The government has so far provided funding for the planning stages of the £32bn project, which will provide a new southwest-northeast rail link under London.
Crossrail 2 would connect National Rail networks in Surrey and Hertfordshire with an underground tunnel beneath central London between Wimbledon and Tottenham Hale and New Southgate.
Signatories to the lobbying letter include Laing O'Rourke owner Ray O’Rourke, Taylor Woodrow managing director Julian Gatward, Ramboll UK’s Matthew Riley, Arup deputy chairman David Whittleton and Civil Engineering Contractors Association chief executive Alasdair Reisner.
The letter begins: “Today, we urge government to enable rapid progress towards the construction of Crossrail 2, an infrastructure project of national importance.”
It then sets out the benefits of Crossrail 2 and concludes: “We need to get people to work. Now is the moment for government to find the parliamentary time and show the world UK is open for business post Brexit.”
Transport for London has submitted an updated business case and funding plan to the transport secretary, who is expected to make a decision in the spring on further government support. Construction could start in the early 2020s and the railway could be operational by 2033.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: “This is yet more evidence of just how important Crossrail 2 is to the UK. Business leaders know it will bring hundreds of thousands of jobs and housing, and transport benefits right across the southeast, as well as boosting the economy in all corners of the country. Despite the project benefiting the whole of the UK, London has actually met half the funding cost. What we now need is for the government to take note of these benefits and give us the green light to progress, for the good of the entire country.”
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