Out-Law News 1 min. read

Crossrail 2 route proposal published


Recommendations for a £12 billion Crossrail 2 rail link route running from south west London to north east London have been published in a new report by lobby group London First.

The proposed route, which would include a tunnel beneath central London, includes stops at Wimbledon, Clapham Junction, Euston, Hackney and Tottenham and would, in some cases, reduce journey times by more than half, said London First in a statement.

Transport for London has said it will consult on proposals for the route in the spring, according to a Financial Times report. This will include London First's proposal as well as a cheaper option which would follow the same route via an underground line.

London First said its task force had concluded that the proposed £12bn scheme would be "by far the most cost-effective method of delivering the necessary step-change in capacity required". It said that, without Crossrail 2, at least £6bn would need to be spent on improvements to existing tube and rail infrastructure.

London First said that the expected rise in the capital's population to almost 10 million by 2030 created a need for "significant additional capacity" on the transport networks.

"Today’s report sets out a compelling plan with strong business support," said chair of London First's Crossrail 2 taskforce and former Transport Minister Andrew Adonis. "Crossrail 2 is an integrated tube and rail service connecting south-west, central, and north-east London, benefiting millions of passengers and jobs." 

"Crossrail 1 provides a new east to west London line; Crossrail 2 is equally important for south-west to north-east London routes, where congestion on rail and tube lines will be unbearable by the late 2020s," he said.

"Waterloo, Victoria, Euston, Kings Cross, St Pancras and Clapham Junction all gain massive congestion relief from Crossrail 2, which is essential to keep London moving as its population rises by another 1.5 million over the next 20 years and the number of rail journeys into London termini increase dramatically,” Adonis said.

“The case for the construction of Crossrail 2 is incontestable and is made forcibly in this report," said Mayor of London Boris Johnson. 

"Over the next 20 years London’s population is forecast to expand to levels that will clog the Tube and rail arteries of our great city if we do not provide more capacity.  There is no time to lose and my team will work closely with London First and others on developing plans for this vital railway,” Johnson said.

London First said that, if planning and consultations on the line starts now, construction could begin in the 2020s and the line could open in the early 2030s.

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