Member Article

Surrey County Council backs Crossrail 2

Crossrail 2 is “vital” for a train network “unable to cope” with rising passenger demand, Surrey County Council’s Cabinet Member told a conference about the planned railway today.

Mike Goodman told the event, which also featured London Mayor Boris Johnson’s Crossrail 2 advisor Daniel Moylan and Crossrail 2 managing director Michele Dix, about the issue of the overcrowded transport system in the county.

He highlighted that more than 130,000 Surrey residents commute into London every day, with tens of thousands going in the other direction. In addition, four Surrey train services are among the most overcrowded in England and Wales.

He said: “As passenger numbers rise, the current rail network will simply be unable to cope. Given this and coupled with the need to plan for economic growth, we urgently need strategic transport.”

And he added: “We want to get the best deal for Surrey’s residents. You want the best deal for London residents. We don’t think that these aims are mutually exclusive.”

The conference at The Building Centre, which examined the benefits of the planned railway, was organised by Transport for London and Network Rail.

The councillor’s speech came alongside a report claiming Crossrail 2 could add billions of pounds to the London and South East economy.

According to new estimated by KPMG, the benefits of Crossrail 2, which will run through London, Surrey and Hertfordshire could be as high as £102bn.

London and the south east is in line for 200,000 new homes and 200,000 jobs as a result of the new network.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ellen Forster .