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Crossrail Bill

I suspect that the hon. Gentleman regretted not having asked that question in his speech and is now trying to get me to do his work. I have no doubt that my right hon. and hon. Friends will want to look very closely at the issues of access to the total railway, to ensure that there is the continued opportunity—the importance of which I have emphasised—of freight access to carry aggregates into one of the biggest development sites in the south of England, without that being frustrated by access problems to the track and an unwelcome transfer of aggregate from rail to road. Finally, I shall say a few words about the timetable for the Crossrail works and the interface, in more senses than one, with the London Olympic games. Two major infrastructure projects on that scale will undoubtedly put pressure on the capacity of the construction industry. There are implications for prices, skills and general capacity issues. There are also conflicts relating to one or more sites where works would need to be undertaken for both Crossrail and the Olympics. Those difficulties will need to be carefully addressed, but I hope that my right hon. and hon. Friends on the Front Bench will not allow these challenges to be used as an excuse for further substantial delay in the Crossrail project. In last week’s issue of New Civil Engineer, the former chief executive of Cross London Rail Links Ltd., Norman Haste, is quoted as calling for a debate on whether construction of Crossrail should be delayed until after the Olympics. I put it to my right hon. and hon. Friends that while it is absolutely right that the implications for the timetabling of these two massively important schemes must be considered carefully and must be effectively co-ordinated, it would imply a serious loss of nerve and confidence if Crossrail, which has already been 16 years in gestation, were to be kicked into touch for a further seven. I hope that my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary will be able to give the House some reassurance on those issues tonight, as well as the reassurance that I sought earlier on the Woolwich station. With those caveats, I am happy to support Second Reading.