Bakerloo line extension 'could open in 2040'
Transport for London has published a new indicative timescale for the construction of a Bakerloo line extension from Elephant & Castle to Lewisham via the Old Kent Road.
Papers for next week's meeting of TfL's programmes & investment committee reveal that the estimated cost of the Bakerloo line extension has spiralled to somewhere between £5 billion and £8 billion at 2023 prices.
A decade ago, as Mayor of London, Boris Johnson had put the cost of the project at around £2 billion.
In 2016, the scheme had been priced at £3.1 billion.
TfL has made clear that the scheme would require central Government funding if it is to proceed.
The extension to Lewisham would include two new tube stations - one called Burgess Park on the Tesco site in the Old Kent Road, and another called Old Kent Road on the former Toys R Us (now Lidl) site.
"This would be transformational for transport in southeast London, increasing public transport capacity and step-free connectivity and resulting in an additional 150,000 daily public transport trips," says TfL's report on Network Development and Third Party Pipeline Programme.
"Associated mode shift and new car free development would drive carbon and air quality benefits.
"The scheme would support the delivery of around 50,000 new homes in southeast London, including 20,000 in the Old Kent Road Opportunity Area and over 85,000 jobs within 45 minutes of the extension.
"The BLE is currently working towards a single preferred option by late 2025.
"Work is currently ongoing to update the scheme business case and complete the feasibility design, including packages of work looking at station design and funding options that are funded by the London Boroughs of Lewisham and Southwark."
The TfL paper notes that "the scheme could feasibly begin construction from 2030 subject to funding" and an appendix gives 2040 as a potential date for the start of services.
With a tube link at least 16 years away and a pipeline of thousands of new homes, there will be growing pressure for interim improvements to transport links along the Old Kent Road, such as a limited stop bus service.
Last week the Government announced it is lending money to Berkeley Homes to kick-start the construction of 1,400 homes just off the Old Kent Road.
This week Southwark and Lewisham councils published a new report setting out the case for the Bakerloo line extension.
