Mayor awards over £28 million to transform areas around Crossrail stations
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TfL funding will support schemes outside Crossrail stations in outer London
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Money
will help local boroughs improve public spaces and make journeys better
for pedestrians, cyclists and public transport users
The
Mayor has awarded over £28 million to outer London boroughs in order
for them to transform the public spaces around Crossrail
stations. The TfL funding will support local borough-led projects at
seventeen stations in Greater London and will help cut crime, improve
road safety and make areas more pleasant for millions of passengers.
Improvements will include:
·
Creating safe and secure walking and cycling routes and facilities;
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Developing seamless interchanges with local bus networks and taxis;
·
Making improvements to the public realm and streets, on station forecourts and adjacent roads;
·
Improving lighting in the surrounding areas in order to reduce crime
The improvements will be made by 2019, and will follow a huge
range of other benefits that customers will experience when TfL
takes over services between Liverpool Street and Shenfield from 31 May
next year, ahead of Crossrail arriving.
Customers on all of the new TfL-run rail services will benefit from
improvements, including staff at every station at all times that
trains are running, better accessibility provision, including a turn up
and go service for anyone needing ramps onto trains, full integration
with TfL fares and ticketing and a more reliable
service.
The
Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “It is hard to believe how far
Crossrail has come; it has moved forward at an astounding
pace. Now the key construction is well underway it is only right that
we turn our attention to the areas around the stations. This funding
will help boroughs complete a wealth of improvements in order to make
travel safer and more pleasant for hundreds of
thousands of Londoners.”
Leon
Daniels, TfL’s Managing Director of Surface Transport, said: “TfL-run
Crossrail will revolutionise travel across
London, cutting journey times for millions, easing crowding and
transforming access for disabled Londoners. As we do this, it is also
important to make local improvements around our stations, making it
easier for passengers to use or interchange with Crossrail
services, whether they have arrived by rail, bus, foot or bike. This
funding will do that – transforming public spaces for the benefit of
everyone.”
TfL-run Crossrail will carry over 200
million passengers a year,
boosting
London’s rail-based capacity by 10 per cent, easing crowding and
providing faster journey times. It will help London keep pace with a
rapidly growing population and will support new jobs and economic
growth.
Crossrail
is the first transport project to deliver integrated designs with three
elements in mind, including the station, above the station, and
improved public spaces
that surround them. These have been designed in close partnership
between TfL, local authorities, Network Rail and Crossrail Limited.
·
Artist impressions of the schemes are available at -
https://www.flickr.com/photos/tflpress/sets/72157649164416702/
·
A
Public Space scheme at Hayes and Harlington in LB Hillingdon is
proposed to be funded as part of a Local Implementation Plan Major
Scheme that is already in
development and design for Hayes Town Centre.
·
It is anticipated that over 200 million people will travel on Crossrail every year.
·
Crossrail
will serve 40 stations, linking Reading and Heathrow in the west, to
Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east, with 21km of new twin-bore tunnels
under central London.
London Crossrail 2 'preferred route' outlined by mayor
A
preferred route for a proposed £20bn Crossrail 2 scheme, running
north-south through London, has been identified by mayor Boris Johnson.
A second Crossrail scheme is vital to support the capital's growth, the mayor claimed.
If approved by the government, the line could be transporting
up to 90,000 people into central London in the morning peak by 2030.
Crossrail 2 would run from Cheshunt in Hertfordshire to Epsom in Surrey.
It would pass through central London via places including Tottenham Court Road, Victoria, Chelsea and Clapham Junction.
If proposals are approved, construction could begin in 2017.
Setting out the case for the line in a speech at the City Age
conference, the mayor said: "With London's population soon to surpass
its previous 1939 peak of 8.6 million and with more people travelling by
Tube and rail than ever before, we need additional rail capacity to
support future growth.
"For the capital to remain globally competitive, there needs
to be continued investment in our transport network and that's why we
have to get cracking on planning for Crossrail 2."
The scheme would complement the £14.8bn east-west Crossrail
scheme, currently being built and scheduled to be operational by 2018.
Supporters say it will slash journey times across London,
with a journey from Kingston, in south-west London, to Tottenham Court
Road being completed in 29 minutes - 17 minutes faster than today.
Those travelling between Dalston, in north-east London and
Tottenham Court Road would have an eight-minute journey - 19 minutes
faster than today.
Mr Johnson said he was confident the private sector could, in
the right circumstances, contribute to well over half the cost of
Crossrail 2.
The east-west London Crossrail scheme, which is currently being built is scheduled to operate by 2018
Opportunities for consultation
Labour Assembly Member Val Shawcross said the announcement of a
preferred route was "a big step forward" but added: "What we need to
see now is the fully worked-up funding package which will make this
project a reality."
Despite broad support for a new rail link in Chelsea, it is one area where there is concern over the positioning of a new station.
Conservative
MP for Chelsea and Fulham, Greg Hands, has said there was "a great
deal of concern" from residents on Cremorne Estate, on the King's Road,
that demolition of housing may be required if it is chosen for the
location of the Chelsea West station.
The current proposed location for the station would be
further east near the fire station on the King's Road and received the
majority of support in this summer's consultation.
The consultation document says, over the course of 2015,
there will be further work on the consideration and assessment of
options and a number of opportunities for more detailed consultation.
