'Crucial stage' reached for Crossrail 2 project

Work on the first Crossrail is well underway
Alex Lentati/Evening Standard
Pippa Crerar21 April 2017

A powerful cross-party alliance of MPs today warned the Government it had reached the “crucial stage” to back Crossrail 2.

Almost 60 Tory, Labour and Lib Dem MPs have written to Chancellor Philip Hammond and Transport Secretary Chris Grayling to urge them to rally behind the £31 billion project.

They say the north-south railway across the capital is needed to avert major overcrowding and would boost the UK economy by up to £150 billion, as well as having a “transformative” effect on the region and supporting 20,000 new homes and 200,000 jobs.

Their letter added: “This is a crucial stage for this project of national significance. It urgently needs ministers’ backing in order to progress... as a clear signal to the rest of the world that Britain is open for business.”

Signatories include senior Tories Michael Gove, Bob Neill and Dominic Raab as well as Labour’s Chuka Umunna, Harriet Harman and David Lammy. More than 40 councils from across London and the South-East have already called on ministers to give Crossrail 2 the green light, along with Mayor Sadiq Khan.

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