TfL reiterates support for Bakerloo extension in Khan era

Sadiq Khan has signalled that his mayoralty remains committed to the Bakerloo Line extension through New Cross and Lewisham. In TfL's recently-published annual report, the project gets its own double page spread, which says:

Work has started on building a case to extend the Bakerloo line into southeast London. If the Government gives the project the green light, we expect to begin construction in 2024. 

In 2015, we assessed possible routes. This meant taking into account how each option could improve connectivity and housing, the engineering feasibility (for example, tunnelling, which is complex and expensive, must be kept to a minimum), how swiftly the project can be completed, and the likelihood that it could be paid for. 

Our assessment showed that a route from Elephant and Castle to Lewisham, via Old Kent Road, would offer significant development opportunities, including up to 30,000 new homes. This could, in turn, help with the costs of building the extension, by securing contributions from new residential and commercial developments along the line. 

Ending the route at Lewisham means we can build the extension quickly and cost effectively, hopefully completing the project by 2030. And this doesn’t rule out extending the line even further in the future.

The Bakerloo extension was one of Khan's election commitments and this is simply more fine words, rather than action, but thanks to Monkeyboy for sharing this red meat nonetheless.