Simon Kirby – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Kirby on 2014-04-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he has taken to ensure that the benefits of Crossrail are shared with passengers using London Victoria, London Bridge and London Blackfriars railway stations; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Hammond

Crossrail will transform rail transport in London, increasing rail capacityby 10%,reducing congestion and cutting journey times across the city. The Crossrail route will run over 100km from Reading and Heathrow in the west, through new tunnels under central London to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east. Crossrail will provide connections with more underground lines than any other service, which will enable more direct journeys and simpler interchanges.

Crossrail will decongest many London Underground lines, notably the Jubilee, Central, District and Circle lines, which many users of London Victoria, London Bridge and London Blackfriars stations use to connect with a range of destinations across London.

A new major rail interchange will be created at Farringdon connecting Crossrail and Thameslink services. This will benefit passengers using Thameslink services to London Bridge and London Blackfriars who will be able to interchange directly onto Crossrail services operating on a 24 train per hour basis from Farringdon connecting passengers directly to Canary Wharf in 9 minutes and Bond Street in 5 minutes. Passengers using London Victoria will have quick access to Crossrail services via the tube network at Bond Street and Tottenham Court Road.