Sadiq Khan has issued an update on Transport for London’s (TfL) plans to extend a Tube route. The Bakerloo line currently runs to Elephant and Castle, but officials want to make it longer.
The Mayor of London says the project is, at the moment, unfunded, and the new Labour government says economic growth will need to happen before more cash is provided for infrastructure upgrades. The new Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, previously told MyLondon: “Of course I want to see the investment […] But we have to always show where the money is going to come from, and we need to grow the economy to be able to release funds for crucial infrastructure investment.”
Mr Khan has said that new Bakerloo line stock would need to be manufactured and rolled out before the route is extended. Now, he has updated the London Assembly on how many more trains would be needed to properly service the route to Lewisham.
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The mayor has also outlined which depots would be use to house the additional trains. Answering questions from Conservative London Assembly Member Thomas Turrell, the mayor said: “The number of additional trains required to operate an extension to Lewisham would depend on a range of factors including the train service pattern and journey times on an extended Bakerloo line.
“With this in mind, Transport for London (TfL) estimates that approximately 45-48 trains in total would be required for the Bakerloo line if it were extended to Lewisham.” He added: “The Bakerloo line extension is currently unfunded.
“TfL’s immediate priority is securing the long-term capital funding certainty that would allow it to, among other vital investments, replace the existing 36-train Bakerloo line fleet which, at over 50 years old, is the oldest operating anywhere in the UK.”
The mayor then said: “Were funding to be identified, the extension would be delivered via a tunnel underground between Elephant and Castle and Lewisham. Therefore, Transport for London’s (TfL’s) current aspiration, subject to further design development and investigations, is for an extension to Lewisham to utilise sites on the existing Bakerloo line, including those at Stonebridge Park and London Road.”
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