THE DEPARTMENT for Transport has said the latest Strategic Outline Business Case for Crossrail 2 satisfies Treasury guidance, with no further work required at this stage.
According to papers submitted to Transport for London’s Programmes and Investment Committee, DfT described the SOBC as a high quality document. TfL has been developing Crossrail 2 with a view to a decision to proceed further with the scheme being made at the Spending Review, which was expected last year but has been delayed and will now be completed in July.
The SOBC was submitted in June 2019 and follows several iterations, with the first SOBC having been submitted in 2015. The Secretary of State for Transport and Mayor of London have agreed to fund the scheme on a 50:50 basis and an Independent Affordability Review has been carried out. The committee papers explain the expected timescale is for a Spending Review submission in summer 2020 and a decision in November.
Crossrail 2 envisages a route in new tunnel between Wimbledon and Tottenham Hale, running beyond this onto existing Network Rail tracks on the South Western and West Anglia routes. It is expected to cost at least £30 billion, with completion in the 2030s.
