Crossrail 2 should be more than just a ‘Metro’ style rail service for Londoners, a gathering of planners, engineers and consultants concluded on Monday.

Delegates at a round table discussion hosted by the Institution of Civil Engineers agreed that the follow up project to Crossrail ­– linking South West with North East London – should extend its reach far wider than the capital’s boundary.

They said that Crossrail 2 should not just be introduced to relieve congestion on popular Underground routes in the centre of London but also provide opportunities for economic development further afield.

A public consultation runs until 2 August putting forward two options: a Metro and a Regional railway. The Metro option would have 13 stations between Wimbledon in the south and Alexandra Palace in the north.

The ‘Regional’ option extends this core network down to Surbiton, Twickenham and Epsom and up to Cheshunt in Hertfordshire - but without a stop at Piccadilly Circus.

A Regional service would provide a benefit cost ratio of 4:1 and a Metro service would have a BCR of 3.5:1 when taking into account wider benefits including future job creation, delegates heard. It was also suggested that a connection as far north as Stansted Airport should not be ruled out.

“London is growing a lot quicker than previously thought and could have a population of 10M in 20 years,” said Transport for London’s head of planning and projects Matthew Yates, who gave a presentation about the scheme’s merits ahead of the round table discussion.

“The Regional option will be more expensive but could allow for some existing rail services into Waterloo to be taken away, allowing for the reallocation of train paths for longer distance services,” he added.

Funding for the scheme is likely to be one third from Government, one third from business rates and one third from fare revenue. No firm conclusions were drawn as to whether passengers would pay a premium to use Crossrail 2 compared to other rail services.

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