:27 > 0:39:29It's a very busy area.
0:39:29 > 0:39:32We've got the Thanet off-shore wind farm,
0:39:32 > 0:39:34Kentish flats off of Whitstable,
0:39:34 > 0:39:36and then going round towards the Essex coast,
0:39:36 > 0:39:38you've got Greater Gabbard, Gunfleet Sands,
0:39:38 > 0:39:42and of course, the biggest under construction at the moment, which is London Array.
0:39:44 > 0:39:48Wind farms will hardly solve all our energy needs,
0:39:48 > 0:39:51but the speed at which the coastline of Britain has changed
0:39:51 > 0:39:54shows what can happen if you want it to.
0:39:55 > 0:39:57Some of us love all this engineering
0:39:57 > 0:40:00and if you want more of it, you've reason to be optimistic,
0:40:00 > 0:40:04because we're better placed to deliver it than we have been since Victorian times.
0:40:04 > 0:40:08We're tantalisingly close to that infrastructure boom
0:40:08 > 0:40:10and there's another reason to be optimistic,
0:40:10 > 0:40:15because we've got one thing the Victorians didn't have - modern technology -
0:40:15 > 0:40:19and that can help us use our infrastructure more effectively.
0:40:19 > 0:40:24So quite apart from building more, we can make our assets sweat.
0:40:42 > 0:40:46We may live in an era of sat-navs,
0:40:46 > 0:40:51GPS, mobile telecoms, but I've come back 109 years.
0:40:51 > 0:40:54This signal box in Shrewsbury was built back then
0:40:54 > 0:40:59to control the trains coming in and out of the busy station behind me.
0:40:59 > 0:41:03The surprising and perhaps alarming thing is perhaps that it still does.
0:41:08 > 0:41:11These levers direct trains
0:41:11 > 0:41:16and allow many of them to run down the same track without hitting each other.
0:41:16 > 0:41:17We can be smarter than this now,
0:41:17 > 0:41:20but they did do it pretty well back then,
0:41:20 > 0:41:22just after Queen Victoria died.
0:41:26 > 0:41:28So, what are the levers doing then?
0:41:28 > 0:41:31The different colour levers tell you what's what.
0:41:31 > 0:41:33The white levers are the levers that aren't in use any more.
0:41:33 > 0:41:35The black levers work the points.
0:41:35 > 0:41:37The blue levers are facing point locks.
0:41:37 > 0:41:39- Right. - The red levers, they're the signals.
0:41:39 > 0:41:43Got you. Now how physically hard is it to pull these?
0:41:43 > 0:41:47It all depends on how far from the signal box the equipment is...
0:41:47 > 0:41:49- Right.- ..and how heavy they are.
0:41:49 > 0:41:53This one wouldn't be too bad because it's only, what, 50 yards that way.
0:41:53 > 0:41:5624, on the other hand, is over on the viaduct there -
0:41:56 > 0:42:00a good half a mile away. That one takes some pulling.
0:42:00 > 0:42:02- Does it?- Mmm. If I press the plunger,
0:42:02 > 0:42:04try and get that lever back in the frame.
0:42:04 > 0:42:06- Ahh.- That's it.- Perfectly easy.
0:42:06 > 0:42:10- It's a very satisfying click at the end.- That's it.- Can I do this one?
0:42:10 > 0:42:12That one next, yes, number 70.
0:42:12 > 0:42:16That one almost went on its own.
0:42:16 > 0:42:18That one will be the hardest.
0:42:18 > 0:42:21Number 71. Is this a hard one? That's a bit harder.
0:42:21 > 0:42:23If you struggle, I can do it for you.
0:42:23 > 0:42:25No, I should be able to do it.
0:42:25 > 0:42:28But that's... That's not meant to be like that!
0:42:28 > 0:42:31There's surely some mistake.
0:42:31 > 0:42:34- Let's have a look. Let's have a look.- That can't be right.
