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Crossrail has little benefit for Basingstoke
A PROJECT to link east and west London is to get underway - without the connection politicians in Basingstoke have been calling for.
Crossrail, a £16billion scheme running from Maidenhead in the west to Greenwich in the East, received Royal Assent this week, paving the way for Cross London Rail Links to be transformed into a delivery agency with power to acquire land and build and maintain the line.
Councillor Horace Mitchell, Cabinet member for planning and transport, told The Gazette it was good the Government was building a railway but thought it was strange it was not being extended to Reading, which is a major transport hub, rather than the more provincial Maidenhead.
"I don't see a lot of common sense in it," he said.
He pointed out Basingstoke passengers would have to change trains twice to connect with Crossrail.
In March, the then Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council Cabinet member Cecilia Morrison expressed support for a proposal to add a £3million extension to the scheme to link it with Basingstoke, Reading and Milton Keynes.
But the approved scheme has stuck with the planned terminus at Maidenhead.
Enabling work for Crossrail, the largest civil engineering project in Europe, will begin next year, with the main construction work scheduled to begin in 2010.
When completed, Crossrail is predicted to carry over 200 million passengers each year in trains running up to 24 times each hour at peak times.
It is expected to add at least £20billion to the UK economy.
Ruth Kelly, Secretary of State for Transport, said: "This landmark project is of major significance to both London and the whole country. It will generate jobs and economic growth, help revitalise some of our most deprived areas and deliver major improvements for the travelling public."
11:17am Friday 25th July 2008
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CommentPosted by: le skiddo, amzinstoke on 2:41pm Fri 25 Jul 08
"I don't see a lot of common sense in it," he said it does if you have bought vast tracks of land around Maidenhead (all goverments are corupt vote out your standing M.P CHANGE THE LOT OF THEM)
"I don't see a lot of common sense in it," he said it does if you have bought vast tracks of land around Maidenhead (all goverments are corupt vote out your standing M.P CHANGE THE LOT OF THEM)
Posted by: khoodeelaar!, London on 6:28pm Fri 25 Jul 08
You report Councillor Horace Mitchell as stating "I don't see a lot of common sense in it,"
Indeed! That is why the KHOODEELAAR! campaign against Crossrail has dubbed the scheme CRASS rail. In the past three days following the formal assent being attached to the Hybrid Crossrail Bill, certain views which only KHOODEELAAR! had stated in the period February 22 2005 to July 21 2008 about Crassrail have also been in effect acknowledged, for the first time' by some of the most fanatic members of the pro-Crossrail propaganda machines. Evidently, they too now realise that Crossrail does not make sense! We argued that the Bill was being passed through the Commons and the Lords -including via the 'Crossrail Bill Select committee' set up in each House- without scrutiny. There was a stooge committee in each House and the 360 odd objectors were not allowed to question the main premise of the Bill. We have shown that the Bill was unconstitutional and are now about to file the long overdue constitutional law challenges in the UK domestic courts. We are doing this so that a sensible solution to transport needs of the areas can be found and funded with the precious, scarce public money. As Channel 4 news pointe d out in October 2007 when reporting Brown’s then election-linked series of publicity statements, the ‘commitment’ of £Billions of pub lci funds to Crossrail was AGAINST the advice of Rod Eddington. Eddington, the former aviation trade executive, had been specially commissioned to do a report on the future of UK’s transport infrastructure....! Brown there behaved imprudently is not too late even now to stop the further waste of £Billions..... Places like Bassingtoke deserve a full and fair say on the transport provisions being planned with public money and in the name of the public in the region...Yours sincerely, Muhammad Haque, Organiser, KHOODEELAAR! No to “Crossrail hole plot....” CAMPAIGN 1725 GMT London Friday 25 July 2008[quote]quote[/quote] [quote]quote[/quote]
You report Councillor Horace Mitchell as stating "I don't see a lot of common sense in it,"
Indeed! That is why the KHOODEELAAR! campaign against Crossrail has dubbed the scheme CRASS rail. In the past three days following the formal assent being attached to the Hybrid Crossrail Bill, certain views which only KHOODEELAAR! had stated in the period February 22 2005 to July 21 2008 about Crassrail have also been in effect acknowledged, for the first time' by some of the most fanatic members of the pro-Crossrail propaganda machines. Evidently, they too now realise that Crossrail does not make sense! We argued that the Bill was being passed through the Commons and the Lords -including via the 'Crossrail Bill Select committee' set up in each House- without scrutiny. There was a stooge committee in each House and the 360 odd objectors were not allowed to question the main premise of the Bill. We have shown that the Bill was unconstitutional and are now about to file the long overdue constitutional law challenges in the UK domestic courts. We are doing this so that a sensible solution to transport needs of the areas can be found and funded with the precious, scarce public money. As Channel 4 news pointe d out in October 2007 when reporting Brown’s then election-linked series of publicity statements, the ‘commitment’ of £Billions of pub lci funds to Crossrail was AGAINST the advice of Rod Eddington. Eddington, the former aviation trade executive, had been specially commissioned to do a report on the future of UK’s transport infrastructure....! Brown there behaved imprudently is not too late even now to stop the further waste of £Billions..... Places like Bassingtoke deserve a full and fair say on the transport provisions being planned with public money and in the name of the public in the region...Yours sincerely, Muhammad Haque, Organiser, KHOODEELAAR! No to “Crossrail hole plot....” CAMPAIGN 1725 GMT London Friday 25 July 2008
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