Conservatives vow to build Crossrail

[whole diary]

[onthecushions]

The new SoS, Hammond was shadow Chief Sec. to the Treasury so was a spending hawk. The Under Minister (of state) for railways was not yet announced this am.

Clegg, being a Sheffield MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) has taken a stand pro-Electrification, even doing costings, so is unlikely to backtrack on GW^▸ (Great Western)/MML^» (Midland Main Line. - about) schemes which at 1Bn each are dirt cheap.

Crossrail is politically needed as London has clout but the scheme is absurdly expensive, at 16Bn for only 6 miles of tunnel. It has also started.

It could probably cut several Bn's off the cost by building tube stations rather than  7 storey underground palaces (similar to Canary Wharf). Also, intergrating with PSE (Paddington Suburban Electrification) would give significant economies of scale and operation. As these Bn's would come off the Govt's minority contribution, not TfL^» (Transport for London - about)'s or Business, the percentage saving is considerable. I hope that they don't cut capacity (i.e platform lengths, alignment, signalling).

Fingers crossed,

OTC

[IndustryInsider]

One of many articles proclaiming Conservative support for Crossrail:

http://www.newbusiness.co.uk/articles/travel-advice/government-back-crossrail

Though no wonder it's costing so much if the trains are going to be 2km long?  To quote the article: "Crossrail is a new 73-mile rail line that will carry 24 trains an hour during rush hour in ten 200-metre long carriages." 

[willc]

It's probably still cheaper than Boris's new Routemaster bus for London. Estimated development bill for five prototypes is ^7.8m. No Tory cuts there then.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/may/17/london-mayor-buses-project-criticised

[Electric train]

It's probably still cheaper than Boris's new Routemaster bus for London. Estimated development bill for five prototypes is ^7.8m. No Tory cuts there then.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/may/17/london-mayor-buses-project-criticised

Wonder if they are designed, built and marketed in Eton 

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Crossrail links to Abbey Wood and Maidenhead 'in doubt'

London Mayor Boris Johnson has raised doubts over the ^16bn Crossrail project going ahead "in its entirety".
He said branches to Abbey Wood, in south-east London, and Maidenhead, in Berkshire, could be threatened under the new government.
Transport secretary Philip Hammond has already said the project may not be completed by 2017.
Work has been under way since January 2009 on the route running from Berkshire to Essex across London.
The 72-mile (116km) rail line will connect Maidenhead with Shenfield in Essex passing through the West End and Canary Wharf. There will also be a link to Heathrow Airport.
Speaking at City Hall, Mr Johnson said he could come under pressure from the new government to modify the scheme and do away with the spurs.
"They would try to de-scope. I would be fighting very very hard to protect the project in its entirety. It's absolutely vital that we mount a Stalingrad-like defence of the London transport settlement. It's fascinating, the degree of ignorance about Crossrail still in the minds of the public and indeed in the minds of many of our important political colleagues. The more we can explain why it matters to London, the better."
In the run up to the elections, the Conservatives had come under fire when they refused to guarantee the funding of the project.
But on Friday Mr Hammond pledged his commitment to the project but warned it was essential to keep costs as low as possible although he said he could not guarantee the route would be ready on time by 2017.
The mayor said delaying the completion will add to the costs and not reduce it in the long-term.
Hotel groups have warned the mayor that his plans to make them pay an extra ^66 per sq m if new hotels are built near the route could harm the tourism industry.
The Mayor's office said its impact on tourism should be minimal, adding that for an initial three-year period there will be a 20% reduction in the charge on new developments.

[woody]

From the Independent,
The new Transport Secretary Philip Hammond claimed yesterday that we are going to have to  'sweat assets better'.
 Having ruled out a third runway at Heathrow, the new Government is committed to a new high-speed rail line. Mr Hammond said he did not think it would be difficult to get private funding for the line. "Over the coming years we are going to have to learn to do things differently. As far as transport is concerned we are going to have to sweat the assets we have much better. We are going to have to look at new and innovative ways of funding capital expenditure."

 http://www.anhourago.co.uk/show.aspx?l=4177886&d=501

[Electric train]

"we are going to have to sweat the assets we have much better" so they become a real problem in 10 years time and will cost 3 times as much to renew and failures will increase as a result of the sweating ....................

The Tory mantra don't change much from the days of Marples and his hench man Beeching ............... "We will end the war on motorists. Motoring has got to get greener but the car is not going to go away."

[eightf48544]

Latest gossip from fairly reliable sources suggest LHR as Western terminus for Crossrail. With 10 tph?

Bang goes the Relief line service from Taplow, Burnham, Langley Iver and West Drayton.

[Electric train]

Latest gossip from fairly reliable sources suggest LHR as Western terminus for Crossrail. With 10 tph?

Bang goes the Relief line service from Taplow, Burnham, Langley Iver and West Drayton.

At this stage I would put it down to just that gossip, as I doubt very much if the Crossrail senior team, DoT and the Treasury have really had chance to sit around a table to look at the scheme and an implications of changing it