The government is set to give the £10bn London Crossrail link the go-ahead within the month, London Mayor Ken Livingstone said on Wednesday.
Livingstone told EGi News at Mipim 2003 that the government would announce approval for “exactly the scheme I wanted.”
“The route is going to link Heathrow to the Royal Docks and Thames Gateway, via central London,” he said.
The decision will mean that the east-west rail link will not follow a cheaper route through Charlton and Greenwich.
Livingstone predicted that a hybrid bill implementing the project, which is the core of the Mayor’s London Plan, would be approved “by the time we come to Cannes for the next Mipim”.
The news could signal the end of months of uncertainty about the future of the scheme, during which the government has said that it would not be able to ensure the funding and rival plans have been presented by private consortium London Regional.
It had been thought that the government would opt for a cheaper, less ambitious scheme, focusing solely on the core tunnel between Paddington and Liverpool Street.
Livingstone added that the government’s decision to give the project the go ahead signalled that it would support a bid for London to host the 2012 Olympics.
“Its no surprise that the route the government is looking at links all the major Olympic sites,” he said.
References: EGi News 05/03/03