0:42:35 > 0:42:38You have to sort of... This is what I do, I...
0:42:38 > 0:42:39There you are.
0:42:39 > 0:42:40I should have done that one with you.
0:42:40 > 0:42:42So now what we're going to do...
0:42:42 > 0:42:45I didn't realise they were... That's ridiculous.
0:42:50 > 0:42:52The only problem is now, its showing wrong.
0:42:56 > 0:42:59Replacing this old technology by investing in new
0:42:59 > 0:43:02has the potential to give us extra capacity
0:43:02 > 0:43:05on the old railway infrastructure.
0:43:05 > 0:43:07When this signal box was built,
0:43:07 > 0:43:10the population of the UK was about 38 million.
0:43:10 > 0:43:13It's obviously gone up a little since then,
0:43:13 > 0:43:15putting more pressure on our infrastructure.
0:43:15 > 0:43:19One of the things we've seen is that we've got to get it to work harder,
0:43:19 > 0:43:23which in train terms, means having the trains closer together.
0:43:23 > 0:43:26So just as we've moved into an era of video games -
0:43:26 > 0:43:27away from toy trains -
0:43:27 > 0:43:30we've moved into an era of new signalling systems,
0:43:30 > 0:43:32that are designed to accommodate that.
0:43:32 > 0:43:35And guess what? We don't have to go far to find one.
0:43:35 > 0:43:36Just up there.
0:43:39 > 0:43:40Buried among the tracks
0:43:40 > 0:43:43on this sleepy and historic Cambrian Line in Wales,
0:43:43 > 0:43:47lurks the world's most advanced signalling system.
0:43:47 > 0:43:51More advanced even than the one used on High Speed 1.
0:43:51 > 0:43:53This is the only one in the UK,
0:43:53 > 0:43:56a pilot line while they iron out the numerous complications.
0:43:56 > 0:44:01The eventual plan is to apply it far more widely.
0:44:01 > 0:44:05Called ERTMS, it replaces traditional railway signals
0:44:05 > 0:44:09with wireless technology and on-board computers.
0:44:09 > 0:44:12Trackside signals will be a thing of the past.
0:44:12 > 0:44:16The headquarters of this test zone are here
0:44:16 > 0:44:20at the picturesque station of Machynlleth in mid-Wales.
0:44:24 > 0:44:27It's where the trains get their brains.
0:44:33 > 0:44:36I've never been under a train before
0:44:36 > 0:44:40and you won't be surprised to hear there's actually a lot under here -
0:44:40 > 0:44:43bits like the wheels, they look really, really big.
0:44:45 > 0:44:46But this -
0:44:46 > 0:44:49this is part of the new signalling system,
0:44:49 > 0:44:51retro-fitted on these trains.
0:44:51 > 0:44:53This is like a giant smart card reader
0:44:53 > 0:44:57and then on the tracks you have the smart cards
0:44:57 > 0:45:01so this picks up the information as to where the train is.
0:45:03 > 0:45:07Although this doesn't look very hi-tech, it's being heralded
0:45:07 > 0:45:10as the biggest change to signalling since the 1920s.
0:45:12 > 0:45:17Under the old system, all trains were treated the same.
0:45:17 > 0:45:20It couldn't differentiate between trains that brake slowly
0:45:20 > 0:45:22and those that brake faster.
0:45:22 > 0:45:25So, they always have the same stopping distance between them,
0:45:25 > 0:45:26based on the slowest.
0:45:29 > 0:45:32This new system, with its beacons and smart cards,
0:45:32 > 0:45:33knows the type of train,
0:45:33 > 0:45:36its stopping distance, speed and location.
0:45:36 > 0:45:40Wireless technology processes all this data,
0:45:40 > 0:45:42allowing computers on board the trains themselves
0:45:42 > 0:45:45to decide whether it's safe to close the gap
0:45:45 > 0:45:48and run closer to the other trains on the line.
