The London Assembly’s Transport Committee has called on Mayor Boris Johnson to clarify funding to enable a station at Woolwich to be up and running in time for Crossrail’s launch in 2018.
While the station box at Woolwich is now in place ready for tunnelling to commence, there still remains no agreement about funding the fitting-out of the new station. At a recent Transport committee (7 March), representatives from Crossrail Ltd told Members that a resolution was needed between sponsors Transport for London and the Department for Transport and partners Greenwich Council and Berkeley Homes, by mid-2013, if the station was to be ready for passengers by the launch.
Caroline Pidgeon AM, Chair of the Transport Committee, said:
"Construction of a new Crossrail station at Woolwich – delivering 12 trains per hour during peak times, – is an amazing chance to deliver connectivity, employment and regeneration to this area. If an agreement over funding the fit out of the station is not reached soon, this delay could make its construction more costly and complicated than necessary.
“It would be a wasted opportunity if residents of the Woolwich area and beyond are not able experience the full benefits of a route designed to regenerate some of the poorer areas of London from the start. We’re calling on the Mayor to clarify the steps being taken to ensure that the station is in place by the time Crossrail is launched.”
You can see a video report on the ITV website.