The UK National Infrastructure Commission has published a report which recommends private financing for stations of Crossrail 2, the new UK railway network serving London and the wider South East.

Crossrail 2 would connect the National Rail networks in Surrey and Hertfordshire via new tunnels and stations between Wimbledon, Tottenham Hale and New Southgate, linking in with London Underground, London Overground, Crossrail 1, national and international rail services. It will add capacity to the regional rail network, cutting journey times across the South East.

The UK National Infrastructure Commission has recently published a document, named "Transport for a world city", that recommends:

Firstly, sufficient development funds should be released for Transport for London (TfL) and the Department for Transport (DfT) to prepare a hybrid bill for Crossrail 2, beginning with a revised business case to be submitted by March 2017.

Secondly, in developing the business case, it is crucial that TfL and DfT identify clear proposals to maximise its benefits and increase deliverability. They should:

• Identify proposals to phase costs and increase affordability – one option would be to delay the North-Western branch to New Southgate, which could reduce costs of the initial scheme in the 2020s by around £4 billion.
• Deliver a funding plan in which London contributes its fair share to the project – more than half the total for the scheme.
• Develop a strategy to maximise private sector involvement in the development and funding of stations and their surrounding areas.
• Develop a strategy to ensure the construction of at least 200,000 homes along the route.

Subject to these recommendations, the aim should be for a hybrid bill, which should be submitted by autumn 2019, and the line should be opened in 2033.

Andrew Adonis, the National Infrastructure Commission chair, said:

By the 2030s London will be a mega city of more than 10 million people. Even allowing for planned investment and the imminent arrival of the East-West Crossrail line, the capital will grind to a halt unless significant further improvements are made.

That’s why London needs Crossrail 2 as quickly as possible. A new North-East to South-West line would help relieve severe overcrowding across some of the busiest Network Rail stations in the country, and the most congested Underground lines and overground commuter routes.

The Commission has identified four crucial ways in which the scheme can be developed to ensure that we maximize benefits and increase deliverability: phasing parts of the scheme, fair funding with London paying more than half the cost, private financing to help build stations and, crucially, a clear, transformative strategy to turn the proposed 200,000 new homes into a reality.

There is no good reason to delay. Crossrail 2 will help keep London moving, create hundreds of thousands of homes and fire regeneration across the city form North-East to South-West. We should get on with it right away, and have the line open by 2033