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Crossrail Bill

I speak as the chair of the all-party Crossrail group and I begin by paying tribute to Linda Perham, who established it in the previous Parliament. Without the group, perhaps we would not be considering Second Reading at this time. As chair of the all-party group, I emphasise that it consists not only of hon. Members of all parties but people with very different views. Members of the group will raise some concerns and criticisms in the debate because we are all committed to improving transport across London and to the national benefits and implications of that. However, we also acknowledge that we have constituency and local interests, which must be taken into account. I want to comment on my constituency because Ilford is one of the areas that will benefit greatly from Crossrail. Ilford station is between Stratford and Shenfield and my constituency also contains the stations of Seven Kings and Goodmayes. Chadwell Heath is at the edge of my constituency, although the station is in the neighbouring constituency. The platforms in those stations will need to be extended, which will involve considerable reconstructive engineering work, the removal of waste, many vehicles and possible disruption to the lives of many of my constituents. I am unique in that I am the only Member on Crossrail’s designated route who will have a loop in the constituency. That means the possibility of freight and passenger trains being able to pass each other. That, too, will involve considerable work, including the construction of a line close to the back gardens of many of my constituents. I want to place that on record because, when we discuss practicalities and implications, it is possible that the lives of many people will be disrupted in the short term for the greater good. If the Bill is successfully piloted through Parliament and gets on to the statute book, and construction work begins in 2007, 2008 or 2009 in my constituency and others, it will have an impact on many people. There are concerns about adequate shielding from noise and construction work, the times of day when the work will be undertaken, shielding from lighting to prevent people from being woken up or kept awake at all hours and the times when vehicles move materials backwards and forwards. All those matters will have an impact. Many other hon. Members will have similar worries when work is carried out in their constituencies. I therefore hope that the Committee can take those matters into account when it receives the many petitions and submissions that will doubtless arrive in the next few weeks.