Crossrail - Controversy

Controversy

Some East London politicians objected to the scheme, which they saw as an expensive service that will primarily benefit City and Docklands businesses and bring much disruption to East London. As a result, the tunnelling strategy was changed to remove excavated material by barge from Leamouth rather than the originally proposed complex conveyor system in Mile End.

Some freight-train operators, including DB Schenker Rail (UK) (then EWS), opposed the current plan because they claimed it would use up much of the remaining rail capacity and not provide the necessary extra capacity on connecting lines. This would make it harder to route freight services from the southern ports to the north and would increase freight transit times.

There had been complaints from music fans, as the redevelopment of the area forced the closure of a number of historic music venues. The London Astoria, the Astoria 2, The Metro, Sin nightclub and The Ghetto have been demolished to allow expansion of the ticket hall and congestion relief at Tottenham Court Road tube station in advance of the arrival of Crossrail.

There was considerable annoyance in Reading that Crossrail would terminate at Maidenhead, not Reading. However, the promoters and the government had always stressed that there was nothing to prevent extension to Reading in future if it could be justified. In February 2008 it was announced that the route for an extension to Reading was being safeguarded. This has become more likely now that the government has announced that the Great Western Main Line will be electrified beyond Reading in any event.

In February 2010, Crossrail was accused of bullying residents whose property lay on the Crossrail route into selling for less than the market value. A subsequent London Assembly report was highly critical of the insensitive way in which Crossrail had dealt with compulsory purchases and the lack of assistance given to the people and businesses affected.