Crossrail still only on amber, say Lib Dems (Islington Liberal Democrats)

Islington Liberal Democrats <Islington_ld@cix.co.uk>

Crossrail still only on amber, say Lib Dems

July 26, 2004 1:02 PM

Liberal Democrats on Islington Council have attacked the Labour government's decision to finally introduce a parliamentary Bill on the long-awaited Crossrail project for only offering a small step forward and placing London's Olympics bid in jeopardy.

In a statement this week, the government announced that a hybrid Bill would go before Parliament with both public and private money contributing towards the £10 billion cross-London extension with a stop at Farringdon in Islington.

But Islington Liberal Democrats have condemned the government over its announcement for not moving things forward far enough. A Crossrail Hybrid Bill was introduced to the Commons in 1991, but the whole project was still delayed and eventually ditched by MPs three years later. The Montague Report into the feasibility of Crossrail is already five months late and the final routes have still not been announced.

Councillor Bridget Fox, Liberal Democrat Executive Member for Sustainability, said:

"Crossrail has been banging around for decades now, but this government has had to be dragged kicking and screaming to even get this far. Now we are still only on an amber light.

"While we have finally got a firm commitment from the government to Crossrail, we still don't know how it will be funded or even if it will really go ahead. But what we do now know is that if it ever opens, it will be too late for any London Olympics in 2012.

"This may be the first hesitant step towards Crossrail, but there are still many hurdles to jump before Islington residents can look forward to vastly improved journeys across London and an end to cattle-truck style Tube journeys."