Alarm as Crossrail 2 'may not be completed until the 2040s'

The tunnels for the original Crossrail in Farringdon
Jeremy Selwyn / Evening Standard

London business groups expressed alarm today after it emerged that the north-south Crossrail 2 link may not be completed until the 2040s.

A longer construction period is one option being looked at by Transport for London officials as they wrestle with how to fund a project that is likely to cost around £45 billion.

The line, which would run from the Surrey commuter belt through central London to Hertfordshire, was originally scheduled to be fully open by 2033.

However, a draft business case handed by TfL to the Government says that construction could be phased over a longer period and extend into the following decade to make it easier to raise the funding.

But David Leam, head of infrastructure at business group London First, said it would be “extremely disappointing” if the project’s timetable is pushed back.

He said: ”This is something we have bneen talking about since the Seventies. If it is delayed there will be intolerable pressure on existing stations.”

A TfL spokeswoman said the phased opening proposal was one of a number of options being looked at ahead of the submission of a more detailed funding plan to transport Secretary Chris Grayling later this year. She added that no final decisions have been taken. TfL said in June that it would put up half the money for Crossrail 2.

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