By © Muhammad Haque
“We all need Crossrail. It links the airports with the West End, City, Docklands, and many other places beyond, East, West and South.”
Really?
So the EXISTING London underground lines, overground lines, bus routes all AVOID those places? Consistently?
And have done so at all times since they were built?
What exactly are the ‘many other places beyond, East, West and South’?
And before the crass idea of Big Business ploy Crossrail came along, the EXISTING transport facilities have been taking people for fantasy rides into the sky?
Thus missing all the vital day-to-day transport connections, links, and destinations in and around London?
Secondly who are the ‘we’ in ‘we all need.’?
Unless it is one of the pseudonymous propaganda outfits for the secret pullers of the agenda to waste vital public money under the pretext of the very false and generalised plugs for Crossrail. Constitutionally, if the ‘we’ is in any remotely reasonable and empirical sense intended to refer to the ordinary people in the ordinary parts of London then why did the secret controllers of the ‘procedures’ in the two Houses of Parliament defy all requirements of democratic audit and BLOCK all attempts by the objectors to scrutinise the scheme before the BECHTEL-propelled rubber stamp [July 2008] was given to the ‘Crossrail Bill’?
Fourthly, why have Transport for London [TfL], Department for Transport [DfT] and successive ministers paid and placed in post in the name of serving the transport needs of the country and the economy, failed to answer all central questions concerning the economic justification for CRASSrail?
Fifthly, why has Alistair Darling the current UK finance Minister and the UK Transport Minister who formally introduced the “Crossrail Bill’ in the UK House of Commons in February 2005 failed on every single occasion to show the long overdue contextual evidence on Transport when challenged about his given plug for the CRASSrail scam?
If the peddlers are so sure of the values and the benefits that the CRASSrail scam would bring then why did Rod Eddington refuse to endorse the same?
After all, Eddington had been appointed by then UK Finance minister G Brown to look at the future of transport with special reference with the railways in the UK.
Finally, do the EXISTING train, tube and bus services and routes in greater London ONLY CAUSE WASTE, congestion, delay and do nothing for transport and or the economy?
First principles must prevail.
Any public project must be really needed. In the jargon of the ‘trade’, it must be backed by economic demand. Crossrail is not in demand. Never has been. That is why it has not been built. And should be scrapped. In the latest form. The £Millions already wasted in the name of CRASSrail should be refunded to the public.
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Londoners must be encouraged to "fall in love" with Crossrail to keep the £16billion rail line on track, says the project's new chairman. Terry Morgan plans to woo passengers by explaining how much easier their commutes will become, while promising that new stations will deliver the same "wow factor" as the Jubilee line stations designed by architects Lord Foster (Canary Wharf), Will Alsop (North Greenwich) and Michael Hopkins (Westminster). Mr Morgan told the Standard that the best way of ensuring that the long-delayed line was completed - despite fears it could be axed by a Tory government - was to avoid construction pitfalls and rows over cash. "It's not difficult to stop a project that isn't delivering its objectives," he admitted. But added: "I'm very confident that Crossrail will be built." Click on the image below to see more Crossrail, which is due to open in 2017, will become the biggest construction scheme in the UK, and the capital's first major transport upgrade since the Jubilee line extension in 1999. The line will stretch from Maidenhead to Shenfield and Abbey Wood, linking Heathrow with Oxford Street and Canary Wharf. Mr Morgan, 60, a former boss of Land Rover and Tube Lines, said: "We have to get some excitement into this programme that says, 'at long last, there is some additional capacity coming into London'. "We have seen how London has been struggling with transport. We have seen the movement from cars to public transport. This is the next step. I think we have a job to do to make sure they fall in love with it. "At a time when things are very difficult, we all want to be optimistic about things, [to show] that we are building something for the future. You only have to go across the way to see the Olympic development site, which is fantastic. The next big challenge is Crossrail." However, shadow chancellor George Osborne has Crossrail on his list of high-cost projects up for review if the Tories form the next government. Tom Harris, the former Labour transport minister who guided the Crossrail Bill through the Commons, said: "It's a very easy thing for the Tories to cancel." Mr Morgan, who has a three-year rolling contract, argues that Crossrail already makes sense economically. It will create 14,000 jobs at its construction peak. But he hinted it will need to fight for support if the government changes. "We have to make sure Crossrail is up as far as we can in the pecking order," he said. The campaign to secure public support for Crossrail will extend to commuter towns in Essex and Berkshire that will benefit from quicker journeys. Mr Morgan believes the Channel Tunnel extension - which was headed by Crossrail's new chief executive, Rob Holden - received a positive reception because of the transformation of St Pancras station. Mr Morgan has commissioned architects to add dynamism to Crossrail designs to make "a statement about London at its best." “We all need Crossrail. It links the airports with the West End, City, Docklands, and many other places beyond, East, West and Good point Andrea re Morgan being ex Tubelines (Bechtel). Is the former Tubelines boss really the person to tell people to fall in love with Crossrail? Crossrail is a waste of money and who sanely believes it will cost £16 BILLION??? More like £30 billion. Chris, London. I don't see South or South East Londoners being unable to get into work, without a Tube line. The pictures of hundreds walking over London Bridge every morning (used often in the media) is a sign that they are commuting, using something called the Overground Train. Just look at the "London Connections" map and you will see how many more public transport options people from these parts of London have! And it's a much better journey "experience" than the Tube. As well as marketing his project, the new chairman should have a very close look at the two expensive project management contracts his predecessor let for c £500million which look rediculously over-priced in this recession (like the banking sector, it is the taxpayer who carries all the risk, not a private sector firm on a fee) when he could and should get rid of at least one project management contract, recruit readily available project professionals and client project manage in house saving nearly £100 - £200 million over the 8 years of the project. I am amazed that we should be 'encouraged' to like this project. It's a pig-in-the-poke and we all know it. Not only is Crossrail needed, it should have been built 20 years ago. Anyone taking the Central Line during rush hour will tell you that overcrowding is becoming positively dangerous. I second Simon from London, I won't be voting Tory until I hear that Crossrail has their complete backing. More support could come if the line was operated as flexibly as possible - ie allow trains from further afield to use the tunnels - from places as far off as Ipswich, Ely, Oxford, Swindon, etc. Then you'd get those people on board too, even if only a limited service were offered, over weekends and holiday periods, for instance. I echo what others have said about south London links. Rail companies have also decided to cut links from many inner SE London stations like New Cross, St Johns, Brockley and Greenwich direct to and from Charing Cross in favour of out of town links from Kent (from Dec 09). I'm more interested in restoration or improvement of public transport in south London. Its south London that needs money spending on its transport links, chances of a south London tube line - not a hope. Why should we, when some Londoners are facing losing some of their services? The South London Loop that runs between Victoria and London Bridge is being axed next year. I already love Crossrail. It's exactly what London needs to help maintain global competitiveness. I'm thinking of voting Tory at the next election, but their silence on Crossrail is the one thing making me waver. When they cut it the first time, it was a dreadful mistake. Doing it again would be a disaster. "Hmm, sounds like Labour buying jobs again" "Crossrail already makes sense economically. It will create 14,000 jobs at its construction pea"
Reader views (15)
South.”
