Railway industry welcomes today’s support for Crossrail 2

24 January 2019

Transport for London (TfL) has today restated its commitment to delivering Crossrail 2, in papers published ahead of its Board meeting next week. The papers say that – despite money earmarked for Crossrail 2 being diverted to completing Crossrail 1 – TfL and the Mayor’s office are fully committed to delivering Crossrail 2 as quickly as possible, and will be making the case for continued government support for this nationally significant infrastructure project.

In response, Darren Caplan, Chief Executive of the Railway Industry Association (RIA), said: “The Railway Industry Association said earlier this month that schemes like Crossrail and Crossrail 2 have a transformational impact on the UK, its economy and connectivity and therefore a delay to one should not affect decisions on the other.

“Crossrail 2 will support 200,000 new homes, 60,000 new jobs during the project and a 10% increase in rail capacity. So we welcome news that the concerns raised by RIA and others are being addressed, and that TfL and the London Mayor are committed to working with the Government, to find funding and safeguard the route for Crossrail 2.

“We also continue to urge policy makers to support other crucial nationally important rail projects across the country, such as HS2, Northern Powerhouse Rail, Trans Pennine Upgrade, and East West Rail – developing a strong national transport infrastructure is essential for the UK’s economy and connectivity, in what are clearly uncertain times.”

1. The TfL Board papers are available at here.  In particular, see page 64.
2. About RIA:  The Railway Industry Association (RIA) is the voice of the UK rail supply community. We help to grow a sustainable, high-performing, railway supply industry, and to export UK rail expertise and products. We promote and represent our members’ interests to policy makers, clients and other stakeholders in the UK and overseas. RIA has 240+ companies in membership in a sector that contributes £36 billion in economic growth and £11 billion in tax revenue each year, as well as employing 600,000 people—more than the workforce of Birmingham. It is also a growing industry with the number of rail journeys expected to double over the next 25 years and freight set to grow significantly too. RIA’s membership is active across the whole of railway supply, covering a diverse range of products and services and including both multi-national companies and SMEs (60% by number). RIA works to promote the importance of the rail system to UK plc, to help export UK expertise around the globe and to share best practice and innovation across the industry.