KHOODEELAAR! had told the London Assembly so for years. Six years and a month, to be exact. That Crossrail was crass. That it was daft. That it was a diversion. That it was not the priority as compared with the neglected, under funded existing malfunctioning London underground and bus networks.....

0305 [0255] GMT 

London 

Wednesday 

24 February 2010. 

Editor © Muhammad Haque.  

KHOODEELAAR! had told the London Assembly so for years. Six years and a month, to be exact. That Crossrail was crass. That it was daft. That it was a diversion. That it was not the priority as compared with the neglected, under funded existing malfunctioning London underground and bus networks.....

[To be continued]

 

 

“Londoners 'unfairly burdened' by Crossrail costs

Sarah Townsend, Regen.net, 23 February 2010

Londoners have been "unfairly burdened" with the costs of the planned Crossrail east-west rail link, according to a report.

A report by the London Assembly’s transport committee says that London would contribute £7.8 billion of a £15.9 billion funding package made available for the project, mainly through borrowing against a business rates supplement and future fares. The scale of this borrowing means Londoners will be paying for Crossrail for the next 25 years, the report said. 

It estimated that the extra tax take from new jobs, increased property levies and fare profits from the new rail link would generate a total of around £22 billion over ten years for central government as well increasing capacity on London’s rail and tube network by 10 per cent. As such, the Government is getting a "very good deal" out of Crossrail, it said. "Central government’s £8 billion contribution to the costs seems very favourable," the report added.

The report questioned why only London businesses are contributing to the cost of Crossrail through business rates, when eight of the 37 Crossrail stations are located in areas that are outside Greater London.

It also found that Crossrail’s negotiations with displaced residents whose premises are being compulsory purchased to make way for construction work had been "poorly handled". 

The report said: "We heard of 'bland, impersonal, unhelpful communication' with businesses whose livelihoods were being affected. We were disappointed in the responses we received from Crossrail to these concerns, which appeared to apportion blame to these businesses."

Caroline Pidgeon, chair of the transport committee, said: "Disruption and displacement are inevitable consequences of building a new rail link through central London, but Crossrail’s initial dealings with displaced residents have been disappointing. We hope the company has learned lessons from these early experiences."