Crossrail 2 Streatham update

03 Aug Crossrail 2 Streatham update

Proposals for Crossrail 2 have been considered with the aim of providing additional rail capacity in south west London and the response for Streatham makes for grim reading. If you want to read the full report – See Crossrail 2 update.

To cut a long story short, it’s pretty much a “computer says no” for Crossrail 2 coming to Streatham; once again putting us to the side when it comes to rail and underground improvements in the area. Instead, neighbouring Balham seems likely to benefit from Crossrail 2. You can probably already guess the real reason for it? Yes, that’s right, as usual it comes down to money. Here’s what Transport For London (TFL) said:

“A Streatham option would also massively increase existing costs due to: the additional tunnel length (an extra 6.4km at £40m/km = £250m); the cost of an additional station (up to £1 billion)”

So there we have it, no underground to Streatham because it’s ‘too expensive’ and no Crossrail for the same reason. They’ve also stated that increased congestion on already congested lines would result from Streatham being connected to Crossrail 2:

“We have considered Crossrail 2 serving Streatham and Croydon but found that this was not the best option for London and the South East as a whole … Our test results indicate an increase in both London-wide journey times and crowded hours, suggesting that going via Streatham would put pressure back on to crowded lines, and that relief, where it offered some, would be on lines that are generally less congested.”

Instead of sorting out the congestion problems on what they admit are already “crowded lines” and giving us a much needed rail link like Crossrail 2, TFL are once again taking the easier and cheaper option. Here in Streatham we have plenty of space for a new station; the demand from a rapidly growing population; similarly underserved nearby areas like Croydon; and close connections with areas like Balham and Brixton. Throw us a bone TFL, we are ready for it!

Conversely, we don’t need to be too upset, as we are only a short bus ride away from Balham.  Also, Crossrail 2 is not likely to be completed until 2033, so there would have been an almighty wait for the service to arrive. By this time London is expected to be a mega city of over 10 million people and the landscape of Streatham is likely to have changed drastically by then.

Any predictions for what’s next for Streatham? Please comment below.