BILL WELCOME - BUT WHAT ABOUT THE CASH FOR CROSSRAIL

10.06.23am BST (GMT +0100) Mon 19th Jul 2004

Commenting on reports that a hybrid Bill is to be introduced in to the House of Commons for the Crossrail London train link, Liberal Democrat London Assembly Transport Spokesman, Lynne Featherstone said:-

"Introducing a hybrid Bill to the Commons is a welcome step but fails to tackle the most important question of who and how Crossrail will be paid for. Last time a Crossrail hybrid Bill was introduced to the Commons in 1991, the whole project was delayed, and then eventually ditched by MPs three years later.

"The Montague Report into the feasibility of Crossrail is five months late. The final routes on offer are still unannounced, and the timetable for the hybrid Bill is still unclear. This may be the first hesitant step towards Crossrail, but there are still many hurdles to jump."

ENDS

Notes to editors

Details of what a hybrid Bill can be found at:-

http://www.parliament.uk/documents/upload/l05.pdf

A brief history of the Crossrail project can be found at:-

http://www.politics.co.uk/1/issues/crossrail_2108019.htm