London mayor to call for transport projects cash

London Mayor Sadiq Khan is set to call on the government to invest in new transport projects costing billions of pounds.

The mayor will make the plea at the London Transport Museum's annual dinner on Wednesday evening.

Mr Khan is also expected to say it is "looking increasingly positive" the High Speed 2 (HS2) railway will reach Euston and not terminate at Old Oak Common, as had been feared.

The mayor wants to secure funding for a number of transport projects, including the extension of the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) to Thamesmead, the opening of the West London Orbital rail line and the extension of the Bakerloo line to Lewisham.

A Transport for London (TfL) document published in February stated the estimated cost of the Bakerloo line project would be between £5bn and £8bn.

The extension of the DLR has previously been estimated to cost about £1.7bn.

Mr Khan is also hoping to secure a long-term funding package for TfL from the Labour government, following a series of short-term deals that were agreed when the Conservatives were in power.

In his speech at the dinner, the mayor is expected to say: "This is a glimpse of the London we can build. When London builds, Britain benefits.

"It’s a basic formula, but it works."

The prospect of a Euston terminus for HS2 became uncertain last October, when then-prime minister Rishi Sunak said the link from Old Oak Common and the construction of a new station at Euston would need to be funded through private finance.

The Department for Transport said the government was working at pace to review the position it inherited on HS2, including options for Euston, and that it would set out a clear plan in due course.

BBC London transport correspondent Tom Edwards says: "This is all part of the mayor making his pitch to get a multi-year capital funding deal for Transport for London.

"The mayor has been after it for years, so is now the time? Or will the government have other priorities?"

Additional reporting by Noah Vickers, Local Democracy Reporting Service

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