Proposed rail links in Hertfordshire worth billions of pounds have been delayed or halted since the year 2000.
Transport chiefs including several mayors of London and cabinet ministers have previously said they would plug Herts towns into cross-capital train lines.
A new government cash boost for London’s infrastructure worth £250million means Transport for London (TfL) can buy new Piccadilly Line trains built in Goole, Yorkshire – work which is already underway.
But the 2024 funding settlement “probably means there won’t be any other big-ticket items” in the region next year, according to BBC London transport correspondent Tom Edwards.
The deal falls short of the £500m-a-year which TfL bosses had asked for.
Crossrail 2 – £32.6bn (2016)
Crossrail 2 could be in jeopardy.
The proposed railway would connect Broxbourne, Cheshunt and Waltham Cross in Hertfordshire with Dalston, central London, Wimbledon and Surrey.
An early price tag for the scheme was £12billion.
But in 2016, TfL estimated the scheme would cost £32.6bn – more than the £18.9bn cost of Crossrail 1, now known as the Elizabeth Line.
At the highest estimate, building Crossrail 2 could add £102bn to the regional economy based on 2011 prices.
Seb Dance, Sadiq Khan’s deputy mayor for transport, told MyLondon in November that the scheme could “absolutely” be put at risk if TfL fails to fill a £500m gap in its capital projects budget.
Crossrail 1 – at least £195m (2011)
Hertfordshire’s commuters have missed out on infrastructure deals before.
The Crossrail company considered two proposals for long-distance routes between central London and Watford, Tring, Broxbourne and Bishop’s Stortford.
Analysts scrapped plans for an under-London “Superlink” and “SuperCrossrail” in 2005.
They found the long-distance schemes would cost up to 80% more than the built Elizabeth Line route.
Network Rail planners revived proposals for an Elizabeth Line link to Watford and Tring in 2011.
They proposed building a £195-248m piece of track connecting the Paddington and Euston lines near Ealing in London.
The Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government launched a study into the scheme in 2014, but the government dropped plans two years later because they represented “poor overall value for money”.
Bakerloo Line extension – at least £100m (2008)
Early London Plans suggested the Bakerloo Line could reach Watford Junction by 2017.
The London Underground line’s northern terminus is at Harrow and Wealdstone and the trains share a track with the London Overground route into Hertfordshire.
A 2008 document reveals the Bakerloo scheme was “under development” with a “medium” project price between £100m and £1bn.
Three years later, a TfL-backed study listed the project as “unlikely”.
Metropolitan Line extension – £357.8m (2018)
TfL must spend its £250m settlement on long-term projects and cash cannot be used to fund day-to-day running costs. It is due to last for one year.
A 2003 estimate for the scheme stood at £61.2m.
But the price tag had increased by almost 500% by 2018.
Authorities including TfL and Hertfordshire County Council had spent £71.2m laying foundations for the scheme by 2017.
London’s City Hall bought an extra train for £15.5m to use on the route, which entered into passenger service.
A Met Line extension “is not affordable for [the] foreseeable future”, according to a 2021 report that TfL, Hertfordshire County Council and Watford Borough Council commissioned.
Consultants laid out a series of options, which included converting the Croxley route into a cycle track, a new tram-train between Croxley and St Albans, or a London Overground branch line.
London and Hertfordshire need ‘multi-year deal’
TfL’s £250m funding settlement must be spent on long-term projects and cannot be used to fund day-to-day running costs.
It is due to last for one year.
Muniya Barua, deputy chief executive at the membership organisation BusinessLDN, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “[The] one-year capital settlement for TfL provides some short-term certainty.
“It is now vital that a multi-year funding deal is agreed to enable London and suppliers across the country to plan for the future with confidence.
“That would benefit commuters and businesses in neighbouring Hertfordshire and the home counties who rely on the daily connectivity of the capital.”
Ms Barua added: “The benefits of long-term investment in London’s transport infrastructure are spread across the UK, unlocking development, growth and boosting supply chains.”
Peter Taylor, the Liberal Democrat Mayor of Watford, said connectivity with London is a “top issue” for the town’s residents.
The directly-elected mayor said: “We have got a situation where TfL has not got the funding it requires, so we have to be realistic. It will require government funding.”
Mr Taylor has previously called on the Mayor of London to move Watford into zone 6 to cut the cost of tickets into the central area.
Watford Junction lies outside the fare zone system.
“There is no logic to the system,” he said.
“We want it to be fair.
“The system we have now has developed on an ad hoc basis.”
Labour’s Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said he was “relieved” to secure a one-year funding deal.
He added: “It’s still vitally important that we agree on a decent long-term funding settlement from the government that allows us to plan and invest for the infrastructure London will need over the coming decades.”
Rail minister Huw Merriman announced the £250m figure on Monday, 18 December.
