Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ first budget included no cash for the Bakerloo Line extension to Lewisham or the Docklands Light Railway link to Thamesmead.
Expectations had been damped down last week when London mayor Sadiq Khan halved his request for government funding for the capital’s transport compared with what he asked the Conservative government for last year.
In 2023 he asked for a minimum of £569 million – but this year he said he thought it would be “a win” to get anything more than £250 million.
In the end, Khan received £485 million from the Labour government for work including new trains for the Piccadilly Line – whose rolling stock is among the oldest in Britain – and the Elizabeth Line, which will need the carriages to serve Old Oak Common HS2 station.
Reeves also provided funding for HS2 to run all the way to Euston station after it had been cut back to Old Oak Common by the previous government.
There was also a sting in the budget for rail users as it was revealed that fares would rise by 4.6 per cent from March, with most railcards also going up by £5. This rise will apply to travellers using Southeastern and Thameslink trains in SE London.
What happens with TfL fares – including the Elizabeth Line and Overground – will be down to Khan, whose fare freeze comes to an end next year.
London’s £1.75 bus fare will also come under scrutiny after the government increased the cap on fares in the rest of England from £2 to £3.
Plans to extend the Bakerloo from the Elephant & Castle to the Old Kent Road, New Cross Gate and Lewisham – with a possible further extension to Hayes and Beckenham Junction along existing rail lines – have been on hold since 2021. The cost was recently put at up to £8 billion.
In the meantime, Khan has pledged to run a fast“Bakerloop” bus between the Elephant and Lewisham. Earlier this month Southwark Council heard that the buses could be decorated inside to look like Tube trains.
The DLR extension would serve new housing developments at Beckton Riverside and Thamesmead Waterfront and could cost up to £1.7 billion. Negotiations are under way about who would pay what towards the project, with Greenwich Council fearing that it may not be able to stump up the cash.
Khan said: “Today’s historic budget shows that we finally have a government that understands the problems and opportunities London faces and is working with us here in the capital, not against us.
“Substantial additional funding for TfL is fantastic news and will help to support the crucial maintenance, renewal and growth of London’s transport system. And after all the dither and delay from the previous government, confirming that HS2 will terminate at Euston will mean the capital can finally realise the full economic benefits of the project.
“I am under no illusion about the extent of the economic difficulties inherited by the new government. This budget is about fixing our economy and public services after more than a decade of mismanagement and decline, and beginning the process of national renewal.”
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