Transport Secretary Mark Harper praised the £20 billion project
(Picture: PA Archive)Crossrail shows how major infrastructure projects can deliver long-term benefits to the nation if they are not derailed by naysayers, the new Transport Secretary has said.
Mark Harper praised the £20 billion project — renamed the Elizabeth line when trains started running in May — as he made clear the Government’s commitment to building the HS2 high-speed line between London and Manchester.
But his remarks were also interpreted by Mayor Sadiq Khan as showing the willingness of the Government to work with City Hall and the capital’s businesses to deliver other projects — potentially paving the way for the Bakerloo line extension, the DLR extension to Thamesmead or Crossrail 2.
Mr Harper made his first public appearance as Transport Secretary at an event marking the Elizabeth line’s first six months.
Noting the 70 million journeys clocked up already, he said: “It’s fantastic it has been so successful. It’s something I will reflect on as we talk about other infrastructure projects.
“There are many people that wonder why we build them and how much money they cost. But, funnily enough, when you build them people come and they use them and then you never hear people suggest that you shouldn’t have built them.”
The line went £4 billion over budget and was almost four years late. But Mr Harper said “it’s worth getting these things built to ensure growth and prosperity across the whole of the UK”.
A lack of cash has forced Transport for London to mothball the £3 billion Bakerloo line extension to Lewisham, an £800 million cross-Thames extension of the DLR to Thamesmead and the £41 billion Crossrail 2 scheme.
Mr Harper said he “gets on very well” with Mr Khan but predicted “tough negotiations”.
Asked about the Bakerloo line extension, Mr Harper told the Standard: “There were a number of things that were effectively paused during the pandemic and we have got a bit of the Elizabeth line still to finish off next year. Then we will have to come back to some of those other investment projects and look at those in due course.”
Transport for London is due to publish its updated business plan in the coming days, setting out its spending plane over the next three years.
TfL commissioner Andy Lord said it would be “phenomenal” if a Crossrail-style funding package could be secured for the Bakerloo or DLR extensions “or, dare I say it, Crossrail 2”.
Mr Lord said: “We have ready-made projects there that are safeguarded. The business cases are there. We can make a really strong economic case as to why major infrastructure projects deliver huge value not only to the city they are built in but the wider economy.”
