Development will pay for £3bn project to extend Bakerloo line south, claims TfL

The London Mayor: the most private finance for a new railway since Thatcher

The London Mayor: the most private finance for a new railway since Thatcher

TfL said that a planned extension of London's Bakerloo line south of the river will need to be paid for by new development, as it launched a consultation on the scheme today.

The consultation was launched after the London Mayor Boris Johnson yesterday at the Conservative conference hailed the start of work next year on the first extension of the tube for 25 years, to take the Northern Line to Battersea, as "the first time anyone has put together enough private finance to build a railway since the days of Margaret Thatcher".

The consultation says that growth is forecast in south east London, but roads are congested and public transport is crowded, whilst population growth will put further pressure on the road and rail networks. The document says proposed alignments from Elephant & Castle are indicative, but outlines two broad routes, one via the Old Kent Road, which would "support new development and regeneration," and Camberwell and Peckham Rye, which would "provide tube access for the area's existing communities".

It also seeks views on where the extension to end, outlining arguments for continuing beyond Lewisham to Hayes, and then mentioning "a possible extension to Bromley".

The document adds: "The cost of extending the line as far as Hayes is currently estimated between £2 and £3bn. As part of our next phase of work, we will work with the London boroughs through which the proposed extension would run, to identify possible options for project funding. Any funding package is likely to include contributions from new residential and commercial developments along the proposed extension.

"This means that for the extension to be progressed, further development along the proposed route is required. It is unlikely the extension can happen without this new development." The consultation runs until December.