Cash Shortfall Shakes East London Line

A giant hole has appeared along the route of the East London Line extension. Not a physical crevice, mind, but a fiscal one - the spur from Surrey Quays to Clapham Junction, set to be constructed once the existing Dalston - Crystal Palace line is completed in 2010, has a £30m shortfall. The Mayor has agreed to meet the cost halfway but is expecting the government to pony up the rest of the cash. Not good news for any Claphamites enjoying a cross-city tryst with Haggerston residents - keep enjoying that journey into the centre and back out again.

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What a ridiculous story. This branch has never had any funding committed at all before now and was looking seriously doomed. The fact that they've now found all but £30m is amazingly positive news.

So Boris can find the estimated £60m per annum in operating costs that would be incurred by replacing bendies with double deckers (additional costs as more buses, and more drivers, would be needed to maintain capacity), despite the fact that there will be no benefit whatsoever to passengers (in fact, it may well have a negative impact on journey times, as it takes longer for people to get on and off double deckers), but he cannot find a one-off amount of £30m for a vital project that will bring significant benefits to South London?

Who is he trying to fool here?

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