The Assembly's Transport Committee said in its response (10-page / 144KB PDF) to Transport for London (TfL) and Network Rail's consultation on the proposals that the need for Crossrail 2 was underpinned by "significant population and employment growth" and that the project would bring a boost to London's economy, reduce overcrowding and make rail services more reliable.
The consultation, which was launched in May, set out two options for the route. One, the 'Metro Option', would be a stand-alone Underground line with high-frequency services running from Wimbledon to Alexandra Palace. Central stops would include Clapham Junction, Victoria and Euston.
Option two, the 'Regional Option', would operate in a similar way to the existing Crossrail route. It would follow the same route as the Metro option, but would be extended at both the northern and the southern ends of the route onto suburban rail lines.
The Assembly said in its report that the regional route would have more benefits for the capital. It said that, although the metro scheme could be more reliable and less expensive, the regional route would provide greater connectivity and have the capacity to carry more passengers and alleviate overcrowding on existing services.
The Assembly welcomed the £2 million Government funding provided to TfL for the project, which was announced in the recent Spending Review. It said that a jointly-sponsored scheme between TfL, the Department for Transport and businesses should be the template for the Crossrail 2 funding proposal, as it was for Crossrail 1.
"The partnership funding model between TfL and central government played a central role in protecting the original Crossrail scheme from cancellation in the 2010 Spending Review," it said.
The Assembly also called on TfL to provide further information about the data behind the scoring for its route options analysis and for Network Rail to clarify any trade-offs in existing rail capacity from the proposed scheme, particularly in south west London.
"London needs a transport network that can cope with the millions of extra passengers that will travel on our tube and trains in future," said the Assembly's Transport Committee chair Valerie Shawcross. "The cost-effective investment needed to construct Crossrail 2 will herald sustainable rewards, potentially boosting London’s economy by up to £49 billion, not to mention much-needed relief to passengers suffering on some of the UK’s most-crowded services".
“Crossrail 2’s construction should be the catalyst to realise London’s Olympics regeneration dream. Improving transport links to the Lea Valley alone could have the potential to boost London’ economy by £4 billion, showing what a world of difference this could make to disadvantaged parts of London," she added.
