But London mayor is in favour of both projects

Sadiq Khan believes there is a stronger business case for building Crossrail 2 than HS2.

Sadiw Khan - -

Khan believes Crossrail 2 is learning lessons from the original scheme 

Khan told the London Assembly today that, while he is in favour of both schemes, he recognised the business case for Crossrail 2 was 鈥渟ignificantly better鈥 than that for HS2.

While the mayor agreed that significant funding for infrastructure projects outside of London was imperative, it could not come at the expense of investment in the capital.

鈥淭he National Infrastructure Commission report actually agreed that investing in infrastructure in London benefits the rest of the country,鈥 Khan said.

He pointed to the fact that Crossrail 2, like its predecessor, is not a London-only project and would improve connectivity and housing across the South-east.

Khan added that, should Crossrail 2 progress, the work created for the construction supply chain would be of benefit nationwide.

Crossrail 2 will require government support and funding 鈥渁s has always been the case鈥 if it is to be finished in the 2030s, Khan said. 

鈥淐rossrail 2 is learning lessons from a wide range of major infrastructure projects and the project team has undertaken extensive benchmarking exercises. That analysis has proved TfL鈥檚 estimates for Crossrail 2 are prudent.鈥

He said that the leadership team, which is spearheaded by managing director Michele Dix, had carried out a deep-dive analysis of the actual cost of Crossrail, including the overruns, which also supported TfL鈥檚 cost estimates for the subsequent scheme.