Follow my meeting with Michele Dix, Managing Director of Crossrail 2 last month, and other discussions with the Crossrail team, I wanted to provide you with a quick update.
Schedule for new proposals
Later this month Crossrail plan to publish a report they’re calling the Response to Issues Raised. This will reflect upon the ideas brought forward during the consultation, including confirming those which will and won’t be investigated further. I anticipate that a tunnelling solution for the SW Trains which currently pass through Wimbledon without stopping to be investigated further.
I have been told that due to the amount of work finding a solution that works for Wimbledon, Crossrail will not be able to confirm the new route option in this document, but I hope it will show they are taking our concerns seriously.
Next consultation in Autumn
Following this, Crossrail 2 expect to publish their new route option in the Autumn, alongside a new consultation. At this point I will do everything I can to publicise the consultation, as well as holding another public meeting with the Crossrail 2 team in Wimbledon.
While I want to find out what the new plans are for Wimbledon as soon as possible, I am pleased to see that Crossrail 2 are taking our concerns very seriously and are putting significant time and resource into considering alternative routes. One criticism of the previous consultation was that it seemed rushed, and that it lacked detail, so I hope that the work put in at this stage will mean the new consultation does not suffer these flaws.
Finally, I have put together a series of useful links about Crossrail 2 and its impact on Wimbledon on my website here. You can also keep up to date with my work on this and other local issues by following me on Twitter, Facebook and by signing up to our dedicated Crossrail 2 website I set up with your local Conservative Councillors.