Allegation of huge IT project overspend at Transport for Wales

Martin Shipton

A whistleblower has alleged that an IT system being installed to manage Transport for Wales’ financial transactions is on course for a huge overspend.

Transport for Wales - which is wholly owned by the Welsh Government, runs train services and oversees bus services denies the allegation, saying the additional cost in fact represents investment in extra features introduced as the project progressed.

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Concerns

The following concerns have been raised with Nation.Cymru in relation to Transport for Wales:

Serious cost overruns on programmes and projects.

Bullying and intimidation within the organisation, affecting staff wellbeing and culture.

Lack of meaningful internal action despite these issues being raised.

Welsh Government assurances that matters are being “handled internally”, which does not reflect the reality.

These issues are said to point to systemic failures with direct implications for both public finances and the safety and wellbeing of staff.

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Budget

The whistleblower, who does not wish to be named, made the following claims:

A programme budget originally set at less than £1m has already almost doubled. They now face a change request of £1.5m+ just to begin with, with further overruns expected. The software will eventually be delivered as a SaaS [Software as a Service] programme, but only on the back of significant cost escalation.

Hidden costs have not been disclosed and are being kept under wraps, leaving stakeholders without a full picture of the financial exposure.

Contracts have been awarded through favoured agents, under the claim roles cannot be recruited directly. These agents are charging 10–15% fees per role, adding unnecessary cost.

A toxic culture, with a senior manager repeatedly protected despite bullying complaints and bypassing agreed processes.

Escalations have been ignored. The Welsh Government has been made aware of the concerns but they seem to say that this should be dealt with internally — which does not reflect the reality.

Contracts: A £1m contract has been signed with PwC to update the ERP [Enterprise Resource Planning] system ahead of a future migration to Microsoft D365. A further contract is in place with SA Global for the housing element.

Leadership: A senior manager has had prior escalations against them for bullying, and staff have already departed under their management.

Governance and Finance: There is no governance in place. Budget control is weak, with a senior manager repeatedly stating that they can access more funding from the Welsh Government “as if it were an open chequebook.” This allegation is vehemently denied by the manager concerned.

Key Resources Lost: A key official was, in the view of the whistleblower, pushed out, and another official’s contract was not renewed properly. Both were critical resources and their loss has undermined delivery.

Recruitment Practices: Instead of using proper internal processes, roles are being sourced largely through recruitment agencies, each charging around a 15% fee per hire. This unnecessarily inflates costs and raises suspicion as to why these roles cannot be filled directly.

Scope and Planning: While the system integrators have delivered much of what was within their remit, the bulk of issues stem from poor internal planning — adding too much scope, failing to make timely decisions, and stretching the programme beyond capacity.

Timeline Claims: When challenged, management insists they will go live by April 2026. This appears to be a politically motivated target date, one they are clinging to regardless of cost or delivery quality. The real question is not whether they can hit the date, but at what cost to the taxpayer.

Oversight: The whistleblower names those individuals said to be tied into the programme.

Financial Overrun: With poor resourcing, uncontrolled scope, and weak decision-making, the programme is already heading for an overrun in the region of £1.5–2m.

'Poorly governed'

The whistleblower said: In summary, this is a poorly governed, under-resourced programme, with spiralling costs being treated by senior leadership as if there were no financial limits. Given this is ultimately public money, the risks and misuse are of clear public interest.

A Transport for Wales spokesperson responded: “At Transport for Wales we take our responsibilities around transparency, effective governance and organisation culture incredibly seriously with clear procedures around all forms of financial expenditure, project and people management.

“The project remains on track within our overall governance and financial framework.

“The costs alleged are wholly inaccurate. Any changes associated with the cost compared to the original project are a result of choices to invest in additional benefits and do not resemble in any form the level of costs alleged in the statement.

“Any behavioural allegations have been robustly investigated through our internal people processes.”

The spokesperson added: “The budget for the project was £1.5m as part of a wider transformation project to modernise finance systems within Transport for Wales, aiming to improve efficiency and effectiveness.

“The scope of the project has been expanded in a controlled way following the identification of new opportunities to drive further efficiency and benefits. Any decisions will be made within appropriate governance arrangements.

“We are choosing to invest approximately £470,000 for additional enhancements for the wider organisation outside of the original scope such as further automation. This will help further reduce long term operational costs.

“Therefore the allegation of an overspend of £1.5-£2m is wholly inaccurate.”