0:45:48 > 0:45:52It potentially means more trains on the track at a time.
0:45:53 > 0:45:56This can increase capacity on the railways by significant amounts,
0:45:56 > 0:46:01allowing us to get more bang for our buck on the lines we have -
0:46:01 > 0:46:04a useful supplement to building new lines.
0:46:04 > 0:46:07Alas, it will only be rolled out very slowly
0:46:07 > 0:46:10as our old signals come to the end of their lives.
0:46:10 > 0:46:12It's not going to be introduced overnight.
0:46:12 > 0:46:19But hey, there is a similarly smart idea for making better use of our infrastructure
0:46:19 > 0:46:21that CAN be introduced overnight.
0:46:50 > 0:46:56For the first time in my whole life, I'm on a completely empty motorway.
0:46:56 > 0:47:00No other traffic, the hoi polloi have been diverted elsewhere.
0:47:00 > 0:47:06The frustrating thing is, though, that an 11-mph speed limit applies.
0:47:08 > 0:47:12I'm on the M62, just outside Leeds.
0:47:12 > 0:47:16Here, they're upgrading the road to get more traffic through.
0:47:16 > 0:47:18It uses a bit of technology
0:47:18 > 0:47:22and a piece of road that's been staring us in the face
0:47:22 > 0:47:25and yet which has barely been used for 50 years.
0:47:29 > 0:47:32'Running the full length of all motorway,
0:47:32 > 0:47:36'there is a hard shoulder added to the road at great cost
0:47:36 > 0:47:38'for one purpose and one purpose only.
0:47:38 > 0:47:42'It is not a glorified lay-by for tired drivers.
0:47:42 > 0:47:45'It is not there for dogs and children to stretch their legs.
0:47:45 > 0:47:47'It is not there for picnickers
0:47:47 > 0:47:50'to spread themselves and have a family party.
0:47:50 > 0:47:55'The hard shoulder is there for your safety and protection in an emergency
0:47:55 > 0:47:58'and for no other reason whatever.'
0:47:58 > 0:48:02The hard shoulder now has better things to do than sit idle.
0:48:02 > 0:48:05That's just one part of a huge upgrade here on the M62.
0:48:05 > 0:48:09They're turning it into what's called a managed motorway
0:48:09 > 0:48:14and the preparation involves closing the motorway to install new gantries.
0:48:14 > 0:48:18This is quite a revolutionary concept to a lot of people.
0:48:18 > 0:48:21It's the biggest change in the last 50 years on a motorway.
0:48:23 > 0:48:28A managed motorway can accommodate more traffic than an unmanaged one.
0:48:28 > 0:48:32Wire loops in the road detect vehicle speeds and congestion.
0:48:32 > 0:48:33The information collected
0:48:33 > 0:48:36can then be used to work out the best speed for drivers to go.
0:48:36 > 0:48:41Illuminated signs can direct them accordingly, hence the gantries.
0:48:45 > 0:48:46Here we go.
0:48:51 > 0:48:53He'll start to rotate it
0:48:53 > 0:48:57and then he'll swing it over and actually put it on the pedestal.
0:48:57 > 0:49:00You can see the guide bolt at the other end.
0:49:00 > 0:49:04Once the guide is in, they'll start to get the bolts in, ratchet them on,
0:49:04 > 0:49:09and this is what we've got, super cantilever gantry - just under 18 metres.
0:49:09 > 0:49:11But we've got gantries all over the country?
0:49:11 > 0:49:13Yeah, but this is a special gantry.
0:49:13 > 0:49:15Every 400 metres, there will be
0:49:15 > 0:49:19loops in the road that detect the speed and the flow of traffic
0:49:19 > 0:49:22and that automatically sets signs and signals,
0:49:22 > 0:49:25but the key thing, as well, is at the same time,
0:49:25 > 0:49:30we're opening up the hard shoulder and easing congestion and making it safer.
