DfT and TfL had summer talks about Crossrail 2 future

Negotiations are ongoing to secure the future of a multi-billion pound railway running north-south through London, the Government has confirmed.

The Department for Transport (DfT) has been in talks over the summer with Transport for London (TfL) about the Crossrail 2 project, which would stretch from Hertfordshire to Surrey.

The scheme, which in 2019 was estimated to cost more than £41bn, is not expected to receive the required funding any time soon.

Rather than money however, the discussions have instead focused on updating the project’s “safeguarding directions”. These are legal orders which protect the land along the proposed tunnel route through central London from infrastructure or property developments which could make the railway harder or impossible to build.

Buildings between Gresse Street and Rathbone Place in Fitzrovia could be demolished to make way for surface works when the railway tunnel under central London is built. In 2015 a number of buildings in Oxford Street and Hanway Street were bought in anticipation of the site being redeveloped as part of Crossrail 2.

Asked what progress the talks had made, the DfT said no decision had been reached, but confirmed discussions were ongoing. TfL said that while the scheme was not an immediate priority, it remained “a long-term aspiration” which could “help unlock thousands of new jobs and homes not only in London but across the South East”.

According to mayor Sadiq Khan’s office, the negotiations are “subject to TfL agreeing statutory blight payments and the necessary programme for lifting the existing directions and replacing them with new directions to reflect the current Crossrail 2 scheme design”.

The route would make use of the existing railway lines from Surrey through to Wimbledon, at which point it is proposed to go underground through Balham to Clapham Junction.

It would then pass under the Thames to a new station on the King’s Road in Chelsea, before calling at Victoria, Tottenham Court Road (linking to the Elizabeth Line, aka Crossrail 1) and a new interchange linking Euston and St Pancras stations.

Travelling north, the route would stop at Angel and Dalston, and would then re-emerge above ground at Tottenham Hale. From there, it would follow the existing railway line up to Broxbourne.

A separate branch would split off at Dalston towards Seven Sisters and New Southgate, with intermediate stops at either Wood Green or Turnpike Lane and Alexandra Palace. Another branch from Dalston to Hackney Central and further east has also been suggested.

In 2016, the Government announced £80million of development funding for the project, to be matched by TfL. Ministers also said they intended to support a bill which would have enabled the scheme to go ahead. Two years later though, the project was subject to a Government-ordered affordability review.

By October 2020, TfL’s finances had become crippled by the pandemic, and as part of a funding deal struck with the Government, it was agreed that work on Crossrail 2 would be shelved.

However, the deal included a promise by ministers to support any “safeguarding activity” required to ensure the scheme was not killed off entirely.

Mayor Khan similarly pledged in his recent re-election manifesto “to continue work to safeguard the Crossrail 2 route so that this much-needed project can be brought to fruition in the future”.

The importance of preserving the scheme’s viability was underlined in 2021, when it was revealed by New Civil Engineer that a total of £115million had already been spent developing proposals for the project in the six years to 2020.

Elly Baker, a Labour member of the London Assembly, recently urged those involved to keep the scheme alive.

“The Elizabeth Line has been a massive success. It’s sped up journeys for Londoners, unlocked housing and stimulated our economy, making our city an even better place to live,” she said earlier this month.

“Crossrail 2 could support our city even more. We cannot let it fall off the agenda.”

Responding in July to a written question from Baker on the topic, the mayor said: “There continues to be a strong case for developing Crossrail 2 for the longer-term development of London, with previous assessments concluding that CR2 could support around 200,000 homes and around 200,000 jobs.

“Currently, TfL is working with the DfT to refresh the safeguarding to ensure it reflects the latest route proposition. Active development of the scheme has been paused in recent years reflecting the lack of available funding, with focus instead on nearer-term schemes with higher potential for third-party funding.

“The Elizabeth line has demonstrated the transformative power of reliable urban rail, with some of the highest ridership numbers in the country. Sixty per cent of employment growth within Greater London, during the Elizabeth line build between 2015 and 2022, has been within 1km of an Elizabeth line station. The Elizabeth line has demonstrated delivery of 55,000 new homes so far.

“I am committed to working with TfL and the new Government to identify funding for major capital schemes to unlock growth, like that we’ve seen the Elizabeth line deliver.”

Additional reporting by Linus Rees.