The 17 London Underground stations facing severe overcrowding by the early 2030s if Crossrail 2 gets derailed include Clapham Common, Waterloo, Victoria and London Bridge | City PM
Transport for London (TfL) has named the 17 London Underground stations set to face chronic overcrowding and measures such as regular closures and one-way systems by the 2030s, should Crossrail 2 fail to go ahead.
Read more: These are the UK’s 12 most pressing infrastructure projects
In the business case for the £31bn rail project, seen by City PM, TfL warns some lines will face “severe operating difficulties”, when crowding overtakes current levels by the early 2030s. “The London Underground stations at each of the six busiest National Rail termini will require planned control measures, including closure,” it says. “London and the UK could lost its international competitiveness if key parts of London’s rail network cease to function effectively.”
And Liberal Democrat Caroline Pidgeon, who is deputy chair of the London Assembly Transport Committee, has obtained the TfL list of 17 stations that risk grinding to a halt without Crossrail 2.
Read more: Crossrail 2: TfL’s latest revised route scraps Kings Road Chelsea station
The Underground stations facing severe overcrowding
1. Euston
2. King’s Cross St Pancras
3. Liverpool Street
4. London Bridge
5. Victoria
6. Waterloo
7. Finsbury Park
8. Stockwell
9. Stratford
10. Oxford Circus
11. Highbury & Islington
12. Clapham Common
13. Clapham North
14. Clapham South
15. Holborn
16. Warren Street
17. Leicester Square
Pidgeon said:
Overcrowding on the Underground is already a daily battle, with many passengers facing regular delays to simply get through barriers at stations.
Unless Crossrail 2 is built these delays will increasingly build up until drastic measures are necessary at 17 key Tube stations, not to mention Clapham Junction railway station.
Planning ahead for Crossrail 2 is not an optional extra for London’s transport network but of vital importance to keep London moving.
It comes as transport secretary Chris Grayling met London mayor Sadiq Khan today to discuss the project. Last week, Grayling said they would do “everything we can to make it work”, after acknowledging sticking points over the funding plan provided by TfL.
“I don’t think it’s any secret that the TfL funding package hasn’t quite lived up to initial promises, but I want this to work, I’m seeing the mayor next week, and we’ll do everything we can to make it work,” he said during parliamentary questions last week.
Today, a spokesperson for the mayor said it had been a “very positive and constructive meeting”.
Read more: Network Rail retenders contracts on delayed Crossrail stations