0:49:32 > 0:49:37Faster and safer? Yes - you see real-time speed control
0:49:37 > 0:49:42gets drivers going at lower speeds, but speeds which are more constant.
0:49:42 > 0:49:45Cameras, electronic display boards, gantries -
0:49:45 > 0:49:48all much cheaper than building a new lane.
0:49:50 > 0:49:53What's the kind of increase in capacity you can get
0:49:53 > 0:49:56on an existing stretch of motorway?
0:49:56 > 0:49:59On a peak hour, this - in one direction -
0:49:59 > 0:50:02carries between 5,000 and 6,000 vehicles.
0:50:02 > 0:50:05So if we add capacity, we almost increase that
0:50:05 > 0:50:08by about 2,000 vehicles, in each direction.
0:50:08 > 0:50:10- Almost equivalent to an extra lane? - It is.
0:50:10 > 0:50:13- Because you've added an extra lane with the hard shoulder.- Exactly.
0:50:13 > 0:50:16So you're able to utilise that extra capacity -
0:50:16 > 0:50:18it really does reduce the congestion.
0:50:18 > 0:50:20I bet you one day, people will think of this
0:50:20 > 0:50:25as a very early rudimentary kind of smart system for managing roads.
0:50:25 > 0:50:28I'm adding infrastructure onto the existing motorway network.
0:50:28 > 0:50:32Who's to say, in 15, 20, 30 years' time,
0:50:32 > 0:50:34all of that technology could be in-car
0:50:34 > 0:50:37and that will bring in even bigger improvements, you know,
0:50:37 > 0:50:41in terms of how close we can drive to each other and safety, etc.
0:50:44 > 0:50:48It's midnight - an empty motorway just outside Leeds.
0:50:48 > 0:50:53Now, contrary to the impression that this particular one is giving you right at this moment,
0:50:53 > 0:50:56Britain is in fact a crowded nation.
0:50:56 > 0:50:59It's congested, we need more infrastructure,
0:50:59 > 0:51:01but it's got to make sense, right,
0:51:01 > 0:51:05for us to think hard about how we use what we've got,
0:51:05 > 0:51:09and that means being clever, about being ambitious in design
0:51:09 > 0:51:14to make sure that every inch of space is used most efficiently.
0:51:14 > 0:51:17Now, that's not going to absolve us of the need to build more,
0:51:17 > 0:51:20but boy, it can really make a difference.
0:51:24 > 0:51:28Making a difference is what infrastructure is all about.
0:51:28 > 0:51:33With design, technology, and a bit of intelligence,
0:51:33 > 0:51:38we're better positioned to improve our infrastructure than we have been for years.
0:51:38 > 0:51:41It'll just take a little will.
0:51:43 > 0:51:46But there's a bonus too, if we can get on the right track.
0:51:46 > 0:51:48The more we invest, the cheaper it gets.
0:51:48 > 0:51:52Invest in a constant flow of new projects,
0:51:52 > 0:51:55avoid sporadic bursts of construction
0:51:55 > 0:52:00and the industry will be more efficient and more competitive.
0:52:01 > 0:52:07It's a virtuous circle and it's there to be exploited.
0:52:11 > 0:52:13And to make the point,
0:52:13 > 0:52:16I'm now entering the underbelly of a project
0:52:16 > 0:52:18that represents more than any
0:52:18 > 0:52:21how much better we've become at getting on with things
0:52:21 > 0:52:22once we decide to.
0:52:22 > 0:52:25It's one of the biggest and most familiar
0:52:25 > 0:52:28pieces of construction in the UK.
0:52:28 > 0:52:31This is the bit of it you've never seen.
0:52:35 > 0:52:38So, the main river lines are to our right,
0:52:38 > 0:52:41then heading on north through the park,
0:52:41 > 0:52:43we would get to the velodrome area.
0:52:43 > 0:52:48'I think he's going to do it. Chris Hoy claims the gold medal!'
0:52:48 > 0:52:51Further over to the west is the main stadium.
