Crossrail, the £15bn infrastructure project designed to ease London’s chronic congestion by connecting major hubs such as Heathrow Airport and Canary Wharf, will not now open this December but in autumn 2019 it was announced on Friday.
When fully operational the Elizabeth Line, as it will be called, will run from Reading and Heathrow in the west through 13 miles of new tunnels to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east. It is expected to be used by an estimated 200m passengers, increasing central London rail capacity by 10%, the largest increase since World War Two.
It’s a hugely complex project and obviously they have to get it right; if it’s £600m over the budget, so be it if that is the price of ensuring it’s safe to operate. But what does the delay mean for places such as Chiswick, where a whole host of planning decisions are being taken on the basis that there is new transport infrastructure coming soon?
Hiatus between new build and the infrastructure to support it
Major development planned for east Brentford and the Great West Corridor is being decided in the expectation that there will be new transport infrastructure to support it.
Over the summer Sadiq Khan approved a revised planning application at the site of the Citroen garage near Chiswick roundabout because of the need for increased provision for affordable housing. The development comprises ‘441 residential units with ancillary facilities, flexible retail, employment and community uses and a children’s nursery in buildings of 12, 13, 16, 17 and 18 storeys in height’. Decisions like this are being taken on the basis that there will be new transport infrastructure to cope with the thousands of people moving in.
Proposed rail links
One of the key planks of LB Hounslow’s transport strategy is the introduction of three major rail links, two of which would involve links to the Elizabeth line:
Southall Rail Link – Connecting Brentford to Southall, where it would provide a reliable and high capacity link with the new Elizabeth Line service.
The West London Orbital – Connecting Hounslow and Brentford to the Elizabeth Line at Old Oak Common.
These are currently at the ‘options assessment’ stage and are being ‘taken forward’ in conjunction with Transport for London and ‘promoted’ as part of the council’s strategy. Ie. they’re barely one stage on from jottings of a wish list on the back of an envelope.
I’m just guessing here, but what’s the betting we’ll have much greater congestion along the A4, Chiswick High Rd and North Circular before any of this new infrastructure comes to fruition?
The council’s Head of Traffic, Transport & Environmental Strategy Mark Frost will be at the Chiswick Area Forum meeting at Chiswick Town Hall tonight, a meeting of Chiswick councillors to which the general public is invited, to give us a briefing on the council’s transport strategy. Interestingly there is scant mention of the controversial CS9 in his report. The meeting starts at 7.00pm.