London’s deputy mayor for transport has called on the government to throw its weight behind Crossrail 2 in the wake of Brexit.
Speaking at the Westminster Property Association’s Crossrail 2 Summit in London today, Val Shawcross said Brexit was “sapping a lot of time and energy” in government but the new north-south Tube link would be even more essential after leaving the EU.
Ahead of a key meeting on the £31bn project between City Hall and transport minister Chris Grayling on 18 July, Shawcross said: “I would have liked Crossrail 2 to be in the Queen’s Speech but colleagues more experienced than me said they weren’t that surprised: the government is very much focused on Brexit. That’s why the Queen’s speech was as it was.
“However, Brexit is also justification for doing this project, because you have got to have some positive plans in place for the post-Brexit period. Britain will have to paddle its own canoe very hard.”
The WPA said today it sought urgent assurances from the government that the parliamentary process would be completed in time for construction to start around 2023 and for the new line to open in the early 2030s.
Listen to the full interview with Shawcross
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