0:52:51 > 0:52:55'Farah hits the front! Farah, it's gold!'
0:52:55 > 0:52:59Basketball over to our left and handball to our right.
0:52:59 > 0:53:03You've got it all down to a T. It's hilarious.
0:53:03 > 0:53:06Not a great view from here of the games.
0:53:06 > 0:53:09You still need to know where you are and where you need to get to.
0:53:12 > 0:53:15Most of the spending on the Olympic park was above ground -
0:53:15 > 0:53:18on the stadia that we're all too familiar with,
0:53:18 > 0:53:22but the construction here was more of an achievement
0:53:22 > 0:53:23than most people recognise.
0:53:23 > 0:53:29It required a complex task of clearing the Olympic site of enormous electricity pylons
0:53:29 > 0:53:35and getting these high voltage cables under ground into a vast network of tunnels and shafts.
0:53:35 > 0:53:40They dug 12 kilometres of tunnels, 30 metres deep,
0:53:40 > 0:53:43and in half the time it normally takes.
0:53:43 > 0:53:45It's funny to think, isn't it,
0:53:45 > 0:53:47that this is the least-known,
0:53:47 > 0:53:51but arguably the single most important construction project
0:53:51 > 0:53:52of the whole Olympic site.
0:53:52 > 0:53:54Anything could have gone wrong.
0:53:54 > 0:53:57They were trying to finish it very quickly,
0:53:57 > 0:53:59but if they hadn't succeeded down here,
0:53:59 > 0:54:03it would have been very hard to build an Olympic park up above.
0:54:03 > 0:54:06But putting cables under ground
0:54:06 > 0:54:08solved one problem and created another
0:54:08 > 0:54:10because when they built the tunnels,
0:54:10 > 0:54:12they knew the Olympics would be going on above,
0:54:12 > 0:54:16but they didn't know exactly what was going to go above them.
0:54:16 > 0:54:18We are currently under the London Aquatics Centre,
0:54:18 > 0:54:21it in itself came after the tunnels were in location,
0:54:21 > 0:54:25so we had to work very closely with the designers of the Aquatics Centre
0:54:25 > 0:54:29to make sure that the Aquatics itself didn't overload the tunnel.
0:54:38 > 0:54:40The Aquatics Centre
0:54:40 > 0:54:43is one of the Olympics' most distinctive buildings,
0:54:43 > 0:54:45and one of the most expensive,
0:54:45 > 0:54:47but the delivery of the whole park -
0:54:47 > 0:54:51on time and on budget, once there was a proper budget -
0:54:51 > 0:54:54shows that High Speed 1 was not a one-off.
0:54:54 > 0:54:58Indeed, many of those involved in High Speed 1 were involved here
0:54:58 > 0:55:02and in both cases, the achievement was less the engineering,
0:55:02 > 0:55:07more the successful management of construction and collaboration.
0:55:07 > 0:55:10In an ideal world we wouldn't have put the tunnels under here,
0:55:10 > 0:55:13but we were stuck for space, so that's where they went.
0:55:13 > 0:55:17The man who led it was Sir John Armitt.
0:55:17 > 0:55:19The great thing about an Olympics, you have to finish it on time.
0:55:19 > 0:55:21There's a fixed end date.
0:55:21 > 0:55:23Second thing - you really want political consensus,
0:55:23 > 0:55:26and we've had political consensus.
0:55:26 > 0:55:28Third thing, you can't be held up by planning.
0:55:28 > 0:55:30We were given planning powers.
0:55:30 > 0:55:34You can't be held back by your budget - you've got to have a sensible budget -
0:55:34 > 0:55:37and we were given a sensible budget by Treasury
0:55:37 > 0:55:43and then finally, you have to have the right commercial relationship with your supply chain
0:55:43 > 0:55:44and I think we've had that here.
0:55:44 > 0:55:50The right relationship between the Olympic delivery authority and their builders.