He said: “This investment must be well managed in a way that doesn’t unfairly burden the pockets of taxpayers and motorists.”
Mr Merriman added: “We’re investing in transport across the country and today’s agreement will have a tangible, positive impact not just for people travelling in and around the capital but also the millions who visit every year.
“It is fair for Londoners and taxpayers, underpinning projects that will support hundreds of skilled manufacturing jobs in our vital rail sector.”
According to the government, the Department for Transport has provided TfL with almost £6.4billion since 2020.
ENDS
- Gov.uk announcement for £250m is in a press release dated 18 December 2023 “Ministers and TfL agree £250 million government funding to upgrade London’s transport system”: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ministers-and-tfl-agree-250-million-government-funding-to-upgrade-londons-transport-system
- TfL response to funding settlement in a press release dated 18 December 2023: https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2023/december/statement-in-response-to-government-funding-announcement
- BBC London transport correspondent Tom Edwards comments on 18 December 2023 copy “London’s transport to get £250m government investment in 2024”: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-67746931
- Piccadilly Line upgrade does not enter Hertfordshire. Details on this scheme are: https://tfl.gov.uk/travel-information/improvements-and-projects/piccadilly-line-upgrade
- Crossrail 2
- £12billion figure from London First report “Crossrail 2: Supporting London’s Growth” dated February 2013: https://web.archive.org/web/20130213121440/http://londonfirst.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/LF_CROSSRAIL2_REPORT_AW_Single_Pages.pdf
- £32.6bn cost according to TfL as published by the National Infrastructure Commission in the report “Transport for a World City”: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a7f4efaed915d74e33f5a2a/Transport_for_a_world_city_-_100316.pdf
- Seb Dance’s comments on MyLondon article “New London Underground trains and Crossrail 2 ‘at risk’ without more Government cash” dated November 24: https://www.mylondon.news/news/transport/new-london-underground-trains-crossrail-28167156
- Crossrail 1
- SuperCrossrail and Superlink analysis from Cross London Rail Links Limited report “SuperCrossrail and Superlink Update Report” dated 24 May 2005: https://web.archive.org/web/20060621041546/http://www.crossrail.co.uk/80256B090053AF4C/Files/supercrossrailandsuperlink/%24FILE/supercrossrail+and+superlink+update.pdf
- Network Rail 2011 plan is option K1 in the London and South East Route Utilisation Strategy dated July 2011: https://web.archive.org/web/20171201035640/https://cdn.prgloo.com/media/download/d16a1941ea3a40c2bac279049051e1cf
- Government support for the WCML project in 2014 in a press release dated August 7, 2014 “Government launches study into potential Crossrail extension”: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-launches-study-into-potential-crossrail-extension
- Abandoned WCML project details due to “poor overall value for money to the taxpayer” from Hemel Today copy “Crossrail off the tracks as plans are shelved” dated 5 August 2016: https://www.hemeltoday.co.uk/news/crossrail-off-the-tracks-as-plans-are-shelved-849530
- Bakerloo line
- £100m figure and 2017 opening date from The London Plan: Spatial Development Strategy for Greater London (Consolidated with Alterations since 2004) dated February 2008: https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/the_london_plan_consolidated_with_alterations_since_2004_reduced.pdf
- “Unlikely” description noted in Croxley Rail Link Value for Money Annex Report dated September 2011: https://web.archive.org/web/20120405231547/http://www.croxleyraillink.com/media/30037/croxley%20rail%20link%20value%20for%20money%20annex.pdf
- Croxley
- £61.2m price tag for Croxley is 2004/05 price from table “Capital Plan Detailed Report – Accommodating London’s Growth” in TfL Board Meeting papers from October 29, 2003: https://content.tfl.gov.uk/agenda-29-10-2003.pdf
- 500% (484.6%) rise figure is £357.8m taken from City AM copy “Metropolitan Line extension stalemate between mayor Sadiq Khan and government leaves TfL mulling bus scheme alternative” dated 8 February 2018: https://www.cityam.com/metropolitan-line-extension-stalemate-between-mayor-sadiq/
- TfL sunk costs detail from Mayoral Decision MD2170 “Metropolitan Line Extension (MLX) – TfL Funding” dated 28 September 2017: https://www.london.gov.uk/decisions/md2170-metropolitan-line-extension-mlx-tfl-funding
- See signed document: https://www.london.gov.uk/media/74674/download
- MLX alternatives are detailed in Steer report “Metropolitan Line Extension Alternatives” dated June 2021: https://www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/media-library/documents/highways/mlx-alternatives-updated-report-2021-v1.01-accessible-checked.pdf
- Hertfordshire County Council website for Watford to Coxley Link (W2CL): https://www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/services/highways-roads-and-pavements/roadworks-and-road-closures/major-roadwork-projects/watford-to-croxley-link.aspx
