The government’s Budget has delayed the Bakerloo Line extension, leaving commuters with only a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel.
The proposed route would extend the underground route to Lewisham, with new stations being built at Old Kent Road and Burgess Park.
Neil Coyle MP was hopeful that the Autumn Budget would give the long-awaited infrastructure project a much needed boost. But government didn’t set aside any cash specifically for the extension, let alone the £8 billion it needs.
It is now projects like HS2’s Euston station, the Northern Powerhouse Rail , East West Rail and the Transpennine Route Upgrade that are steaming ahead.
The Central London Forward think tank told us that the Treasury’s decision would hinge on which projects would give the taxpayer the ‘best bang for buck’. While that may be true, this was likely a political choice too, with Labour being careful not to neglect those ‘Red Wall’ voters it fought so hard to win back.
It’s not all doom and gloom. Transport for London is conducting feasibility studies on the two new stations. In the capital, there is a real cross-party movement of local authorties trying to get this done.
Ultimately, it is unclear where Bakerloo’s funding will come from. However you dress it up, the Budget was bad news for the Bakerloo.
London has a well funded transport system the envy of everywhere else in the country. It is only right and fair especially when money is tight, funding for any transport projects should be distributed outside the capital. I would have also preferred the Oxford-Cambridge rail link to be postponed in favour of long neglected areas further north.