Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which railway stations in London have been refurbished or rebuilt since 2010; and at what cost to the public purse.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Since 2010, we have spent c£1.93bn on rebuilding London Bridge, Farringdon, City Thameslink and Blackfriars stations, as part of the Thameslink Programme. Ten new stations are being built (or significantly expanded) as part of the Crossrail Programme, in addition to a number of other stations that are being enhanced. The cost of Crossrail station improvement works to the taxpayer will be finalised when works are complete. In addition, c£144m has been spent on other station improvements in London through the National Station Improvement Programme, the Access for all Programme and the New Stations Fund. Other station renewals and enhancements have also been delivered – this is not a definitive list of all spend since 2010.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have held with Transport for London on plans for a Chelsea station on King's Road in proposals for Crossrail 2; and whether such plans are still included in the latest proposals.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Given current affordability constraints, TfL have confirmed that they are not in a position to prioritise investment in Crossrail 2. In the funding agreement reached with the Mayor and TfL on 31 October 2020 it was agreed to prioritise safeguarding activity for the project. The Department for Transport and TfL are now in discussion on updating the safeguarding of the route for the project.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with Crossrail Limited and Transport for London about plans for a Chelsea station on the Kings Road in the latest Crossrail 2 proposal.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Department for Transport officials have regular discussions with Transport for London (TfL) about Crossrail 2 as joint sponsors for the project. No discussions have taken place with Crossrail Limited, who are a subsidiary of TfL and are responsible for delivering the Elizabeth line only.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they intend to hold a full-route public consultation for the latest Crossrail 2 proposal.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The next steps for Crossrail 2 will need to be considered in light of the Government led review on TfL’s future financial sustainability and the forthcoming Spending Review.
Asked by: David Evennett (Conservative - Bexleyheath and Crayford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has with (a) the Mayor of London and (b) Transport for London on the timescale for Crossrail becoming fully operational.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Secretary of State has regular discussions with the Mayor of London, covering a variety of subjects, including progress in delivering Crossrail.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have made a decision on the Crossrail 2 Strategic Outline Business Case; and if not, when they intend to do so.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Crossrail 2 is a jointly sponsored project between my Department and Transport for London (TfL). We need to collectively ensure that Crossrail 2 is affordable before a decision can be taken about the future of the project.
Following the emergency funding package agreed with the Mayor in May 2020 a Government led review on TfL’s future financial sustainability is being undertaken. The next steps for Crossrail 2 will therefore need to be considered in light of this review and the forthcoming Spending Review.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the role of the Department for Transport in (1) managing, and (2) setting the budget of, the Crossrail 2 project; and what other organisations will be responsible for the delivery of that project.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Crossrail 2 is jointly sponsored by the Department for Transport (DfT) and Transport for London (TfL). Both organisations therefore fund the development of the project and as part of this agree annual budgets.
As joint sponsors DfT and TfL oversee an integrated project team tasked with the development of the project. This team comprises of TfL and Network Rail staff
In July this year, TfL published a revised budget. This acknowledged that there were some difficult choices on future major transport schemes such as Crossrail 2 and that they needed to be realistic about its affordability over the next decade. Government continues to discuss next steps for Crossrail 2 as a consequence.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what are (1) the dates of, and (2) the reasons for, each announced stage of delay in the completion of the Elizabeth Line; and what has been the additional cost of each delay.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Crossrail Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Transport for London.
In August 2018, Crossrail Limited (CRL) announced a delay to the opening of the Elizabeth line which was originally due to open in December 2018, stating that services would launch in autumn 2019. CRL stated that the reasons for this delay was due to more time being needed by contractors to complete fit-out activity in the central tunnels and the development of railway systems software, and that testing had started but further time was required to complete the full range of integrated tests.
In April 2019, CRL announced their revised schedule which identified a six-month window for delivery of the central section, with a midpoint at the end of 2020. CRL stated that the reasons for this delay was due to the complexity of the remaining work and the level of risk and uncertainty remaining in the development and testing of the train and signalling systems.
In November 2019, CRL announced that the Elizabeth line would open “as soon as practically possible in 2021” stating that further time was needed to complete software development for the signalling and train systems and the safety approvals process for the railway.
In January 2020, CRL announced that it planned to open the central section of the railway in summer 2021 and the full Elizabeth line by mid-2022, citing challenges with completing the software development and the safety assurance processes preventing it from meeting its previously planned opening window.
In August 2020, CRL announced that the central section between Paddington and Abbey Wood would not be ready to open until the first half of 2022 and that following the opening of the central section, full services across the Elizabeth line from Reading and Heathrow in the west to Abbey Wood and Shenfield in the east will be introduced. CRL stated that the schedule delay was due to lower than planned productivity in the final completion and handover of the shafts and portals, revisions to the schedule assumptions for the completion of the new stations and the impacts of Covid-19 had placed significant constraints on ongoing work and productivity due to the reduced numbers that can work on site to meet strict social distancing requirements.
In December 2018, the Government approved a £2.15bn funding package whereby the Department for Transport would provide a loan of £1.3bn to the Greater London Authority (GLA) and a loan of £750m to Transport for London (TfL) to finance the remaining costs of the project. The GLA also provided a £100m cash contribution.
In August 2020, CRL announced that the cost to complete the Crossrail project could be up to £1.1bn above the funding package agreed in December 2018.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding has been loaned from the public purse to Crossrail Limited; and what the (a) timescales, (b) rates of interest and (c) other terms of repayment are on those loans.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Government has not made any direct loans to Crossrail Limited.
In December 2018, the Government approved a £2.15bn funding package whereby the Department for Transport would provide a loan of £1.3bn to the Greater London Authority (GLA) and a loan of £750m to Transport for London (TfL) to finance the remaining costs of the project. The interest and loan repayment will occur annually over the next 10 years. The terms of the repayment are commercially sensitive.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent estimate he has made of the cost of the Crossrail project; and what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on allocating additional funding from the public purse to that project.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
In August 2020, Crossrail Limited announced that they will require an additional £450m in funding to finance the remaining costs of the project. This is in addition to the £400 to £650m funding they announced that they would require in November 2019. Crossrail Limited have stated that work is ongoing to finalise their cost estimates.
Crossrail Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Transport for London, will require a revised funding package and discussions are ongoing to ensure it remains fair to UK taxpayers with London as the primary beneficiary bearing the costs.