CANARY WHARF Group is promoting the concept of a new privately-funded rail link from the area to Euston.
Transport for London’s Director of City Planning Alex Williams referred to the proposal at a meeting of the London Assembly Budget and Performance Committee on 21 May. He said TfL had met with the Group and DfT to discuss the plan, which had been submitted in response to the Department’s call for market-led proposals seeking private sector investment in new transport schemes.
Mr Williams cautioned that the plans were at an early stage, but compared the idea for the underground link to the Waterloo & City Line in its aim of capacity relief.
He said the Group’s aim is for the scheme to be entirely privately financed and that it would not be integrated with TfL assets, while it would have a ringfenced farebox with Canary Wharf Group responsible for setting fares. He noted the scheme is not part of the Mayor of London’s Transport Strategy, but emphasised DfT and Canary Wharf Group needed to recognise that as the strategic transport authority TfL would have a role to play. When approached by Modern Railways, Canary Wharf Group declined to provide further information about the plans.
Government launched the call for market-led proposals (MLPs) in March 2018, with delivery of a new southern rail link to Heathrow among the schemes for which proposals have been submitted.
As yet DfT has not provided a formal response or stated which proposals it plans to take forward.