0:55:50 > 0:55:53It's back to that all-important human factor -
0:55:53 > 0:55:57preventing arguments getting in the way of the work.
0:55:57 > 0:55:59And credit where credit is due -
0:55:59 > 0:56:04behind the scenes, there was a secret to that success here.
0:56:04 > 0:56:06It almost seems like the hero of the games -
0:56:06 > 0:56:08- apart from your good self, of course...- Yes.
0:56:08 > 0:56:12- The hero of the Park... - Is the new engineering contract.
0:56:12 > 0:56:15- New engineering contract. - Not so very new these days.- NEC.
0:56:15 > 0:56:22Probably 15 years old now. NEC, version 3 - design and build, target priced.
0:56:22 > 0:56:26Would this park have been delivered as successfully without it?
0:56:26 > 0:56:29No I don't think it would, you couldn't do it.
0:56:31 > 0:56:33So, it was a document what won it.
0:56:33 > 0:56:35A template for setting out
0:56:35 > 0:56:38the responsibilities of contractors and customers,
0:56:38 > 0:56:40a contract that has so far sorted out
0:56:40 > 0:56:44some of the arguments so prevalent in earlier years.
0:56:44 > 0:56:49It's been credited with turning around how infrastructure is delivered,
0:56:49 > 0:56:52not just at the Olympics, but in the UK.
0:56:52 > 0:56:56My theory is, we're on the cusp of the Golden Age here.
0:56:56 > 0:56:58We've got High Speed 1, that went pretty well.
0:56:58 > 0:57:00- This went pretty well. Terminal 5 went pretty well.- Yes.
0:57:00 > 0:57:03- Have we cracked it? - There is an enormous opportunity
0:57:03 > 0:57:08and this and other projects have shown the public
0:57:08 > 0:57:11and shown the politicians what we can do.
0:57:11 > 0:57:14So, what we now need is that leadership to say,
0:57:14 > 0:57:17"Yes, we have the ability, we have the capability,
0:57:17 > 0:57:20"we have low borrowing costs, money is cheap,
0:57:20 > 0:57:23"we have people available, let's go and do it."
0:57:23 > 0:57:26That is a popular call right now,
0:57:26 > 0:57:28but we still have a lot to get right.
0:57:28 > 0:57:31Finance, politics, faster decision making,
0:57:31 > 0:57:34but surely they're all surmountable hurdles.
0:57:37 > 0:57:39You get a spectacular view up here.
0:57:39 > 0:57:42It feels so much higher than it looks down there.
0:57:42 > 0:57:47You can see this fantastic Zaha Hadid roof,
0:57:47 > 0:57:51you feel right up in the Gods, you could almost touch it.
0:57:51 > 0:57:53Now, when you combine a need with an ability,
0:57:53 > 0:57:55you can really be onto something.
0:57:55 > 0:57:58We didn't need the Olympics, but it showed we had the ability
0:57:58 > 0:58:02and we do need a lot of infrastructure in Britain right now.
0:58:02 > 0:58:04Are we in for some kind of Golden Age?
0:58:04 > 0:58:06Well that might be putting it a bit strongly.
0:58:06 > 0:58:09Are we in for a highly productive era?
0:58:09 > 0:58:11I hope so.
0:58:11 > 0:58:15MUSIC: "Heroes" by David Bowie
0:58:17 > 0:58:23What benefits has the last 150 years of infrastructure development in Britain brought to the country?
0:58:23 > 0:58:24You can find out
0:58:24 > 0:58:26with the Open University's Timeline.
0:58:26 > 0:58:31Just go to our website and follow the links to the Open University.
0:58:31 > 0:58:33# I will be king
0:58:36 > 0:58:38# And you
0:58:39 > 0:58:42# You will be queen
0:58:45 > 0:58:50# Though nothing Will drive them away
0:58:53 > 0:58:55# We can beat them
0:58:57 > 0:58:59# Just for one day... #