Really? So the EXISTING London underground lines, overground lines, bus routes all AVOID those places?
Consistently? And have done so at all times since they were built?
What exactly are the ‘many other places beyond, East, West and South’?
And before the crass idea of Big Business ploy Crossrail came along, the EXISTING transport facilities have been taking people for fantasy rides into the sky?
Thus missing all the vital day-to-day transport connections, links, and destinations in and around London?
Secondly who are the ‘we’ in ‘we all need.’? Unless it is one of the pseudonymous propaganda outfits for the secret pullers of the agenda to waste vital public money under the pretext of the very false and generalised plugs for Crossrail.
Constitutionally, if the ‘we’ is in any remotely reasonable and empirical sense intended to refer to the ordinary people in the ordinary parts of London then why did the secret controllers of the ‘procedures’ in the two Houses of Parliament defy all requirements of democratic audit and BLOCK all attempts by the objectors to scrutinise the scheme before the BECHTEL-propelled rubber stamp [July 2008] was given to the ‘Crossrail Bill’?
Fourthly, why have Transport for London [TfL], Department for Transport [DfT] and successive ministers paid and placed in post in the name of serving the transport needs o
- Muhammad Haque, London United Kingdom
This industry is another one taxpayers should pay more attention to because, although it can't bankrupt us as the banking sector has or waste quite as much taxpayers money as the Defence sector apparently has, the contract values are truly huge (and in CrossRail wrongly virtually all to be paid for by the taxpayer) and it all seems very incestuous and cosy at the top in terms of governance, potential for conflicts of interest and the overall ethics of having a chairman transferring so easily from the private sector Tubelines to its public sector client organisation which also happens to be procuring the biggest project in Europe.
- Mike, London
Think of the wasted money Tubelines trousered for the last few years, not to mention the enormous salaries paid out and still being paid to reward failure.
- Andrea, Amersham
In short, Morgan, we can't afford it, OK, so what part of "NO" do you fail to understand?
And it's so-called benefit is clearly mainly north of the Thames - again.
For a fraction of that cost the south of London should receive a greater tube network.
- Ralph, London
We all need Crossrail. It links the airports with the West End, City, Docklands, and many other places beyond, East, West and South.
I wont be voting Tory either, unless the Conservatives support this vital project 100% - and it WILL create jobs, not just within construction, but in a wide range of other industries. Can we just get on with it?
- Rod, Epping, UK
- Jim, London
All this quote of creating new jobs should be examined a little closer
How many will be in the UK, and then London and not design and manufacturing teams abroad? How many will go to UK 'long-term' residents not those shipped in from abroad because they will work cheaply. How may people below the age of 21 will get jobs. How many will be a duplicate job ie one person filling a number of 'new' roles that count as separate jobs. Don’t believe the hype !
No matter what we need to save money to recover the economy especially on expensive imports so, scrap the SE London section, with additional tunnels and no perceivable value there is no point in developing this part of the network. It leads to a tip full of festering garbage at Woolwich and Abbey Wood, the potential consumers do not justify the phenomenal amount of funding !
Make the Heathrow leg fully funded by BAA, including the highly expensive flyover for train access. Or if no funds, scrap this access route. Why should the people of London fund the Spanish privately owned BAA?
This must make some sense !!!!!!
- Jerry, London
- S Robertson,, London
- Stephen Lawrence, Cambridge, England
- Mcw, London
- Chris, London
Pray you don't have to get to or in between Kings College Hospital, the Maudsley or Guys Hospital for starters.
- Flo, London, UK
Let's pile on the pressure: George Osborne and David Cameron: commit to Crossrail!! Then you'll have my full support.
- Simon, London
And buying a much-needed massive increase in the speed and capacity of London's metro network. Can't be bad, can it?
- Tom, London, UK
Hmm, sounds like Labour buying jobs again, remind me again how many "locals" are being to help build the Olympic site?
- Bob, CheamAdd your comment
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