Please don’t delay Crossrail 2 Sadiq

Sadiq Khan’s brilliant victory on Friday made me proud. A Labour London Mayor winning by promising opportunity and hope, homes Londoners can afford, high-skilled jobs with decent pay, and an affordable and modern transport system.

This week our Labour London Mayor will be face big decisions about how to deliver the modern transport system London desperately needs. And there’s no bigger decision than Crossrail 2.

Andrew Adonis has rightly argued that London will “grind to a halt” by the 2030s unless Crossrail 2 is delivered.

Some argue the Crossrail 2 route is too ambitious and should be delayed to save money. That’s a false economy. Any delay on Crossrail 2 will come at a huge cost for jobs, homes and economic growth in London.

A delay to Crossrail 2 would stop the new rail link extending to Enfield, Barnet and the north of Haringey. That would mean no Crossrail 2 stations at Wood Green in Haringey and New Southgate, on the border of Barnet and Enfield, That would deny over 700,000 Londoners in the north of our city a new high speed rail line on their doorstep. And a delay would also mean the end of the Crossrail 2 link to Seven Sisters, one of the areas of London most in need of new jobs, new homes and economic growth.

If you’re in any doubt about why this is so important, just look at the huge benefits of Crossrail 1, the new East-West rail link, opening in two years time. Crossrail 1 will bring an extra 1.5 million people to within 45 minutes of central London, linking Ilford to Heathrow, Abbey Wood to the West End and Ealing to the City. Crossrail 1 will support regeneration across the capital and add an estimated £42bn to the economy of the UK.

Crossrail 2 can do the same for North London and South London.

So I urge Sadiq to get Crossrail 2 delivered in full and without delay. Let’s give people in North London a new rail link on their doorstep which will deliver new jobs, new homes and economic growth for generations to come.

It took 40 years to get Crossrail 1 off the drawing board until 2008 when a Labour government got the East-West rail link through parliament so it could be opened a decade later.

Andrew Adonis said earlier in the year, ‘There is no good reason to delay. Crossrail 2 will help to keep London moving, create hundreds of thousands of homes and fire regeneration across the city from north-east to south-west.’

I agree 100%.

Transport is the key to making London a city of hope and opportunity. So congratulations Sadiq on your fantastic victory! Please put Crossrail 2 at the top of your agenda as Mayor and deliver this project in full without delay.

Claire Kober is leader of Haringey Council